Great Wall of China

Great Wall of China, Chinese (Pinyin) Wanli Changcheng or (Wade-Giles romanization) Wan-li Ch’ang-ch’eng (“10,000-Li Long Wall”), Defensive wall, northern China.

One of the largest building-construction projects ever carried out, it runs (with all its branches) about 4,500 mi (7,300 km) east to west from the Bo Hai (Gulf of Chihli) to a point deep in Central Asia. Large parts of the fortification date from the 7th to the 4th century bce. In the 3rd century bce the emperor Shihuangdi connected existing defensive walls into a single system fortified by watchtowers. These served both to guard the rampart and to communicate with the capital, Xianyang (near modern Xi’an) by signal smoke by day and fire by night. Originally constructed partly of masonry and earth, it was faced with brick in its eastern portion. It was rebuilt in later times, especially in the 15th and 16th centuries. The basic wall is about 23–26 ft (7–8 m) high; at intervals towers rise above it to varying heights. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.

Great Wall of China, Chinese (Pinyin) Wanli Changcheng or (Wade-Giles romanization) Wan-li Ch’ang-ch’eng (“10,000-Li Long Wall”), extensive bulwark erected in ancient China, one of the largest building-construction projects ever undertaken. The Great Wall actually consists of numerous walls many of them parallel to each other built over some two millennia across northern China and southern Mongolia. The most extensive and best-preserved version of the wall dates from the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and runs for some 5,500 miles (8,850 km) east to west from Mount Hu near Dandong, southeastern Liaoning province, to Jiayu Pass west of Jiuquan, northwestern Gansu province. This wall often traces the crestlines of hills and mountains as it snakes across the Chinese countryside, and about one-fourth of its length consists solely of natural barriers such as rivers and mountain ridges. Nearly all of the rest (about 70 percent of the total length) is actual constructed wall, with the small remaining stretches constituting ditches or moats. Although lengthy sections of the wall are now in ruins or have disappeared completely, it is still one of the more remarkable structures on Earth. The Great Wall was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.

Large parts of the fortification system date from the 7th through the 4th century bce. In the 3rd century bce Shihuangdi (Qin Shihuang), the first emperor of a united China (under the Qin dynasty), connected a number of existing defensive walls into a single system. Traditionally, the eastern terminus of the wall was considered to be Shanhai Pass in eastern Hebei province along the coast of the Bo Hai (Gulf of Chihli), and the wall’s length without its branches and other secondary sections was thought to extend for some 4,160 miles (6,700 km). However, government-sponsored investigations that began in the 1990s revealed sections of wall in Liaoning, and aerial and satellite surveillance eventually proved that this wall stretched continuously through much of the province. The greater total length of the Ming wall was announced in 2009.

History of construction

The Great Wall developed from the disparate border fortifications and castles of individual Chinese kingdoms. For several centuries these kingdoms probably were as concerned with protection from their near neighbours as they were with the threat of barbarian invasions or raids.

Early building

About the 7th century bce the state of Chu started to construct a permanent defensive system. Known as the “Square Wall,” this fortification was situated in the northern part of the kingdom’s capital province. From the 6th to the 4th century other states followed Chu’s example. In the southern part of the Qi state an extensive perimeter wall was gradually created using existing river dikes, newly constructed bulwarks, and areas of impassable mountain terrain. The Qi wall was made mainly of earth and stone and terminated at the shores of the Yellow Sea. In the Zhongshan state a wall system was built to thwart invasion from the states of Zhao and Qin in the southwest. There were two defensive lines in the Wei state: the Hexi (“West of the [Yellow] River”) and Henan (“South of the River”) walls. The Hexi Wall was a fortification against the Qin state and western nomads. Built during the reign of King Hui (370–335 bce), it was expanded from the dikes on the Luo River on the western border. It started in the south near Xiangyuan Cave, east of Mount Hua, and ended at Guyang in what is now the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Henan Wall, built to protect Daliang (the capital, now Kaifeng), was repaired and extended in King Hui’s later years. The Zheng state also built a wall system, which was rebuilt by the Han state after it conquered Zheng. The state of Zhao completed a southern wall and a northern wall; the southern wall was built mainly as a defense against the Wei state.

After administrative reorganization was carried out by Shang Yang (died 338 bce), the Qin state grew politically and militarily to become the strongest among the seven states, but it was frequently raided by the Donghu and Loufan, two nomadic peoples from the north. Therefore, the Qin erected a wall that started from Lintiao, went north along the Liupan Mountains, and ended at the Huang He (Yellow River).

In the Yan state two separate defensive lines were prepared the Northern Wall and the Yishui Wall in an effort to defend the kingdom from attacks by northern groups such as the Donghu, Linhu, and Loufan, as well as by the Qi state in the south. The Yishui Wall was expanded from the dike of the Yi River as a defense line against Qi and Zhao, its two main rival states. It began southwest of Yi City, the capital, and ended south of Wen’an. In 290 bce the Yan state built the Northern Wall along the Yan Mountains, starting from the northeast in the area of Zhangjiakou in Hebei, passing over the Liao River, and extending to the ancient city of Xiangping (modern Liaoyang). This was the last segment of the Great Wall to be erected during the Zhanguo (Warring States) period.

In 221 bce Shihuangdi, the first Qin emperor, completed his annexation of Qi and thus unified China. He ordered removal of the fortifications set up between the previous states because they served only as obstacles to internal movements and administration. In addition, he sent Gen. Meng Tian to garrison the northern border against incursions of the nomadic Xiongnu and to link the existing wall segments in Qin, Yan, and Zhao into the so-called “10,000-Li Long Wall” (2 li equal approximately 0.6 mile [1 km]). This period of construction began about 214 bce and lasted a decade. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and conscripted workers laboured on the project. With the fall of the Qin dynasty after Shihuangdi’s death, however, the wall was left largely ungarrisoned and fell into disrepair.

The Han through Yuan dynasties

During the reign of the Han emperor Wudi (141–87 bce), the wall was strengthened as part of an overall campaign against the Xiongnu. From that period the Great Wall also contributed to the exploitation of farmland in northern and western China and to the growth of the trade route that came to be known as the Silk Road. In 121 bce a 20-year project of construction was started on the Hexi Wall (generally known as the Side Wall) between Yongdeng (now in Gansu) in the east and Lake Lop Nur (now in Xinjiang) in the west. According to Juyan Hanjian (“Juyan Correspondence of the Han”), the strongpoints set up along the wall included “a beacon every 5 li, a tower every 10 li, a fort every 30 li, and a castle every 100 li.”
The main work on the wall during the Dong (Eastern) Han period (25–220 ce) took place during the reign of Liu Xiu (Guangwudi), who in 38 ordered the repair of four parallel lines of the Great Wall in the area south of the Hexi Wall. The Great Wall served not only for defense but also to centralize control of trade and travel.

During the Bei (Northern) Wei dynasty (386–534/535 ce), the Great Wall was repaired and extended as a defense against attacks from the Juan-juan and Khitan tribes in the north. According to Wei shu: Mingyuandi Ji (“History of Wei: Chronicle of Emperor Mingyuan”), in 417, the eighth year of the reign of Mingyuandi (409–423), a part of the Great Wall was built south of Changchuan, from Chicheng (now in Hebei) to Wuyuan (now in Inner Mongolia) in the west, extending more than 620 miles (1,000 km). During the reign of Taiwudi (423–452), a lower and thinner wall of rammed earth was built around the capital as a complement to the Great Wall. Starting from Guangling in the east, it extended to the eastern side of the Huang He, forming a circle around Datong. In 549, after the Dong Wei kingdom moved its capital east to Ye, it also built a segment of the Great Wall in the area of contemporary Shanxi province.

In order to strengthen its northern frontier and prevent invasion from the west by the Bei Zhou, the Bei Qi kingdom (550–577) launched several big construction projects that were nearly as extensive in scope as the building projects of the Qin dynasty. In 552 a segment was built on the northwestern border, and only three years later the emperor ordered the recruitment of 1.8 million workers to repair and extend other sections. The construction took place between the south entrance of Juyong Pass (near modern Beijing) and Datong (in Shanxi). In 556 a new fortification was set up in the east and extended to the Yellow Sea. The following year a second wall was built inside the Great Wall within modern Shanxi, beginning in the vicinity of Laoying east of Pianguan, extending to the east beyond Yanmen Pass and Pingxing Pass, and ending in the area around Xiaguan in Shanxi. In 563 the emperor Wuchengdi of the Bei Qi had a segment repaired along the Taihang Mountains. That is the part of the Great Wall found today in the area around Longguan, Guangchang, and Fuping (in Shanxi and Hebei). In 565 the inner wall built in 557 was repaired, and a new wall was added that started in the vicinity of Xiaguan, extended to the Juyong Pass in the east, and then joined to the outer wall. The segments repaired and added during the Bei Qi period totaled some 900 miles (1,500 km), and towns and barracks were established at periodic intervals to garrison the new sections. In 579, in order to prevent invasions of the Bei Zhou kingdom by the Tujue (a group of eastern Turks) and the Khitan, the emperor Jing started a massive rebuilding program on areas of the wall located in the former Bei Qi kingdom, starting at Yanmen in the west and ending at Jieshi in the east.

During the Sui dynasty (581–618) the Great Wall was repaired and improved seven times in an effort to defend the country against attacks from the Tujue. After the Tang dynasty (618–907) replaced the Sui, the country grew much stronger militarily, defeating the Tujue in the north and expanding beyond the original frontier. Thus, the Great Wall gradually lost its significance as a fortification, and there was no need for repairs or additions. During the Song dynasty (960–1279), however, the Liao and Jin peoples in the north were a constant threat. The Song rulers were forced to withdraw to the south of the lines of the Great Wall built by the Qin, Han, and Northern dynasties. Many areas on both sides of the wall were subsequently taken over by the Liao (907–1125) and Jin dynasties (1115–1234). When the Song rulers had to retreat even farther to the south of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) repairs to the wall or extensions of it were no longer feasible. Limited repairs were carried out once (1056) during Liao times but only in the area between the Yazi and Huntong rivers.

In 1115, after the Jin dynasty was established, work was performed on two defensive lines at Mingchang. The old wall there previously called the Wushu Wall, or Jinyuan Fort—ran westward from a point north of Wulanhada, then wound through the Hailatu Mountains, turning to the north and then to the west again, finally ending at the Nuanshui River. The second of the lines was the new Mingchang Wall, also called the Inner Jin Wall or the Jin Trench, which was constructed south of the old wall. It started in the west from a bend in the Huang He and ended at the Sungari (Songhua) River.

During the Yuan (Mongol) dynasty (1206–1368), the Mongols controlled all of China, as well as other parts of Asia and sections of Europe. As a defensive structure the Great Wall was of little significance to them; however, some forts and key areas were repaired and garrisoned in order to control commerce and to limit the threat of rebellions from the Chinese (Han) and other nationalities.

The Ming dynasty to the present

Rulers during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) ceaselessly maintained and strengthened the Great Wall to prevent another Mongolian invasion. The majority of the work took place along the old walls built by the Bei Qi and Bei Wei.

Most of the Great Wall that stands today is the result of work done during the reign of the Hongzhi emperor (1487–1505). Starting west of Juyong Pass, this part of the wall was split into south and north lines, respectively named the Inner and Outer walls. Along the wall were many strategic “passes” (i.e., fortresses) and gates. Among them were Juyong, Daoma, and Zijing passes, the three closest to the Ming capital Beijing. Together they were referred to as the Three Inner Passes. Farther west were Yanmen, Ningwu, and Piantou passes, known as the Three Outer Passes. Both the Inner and Outer passes were of key importance in protecting the capital and were usually heavily garrisoned.

After the Qing (Manchu) dynasty (1644–1911/12) replaced the Ming, there was a change in ruling strategy called huairou (“mollification”), wherein the Qing tried to pacify the leaders and peoples of Mongolia, Tibet, and other nationalities by not interfering with local social, cultural, or religious life. Because of the success of that strategy, the Great Wall was repaired less frequently, and it gradually fell into ruin.

Design of the fortifications

The Great Wall had three major components: passes, signal towers (beacons), and walls.

Passes

Passes were major strongholds along the wall, usually located at such key positions as intersections with trade routes. The ramparts of many passes were faced with huge bricks and stones, with dirt and crushed stones as filler. The bastions measured some 30 feet (10 metres) high and 13 to 16 feet (4 to 5 metres) wide at the top. Within each pass were access ramps for horses and ladders for soldiers. The outside parapet was crenellated, and the inside parapet, or yuqiang (nüqiang), was a low wall about 3 feet (1 metre) high that prevented people and horses from falling off the top. In addition to serving as an access point for merchants and other civilians, the gate within the pass was used as an exit for the garrison to counterattack raiders or to send out patrols. Under the gate arch there was typically a huge double door of wood. Bolts and locker rings were set in the inner panel of each door. On top of each gate was a gate tower that served as a watchtower and command post. Usually it stood one to three stories (levels) high and was constructed either of wood or of bricks and wood. Built outside the gate, where an enemy was most likely to attack, was a wengcheng, a semicircular or polygonal parapet that shielded the gate from direct assault. Extending beyond the most strategic wengchengs was an additional line of protection, the luocheng, which was often topped by a tower used to watch those beyond the wall and to direct troop movements in battles waged there. Around the gate entrance there was often a moat that was formed in the process of digging earth to build the fortifications.

Signal towers

Signal towers were also called beacons, beacon terraces, smoke mounds, mounds, or kiosks. They were used to send military communications: beacon (fires or lanterns) during the night or smoke signals in the daytime; other methods such as raising banners, beating clappers, or firing guns were also used. Signal towers, often built on hilltops for maximum visibility, were self-contained high platforms or towers. The lower levels contained rooms for soldiers, as well as stables, sheepfolds, and storage areas.

Walls

The wall itself was the key part of the defensive system. It usually stood 21.3 feet (6.5 metres) wide at the base and 19 feet (5.8 metres) at the top, with an average height of 23 to 26 feet (7 to 8 metres), or a bit lower on steep hills. The structure of the wall varied from place to place, depending on the availability of building materials. Walls were made of tamped earth sandwiched between wooden boards, adobe bricks, a brick and stone mixture, rocks, or pilings and planks. Some sections made use of existing river dikes; others used rugged mountain terrain such as cliffs and gorges to take the place of man-made structures.

In the western deserts the walls were often simple structures of rammed earth and adobe; many eastern ramparts, such as those near Badaling, were faced with stone and included a number of secondary structures and devices. On the inner side of such walls, placed at small intervals, were arched doors called juan, which were made of bricks or stones. Inside each juan were stone or brick steps leading to the top of the battlement. On the top, on the side facing outward, stood 7-foot- (2-metre-) high crenels called duokou. On the upper part of the duokou were large openings used to watch and shoot at attackers, and on the lower part were small openings, or loopholes, through which defenders could also shoot. At intervals of about 650 to 1,000 feet (200 to 300 metres) there was a crenellated platform rising slightly above the top of the wall and protruding from the side that faced attackers. During battle the platform provided a commanding view and made it possible to shoot attackers from the side as they attempted to scale the wall with ladders. On several platforms were simply structured huts called pufang, which provided shelter for the guards during storms. Some platforms, as with signal towers, had two or three stories and could be used to store weapons and ammunition. Those at Badaling commonly had two stories, with accommodations for more than 10 soldiers on the lower level. There were also drainage ditches on the walls to shield them from damage by excessive rainwater.

Military administration

Each major stronghold along the wall was hierarchically linked to a network of military and administrative commands. During the rule of Shihuangdi, 12 prefectures were established along the wall, and in the Ming period the whole fortification was divided into 9 defense areas, or zones. A post chief (zongbingguan) was assigned to each zone. Together they were known as the Nine Border Garrisons.

Tradition and conservation

The Great Wall has long been incorporated into Chinese mythology and popular symbolism, and in the 20th century it came to be regarded as a national symbol. Above the East Gate (Dongmen) at Shanhai Pass is an inscription attributed to the medieval historian Xiao Xian, which is translated as “First Pass Under Heaven,” referring to the traditional division between Chinese civilization and the barbarian lands to the north.
Despite the wall’s cultural significance, roadways have been cut through it at several points, and vast sections have suffered centuries of neglect. In the 1970s a segment near Simatai (68 miles [110 km] northeast of Beijing) was dismantled for building materials, but it was subsequently rebuilt. Other areas have also been restored, including just northwest of Jiayu Pass at the western limit of the wall; at Huangya Pass, some 105 miles (170 km) north of Tianjin; and at Mutianyu, about 55 miles (90 km) northeast of Beijing. The best-known section, at Badaling (43 miles [70 km] northwest of Beijing), was rebuilt in the late 1950s; it now attracts thousands of national and foreign tourists every day. Portions of the wall around Shanhai Pass and at Mount Hu, the eastern terminus, also had been rebuilt by 2000.