| Great
Wall of China |
|
| China |
| 7
New Wonders of the World |
| 7
Medieval Wonders of the World |
| |
| The first chapter in the history
of the Great Wall of China ended
in 207 BC, when the last of the
over 6 billion cubic feet of compacted
earth was set into place. The
Great Wall was only moderately
effective in carrying out its
purpose, even after it was faced
with bricks and stones. |
| |
|
The Great Wall of China
is a series of stone and earthen fortifications
in northern China, built, rebuilt,
and maintained between the 5th century
BC and the 16th century to protect
the northern borders of the Chinese
Empire from Xiongnu attacks during
various successive dynasties. Since
the 5th century BC, several walls
have been built that were referred
to as the Great Wall. One of the most
famous is the wall built between 220–206
BC by the first Emperor of China,
Qin Shi Huang. Little of that wall
remains; it lay farther north than
the current wall, which was built
during the Ming Dynasty.
The Great Wall stretches
over approximately 6,400 km (4,000
miles) from Shanhaiguan in the east
to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc
that roughly delineates the southern
edge of Inner Mongolia, but stretches
to over 6,700 km (4,160 miles) in
total; a more recent archaeological
survey using advanced technologies
points out that the entire Great Wall,
with all of its branches, stretches
for 8,851.8 km (5,500.3 mi). At its
peak, the Ming Wall was guarded by
more than one million men. It has
been estimated that somewhere in the
range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died
as part of the centuries-long project
of building the wall.
History
The Chinese were already familiar
with the techniques of wall-building
by the time of the Spring and Autumn
Period, which began around the 8th
century BC. During the Warring States
Period from the 5th century BC to
221 BC, the states of Qi, Yan and
Zhao all constructed extensive fortifications
to defend their own borders. Built
to withstand the attack of small arms
such as swords and spears, these walls
were made mostly by stamping earth
and gravel between board frames. Qin
Shi Huang conquered all opposing states
and unified China in 221 BC, establishing
the Qin Dynasty. Intending to impose
centralized rule and prevent the resurgence
of feudal lords, he ordered the destruction
of the wall sections that divided
his empire along the former state
borders. To protect the empire against
intrusions by the Xiongnu people from
the north, he ordered the building
of a new wall to connect the remaining
fortifications along the empire's
new northern frontier. Transporting
the large quantity of materials required
for construction was difficult, so
builders always tried to use local
resources. Stones from the mountains
were used over mountain ranges, while
rammed earth was used for construction
in the plains. There are no surviving
historical records indicating the
exact length and course of the Qin
Dynasty walls. Most of the ancient
walls have eroded away over the centuries,
and very few sections remain today.
Later, the Han, Sui, Northern and
Jin dynasties all repaired, rebuilt,
or expanded sections of the Great
Wall at great cost to defend themselves
against northern invaders.
The Great Wall concept
was revived again during the Ming
Dynasty following the Ming army's
defeat by the Oirats in the Battle
of Tumu in 1449. The Ming had failed
to gain a clear upper-hand over the
Manchurian and Mongolian tribes after
successive battles, and the long-drawn
conflict was taking a toll on the
empire. The Ming adopted a new strategy
to keep the nomadic tribes out by
constructing walls along the northern
border of China. Acknowledging the
Mongol control established in the
Ordos Desert, the wall followed the
desert's southern edge instead of
incorporating the bend of the Huang
He.
Unlike the earlier Qin fortifications,
the Ming construction was stronger
and more elaborate due to the use
of bricks and stone instead of rammed
earth. As Mongol raids continued periodically
over the years, the Ming devoted considerable
resources to repair and reinforce
the walls. Sections near the Ming
capital of Beijing were especially
strong.
During the 1440s–1460s,
the Ming also built a so-called "Liaodong
Wall". Similar in function to
the Great Wall (whose extension it,
in a sense, was), but more basic in
construction, the Liaodong Wall enclosed
the agricultural heartland of the
Liaodong province, protecting it against
potential incursions by Jurched-Mongol
Oriyanghan from the northwest and
the Jianzhou Jurchens from the north.
While stones and tiles were used in
some parts of the Liaodong Wall, most
of it was in fact simply an earth
dike with moats on both sides.
Towards the end of the
Ming Dynasty, the Great Wall helped
defend the empire against the Manchu
invasions that began around 1600.
Under the military command of Yuan
Chonghuan, the Ming army held off
the Manchus at the heavily fortified
Shanhaiguan pass, preventing the Manchus
from entering the Chinese heartland.
The Manchus were finally able to cross
the Great Wall in 1644, when the gates
at Shanhaiguan were opened by Wu Sangui,
a Ming border general who disliked
the activities of rulers of the Shun
Dynasty. The Manchus quickly seized
Beijing, and defeated the newly founded
Shun Dynasty and remaining Ming resistance,
to establish the Qing Dynasty.
In 2009, an additional
290 kilometres (180 miles) of previously
undetected portions of the wall, built
during the Ming Dynasty, were discovered.
The newly discovered sections range
from the Hushan mountains in the northern
Liaoning province to Jiayuguan in
western Gansu province. The sections
had been submerged over time by sandstorms
that moved across the arid region.
Under Qing rule, China's
borders extended beyond the walls
and Mongolia was annexed into the
empire, so construction and repairs
on the Great Wall were discontinued.
Notable areas
Some of the following sections are
in Beijing municipality, which were
renovated and which are regularly
visited by modern tourists today.
"North Pass"
of Juyongguan pass, known as the Badaling.
When used by the Chinese to protect
their land, this section of the wall
has had many guards to defend China’s
capital Beijing. Made of stone and
bricks from the hills, this portion
of the Great Wall is 7.8 meters (25.6
ft) high and 5 meters (16.4 ft) wide.
"West Pass" of Jiayuguan
(pass). This fort is near the western
edges of the Great Wall.
"Pass" of Shanhaiguan. This
fort is near the eastern edges of
the Great Wall.
One of the most striking sections
of the Ming Great Wall is where it
climbs extremely steep slopes. It
runs 11 kilometers (7 mi) long, ranges
from 5 to 8 meters (16–26 ft)
in height, and 6 meters (19.7 ft)
across the bottom, narrowing up to
5 meters (16.4 ft) across the top.
Wangjinglou is one of Jinshanling's
67 watchtowers, 980 meters (3,215
ft) above sea level.
South East of Jinshanling, is the
Mutianyu Great Wall which winds along
lofty, cragged mountains from the
southeast to the northwest for approximately
2.25 kilometers (about 1.3 miles).
It is connected with Juyongguan Pass
to the west and Gubeikou to the east.
25 km west of the Liao Tian Ling stands
of part of Great wall which is only
2~3 stories high. According to the
records of Lin Tian, the wall was
not only extremely short compared
to others, but it appears to be silver.
Archeologists explain that the wall
appears to be silver because the stone
they used were from Shan Xi, where
many mines are found. The stone contains
extremely high metal in it causing
it to appear silver. However, due
to years of decay of the Great Wall,
it is hard to see the silver part
of the wall today.
Another notable section lies near
the eastern extremity of the wall,
where the first pass of the Great
Wall was built on the Shanhaiguan
(known as the “Number One Pass
Under Heaven”), the first mountain
the Great Wall climbs. Jia Shan is
also here, as is the Jiumenkou, which
is the only portion of the wall that
was built as a bridge. Shanhaiguan
Great Wall is called the “Museum
of the Construction of the Great Wall”,
because of the Meng Jiang-Nu Temple,
built during the Song Dynasty.
Characteristics
Before the use of bricks, the Great
Wall was mainly built from Earth or
Taipa, stones, and wood.
During the Ming Dynasty,
however, bricks were heavily used
in many areas of the wall, as were
materials such as tiles, lime, and
stone. The size and weight of the
bricks made them easier to work with
than earth and stone, so construction
quickened. Additionally, bricks could
bear more weight and endure better
than rammed earth. Stone can hold
under its own weight better than brick,
but is more difficult to use. Consequently,
stones cut in rectangular shapes were
used for the foundation, inner and
outer brims, and gateways of the wall.
Battlements line the uppermost portion
of the vast majority of the wall,
with defensive gaps a little over
30 cm (one foot) tall, and about 23
cm (9 inches) wide.
Condition
While some portions north of Beijing
and near tourist centers have been
preserved and even reconstructed,
in many locations the Wall is in disrepair.
Those parts might serve as a village
playground or a source of stones to
rebuild houses and roads. Sections
of the Wall are also prone to graffiti
and vandalism. Parts have been destroyed
because the Wall is in the way of
construction. No comprehensive survey
of the wall has been carried out,
so it is not possible to say how much
of it survives, especially in remote
areas. Intact or repaired portions
of the Wall near developed tourist
areas are often frequented by sellers
of tourist kitsch.
More than 60 kilometres
(37 mi) of the wall in Gansu province
may disappear in the next 20 years,
due to erosion from sandstorms. In
places, the height of the wall has
been reduced from more than five meters
(16.4 ft) to less than two meters.
The square lookout towers that characterize
the most famous images of the wall
have disappeared completely. Many
western sections of the wall are constructed
from mud, rather than brick and stone,
and thus are more susceptible to erosion.
Watchtowers
and barracks
WatchtowerCommunication between the
army units along the length of the
Great Wall, including the ability
to call reinforcements and warn garrisons
of enemy movements, was of high importance.
Signal towers were built upon hill
tops or other high points along the
wall for their visibility.[2]
