The Great Wall Of China
The Great Wall1 (simplified Chinese: 长城; traditional Chinese: 長城; pinyin: Chángchéng; Wade: Ch'ang²ch'eng²; literally "the long wall"), also called "The Great Walls" is a set of Chinese military fortifications built, destroyed and rebuilt several times and in several places between the third century BC. AD and the 17th century to mark and defend the northern border of China. It is the most important architectural structure ever built by man in terms of length, surface and mass.
Since 1987, the Great Wall has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under number 4386. In 2015, there was a clear deterioration in the general condition of the Great Wall due mainly to climatic conditions and human activities , and the need to intervene quickly to ensure its safeguarding7.
The route of the Great Wall.
If the term “Great Wall” mainly designates today the fortifications erected during the Ming dynasty, several walls built during the previous dynasties bore this title, the borders of China evolving over time.
Six sections of the wall have specific names:
Badaling8, which covers about 80 km northwest of the city of Beijing in Yanqing County. The portion of the wall that crosses Badaling was built during the Ming dynasty;
Great Wall of Hushan, easternmost part originally built in 1469 under the Ming dynasty;
Mutianyu located in the Huairou district, 70 km north-west of Beijing, dating from the mid-sixth century;
Simatai located in Miyun County, about 120 km from Beijing towards Chengde. Originally built in 550-577, it was rebuilt in 1368-1398 in the Ming dynasty and has not been the subject of major restorations since;
Huangyaguan, a small section of the wall located in the north of Ji County, in the municipality of Tianjin, about 126 km from the urban area. The site sits on a steep and steep mountain ridge. The first construction dates from around 1,400 years ago during the Northern Qi dynasty;
Jinshanling, 10.5 km section located 120 km northeast of Beijing and about ten kilometers southeast of the Gubei pass (Hebei province). It was built in 1570 during the Ming dynasty.
Traditionally, the history of the construction of the Great Wall has been divided into two parts:
one preceding the unification of the Qin dynasty (221 BC) during the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, where the various states and kingdoms that divided China erect walls of land at their borders;
the other, a beginner during the unification of the Qin dynasty, where Emperor Qin Shi Huang began construction of a large wall "ten thousand leagues long" at the northern border.
The Chinese people build walls since their oldest dynasties: the wall of Erligang, built near the current city of Zhengzhou at the beginning of the Shang dynasty (18th to 12th century BC) is almost 7 km from circumference and still rises today, in some places, to more than 10 m high.
In the eighth century BC. AD, beginning of the so-called Spring and Autumn period, China follows a feudal system: the territory is divided into a hundred fiefs or states ruled by princes, in theory all united under the aegis of kings of the Zhou dynasty. The oldest literary reference relates to a wall built in 656 BC. AD by the State of Qi.
However over time, these states annexed each other to form great principalities and in the sixth century BC. J. - C., certain principalities in the south secede, like Chu or Wu. China is then quickly fragmented into several independent kingdoms making war and recognizing the reigning dynasty little more than a symbolic power: c is the start of the Warring States period.
The technique used to erect these walls is that of packed earth. These took advantage of the particular characteristics of Chinese soil, a fine, very dusty loess and agglomerated very easily until it became the hardness equivalent of the stone once compacted. Pressed between two boards, the layers of soil a few centimeters are packed one above the other, once the boards are removed they leave a wall of compressed and very hard earth. This method makes it possible to quickly erect solid walls that can easily withstand several centuries, even millennia.
Qin dynasty
Small points: Warring States (475 to 221 BC).
Big points: Qin dynasty (221 to 206 BC).
In 221 BC. AD, the warlord Ying Zheng completes the unification of China and founds the Qin dynasty of which he proclaims himself emperor under the name of reign of Qin Shi Huang. He then undertook massive reforms. Following the attacks of the Xiongnu tribes, in the north, he sent General Meng Tian to repel the Xiongnu, then undertook the construction of a great wall beyond the Yellow River to more effectively protect the newly conquered territories .
However, the details of the construction of this wall are very poorly known and the opinions of historians differ as to what was really accomplished by Qin Shi Huang and Meng Tian. In all, there is only one primary source relating its construction (mainly two passages from the Shiji), as well as some very short references in later historical texts such as the Book of Han.
“After the Qin dynasty unified the Empire, General Meng Tian was sent north with 300,000 men to repel the barbarian tribes. He conquered Henan and built a Great Wall using topographic advantages. He built fortresses at parades. The wall started from Lintao to reach Liaodong for more than ten thousand li. It crossed the Yellow River to reach Yangshan. "
"After Qin conquered the six kingdoms, the emperor sent General Meng Tian with 100,000 men to the north to attack the barbarians. He captured Henan and built defenses around the Yellow River. He built forty-four fortified cities to monitor the river and soldiers were garrisoned at the border. He used mountains, cliffs, torrents and valleys. The wall started from Lintao to reach Liaodong over more than ten thousand li and crossed the Yellow River between Yangshan and Beijia. "
Sima Qian, Shiji, Chapter 110: The Xiongnu.
Apart from these two texts, there is no other account concerning the wall built by Meng Tian. We therefore do not know when it was built or its exact layout. This absence of information, and the fact that Sima Qian did not provide more information in his Shiji despite the apparent scale of the work has surprised many historians, and if archaeological research has made it possible to unearth portions of the wall, they provide little additional information. However, although no historical source confirms this, it is widely believed that Meng Tian did not start from scratch to undertake the construction of the wall and probably connected and restored portions of the walls of the former Warring States.
However despite the debates between historians and the absence of historical accounts, the Great Wall built by the Qin dynasty remains in the Chinese popular imagination a colossal work, fruit of the forced labor of thousands of convicts, soldiers, workers and peasants, vision in particular enhanced by the reputation of Emperor Qin Shi Huang who left the image of a cruel monarch. It was from this period that the nickname "wall of ten thousand li" dates (5,760 km given the value of li at the time of the Qin dynasty). It is also since this time that we really speak of "Great Wall".
Western Han (-206 - 25).
In 210 BC. AD, Emperor Shi Huangdi died and the Qin Dynasty he founded only survived him for a few years. In 202 BC. AD, Liu Bang, a former soldier with peasant origins becomes master of China and proclaims himself emperor under the name of temple of Gaozu. Weakened by his previous war of succession against Xiang Yu, Gaozu abandoned the maintenance of the Great Wall of Qin, and when the Xiongnu, now united in confederation, appeared threatening and crossed the border, rather than adopting an offensive position by the use of walls as Shi Huangdi had done, Gaozu tries to buy peace by tributes and "harmonious unions", or heqin, that is to say the offer of Chinese princesses to the shanyu of Xiongnu . For a few decades, his successors will do the same. However the Great Wall is not completely abandoned: under the emperor Wendi (180 to 157 BC) a minister recommends the creation of tuntian at the borders (kinds of military agrarian colonies) protected by small walls in the purpose of colonizing the region and hampering the incursions of the Xiongnu.
It was mainly during the reign of the emperor Wudi, which was over fifty years old, that the construction of the Great Wall took off considerably. In 133 BC. The status quo between the Chinese and the Xiongnu was broken after the Mayi fiasco. Unlike his ancestors, Wudi decided to take a frankly offensive attitude against the Xiongnu and launched in 129 BC. A first expedition, followed by many others. Wudi restored and connected portions of the wall of the Qin dynasty, then extended it as he went through his campaigns through what became the Silk Road. In 119 BC. AD, the Xiongnu are pushed back through the Gobi desert in Inner Mongolia, and a new section of the wall, nearly 400 km long is built there and still stands there today.
As for the wall of the Qin dynasty, the raw material then depends on the availability of land while the layout and location of the watchtowers, garrisons and passages are chosen according to the natural strategic advantages offered by the configuration of the regions. The section built in the Gobi desert is notably remarkable for the use of pebbles present in the local sands: by sifting the sand, the workers obtain gravel. The walls are then built by alternating packed layers of gravel, earth and reeds, then are covered with clay to be both protected from erosion and difficult to climb.
Forts are built next to the walls, or even directly integrated into the walls, and a smoke signal system makes it possible to prevent an xiongnu attack. In order to guarantee the speed of arrival of reinforcements, the army mainly uses light cavalry. The Great Wall also crosses major trade routes, allowing control of imports. Over approximately twenty years, Wudi will have extended the Great Wall by almost a thousand kilometers. Around 90 BC. AD, xiongnu offensives are becoming increasingly rare and for about a century and a half the construction of the wall is slowed down.
In 9 apr. AD, the Han dynasty was overshadowed by the ephemeral Xin dynasty before being restored in 23 by the emperor Geng Shidi. He faced civil wars, and when Emperor Guang Wudi ascended the throne two years later, his army was too weak to effectively contain the Xiongnu. He ordered the construction of four new walls to slow their advance and protect the capital. Finally, around 48, the Xiongnu experienced internal dissensions and divided into two groups: the northern Xiongnu and the southern Xiongnu. The southern Xiongnu are a buffer between their northern counterparts and China; they are relatively willing to coexist with them, which puts a hiatus to the construction of new walls.
Towards the end of the Han dynasty, the Empire faced numerous rebellions and civil wars, notably the rebellion of the Yellow Turbans (184-205). Even if the northern warlords like Yuan Shao or Cao Cao occasionally have to face the rebellions of the Xiongnu, the state of the Empire forces more to focus on the internal struggles. Cao Cao however manages to rally the southern Xiongnu to him while dividing them into five groups mounted against each other and therefore less inclined to rebel against him, thereby greatly reducing the usefulness of the Great Wall. At the end of the Han dynasty, China was divided into Three Kingdoms separated by borders and waging war continuously, making the construction and maintenance of great walls of little relevance. It was not until the end of the Northern Wei dynasty, around the sixth century, that the plan to build a new Great Wall appeared. However, this project was never carried out, and of all the rival kingdoms of the time, only Qi built walls.
Sui dynasty
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Ming dynasty (1368-1644).
The Ming dynasty (明朝, míng cháo) is a line of emperors from China. By abuse of language, the Ming dynasty also designates the epoch covering the duration of its reign. It follows the Yuan dynasty, precedes the Qing dynasty and is founded by the Zhu family.
It was during the Ming dynasty that the wall took its present form to prevent the Mongol and Manchu armies from invading China.
The construction of the wall spans two periods9:
The first period of construction of the great wall was between 1403 and 1435 under the emperor Yongle 永乐 (1402-1424). It was under Emperor Yongle that the capital was transferred from Nanjing to Beijing, bringing the power center closer to the steppes. To ensure the protection of the capital and the northern territories, the construction of the wall follows the route of previous constructions (Qi dynasty of the North and Sui 随).
The second period is around 1465 under the Zhentong era 正統. At that time, the Ming dynasty underwent great external pressures, piracy or even unified empire, requiring to place the construction of the wall more inland than the previous parts. These pieces are called "great interior wall", 内 长城.
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The Great Wall on a satellite image.
The Great Wall is located in China to the north. It starts from the border with the coast north of Beijing and goes to the Gobi desert.
Architecture
A section under the snow of the Great Wall near Beijing.
The Great Wall is the longest human construction in the world.
It covers approximately 6,700 kilometers. Satellite studies have shown that many segments, with a total length of about 1,000 kilometers, are now buried underground.
Its width varies between 5 and 7 meters on average and its height between 5 and 17 meters. It is punctuated by square watchtowers (at least 15 m high, on average 75 m apart, the distance of two spans of arrow10) and bastions along its entire length. It is impressive over the thousands of kilometers near Beijing, the capital. It is reduced elsewhere and resembles an imposing earth dump in certain places. It was made with stone, cement, earth, clay bricks. It was recently discovered that 3% sticky rice had been incorporated into the mortar which had considerably strengthened its resistance [ref. necessary]. On the other hand the same studies did not reveal any presence of osseous elements in this mortar contrary to the legend, which said that its solidity and its whiteness was related to the presence of human bones.
Contrary to popular belief, this construction is not visible to the naked eye from the Moon11. Not because its length is insufficient but because its width is. Indeed, the wall is no wider than a highway and no highway is visible to the naked eye from the international space stationenote 1. It was William Stukeley who, in 1754, would have put forward this hypothesis without ever having checked it 12.
However the debate is to know if the wall is visible from a low orbit. The American astronaut Eugene Cernan states that it can be seen at a distance of 160 to 320 km above sea level, 13 that is to say from space. From this height, you can see everything: highways, large buildings and many others. According to astronaut Leroy Chiao after his six-month stay on the International Space Station, it is clearly visible from space in good weather and with the naked eye14. The information, with a supporting photograph, made the front page of the daily China Daily, contradicting the taikonaut Yang Liwei who had assured, during his space stay in 2003, that he had seen no trace of the wall.
Its shadow would be observable by a human eye with a sufficiently low sun on the horizon on this part of the Earth13.
In 2004, the PROBA micro-satellite of the European Space Agency, controlled from the Redu station in Belgium, takes a photo of the wall from an altitude of 600 km using a compact HRC (High Resolution Camera) whose resolution is greater than that of the human eye13.
The Great Wall is one of the main tourist attractions in the country. About 15 to 16 million people visit the Wall of China each year15.
The most frequented places are [ref. necessary] the passes of Badaling, Mutianyu, Simatai, the fort of Juyongguan, Xifengkou, the fort of Jiayuguan and the fort of Shanhaiguan.
Various
The sections “Anecdotes”, “Other details”, “Did you know? "," Citations "," Autour de ... ", etc., may be inappropriate in articles (August 2017).
The Great Wall is said to be the largest cemetery in the world. About 10 million workers died during the works16 [insufficient source]. They were not buried in the wall itself (contrary to what says, for example, the legend of Meng Jiangnü), but in its immediate surroundings.
During the cultural revolution, rebels and red guards attacked monuments and places of worship: several bricks from the Great Wall of China were removed to build pigsties17.
On July 7, 2007, the Wall was designated as one of the Seven New Wonders of the World by an unofficial, commercial organization (NewOpenWorld Foundation).
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