The Great Wall

The Significance of the Great Wall

In history, the Great Wall played a very important role in the living and multiplying of the Chinese nation and the inheritance of Chinese culture. As one of the top 10 architectural wonders in the world, the Great Wall is a spiritual symbol of the Chinese nation. The earliest construction of this grand building dates back to the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period. After Qin Shi Huang first built it on a large scale, various dynasties of China continued the project, such as the Han, Western Jin, Eastern Jin, Yuan and Ming dynasties, showing the importance of the Great Wall in the Chinese history.

Sayings and Legends about the Great Wall

In history, the Great Wall stretched across a dozen of provinces, cities and autonomous regions, such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Liaoning, and Gansu with a total length of over 40000 li. Overlooked from the sky, the Great Wall winds its way like a huge dragon. People today don’t know how the ancient Chinese built it using huge bricks among high mountains and lofty hills until now. Ever since ancient times, various myths about the Great Wall have been heard without end. A very famous myth about the Great Wall in modern times is that the Great Wall is the only human-built structure in the earth that can be seen with naked eyes from space. However, it should be said that mow this question has been answered scientifically. The Great Wall can’t be seen from the moon.

This myth, in fact, originated from an American astronaut called Eugene Cernan. He went to the moon in 1972. He said, when the spaceship moved around the earth in an orbit about 160 to 320 km away from the surface, he could see the Great Wall with eyes. But this story is not very accurate now, because many scientists confirmed that those things that are like the Great Wall of China in the pictures shot during the space navigation were roads around hills. It was Yang Liwei who first dispelled this rumor. After coming back from space, he explicitly said that he didn’t see the Great Wall from the spaceship.

There are many unproven legends about the Great Wall. Some people said the Great Wall was built by Qin Shi There are many unproven legends about the Great Wall. Some people said the Great Wall was first built by Qin Shi Huang. In fact, the Great Wall was built earlier than Qin Shi Huang. The earliest Great Wall dates back to the Spring and Autumn period. The Great Wall of State of Chu was the earliest. They called it the Square Wall. It's recorded that, back then, Duke Huan of Qi, one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period came to attack the State of Chu. Getting to the State of Chu, he saw a wall, a city wall from afar. Then, a general of State of Chu showed up and said, “Duke Huan of Qi, if you want to convince us with virtue, we will listen to you. But if you want to conquer us forcibly, we won’t fear you. We have Square Wall as the city wall and the Han River as the moat.” Seeing this, Duke Huan of Qi was shocked. He didn’t expect that the State of Chu had made full preparations, so he withdrew without launching an attack. After going back, he also ordered to build a great wall. So the Great Wall of State of Chu was built the earliest, followed by that of the State of Qi.

The Beginning of the Building

In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States period, vassal countries frequently engaged in annexation battles. Sometimes, this state was attacked and sometimes that state was conquered. They felt the great wall could protect their states, so they all built one. After the Qin Dynasty unified six states, Qin Shi Huang asked Meng Tian to consolidate Qin’s control of the Hetao region to deter the Xiongnu people. So Meng Tian ordered people to build the Great Wall in the Hetao region. The Great Wall of the State of Zhao was originally in this place. It connected the Great Wall of State of Yan in the east and the Great Wall of State of Qin in the west.

Therefore, the Qin Great Wall started from Liaodong in the east and reached Lintao which was in present-day Gansu to the west, stretching over 10000 li. Qin Shi Huang didn’t build the Great Wall first, he connected the great walls built by the vassal states during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States period, for the sake of unification, and then built some parts in some places during his reign. Some parts were overlapped, some were built on the basis of the original site and some were newly built. And many ethnic minorities in the North also built it. For example, Liao built the Great Wall to prevent Jin from attacking it, and Jin built the Great Wall to prevent Yuan from attacking it. Now the Great Wall mainly refers to that in Beijing.

Great Wall in the Han Dynasty

The Great Wall was built on a large scale for three times in the Qin, Han, and Ming dynasties. The total length of the Great Wall in these dynasties reaches over 40000 li. In this process, the emperor who built the longest Great Wall wasn’t Qin Shi Huang that we’re familiar with, but the well-known Emperor Wu of Han. In those years, to resist Xiongnu, Emperor Wu of Han made great efforts to build the Great Wall.

Part of the territory of the Qin Dynasty was occupied by Xiongnu after the Qin Dynasty was defeated. Emperor Wu of Han then decided to launch a counterattack to Xiongnu. Emperor Han of Wu sent his great generals Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to attack and expel Xiongnu. Then he began to have the Great Wall built. This time when they built the Great Wall, they had a large territory. It still started from Liaodong in the east, and passed Hetao, stretched to Jiuquan, Dunhuang, Yumen Pass and Yangguan Pass, and reached Lop Nur in Xinjiang. The Great Wall was very long, stretching over 20000 li.

Korla in Xinjiang is hailed as Peacock City. People say the Great Wall in the Han Dynasty started from Liaodong in Korla in Xinjiang is hailed as Peacock City. People say the Great Wall in the Han Dynasty started from Liaodong in the east and reached Yangguan Pass and Yumen Pass to the west. But in fact, it reached Lop Nur and Korla. When Emperor Wu of Han ruled the Han Dynasty, the Great Wall showed an unprecedented, magnificent and glorious scene.

Structures and Materials of the Great Wall

There were special considerations for the structure and material of the Great Wall. The Qin Great Wall including those built by vassal states were all built with materials obtained locally, which were stones and rammed earth. People call this method of building walls “stamping earth between board frames.” They would dig a groove on the base and then insert board frames on both sides of the groove. Then they put earth into it and stamped it tight. After that, they would put another layer of earth and stamp it tight again. Normally, it was ladder-shaped with big bottom and small upper part. After the board frames were removed, the walls would be formed. So this kind of wall was mainly made of earth. Many parts of the Great Wall built by the State of Qi contained stones and rock. They exploited the stones and made walls with them, and people call such walls Tiger Skin Walls.

One of the major characteristics of the Qin Dynasty was that it had very strict laws after Shang Yang’s Reforms. The quality of each part of the Great Wall was inspected. The quality inspection, in fact, improved the techniques to build walls and as a result, the firmest part of the Great Wall was built back then. Jingbian County in Shaanxi was a state built by Xiongnu back then, namely Daxia. The emperor of Daxia was called Helian Bobo. Walls built by him were the firmest among the earthen walls. Reputedly, his craftsmen invented a method called Earth Steaming Method. Steam means heating the earth. This method can firm the walls and make them more adhesive, by killing the grass seeds in the earth. Besides killing grass seeds, they also did this to kill warms as only warms and grass seeds would influence the firmness of the wall.

The craftsmen prepared raw lime first because raw lime will give out heat and smoke once touching the water. Then they added sand and the adhesive in it and mixed them. After mixing them, he built very firm walls. The walls were like present-day cement. Then the inspector will try to prick it with a drill. If the drill were inserted into the wall, it would mean the wall was unqualified. If the drill couldn’t be inserted into the wall, the wall would be as firm as present-day cement into which we can’t insert a drill. They test the firmness of the walls in this way.

Lakeside Great Wall

The Lakeside Great Wall wasn’t built in ancient times. It was unnecessary to build the Great Wall by the lakeside in ancient times. The Great Wall was built along vital communication lines and river mouths. After liberation, water conservancy projects were launched. Reservoirs were built for agricultural production. As the North was dry, a lot of reservoirs were built. The dam stopped the water, and the water level was increased, so some parts of the Great Wall were inundated. Some parts of the Great Wall are in the water, and other parts are above the water. In a word, the Lakeside Great Wall formed because reservoirs were built.

The Ming Great Wall

Today, the Great Wall in Mutianyu and Badaling are built with bricks. Most parts of the Great Wall built with bricks we see now was built in the Ming Dynasty. The Great Wall was built on a large scale for the third time in the Ming Dynasty. Xu Da arrived in Beijing and drove away Emperor Huizong of Yuan. Zhu Yuanzhang was afraid that Emperor Huizong of Yuan would attack in retaliation, so he asked Xu Da to lose no time and prepare for war. So he began to build the Great Wall from Shanhai Pass to Juyong Pass in Beijing.

At that time, different from the previous dynasty, the Ming Dynasty boasted developed a social economy and paid much attention to the production of bricks. When Zhu Yuanzhang struggled to seize state power, he had an adviser called Zhu Sheng, Zhu Sheng gave him advice, and he managed to seize state power. He told Zhu Yuanzhang to build high walls, raise grain extensively and don’t hurry to make himself king. Many groups in the country wanted to claim the throne. If he made himself king, others would fight against him and made him the target. As grain was indispensable to war, Zhu Sheng advised Zhu Yuanzhang to raise grain extensively. Zhu Sheng also advised him to build high walls along the northern borders. Zhu Yuanzhang benefited greatly from the three pieces of advice. After he managed to seize state power, he ordered to encircle important counties and cities with walls, such as Pingyao, Zhoucheng, Xi’an, Beijing, and Nanjing.

To make the Great Wall solid, it must be built with bricks, The Ming Dynasty boasted very developed brick making techniques, so the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty is of the highest standard in the history of the Great Wall. Two bricks of the Ming Dynasty is housed in a museum in the US. During the Ming Dynasty, bricks were mainly produced in Linqing, Shandong and transported to Beijing along the canal. As to bricks for the Great Wall, the material is chosen strictly, and the technique is exquisite. One basic material of the brick is the canal mud at the bottom of the canal in Linqing which is of high quality. There is a process called refining. Mix the mud like kneading the dough, and then stamp it with feet. The worker often put the mud in a vat and stamp it with feet. He mixed and stamped it to make it even. Then, the shape of the brick was formed.

Brick was made and inspected by knocking. If it had a very clear sound of metal, it was up to standard. If not, it couldn’t be used. The responsibility system was very strict. Every brick of the Ming Dynasty is engraved with the place of origin (such as Linqing, Dezhou), reign title (such as the Wanli period), and the production time. The kiln and even the name of the kiln man are also included in the engraving. With this engraving, it is easy to find who was responsible for the production of a certain brick. The Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty we see now has had a history of over 600 years. And it is still in very good condition.

Different Parts of the Ming Great Wall

The Great Wall was gradually built in the Ming Dynasty. The Mutianyu Great Wall is one of the best-preserved sections of the Ming Great Wall. Rampart is the main body of the Great Wall. Above it, there is generally a parapet inside, called a parapet wall. The sawtooth side faces the attack of the enemy is called a short wall. Below the short wall, there is a hole for observing the enemy’s situation. Soldiers shoot arrows from the crack of the short wall. The enemy can’t shoot them because there is a wall. They can protect themselves and kill the enemy effectively. There are short walls on both sides of some walls, which shows that the war was very fierce here in ancient times. During the Ming dynasty, this section of the Great Wall was captured and recaptured repeatedly.

Walls with short walls on both sides are called hilt-shaped Great Wall. It’s an additional part of the Great Wall. Some people wonder whether it was a mistake or the construction was stopped, so they call it the wrong Great Wall. As what’s mentioned above, since the Qin Dynasty, the Great Wall had been built under strict supervision. Whoever made a mistake would be beheaded. The short wall served as an extension for the Great Wall which provided an extra defense against invaders. The official name of this short version of the Great Wall is the “abutment wall.” The wall is extended and its watchtower is also extended. Therefore, the abutment wall can stop the enemy from three sides in a more effective way. This wall is one of the defensive measures of the Great Wall.

Improvements Made to the Ming Great Wall

No matter in the ancient cold weapon age or modern times, the Great Wall has played an important role in the national defense mechanisms of feudal China. Regarding the defensive capabilities of the Great Wall, its internal defense structure system cannot go unnoticed. During its more than 2000 years of development, the Great Wall had witnessed various changes in its internal defense structure. During this process, the rebuilding of watchtowers of the Great Wall by Qi Jiguang, a famous general against the Japanese pirates, is the most important.

Watchtower serves as a command center in war times. Officers and soldiers who defended the city stayed inside the watchtower. They could defend and attack in the watchtower.

Qi Jiguang once led 3000 Qi soldiers to the northern borders to fight the invaders. The soldiers were called Zhejiang soldiers because they were from Zhejiang. When he reached the Great Wall, he found no one inside the Wall. It was raining heavily. He asked where people were. He was told that they took shelter from the rain in villagers’ homes. Then he ordered his 3000 soldiers to stand in the heavy rain while he went to the village to learn the actual situation. Why would the soldiers in the Wall leave for the villages and leave the wall unguarded? When he reached the village, he asked them what if the enemy attacked the unguarded city in the rain. Some soldiers told him that they ate nothing in the past few days because the Great Wall in the mountain was away from the village, and it was difficult to transport supplies to the Great Wall. Therefore, only a few things were transported there every few days. Because of the heavy rain, their supplies did not arrive on time. Thus they took shelter from the rain in villagers’ homes.

As we know, ramparts were built first. They were solid and served as a platform. There was a platform for commanding nearby. The part under the platform was also solid and filled with soil. Qi Jiguang thought that the design of this part was flawed, so he proposed to the Longqing Emperor that this part of the Great Wall must be improved. After serious investigation, he found that the solid platform of the Great Wall was useless, so he emptied it and laid bricks. As it was empty, grain and ammunitions could be kept inside. Then he thought that they should make the inside more complicated so the soldiers are more prepared when war broke. He thought that the guards should live here every day to get familiar with the environment.

Therefore, the design inside the watchtower is greatly improved. The simplest watchtower is called “kou” shaped watchtower and has limited space. This type of watchtower was not built with doors. So people should enter it from the window. In some watchtowers, there is a blind pass for people to get out of the wall. The new design of the watchtowers is very ingenious. It sheltered soldiers from wind and rain and provided food and ammunition for them. The most important aspect was that soldiers and officers didn’t need to leave the Wall. For a dozen years or so when Qi Jiguang stayed here, no one dared to invade. It showed that Qi Jiguang directed troops strictly and proved the strong defense capabilities of the Great Wall’s new design.

An Economical Great Wall

There is little waste during the construction of the ancient Great Wall because the plan was very detailed and the location to build the Great Wall was chosen in advance. The construction of the Great Wall was based on careful calculation and strict budgeting. For example, in the west barbican of the Jiayu Pass on the Great Wall, a brick was placed on the wall. The locals said that when building Jiayu Pass, the head of the craftsman was invited to make a budget. It is said that this person was called Yi Kaizhan who could do sums in his mind. As soon as he looked at the wall, he closed his eyes for a while and knew how much material was needed. It is said that he even calculated the amount of sand, soil, and the number of bricks needed. When Jiayu Pass was built, only one brick was left. And the brick is placed there to tell the later generations not to waste, and every project should be based on careful calculation and strict budgeting.

Passes on the Great Wall

There are more than 1000 passes (include mountain passes) along the Great Wall, a dozen of which are the famous ones, such as Yangguan Pass, Yumen Pass, Shanhai Pass, Jiayu Pass, and Juyong Pass. Among them, there are three very important passes. The first one is Shanhai Pass which is hailed as the First Pass Under Heaven. The second one is Juyong Pass in Beijing City which is hailed as the First Impregnable Pass Under Heaven. The third one is Jiayu Pass, which is hailed as Impregnable Pass Under Heaven. Shanhai Pass is a natural barrier surrounded by mountains and the sea. The strategic location of the Shanhai Pass was very important. In ancient times, it is believed by many people that once Shanhai Pass was broken through, Beijing City would fall. Therefore, many emperors stationed extra soldiers in the Shanhai Pass.

The Shanhai Pass

In the Ming Dynasty, both the northern nomadic people and the Manchu in Northeast China threatened the central government of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the Shanhai Pass was further strengthened in the Ming Dynasty. During the late Ming Dynasty, Wu Sangui was in charge of the Shanhai Pass. In the meantime, Li Zicheng, a rebel leader commanding more than 100000 soldiers, was ready to march to Shanhai Pass. At that time, Wu Sangui had more than 50000 soldiers guarding this pass. During the first battles, the troops of Li Zicheng won several victories and had high morale. During the final battle, Li Zicheng stood in the Mount Jiaoshan and observed the situation of the enemy, while his troops climbed over and attack the city. Wu Sangui found they couldn’t withstand their assault and escaped to Weiyuan City to the north.

At that time, the Qing army was waiting in Weiyuan City. Wu Sangui wanted them to give him a hand, but they didn’t believe him and asked whether he wanted to surrender. In the end, Wu Sangui had no way but to beg the Qing army to join the battle. Therefore, the Qing army followed Wu Sangui to the Shanhai Pass in secret. During the battle, Li Zicheng almost won when a sandstorm blew on the battlefield. What he didn’t expect was that after the strong wind, tens of thousands of Manchu cavalrymen came out of the Shanhai Pass. They rushed out waving swords and spears with their braids flew in the wind. They looked like troops from heaven. Seeing that they couldn’t win the battle, Li Zicheng retreated in defeat. Li Zicheng hurried back to Beijing and stayed there for two days before leaving.

Shanhai pass is also called Guanshanghai which means it blocks the sea route and the mountain road to Beijing. Once Shanhai Pass fell, Beijing was doomed. Shanhai Pass was very important. In the middle of Shanhai pass is the pass city. There are walls built around the pass city on both sides. Weiyuan City in the distance was built for pincer movements and for defending the pass city. If Wu Sangui didn’t let the Qing army in, they could never break-in. Juyong Pass is built between Mount Jundu and the Western Hills, namely the intersection of the Taihang Mountains and the Yan Mountains. The mountains here are precipitous, so Juyong Pass is famous for its steepness.

The Jiankou Great Wall

The Jiankou Great Wall is one of the most famous sections of the Ming Great Wall. Because of its precipitous location and unique shape, the Jiankou Great Wall has become a favorite place for photographers.

The Jiankou Great Wall is the key to the Great Wall culture. The high part of the Jiankou Great Wall is called “the Eagle Flies Facing Upward.” It means that when an eagle flies there, it would become afraid and keep its face upward. There is another section of the Great Wall which is also known for its steepness, i.e., the Simatai Great Wall in Miyun. The Simatai Great Wall is divided into two parts by the Simatai reservoir. A famous architect in China once said that the Simatai Great Wall is the most celebrated part of the Great Wall.

The Wisdom of the Working People

Without a doubt, it was very challenging to build the Great Wall. However, the diligent Chinese people are very creative, and they applied many new tools and methods to the building of the Great Wall. First, they used pulleys. In the most precipitous place, they set up wooden support equipped with pulleys to transport heavy things. Second, they found a simple way to transport the bricks. Bricks were the main building material of the Great Wall, and it took an awful lot of bricks to build the Wall.

As villages near the Great Wall tended sheep for a living, the villagers realized that it would much easier if they used the sheep to transport the bricks. Therefore, they tied one brick to each horn of the sheep and drove the goats to the Wall. After the bricks were unloaded, the goats were driven back to transport bricks again. As sheep could stand on very precipitous places which people find dangerous, they are a very effective means of transport. The Great Wall shows the wisdom of ancient Chinese people.

Genial Exchanges across the Wall

The Great Wall was built as a national defense mechanism. When there was no war, mutual trade would flourish between the two sides of the Wall. This kind of cultural exchange constituted a crucial part of the history of the Great Wall. At the Longqing period, several representatives of various nomadic tribes met the Jiajing Emperor and asked him to allow the trade between his people and theirs. These nomadic tribes wanted the tea, grain, ironware, cooking utensils, and salt produced in the Central Plains in for beef, mutton, mink, and horse and other things that they had.

During the Zhengtong period of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor was captured. He lived in a Mongolian tent for a year and experienced the nomadic food which he didn’t like. The dishes there always consisted of meat cooked in a million different ways. He wasn’t accustomed to it. Therefore, he always sent someone to ask for some grain and vegetables. During the time when he remained captive, his younger brother ascended the throne. The emperor stayed there for one year. One year later, he was sent back as the Retired Emperor.

During the wartime, the Great Wall was hailed as a “defensive iron wall” by some people. However, during many peaceful periods in history, the Great Wall is more like a bond connecting all Chinese nationalities. During the times without war, hundreds of passes such as Jiayu Pass, Zhenbeitai, Dajingmen on the Great Wall became important commercial centers for the Han nationality and over ten ethnic minorities such as Xiongnu, Xianbei, Di, Qiang, Tujue, Qidan, Nvzhen, and Mongolia. Frequent trade exchanges greatly improved the cultural integration of different ethnic groups on both sides of the Great Wall.

Summary

Mutual trade enriched the life of the nomads, the Han people, and other ethnic groups. The integration between various nationalities such as the Semu people, the Mongolian nationality, and the Han nationality is a unique feature of the Chinese nation. It reflects two core values held by the Chinese people—harmony and peace, which is also the reason why the Chinese nation can exist and prosper for thousands of years.