Great Wall Of China
Great Wall of China, Chinese (Pinyin) Wanli Changcheng or (Wade-Giles romanization) Wan-li Ch’ang-ch’eng (“10,000-Li Long Wall”), extensive bulwark erected in ancient China,
one of the largest building-construction projects ever undertaken. The
Great Wall actually consists of numerous walls—many of them parallel to
each other—built over some two millennia across northern China and
southern Mongolia. The most extensive and best-preserved version of the wall dates from the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and runs for some 5,500 miles (8,850 km) east to west from Mount Hu near Dandong, southeastern Liaoning province, to Jiayu Pass west of Jiuquan, northwestern Gansu
province. This wall often traces the crestlines of hills and mountains
as it snakes across the Chinese countryside, and about one-fourth of its
length consists solely of natural barriers such as rivers and mountain
ridges. Nearly all of the rest (about 70 percent of the total length) is
actual constructed wall, with the small remaining stretches constituting
ditches or moats. Although lengthy sections of the wall are now in
ruins or have disappeared completely, it is still one of the more
remarkable structures on Earth. The Great Wall was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.
Large parts of the fortification system date from the 7th through the 4th century bce. In the 3rd century bce Shihuangdi (Qin Shihuang), the first emperor of a united China (under the Qin
dynasty), connected a number of existing defensive walls into a single
system. Traditionally, the eastern terminus of the wall was considered
to be Shanhai Pass (Shanhaiguan) in eastern Hebei province along the coast of the Bo Hai
(Gulf of Chihli), and the wall’s length—without its branches and other
secondary sections—was thought to extend for some 4,160 miles (6,700
km). However, government-sponsored investigations that began in the
1990s revealed sections of wall in Liaoning, and aerial and satellite
surveillance eventually proved that this wall stretched continuously
through much of the province. The greater total length of the Ming wall
was announced in 2009.
History of construction
The Great Wall developed from the disparate border fortifications and castles of individual Chinese kingdoms. For several centuries these kingdoms probably were as concerned with protection from their near neighbours as they were with the threat of barbarian invasions or raids.
Early building
About the 7th century bce the state of Chu started to construct a permanent defensive system. Known as the “Square Wall,” this fortification was situated in the northern part of the kingdom’s capital province. From the 6th to the 4th century other states followed Chu’s example. In the southern part of the Qi state an extensive perimeter wall was gradually created using existing river dikes, newly constructed bulwarks, and areas of impassable mountain terrain. The Qi wall was made mainly of earth and stone and terminated at the shores of the Yellow Sea. In the Zhongshan state a wall system was built to thwart invasion from the states of Zhao and Qin in the southwest. There were two defensive lines in the Wei state: the Hexi (“West of the [Yellow] River”) and Henan (“South of the River”) walls. The Hexi Wall was a fortification against the Qin state and western nomads. Built during the reign of King Hui (370–335 bce), it was expanded from the dikes on the Luo River on the western border. It started in the south near Xiangyuan Cave, east of Mount Hua, and ended at Guyang in what is now the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Henan Wall, built to protect Daliang (the capital, now Kaifeng), was repaired and extended in King Hui’s later years. The Zheng state also built a wall system, which was rebuilt by the Han state after it conquered Zheng. The state of Zhao completed a southern wall and a northern wall; the southern wall was built mainly as a defense against the Wei state.
After administrative reorganization was carried out by Shang Yang (died 338 bce), the Qin state grew politically and militarily to become the strongest among the seven states, but it was frequently raided by the Donghu and Loufan, two nomadic peoples from the north. Therefore, the Qin erected a wall that started from Lintiao, went north along the Liupan Mountains, and ended at the Huang He (Yellow River).
In the Yan state two separate defensive lines were prepared—the Northern Wall and the Yishui Wall—in an effort to defend the kingdom from attacks by northern groups such as the Donghu, Linhu, and Loufan, as well as by the Qi state in the south. The Yishui Wall was expanded from the dike of the Yi River as a defense line against Qi and Zhao, its two main rival states. It began southwest of Yi City, the capital, and ended south of Wen’an. In 290 bce the Yan state built the Northern Wall along the Yan Mountains, starting from the northeast in the area of Zhangjiakou in Hebei, passing over the Liao River, and extending to the ancient city of Xiangping (modern Liaoyang). This was the last segment of the Great Wall to be erected during the Zhanguo (Warring States) period.
In 221 bce Shihuangdi, the first Qin emperor, completed his annexation of Qi and thus unified China. He ordered removal of the fortifications set up between the previous states because they served only as obstacles to internal movements and administration. In addition, he sent Gen. Meng Tian to garrison the northern border against incursions of the nomadic Xiongnu and to link the existing wall segments in Qin, Yan, and Zhao into the so-called “10,000-Li Long Wall” (2 li equal approximately 0.6 mile [1 km]). This period of construction began about 214 bce and lasted a decade. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and conscripted workers laboured on the project. With the fall of the Qin dynasty after Shihuangdi’s death, however, the wall was left largely ungarrisoned and fell into disrepair.
The Han through Yuan dynasties
During the reign of the Han emperor Wudi (141–87 bce), the wall was strengthened as part of an overall campaign against the Xiongnu. From that period the Great Wall also contributed to the exploitation of farmland in northern and western China and to the growth of the trade route that came to be known as the Silk Road. In 121 bce a 20-year project of construction was started on the Hexi Wall (generally known as the Side Wall) between Yongdeng (now in Gansu) in the east and Lake Lop Nur (now in Xinjiang) in the west. According to Juyan Hanjian (“Juyan Correspondence of the Han”), the strongpoints set up along the wall included “a beacon every 5 li, a tower every 10 li, a fort every 30 li, and a castle every 100 li.”
The main work on the wall during the Dong (Eastern) Han period (25–220 ce) took place during the reign of Liu Xiu (Guangwudi),
who in 38 ordered the repair of four parallel lines of the Great Wall
in the area south of the Hexi Wall. The Great Wall served not only for
defense but also to centralize control of trade and travel.
During the Bei (Northern) Wei dynasty (386–534/535 ce),
the Great Wall was repaired and extended as a defense against attacks
from the Juan-juan and Khitan tribes in the north. According to Wei shu: Mingyuandi Ji
(“History of Wei: Chronicle of Emperor Mingyuan”), in 417, the eighth
year of the reign of Mingyuandi (409–423), a part of the Great Wall was
built south of Changchuan, from Chicheng (now in Hebei) to Wuyuan (now
in Inner Mongolia) in the west, extending more than 620 miles (1,000 km). During the reign of Taiwudi (423–452), a lower and thinner wall of rammed earth
was built around the capital as a complement to the Great Wall.
Starting from Guangling in the east, it extended to the eastern side of
the Huang He, forming a circle around Datong.
In 549, after the Dong Wei kingdom moved its capital east to Ye, it
also built a segment of the Great Wall in the area of contemporary Shanxi province
In order to strengthen its northern frontier and prevent invasion from the west by the Bei Zhou, the Bei Qi kingdom (550–577) launched several big construction projects that were nearly as extensive in scope as the building projects of the Qin dynasty. In 552 a segment was built on the northwestern border, and only three years later the emperor ordered the recruitment of 1.8 million workers to repair and extend other sections. The construction took place between the south entrance of Juyong Pass (near modern Beijing) and Datong (in Shanxi). In 556 a new fortification was set up in the east and extended to the Yellow Sea. The following year a second wall was built inside the Great Wall within modern Shanxi, beginning in the vicinity of Laoying east of Pianguan, extending to the east beyond Yanmen Pass and Pingxing Pass, and ending in the area around Xiaguan in Shanxi. In 563 the emperor Wuchengdi of the Bei Qi had a segment repaired along the Taihang Mountains. That is the part of the Great Wall found today in the area around Longguan, Guangchang, and Fuping (in Shanxi and Hebei). In 565 the inner wall built in 557 was repaired, and a new wall was added that started in the vicinity of Xiaguan, extended to the Juyong Pass in the east, and then joined to the outer wall. The segments repaired and added during the Bei Qi period totaled some 900 miles (1,500 km), and towns and barracks were established at periodic intervals to garrison the new sections. In 579, in order to prevent invasions of the Bei Zhou kingdom by the Tujue (a group of eastern Turks) and the Khitan, the emperor Jing started a massive rebuilding program on areas of the wall located in the former Bei Qi kingdom, starting at Yanmen in the west and ending at Jieshi in the east.
During the Sui dynasty
(581–618) the Great Wall was repaired and improved seven times in an
effort to defend the country against attacks from the Tujue. After the Tang dynasty
(618–907) replaced the Sui, the country grew much stronger militarily,
defeating the Tujue in the north and expanding beyond the original
frontier. Thus, the Great Wall gradually lost its significance as a
fortification, and there was no need for repairs or additions. During
the Song dynasty
(960–1279), however, the Liao and Jin peoples in the north were a
constant threat. The Song rulers were forced to withdraw to the south of
the lines of the Great Wall built by the Qin, Han, and Northern dynasties. Many areas on both sides of the wall were subsequently taken over by the Liao (907–1125) and Jin dynasties (1115–1234). When the Song rulers had to retreat even farther—to the south of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang)—repairs to the wall or extensions of it were no longer feasible. Limited repairs were carried out once (1056) during Liao times but only in the area between the Yazi and Huntong rivers.
In 1115, after the Jin dynasty
was established, work was performed on two defensive lines at
Mingchang. The old wall there—previously called the Wushu Wall, or
Jinyuan Fort—ran westward from a point north of Wulanhada, then wound
through the Hailatu Mountains, turning to the north and then to the west
again, finally ending at the Nuanshui River. The second of the lines
was the new Mingchang Wall, also called the Inner Jin Wall or the Jin
Trench, which was constructed south of the old wall. It started in the
west from a bend in the Huang He and ended at the Sungari (Songhua) River.
During the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty (1206–1368), the Mongols controlled all of China, as well as other parts of Asia and sections of Europe.
As a defensive structure the Great Wall was of little significance to
them; however, some forts and key areas were repaired and garrisoned in
order to control commerce and to limit the threat of rebellions from the
Chinese (Han) and other nationalities.
The Ming dynasty to the present
Rulers during the Ming dynasty
(1368–1644) ceaselessly maintained and strengthened the Great Wall to
prevent another Mongolian invasion. The majority of the work took place
along the old walls built by the Bei Qi and Bei Wei.
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