The Great Stone Wall
Elizabeth Sin
he Great Wall of China is made of stone, brick, tamped earth, and many other materials. It is built
along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of
Yu Ho, Group 2: Fiction, Singapore International School Primary
China
to protect the country against
intrusions by various nomadic groups or military incursions by various warlike peoples or forces.
Several walls were being built as early as the 7th century BC then later joined together and made
bigger, stronger, and unified are now collectively referred as the Great Wall.
Communication between the army units along the length of the Great Wall, including the ability to call
reinforcements and warn
garrisons
of enemy movements, was of high importance. Signal towers were built upon
hill tops or other high points along the wall for their visibility.
T
An especially famous wall built between 220–206 BC by the first
Emperor of China,
Qin Shi Huang
. Little
of that wall remains. Since then, the Great Wall has on and off been rebuilt, maintained, and enhanced; the
majority of the existing wall was reconstructed during the
Ming Dynasty
.
The defensive characteristics of the Great Wall were enhanced by the construction of watch towers, troop
barracks, garrison stations, signaling capabilities through the means of smoke or fire, and the fact that the path
of the Great Wall also served as a transportation corridor. It stretches from
Shanhaiguan
in the east, and ends at
Lop Lake
in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of
Inner Mongolia.
A
comprehensive archaeological survey, using advanced technologies, has concluded that the Ming walls measure
8,850
km. This is made up of 6,259 km sections of actual wall, 359 km of trenches and 2,232 km of natural
defensive barriers such as hills and rivers.
The Great Wall concept was revived again during the
Ming Dynasty
in the 14th century, and following the
Ming army's defeat by the
Oirats
in the
Battle of Tumu.
The Ming had failed to gain a clear upper hand over the
Manchurian
and
Mongolian
tribes after successive battles, and the long-drawn conflict was taking a toll on the
empire. The Ming adopted a new strategy to keep the
nomadic
tribes out by constructing walls along the
northern border of China. Acknowledging the Mongol control established in the
Ordos Desert,
the wall followed
the desert's southern edge instead of incorporating the bend of the
Huang He
.
Unlike the earlier Qin fortifications, the Ming construction was stronger and more elaborate due to the use
of bricks and stone instead of rammed earth. Up to 25,000 watchtowers are estimated to have been constructed
on the wall. As
Mongol raids
continued periodically over the years, the Ming devoted considerable resources to
repair and reinforce the walls. Sections near the Ming capital of Beijing were especially strong.
Qi Jiguang
between 1567 and 1570 also repaired and reinforced the wall, faced sections of the ram-earth wall with bricks
and constructed 1,200 watchtowers from Shanhaiguan Pass to Changping to warn of approaching Mongol
raiders.
While some portions north of Beijing and near tourist centers have been preserved and even extensively
renovated, in many locations the Wall is in disrepair. Those parts might serve as a village playground or a
source of stones to rebuild houses and roads. Sections of the Wall are also prone to
graffiti
and
vandalism.
Parts
have been destroyed because the Wall is in the way of construction.
***