"The Great Wall of China" (German: "Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer", literally "At the Construction of the Great Wall of China") is a short story by

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...

. While written in 1917, it was not published until 1930, seven years after his death. Its first publication occurred in '' Der Morgen'', a German literary magazine. A year later,

Max Brod Max Brod (; 27 May 1884 – 20 December 1968) was a Bohemian-born Israeli author, composer, and journalist. He is notable for promoting the work of writer Franz Kafka and composer Leoš Janáček. Although he was a prolific writer in his ow ...

included it in ''

Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer "The Great Wall of China" (German: "Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer", literally "At the Construction of the Great Wall of China") is a short story by Franz Kafka. While written in 1917, it was not published until 1930, seven years after his death. ...

'', the first posthumous collection of short stories by Franz Kafka. Contained within the story is a parable that was separately published as "A Message from the Emperor" ("Eine kaiserliche Botschaft") 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 the first person by an older man from a southern province. The first English translation, by Willa and Edwin Muir, was published by

Martin Secker Martin Secker (6 April 1882 – 6 April 1978), born Percy Martin Secker Klingender, was a London publisher who was responsible for producing the work of a distinguished group of literary authors, including D. H. Lawrence, Thomas Mann, Norman Dou ...

in London in 1933. It appeared in '' The Great Wall of China. Stories and Reflections'' (

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Schocken Books Schocken Books is a book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House that specializes in Jewish literary works. Originally established in 1931 by Salman Schocken as Schocken Verlag in Berlin, the company later moved to Israel and then the Unit ...

, 1946).''The Great Wall of China: Stories and Reflections''. Franz Kafka - 1946 - Schocken Books

References

External links

* The full text o
"The Great Wall of China"
1931 short stories Short stories by Franz Kafka Works about the Great Wall of China Short stories published posthumously {{1930s-story-stub