Absolute hope is an endless process. The imperial message does not arrive. It is this not-arriving that sustains hope. The endless building of the wall creates a stable community by uniting the whole people in the spirit of hope. The wall is not really for the protection of the people against external enemies. The suspicion is that the ‘people of the north’, against whom the wall is allegedly meant to protect the Chinese, do not actually exist: We have not seen them, and if we remain in our villages we shall never see them, even if on their wild horses they should ride as hard as they can
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