Presentation / Essay - Culture Doll , Qin Shi Huang 秦始皇 by Gordon

Culture Doll - Qin Shi Huang

By Gordon

Culture Doll Descriptive Paragraph

     Today I would like to talk about my doll, which is modeled after the first emperor of unified China, Qin Shi Huang. 

     Qin Shi Huang had a massive army of soldiers, who helped him conquer the number of individual vassal states during the Warring State period, and united them into one great kingdom about 2,200 years ago. During his reign, he built and connected many fortifications and walls into one single defense system, the 5,500-mile-long Great Wall of China, which is now considered as the symbol of China. He buried the famous Terracotta Army in his tomb as the guardians for his afterlife. The great emperor ruled until his death in 210 BC. He is one of the most important people in Chinese history.

     Made mostly of earth and stone, the world-famous Great Wall of China, built by Qin Shi Huang, stretched from the east China Sea port to the western desert in Gansu province. The walls and a series of forts standing along the historical northern border protect China against the raids and invasions from the north. Several walls were built as early as the 7th century BC. These, later were joined together and made bigger and stronger, are now collectively referred to as the Great Wall of China.  Little of that original wall remains. Since then, the Great Wall has been rebuilt, maintained, and enhanced. The most of the existing wall is from the Ming Dynasty.

     Guess what color ancient Chinese people cannot wear except the emperor? The answer is yellow. Yellow color decorated with dragon patterns are the privilege of royal families. In Chinese culture, red means the symbol of importance and royalty. Yellow symbolizes the power of the throne. Dragon symbolizes power and excellence along with royalty. 

     My doll of Qin Shi Huang is completely made of paper. He is holding the national flag of People’s Republic of China. I searched for the picture of the emperor, then printed it out. I cut out the wrapping paper, glitter paper and fabric stickers in small pieces for his clothes. I used markers to outline my doll. Question, where is my original paper doll? It is right here at the back. One of his arm is bent forward. 

Culture Doll Personal Narrative

With a strong technology background, my grandparents and my parents all work as experts in computer technology. My parents came to the US for jobs, and they are the first generation in their family that has moved to and lived in America.  They have black hair and brown eyes, like typical people from East Asia. Although I have black hair and brown eyes too, I was born and grew up in Fremont, California.

My parents were all born and grew up in Beijing, the capital of China. Imagine living in an ancient city with thousands of years’ history at childhood. My parents visited those hundreds of years old ruins and buildings like Tian An Men Square, Palace Museum and Summer Palace almost every weekend. Well, just like I go to the Exploratorium and California Academy of Science, or might visit the Six-Flag park and Disneyland at weekends and holidays.

 Being proud of as one of the four great ancient civilizations, my parents love to keep our Chinese traditions and cultures in our family. We celebrate the Chinese New Year. I wear traditional Chinese clothes, red and yellow with dragons at the special time. My brother and I are also attending Chinese school at the weekend.

My family loves to travel in China to explore the interesting Chinese culture. I have visited many cities in China in the last few years. Xi 'an is the most interesting city I have ever been to. It used to be the capital where the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, lived and was buried. Although his palace, E-pang palace, was burned down shortly after his death and falling of Qin dynasty, his Terracotta Army survived for more than two thousand years. In 1974, thousands of soldiers and horses were found, and I was shocked by the detail and vivid color when visiting the Terracotta Army.

I love to explore all different kinds of cultures by traveling around the world.  While I was amazed by the history of China, visiting iconic museums, the Capitol, the White House and the Supreme Court in Washington DC, makes me proud to be an American.