| Notes | "Eine kaiserliche Botschaft" (English: "A Message from the Emperor") is a parable contained within the short story "Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer" (English: "The Great Wall of China"). It was published separately in 1919 in the collection Ein Landarzt (A Country Doctor). Some sub-themes of the story include why the wall was built piecemeal (in small sections in many different places), the relationship of the Chinese with the past and the present and the emperor's imperceptible presence. The story is told in first person by an older man from a southern province. |
