The Great Wall of China was executed by utilizing various materials such as stones, earth, wood, sand, and bricks. It was indeed a splendid constructed, and its implementation provided a shield against foreign invaders. The Wall is a symbol of unity among the ordinary people of China, as the Chinese are known to work in unison in achieving the greater good.
The Great Wall of China has attracted millions of tourists from all over the world. Interestingly, this Wall has immensely helped China alienate itself from the rest of the world and keep invaders at bay.
The Great Wall of China: Legacy
The Great Wall that stretches for more than 5000 miles was mainly built as a defensive strategy against foreign invaders. It was made up of numerous small pieces constructed during different eras of history. The earliest fortifications date back to seventh century B.C. Here is a visual timeline for the Great Wall of China.
Construction of the Wall began during the reigns of the Qin Dynasty (pronounced “Chin,” from where China derives its name) (221 – 206 BCE) under the leadership of First Emperor Shi Huangdi and later continued under many other dynasties. The present-day Wall is the work of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1664 CE), who extended the length and width of the Wall. They also added the unique watchtowers to the Wall.
The monument witnessed a decline when the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1912 C.E.) took power over the Ming Dynasty with intentions of expanding Chinese territory in Northern direction, making the Wall archaic. Later in the 1980s, restoration and preservation were taken up, and eventually, the site was declared as a UNESCO heritage site in 1987 C.E.
The Original Wall
During the Warring States Period in China (fall of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty), different regions fought to control China. The Qin Dynasty emerged victoriously. Their general, First Emperor Qin Shin Huangdi, ordered the Great Wall construction to demarcate the boundaries of the empire to protect themselves against foreign invasion. Every seven warring states had walls at their borders.
Shin Huangdi destroyed these walls and, as a sign of One China, ordered the Great Wall construction at the northern border. With this move, he intended to protect China against nomadic Xiongnu of Mongolia. Shin’s Wall ran further north than the one we see today. Convicts and recruits from all over China were unwillingly deployed for the construction of this Wall. Thanks to his malevolent leadership, the Wall was never regarded as a symbol of national pride or unity by the Chinese people, but a place where people were forced to toil until they met their demise.
The Ming Dynasty Wall
The Great Wall we see today is not Shi Huangdi’s Wall from c. 221 BCE. Xiang Yu of Chu Dynasty and Liu Bang of Han Dynasty toppled the Qin Dynasty in 202 BCE. Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu in the Chu-Han Contention (206 – 202 BCE) and became the First Emperor of the Han Dynasty. He continued the construction of the Great Wall and opened the Wall to regulate trade along the north, which eventually became the Silk Routes (better known as the Silk Road). His successor, Emperor Wu Ti, expanded and opened the trade between China and Europe in 130 BCE.
Over the next few centuries, many dynasties made contributions and repairs to the Wall. Later, the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1664 CE) implemented massive construction plans to protect the country against Mongolia nomads. Due to the similarity in intentions of the Ming Dynasty and Shi Huangdi’s vision, many believe the present wall dates to the Qin Dynasty.
The Ming constructed 25,000 watchtowers with a height of 5.4 – 8.7yard, 6.5 yards in breadth, and 5.4 yards in width.
The Liaoning Wall
The Ming Dynasty, along with enclosing the country, also surrounded their important agricultural centre, Liaoning Province, hence the name Liaoning Wall. However, this Wall has created tensions between China and North Korea, with the Chinese Government claiming that some portions of the Great Wall have been discovered close to North Korea in the Hushan Mountains.
Interestingly, the Great Wall and the Liaoning Wall both failed to accomplish their intentions of repelling invasions. During the reign of Ming general Wu Sangui, China was in great turmoil, and rebellions had mounted against the Ming dynasty. Wu Sangui opened the Great Wall to Manchus to help him defeat the rebels.
Instead, the Manchus invaded China from the north in 1600 CE and continued until 1644 CE. They seized power, expelled the Ming Dynasty, and established the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1912 C.E.). The Great Wall eventually lost its defense potential and fell into ruins. However, it again gained importance with the rise of the Republic of China in 1912.
Construction Methods
The Great Wall of China in the Northern part is a border fortification running in the east-west direction for a length of 13,171 miles from Jiayuguan Pass west to the Hushan Mountains in the province of Liaoning in the east, ending in Bohai Gulf. It crosses eleven municipalities and two autonomous regions.
The average height of the Wall is calculated to be 33 feet and width 5 yards. The Wall was built higher in the flat areas whereas, in the hilly regions, cliffs served as natural walls. Although the Wall has lost its military function, its architecture and engineering are worthy of appreciation.
Construction material
Construction material mainly comprised of stones, earth, wood, sand, and bricks. However, the materials varied a little depending upon the construction era, climate, construction site, and availability of local materials.
For instance, when building in mountain ranges, stones from mountains were used, while in plains, earth rammed in solid blocks were used. In deserts, red willows and branches of reeds layered with sand were used. Wooden planks were used as flanks in some sections. Brick making technique was developed during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 CE) and was used henceforth.
Construction Principle
Construction of the Wall took more than 2500 years, and locations vary per dynasties depending on the then defense requirements. As a standard rule, Wall was constructed along the boundary lines of state or between agricultural and nomadic provinces to curb invasion.
The constructors took advantage of the topographies at various regions viz. mountain ranges, flat plains, valleys, and rivers. It is said that the Wall had such defensive abilities that even if only one man guarded the Wall, he alone could prevent ten thousand enemies from invading. Besides, the Wall was equipped with watchtowers built at higher locations to observe the enemy.
How was the Wall constructed?
The Great Wall was initially developed from a city wall. Constructors mainly used wooden handrails, stone walls, and muddy walls. The locals dug ditches, piled earth, planted plants, and cut across hills to form a defense line. As the construction techniques evolved, the Great Wall’s construction method became mature, and the defense structure was strong. In addition to the walls, essential parts such as fortresses, watchtowers passes were also added.
Workers obtained the materials locally to reduce the workload. Along with stones, bricks, mud, sand, workers used sticky rice as an adhesive material. Despite this, there was always some material that needed to be displaced to other places. Material such as bricks and stones were carried on shoulders by the workers. They also queued in the mountains and passed along the material to improve transport efficiency.
In winters, they splashed water forming an icy road and pushed material along it. It is said that during the construction of the Badaling section of the Wall, goats, and donkeys were used to deliver stones and bricks. Workers also learned to use simple machines such as wheelbarrows, crowbars, rolling logs, and ropes across valleys to transport construction material.
Thirteen thousand one hundred seventy-one miles was a massive length for one man to oversee. Due to this reason, it was divided into different sections and was managed by various generals. The Qin Dynasty set up 12 counties along the boundary line to build Wall in different areas. The successive dynasties followed the same method to finish the entire project.
Who built the Wall?
The labor force mainly included soldiers, criminals, and ordinary people. It is believed that Emperor Qin Shi Huang ordered 300,000 soldiers to construct and protect the Wall. They worked for over nine years. To take care of these soldiers, he even arranged for widows to marry them. Besides soldiers, he even forced common men to complete the construction project.
During the Sui Dynasty (581 – 618 CE), the widows were also forced to work because all the men were used up. Criminals were forced to work as punishment. Their head was shaved off, and iron rings were placed on their head. They guarded the Wall in the day and worked towards building and extending the Wall at night.
There are no accurate answers available, but experts estimate that more than 5 million people worked over the timespan of 2500 years. That is roughly around 20% Chinese population during each dynasty. People were made to toil on the construction site where they eventually met their demise. Due to poor productivity in ancient times, construction sites were disasters for common men.
Estimates say, at least one million people died in the process. Some due to starvation, some due to extreme fatigue, whereas some were flogged to death. Given the importance of the construction of Wall at that time and time availability, it is but natural that the controllers might not have allowed taking dead bodies away for burial. The dead were buried in the Great Wall itself. However, no compelling evidence has been procured in this matter, and this remains a theory.
Legendary Stories of The Great Wall
Over the centuries, many stories about the Great Wall have originated and narrated in and outside China. Here are a few most popular ones.
The Great Wall, with its incredible architecture, proved to be an exceptional communication passage. Beacon towers were installed at every few kilometers that allowed soldiers to communicate. They burned wolf dung to create smoke as a signaling system, and various herbs to give different colors to this smoke. The signal smokes were lit when invaders were seen.
Tears of Meng Jian Nu- This story is from during the reign of the Qin Dynasty. Men Jian Nu and Fan Xiliang fell in love and soon got married. Fan Xiliang was soon captured and sent as a forced laborer at the Great Wall construction site. Men Jian Nu waited for her husband day after day, sew warm sweaters for him to take back to the site.
She went searching for him at the site and soon came to know that he had died and was buried beneath the Wall. After that, she was devastated and wept for days and nights. Saddened by her tears, the Great Wall collapsed, and she found her husband. In honor of this incident, a temple 5 km N.E. of Shanhai Pass has been constructed in her memory.
The legend of the happy meeting of Xifengkou- During the Qin Dynasty’s times, a young man was deployed to the construction site. His father was worried about him and went to meet him on site. They were so happy when they met and laughed until they died. Their bodies were buried near a pass that was later named as Xifengkou pass.
Modern Day Preservation and Reconstruction Measures
The restoration work of the Great Wall was taken up consciously in the 1980s. Chinese Government made it a priority to make the Wall a tourist attraction and a source of revenue. In 1987, it was considered as UNESCO World Heritage Site. However, even after that, the Wall continues to crumble slowly. According to historians and preservationists, there are only 600 miles of stable Wall left as of today.
Image Credits:
Featured Image: The Great Wall of China @ gmshtwjl
Emperor Qin Shi Huang @ Trisorn Triboon
Pune, India
Trekker, Photographer, Traveller
M.Sc, Geology
