The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The Wall stretches through a variety of different terrains across plateaus, deserts, grasslands and mountains. The wall is approximately 8,851.8 kilometers long, which is 5,500 miles. The Wall stretches from Hushan in the east to Jiayuguan Pass in the west of China. Built over 2000 years ago, now parts of the wall remain only in ruins, but are still one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the world with great historical significance and architectural uniqueness. The Wall is at least 7.6 meters in height and up to 9 meters in width. In Chinese the wall is called ‘Wan-Li Qang-Qeng’. ‘Wan Li’ means 10,000 Li that is 5,000 kilometers. And ‘Qang-Qeng’ means Long Wall.

It took about 250-270 years to complete the construction of the wall.  The construction began in 221 B.C. It was built between the Warring States Period and the Ming Dynasty era. Currently the wall built during the Ming Dynasty is what remains visible to the tourists. The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty initiated the construction of the Wall as a defensive line to protect the three states of Yan, Zhao and Qin. The construction took a great deal of energy and resources. The construction of this enormous structure demonstrates the wisdom, tenacity, will power and determination of the Chinese people.

The construction did not have any monetary cost, but it took a lot of resources. It’s made of masonry, stone, wood, rocks and packed earth. The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty who is considered to be Qin Shi Huang made the people of China build it with no pay, considering them as slaves. The bricks and building material were transported either by men or by animals. The men carried the load on their backs while the donkeys, mules, and goats had the brick bags strapped onto them. Today the wall is worth a lot, owing to its historical importance.

The Wall was built as a defense from the invading tribes from north China. These tribes were known as the nomadic Hsiung Nu tribes. Armies were stationed within the wall and the soldiers on the walls could see long and far for any sign of attack. Signal fires were used from these soldiers on the wall to indicate any sign of attack approaching. It became very hard for any enemy to breach these walls. There were very few entrances to get into the city, and those were heavily guarded. The Wall was too steep and flat for any enemy to climb over, and could be easily shot down by the soldiers on the wall. The Great Wall served as the perfect watchtower. Later on cannons were added which gave the ability to open fire on the enemy even when they were a few kilometers away.

As we know the wall was built over a long period and finally joined together during the rule of the Ming Dynasty. There were four distinctive periods that this was built during: the First Great Wall was built between 221-207 B.C by the Qin Dynasty, the Second Great Wall was built between 205-127 B.C by the Han Dynasty, the Third Great Wall was built in 1200A.D by the Jin Dynasty and the Fourth Great Wall built between 1367-1644 A.D by the Ming Dynasty. The First Great Wall was designed to stop raids by the Xiongnu raiders of the north. Although the Wall kept the enemies out, internal problems led to changing of leadership to the first Han emperor, Taizong. The Wall continued to be used as a line of defense but the raiders had breached the wall in several areas. Taizong then established a program to rebuild, and extend the First Wall. After the Han Dynasty collapsed the Wall was still maintained by the kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu. The Nuzhen established the Jin Dynasty then continued to build the Third Great Wall noticing that the Mongols were on their heels. They added a new characteristic to the Wall, having ditches running along the walls full length. In spite of the efforts the wall did not sustain the Mongols from overthrowing the Jin Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty later overthrew the Mongols and reclaimed the Wall. The Ming emperor Hongwu established garrisons along the Wall to ensure no enemy could take the empire. After the battle of Tumu against the Mongols the Fourth Great Wall was reinforced and completed.

References

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