All of a sudden, the lid creaked open. On its own. A seemingly blue light shone from inside the box. I took a step back. The blue light got stronger and stronger, and soon, I had no apparent choice but to cover my eyes. When I felt that the blinding blue light had departed, I opened my eyes and found myself in a weird dress. It had high-necked, closed-collars and featured a loose chest, asymmetrical fastening, fitted waist, and side slits. This close-fitting dress, with a high neck and the slits on the sides, comes from China's Manchu Nationality! My mother has told me about this civilisation! Wait. Was I magically transported into the Ancient Chinese Civilisation? I excitedly looked around. Walled compounds, raised pavilions, wooden columns and paneling, yellow glazed roof tiles, landscaped gardens, and a careful application of town planning and use of space......... this truly was Ancient China! I took the box that seemed to be a time machine, and headed towards three Chinese houses that were arranged around a rectangular courtyard. "Um, hello? Is anyone there?"I called out. "Nǐ hǎo. Nǐ mí lù le ma?"a woman answered. Puzzled, I tried using the Chinese I learnt in school so far and managed to launch into a simple conversation with the woman. She seemed very nice, and she invited me to eat in her house as it was lunchtime. Turns out her husband was the world famous General Guo Ziyi. I squealed with delight as I told them my father had said that I had descended from them and told them my whole story.
