When Neil
Armstrong, the first American astronaut to land on the moon,
looked back at the huge, glistening earth, he could identify only
two manmade works: the dikes of Holland and the Great Wall of China.
The Great Wall is the largest defense work of ancient China and one
of the wonders of the world's architectural history.
Construction of the Great Wall lasted for more than 2,000 years,
from the Spring and Autumn (770-476B.C.) and Warring States (475-221B.C.)
periods to the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Stretching from east to
west in northern China, the Great Wall rises and falls with the contours of
the terrain, climbing over rolling mountains and passing through
grasslands and deserts.
The grandeur of the Great Wall and the difficulties and long years
of labor in building it are rare not only in the history of China but
also in the history of the world. The Great Wall was listed as one of the
world's seven wonders a few hundred years ago, alongside the Coliseum of
Rome, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Sophia Mosque in Istanbul.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, seven ducal states appeared
alongside the Huanghe (Yellow) River. Chu State was the first to
erect walls to ward off incursions and was followed by other ducal states. At
that time, Yan, Zhao, and Qin states were often harassed by the powerful
northern nomadic tribes, and they built walls and stationed troops on
garrisons along their northern borders. Construction of the series of Great Walls
thus began.
In 221B.C., Qin Shi Huang conquered the other six ducal states, unified China, became the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty
(221-207B.C.) and built the first centralized feudal empire. To consolidate the
territory and protect the country from the harassment of the northern nomadic
tribes, he ordered the construction of the 5,000-kilometer Great Wall, starting
from Liaodong Bay in the east and ending in Lintao of Gansu Province in
the west.
There were Great Walls other than the one built by the Qin Dynasty.
More than 20 ducal states and dynasties before and after the Qin
Dynasty built walls in different areas. The Great Walls erected by the Han
Dynasty (206B.C.-220A.D.) and the Ming Dynasty were each more than 5,000
kilometers in length.
The Great Wall of the Han Dynasty was the longest: 10,000
kilometers. It was built on top of the remains of the Qin Great Wall and
extended westward via what is now known as the Hexi (West of the Huanghe
River) Corridor to Lop Nur in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The section of the Great Wall west of the Huanghe River played a
vital role in ensuring smooth traffic on the Silk Road to the western
regions (mainly countries in Central Asia) and in the development of trade
and cultural exchanges between China and countries in other parts of
Asia and Europe. Like the walls built by many ducal states and dynasties,
most of the Han Dynasty Great Wall gradually disappeared during ages of wind
erosion and sand burial, leaving behind segments of earth or mounds of reeds and
stone.
The Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty was the last to be built, and is
the most perfect of the Great Walls in terms of defense engineering.
Construction lasted for more than 200 years. The Great Wall that we
see today is mainly the section completed during the Ming regime.
To achieve their goal of military defense, people in ancient China
tried to make the design of the Great Wall as perfect as possible.
The main body of the Great Wall extends for more than 5,000 kilometers,
linking tens of thousands of block towers and beacon towers.
The beacon towers were also known as smoke mounds. They were built
on the wall, on hilltops, or at spots easily seen on either side of the
wall at regular intervals and were used as stations for military
communications. If there was any enemy movement, a signal would be relayed-fire at
night and smoke in the daytime-until the signal reached the capital or a large
defense command post.
The block towers stood high above the wall and consisted of two or
three tiers, including areas for the troops to live in and for
storing weapons and ammunition. It is believed that the block towers were
designed by Qi Jiguang, a general of the Ming Dynasty, who had distinguished
himself in battles against Japanese pirates, and they played an important
role in military defense.
The Great Walls were constructed with the rises and falls of China's
feudal dynasties over a period of 2,700 years, and their remains can
be found in the country's 16 provinces and autonomous regions in the
northeast, north, and northwest, especially along the Huanghe River valley.
The aggregate length of these walls was probably more than 50,000
kilometers. The masonry that went into the construction of the walls would be
enough to erect a wall one meter thick and five meters high encircling the
earth more than ten times. No other project in the world can boast such a huge
amount of work in its making.
The Great Walls served as a monument to the political, economic,
military, and cultural history of the feudal regimes as well as to
the deeds of the bold, talented generals and the intelligent artisans.
The Walls also embodied the blood and sweat of numerous soldiers and
laboring people. Legend has it that during the reign of the first
emperor of the Qin Dynasty, a woman named Meng Jiangnu became distressed
because her husband had not returned home for three years after being
conscripted to work on the Great Wall. Meng decided to bring clothes to her
husband. She suffered untold hardships before she arrived at Shanhaiguan Pass and
wept in terrible grief when she learned that her husband had died of
excessive labor and that his remains were buried under the Great Wall. Her tears
caused 800 li (400 kilometers) of the Great Wall to collapse, and she found her
husband's remains. The legend tells of the heavy forced labor over
several thousands of years and the people's sufferings.
Today, the Great Wall stands as one of China's most well-known
tourist attractions. People from all over the world put the Great Wall at
the top of their list of places to visit when they come to China. The history,
culture, art, and architecture of the Great Wall help them better understand
China.
The Great Wall has lost its original appearance because of social
changes and exposure to the weather over the past ages. After the
founding of the People's Republic of China, measures were taken to protect
it. In 1961, the Great Wall was designated as a major historical site under
State protection. Maintenance and repairs have been conducted mainly at
the sections at Badaling, Shanhaiguan Pass, and Jiayuguan Pass.
In 1987, The Great Wall was included in the List of World Heritages
by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO). The Great Wall has become a treasure shared by all
mankind. |
Western
China
