Grafitti on the wall, new and old
In ancient times China was divided into many kingdoms which had waged war one another for centuries. During this period the kings built large walls to protect their domains. But in 221 B.C more than 2200 years ago, the ruthless king of Qin, had defeat all the other kings and became the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi.
Huangdi's wall
The emperor ordered the old walls to be toren down. But the walls facing north were to be built into a unified system of fortifications. China still needed to be protected from the xiognu, the troublesome horsemen of the north.
The emperor ordered soldiers, masons and a myriad of war prisoners, to work on his wall.
The conditions the prisoners worked under were terrible. Hundred of thousands died from disease, starvation, beatings, freezing temperatures and exhaustion.
The dead were either dumped into mass graves , or built into the wall.
The wall they built was very different from the Great Chinese Wall as we know it today. In many places it looked more like a mound put together of whatever material the builder could find locally. in the plains they used rammed soil, in the mountains they used stones.
Still, the walls ( yes there were many of them) were by any standard impressive. Ancient Chinese scribes wrote it was 10 000 li long. That should be something like 5000 km/ 3000miles long. However, 10 000 li may just as well be a way of saying it was very long, so no-one really know how long it was.
After the first emperor
After emperor Quing Shi Huangdi, died a new dynasty, the Han seized power in China. And after them followed other dynasties who like the han took care of maintaining the wall. However, When the mighty Tang dynasty was founded in … they soon expanded beyond the walls, and they were no longer needed to defend China. Hence, it was under one of the most powerful dynasties the wall was neglected.
After the Tang followed the Song, who were forced further south of the wall by a people known as the Jurchen, and Tanguts. Thus, the Song could not maintain the wall either and it suffered further neglect.
The Mongols
In the beginning of the 1200 the Mongols poured into China. After many years of fighting they became the masters and founded the Yunan dynasty. The Mongols ruled over a vast empire stretching far to the north and west of the wall. That meant they did not really need it either. Still they stationed solider along the wall to protect the trade routes going west. known as the Silk Road.
The Ming Wall
The Mongol rule in China did not last. In they were ousted by one of the most famous dynasties of the entire history of China. The Ming. The Ming forces soon entered mongol territory and burnt down their capital. It was not before a disastrous expedition into Mongol territory in 1444. When a chines e emperor was captured by the Mongol Khan that the Chinese decided to revive their great wall.
This time the Chinese built an even more impressive set of walls using bricks and masoned stone. No more than 25 000 watch towers were built to warn about approaching raider. The new wall was 21 196 km ( 13 171mi ) long, the longest structure ever built by humans.
The Manchus
The Wall did the job and kept the mongols at bay. It was not before 1640 that a people known as the Manchu managed to penetrate the wall and attack the crumbling Ming Dynasty. The Manchus established the last Dynasty of Chinese emperors, the Qin.
Soon the Manchus invaded Mongolia, the Tarim and Tibet and ended the Mongol Threat for good. By now firepower was is use, and the Great Wall was obsolete. From now on it served as a monument over the achievements of Chinese Civilization. Nowadays it is a magnet to tourist from all over the world.
Nowadays hundreds of thousands tourists visit the Wall every year.
Did you know?
That the Great Wall of China is longer than the distance you would have to cover if you traveled from the North Pole to the South Pole.
What people believe about the wall which is not true
-It is one long wall.
No it is a set of walls that work together.
- it was impossible to penetrate.
At times it worked, but many nomads like the Mongols and the Jurchen and the Manchu managed to get through.
-it did not work at all.
It kept the Mongols out during the Ming area, The xioung nu In the first periods. The Manchu spent many years getting through the wall.
- It is the longest structure made by humans.
As we already know, The Great Wall of China it is not one structure since there are many walls. And even if we compare the walls to the Roman system of roads which was 80 000km ( 50 000mi ) long it falls short. Modern road systems are even longer.
-You can see the Great Wall from the Moon.
The wall is certainly long but it is too narrow to be seen from the moon. What is true though is that you can see the Moon from The great wall.
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