Great Wall of China
Great Wall of China | |
---|---|
萬里長城 / 万里长城 | |
General information | |
Type | Fortification |
Country | China |
Coordinates | 40°41′N 117°14′E / 40.68°N 117.23°E |
Asia-Pacific | |
Criteria | Cultural: i, ii, iii, iv, vi |
Reference | 438 |
Inscription | 1987 (11th Session) |
Area | 2,151.55 ha |
Buffer zone | 4,800.8 ha |
Technical details | |
Size | 21,196.18 km (13,170.70 mi)[1][2][3] |
Great Wall of China | |
---|---|
Tâi-lô | Bān-lí tn̂g-siânn |
The Great Wall of China (
Apart from defense, other purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls, allowing the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road, regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration.[6] Furthermore, the defensive characteristics of the Great Wall were enhanced by the construction of watchtowers, 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.
The frontier walls built by different dynasties have multiple courses. Collectively, they stretch from
Names
The collection of fortifications known as the Great Wall of China has historically had a number of different names in both Chinese and English.
In
The longer Chinese name "Ten-Thousand Mile Long Wall" (
Because of the wall's association with the First Emperor's
Sections of the wall in south Gobi Desert and Mongolian steppe are sometimes referred to as "Wall of Genghis Khan", even though Genghis Khan did not construct any walls or permanent defense lines himself.[21]
The current English name evolved from accounts of "the Chinese wall" from early modern European travelers.[20] By the nineteenth century,[20] "the Great Wall of China" had become standard in English and French, although other European languages such as German continue to refer to it as "the Chinese wall".[14]
History
Early walls
The Chinese were already familiar with the techniques of wall-building by the time of the Spring and Autumn period between the 8th and 5th centuries BC.[22] During this time and the subsequent Warring States period, the states of Qin, Wei, Zhao, Qi, Han, Yan, and Zhongshan[23][24] all constructed extensive fortifications to defend their own borders. Built to withstand the attack of small arms such as swords and spears, these walls were made mostly of stone or by stamping earth and gravel between board frames.
King Zheng of
Transporting the large quantity of materials required for construction was difficult, so builders always tried to use local resources. Stones from the mountains were used over mountain ranges, while
Ming era
The Great Wall concept was revived again under the
Unlike the earlier 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.
Towards the end of the Ming, the Great Wall helped defend the empire against the
Under Qing rule, China's borders extended beyond the walls and Mongolia was annexed into the empire, so constructions on the Great Wall were discontinued. On the other hand, the so-called Willow Palisade, following a line similar to that of the Ming Liaodong Wall, was constructed by the Qing rulers in Manchuria. Its purpose, however, was not defense but rather to prevent Han Chinese migration into Manchuria.[37]
Foreign accounts
None of the Europeans who visited China or Mongolia in the 13th and 14th centuries, such as Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, William of Rubruck, Marco Polo, Odoric of Pordenone and Giovanni de' Marignolli, mentioned the Great Wall.[39][40]
The North African traveler
Soon after Europeans reached Ming China by ship in the early 16th century, accounts of the Great Wall started to circulate in Europe, even though no European was to see it for another century. Possibly one of the earliest European descriptions of the wall and of its significance for the defense of the country against the "
When China opened its borders to foreign merchants and visitors after its defeat in the
Course
A formal definition of what constitutes a "Great Wall" has not been agreed upon, making the full course of the Great Wall difficult to describe in its entirety.[51] The defensive lines contain multiple stretches of ramparts, trenches and ditches, as well as individual fortresses.
In 2012, based on existing research and the results of a comprehensive mapping survey, the
Han Great Wall
Han fortifications starts from
"horses losing their way") near Yumen Pass.Ming Great Wall
The
The sections of the Great Wall around Beijing municipality are especially famous: they were frequently renovated and are regularly visited by tourists today. The Badaling Great Wall near Zhangjiakou is the most famous stretch of the wall, for this was the first section to be opened to the public in the People's Republic of China, as well as the showpiece stretch for foreign dignitaries.[53] The Badaling Great Wall saw nearly 10 million visitors in 2018, and in 2019, a daily limit of 65,000 visitors was instated.[54] South of Badaling is the Juyong Pass; when it was used by the Chinese to protect their land, this section of the wall had many guards to defend the capital Beijing. Made of stone and bricks from the hills, this portion of the Great Wall is 7.8 m (25 ft 7 in) high and 5 m (16 ft 5 in) wide.
One of the most striking sections of the Ming Great Wall is where it climbs extremely steep slopes in
At the edge of the Bohai Gulf is
, Jiǔménkǒu), which is the only portion of the wall that was built as a bridge.In 2009, 180 km of previously unknown sections of the Ming wall concealed by hills, trenches and rivers were discovered with the help of infrared range finders and
Characteristics
Before the use of bricks, the Great Wall was mainly built from rammed earth, stones, and wood. During the Ming, however, bricks were heavily used in many areas of the wall, as were materials such as tiles,
Condition
While portions north of Beijing and near tourist centers have been preserved and even extensively renovated, in many other locations the wall is in disrepair. The wall sometimes provided a source of stones to build houses and roads.[64] Sections of the wall are also prone to graffiti and vandalism, while inscribed bricks were pilfered and sold on the market for up to 50 renminbi.[65] Parts have been destroyed to make way for construction or mining.[66]
A 2012 report by the National Cultural Heritage Administration states that 22% of the Ming Great Wall has disappeared, while 1,961 km (1,219 mi) of wall have vanished.[65] In 2007 it was estimated that more than 60 km (37 mi) of the wall in Gansu province may disappear in the next 20 years, due to erosion from sandstorms. In some places, the height of the wall has been reduced from more than 5 m (16 ft 5 in) to less than 2 m (6 ft 7 in). Various square lookout towers that characterize the most famous images of the wall have disappeared. Many western sections of the wall are constructed from mud, rather than brick and stone, and thus are more susceptible to erosion.[67] In 2014 a portion of the wall near the border of Liaoning and Hebei province was repaired with concrete. The work has been much criticized.[68]
A section of the wall in Shanxi province was severely damaged in 2023 by construction workers, who widened an existing gap in the wall to make a shortcut for an excavator to pass through. Police described the act as causing "irreversible damage to the integrity of the Ming Great Wall and to the safety of the cultural relics".[69]
Visibility from space
Various factoids in popular culture claim that the Great Wall can be seen (with the naked eye) from space, with questionable degrees of veracity.
From the Moon
The Great Wall of China cannot be seen by the naked human eye from the Moon.[70] Even though the myth is thoroughly debunked,[71] it is still ingrained in popular culture.[72] The apparent width of the Great Wall from the Moon would be the same as that of a human hair viewed from 3 km (2 mi) away.[73]
One of the earliest known references to the myth that the Great Wall can be seen from the
From low Earth orbit
A more controversial question is whether the wall is visible from low Earth orbit (an altitude of as little as 160 km (100 mi)). NASA claims that it is barely visible, and only under nearly perfect conditions; it is no more conspicuous than many other human-made objects.[77]
Veteran US astronaut
In October 2003, Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei stated that he had not been able to see the Great Wall of China. In response, the European Space Agency (ESA) issued a press release reporting that from an orbit between 160 and 320 km (100 and 200 mi), the Great Wall is visible to the naked eye.[73] The image was actually a river in Beijing.[78]
Leroy Chiao, a Chinese-American astronaut, took a photograph from the International Space Station that shows the wall. It was so indistinct that the photographer was not certain he had actually captured it. Based on the photograph, the China Daily later reported that the Great Wall can be seen from 'space' with the naked eye, under favorable viewing conditions, if one knows exactly where to look.[79][73]
Gallery
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The Great Wall at Badaling
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The Great Wall at dawn
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The Juyongguan area of the Great Wall accepts numerous tourists each day.
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Remains of Beacon tower, nearYumenguan, 2011
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"The First Mound" – at Jiayu Pass, the western terminus of the Ming wall
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The Great Wall near Jiayu Pass, Qilian Mountains in behind
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Ming Great Wall remnant, near Yinchuan
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The Great Wall remnant at Yulin
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Gateway of Gubeikou Fortress
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Environmental protection sign, near Great Wall, 2011
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Ming Great Wall at Simatai, overlooking the gorge
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Mutianyu Great Wall. This is atop the wall on a section that has not been restored.
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The Old Dragon Head, the Great Wall where it meets the sea in the vicinity of Shanhai Pass
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Inside the watchtower
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Inside a watchtower
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Badaling Great Wall during winter
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The Great Wall during autumn/winter
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Tourists at The Great Wall
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Tourists at The Great Wall
See also
- Cheolli Jangseong
- Chinese city wall
- Defense of the Great Wall
- Gates of Alexander
- Grand Canal (China)
- Great Wall of China hoax
- Great Wall Marathon
- Great Wall of Gorgan
- Great Wall of India
- List of World Heritage Sites in China
- Miaojiang Great Wall
- Offa's Dyke
- Roman military frontiers and fortifications
- Zasechnaya cherta
Notes
- ^ "China's Great Wall Found To Measure More Than 20,000 Kilometers". Bloomberg. June 5, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
- ^ "China's Great Wall is 'longer than previously thought'". BBC News. June 6, 2012. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e 中国长城保护报告 [Protection Report of the Great Wall of China]. National Cultural Heritage Administration.
- ISBN 978-0-312-64302-7.
Beginning as separate sections of fortification around the 7th century B.C.E and unified during the Qin Dynasty in the 3rd century B.C.E, this wall, built of earth and rubble with a facing of brick or stone, runs from east to west across China for over 4,000 miles.
- ^ "Great Wall of China". Encyclopædia Britannica. October 21, 2023.
Large parts of the fortification system date from the 7th through the 4th century BC. In the 3rd century BC Shihuangdi (Qin Shi Huang), 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 (Shanhaiguan) on the coast of the Bohai (Gulf of Zhili), and the wall's length – without its branches and other secondary sections – was thought to extend for some 6,690 km (4,160 mi).
- ISSN 0003-598X.
- ^ "Great Wall of China even longer than previously thought". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. June 6, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
- ^ "Great Wall of China". History. April 20, 2009.
- ^ Waldron 1983, p. 650.
- ^ Baxter, William H. & al. (September 20, 2014). "Baxter–Sagart Old Chinese Reconstruction, Version 1.1" (PDF). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
- ^ See Lovell 2006, p. 25
- ^ Waldron 1990, p. 202. Tan Daoji's exact quote: "So you would destroy your Great Wall of Ten Thousand Li!" (乃復壞汝萬里之長城) Note the use of the particle 之 zhi that differentiates the quote from the modern name.
- ISBN 978-0-929398-77-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-7-5085-1032-3.
- ^ a b Waldron 1983, p. 651.
- ^ a b c Lovell 2006, p. 15.
- ^ Waldron 1990, p. 49.
- ^ Waldron 1990, p. 21.
- ^ Waldron 1988, p. 69.
- ^ a b c Hessler 2007, p. 59.
- ISBN 9780553817683.
- ^ 歷代王朝修長城 (in Chinese). Chiculture.net. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
- ^ 古代长城 – 战争与和平的纽带 (in Chinese). Newsmth.net. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
- ^ 万里长城 (in Chinese). Newsmth.net. Retrieved October 24, 2010.
- ^ Burbank, Jane; Cooper, Frederick (2010). Empires in World History: Power and the Politics of Difference. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 45.
- ^ Slavicek, Mitchell & Matray 2005, p. 35.
- ^ Coonan, Clifford (February 27, 2012). "British researcher discovers piece of Great Wall 'marooned outside China'". The Irish Times. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
- ^ a b Waldron 1983, p. 653.
- ^ Waldron 1983, p. 654; Haw 2006, pp. 52–54.
- ^ Karnow & Mooney 2008, p. 192.
- ^ Szabó, Dávid & Loczy 2010, p. 220.
- ^ Evans 2006, p. 177.
- ^ "Great Wall at Mutianyu". Great Wall of China. Archived from the original on March 9, 2013.
- ^ Edmonds 1985, pp. 38–40.
- ^ Lovell 2006, p. 254.
- ^ Elliott 2001, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Elliott, Mark C. "The Limits of Tartary: Manchuria in Imperial and National Geographies". Journal of Asian Studies 59, no. 3 (2000): 603–646.
- ^ "Part of the Great Wall of China". The Wesleyan Juvenile Offering: A Miscellany of Missionary Information for Young Persons. X: 41. April 1853. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
- ^ Ruysbroek, Willem van (1900) [1255]. The Journey of William of Rubruck to the Eastern Parts of the World, 1253–55, as Narrated by Himself, with Two Accounts of the Earlier Journey of John of Pian de Carpine. Translated from the Latin by William Woodville Rockhill. London: The Hakluyt Society.
- ^ Haw 2006, pp. 53–54.
- ^ Haw 2006, pp. 54–55.
- Qur'an, XVIII: "The Cave". English translations hosted at Wikisource include Maulana Muhammad Ali's, E.H. Palmer's, and the Progressive Muslims Organization's.
- ^ Haw 2006, pp. 53–55.
- ^ Barros, João de (1777) [1563]. Ásia de João de Barros: Dos feitos que os portugueses fizeram no descobrimento dos mares e terras do Oriente. Vol. V. Lisbon: Lisboa. 3a Década, pp. 186–204 (originally Vol. II, Ch. vii).
- ^ a b Waldron 1990, pp. 204–05.
- ^ Lach, Donald F (1965). Asia in the Making of Europe. Vol. I. The University of Chicago Press. p. 769.
- ^ Yule 1866, p. 579This section is the report of Góis's travel, as reported by Matteo Ricci in De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas (published 1615), annotated by Henry Yule).
- ^ Waldron 1990, pp. 2–4.
- ^ a b Waldron 1990, p. 206.
- ^ Waldron 1990, p. 209.
- ^ Hessler 2007, p. 60.
- ^ a b "Great Wall of China 'even longer'". BBC. April 20, 2009. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
- ^ Rojas 2010, p. 140.
- ^ Askhar, Aybek. "Limit placed on number of visitors to Great Wall". China Daily. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- ^ Lindesay 2008, p. 212.
- ^ "Jiaoshan Great Wall". TravelChinaGuide.com. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
Jiaoshan Great Wall is located about 3 km (2 mi) from Shanhaiguan ancient city. It is named after Jiaoshan Mountain, which is the highest peak to the north of Shanhai Pass and also the first mountain the Great Wall climbs up after Shanhai Pass. Therefore Jiaoshan Mountain is noted as "The first mountain of the Great Wall".
- ^ "Great Wall of China longer than believed as 180 missing miles found". The Guardian. Associated Press. April 20, 2009. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
- ^ "Newly-discovered remains redraw path of Great Wall". China Daily. April 15, 2015. Archived from the original on April 18, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
- ^ a b Turnbull 2007, p. 29.
- ^ "Sticky rice porridge and the Great Wall of China". World Archaeology. July 6, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
- ^ Boissoneault, Lorraine (February 16, 2017). "Sticky Rice Mortar, the View From Space, and More Fun Facts About China's Great Wall". Smithsonian. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
- ^ Nanos, Janelle (November 12, 2010). "Slide Down the Great Wall of China". National Geographic. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
[...] (in fact, there have been no bones, human or otherwise, found in the Wall, though a great number of workers did die while toiling to build it).
- ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the originalon February 20, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
No bones or indeed other indication of human remains have been found in the Wall.
- ^ Ford, Peter (November 30, 2006). New law to keep China's Wall looking great. Christian Science Monitor, Asia Pacific section. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
- ^ a b Wong, Edward (June 29, 2015). "China Fears Loss of Great Wall, Brick by Brick". The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
- ^ Bruce G. Doar: The Great Wall of China: Tangible, Intangible and Destructible. China Heritage Newsletter, China Heritage Project, Australian National University
- ^ "China's Wall becoming less and less Great". Reuters. August 29, 2007. Retrieved August 30, 2007.
- ^ Ben Westcott; Serenitie Wang (September 21, 2016). "China's Great Wall covered in cement". CNN.
- ^ "China's Great Wall damaged by workers looking for shortcut". September 5, 2023 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "NASA - China's Wall Less Great in View from Space". www.nasa.gov. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
- ^ Urban Legends.com website Archived March 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed May 12, 2010.
"Can you see the Great Wall of China from the moon or outer space? Archived May 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine", Answers.com. Accessed May 12, 2010.
Cecil Adams, "Is the Great wall of China the only manmade object byou can see from space?", The Straight Dope. Accessed May 12, 2010.
Snopes, "Great wall from space", last updated July 21, 2007. Accessed May 12, 2010.
"Is China's Great Wall Visible from Space?", Scientific American, February 21, 2008. "... the wall is only visible from low orbit under a specific set of weather and lighting conditions. And many other structures that are less spectacular from an earthly vantage point—desert roads, for example—appear more prominent from an orbital perspective." - ^ "Metro Tescos", The Times (London), April 26, 2010. Found at The Times website. Accessed May 12, 2010.
- ^ a b c López-Gil 2008, pp. 3–4.
- ^ The Family Memoirs of the Rev. William Stukeley (1887) Vol. 3, p. 142. (1754).
- ^ Norman, Henry, The Peoples and Politics of the Far East, p. 215. (1895).
- ^ ""The Great Wall of China", Ripley's Believe It or Not!, 1932.
- ^ "NASA – Great Wall of China". Nasa.gov. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
- ^ "People's Daily Online -- ESA admits "Great Wal" on satellite photo a mistake". Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
- ^ Markus, Francis. (April 19, 2005). Great Wall visible in space photo. BBC News, Asia-Pacific section. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
References
- Edmonds, Richard Louis (1985). Northern Frontiers of Qing China and Tokugawa Japan: A Comparative Study of Frontier Policy. University of Chicago, Department of Geography; Research Paper No. 213. ISBN 978-0-89065-118-6.
- Elliott, Mark C. (2001). The Manchu Way: The Eight Banners and Ethnic Identity in Late Imperial China. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-4684-7.
- Evans, Thammy (2006). Great Wall of China: Beijing & Northern China. Bradt Travel Guide. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-84162-158-6.
- Haw, Stephen G. (2006). Marco Polo's China: a Venetian in the realm of Khubilai Khan. Volume 3 of Routledge studies in the early history of Asia. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-415-34850-8.
- Hessler, Peter (2007). "Letter from China: Walking the Wall". The New Yorker. No. May 21, 2007. pp. 58–67.
- Karnow, Catherine; Mooney, Paul (2008). National Geographic Traveler: Beijing. National Geographic Books. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-4262-0231-5.
- Lindesay, William (2008). The Great Wall Revisited: From the Jade Gate to Old Dragon's Head. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-03149-4.
- López-Gil, Norberto (2008). "Is it Really Possible to See the Great Wall of China from Space with a Naked Eye?" (PDF). Journal of Optometry. 1 (1): 3–4. PMC 3972694. Archived from the original(PDF) on September 10, 2008.
- ISBN 978-0-330-42241-3.
- Rojas, Carlos (2010). The Great Wall : a cultural history. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-04787-7.
- Slavicek, Louise Chipley; Mitchell, George J.; Matray, James I. (2005). The Great Wall of China. Infobase Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-7910-8019-1.
- Szabó, József; Dávid, Lóránt; Loczy, Denes, eds. (2010). Anthropogenic Geomorphology: A Guide to Man-made Landforms. ISBN 978-90-481-3057-3.
- ISBN 978-1-84603-004-8.
- JSTOR 2719110.
- The Yale Journal of Criticism. 2 (1): 67–104.
- ISBN 978-0-521-42707-4.
- Yule, Sir Henry, ed. (1866). Cathay and the way thither: being a collection of medieval notices of China. Issues 36–37 of Works issued by the Hakluyt Society. Printed for the Hakluyt society.
Further reading
- Arnold, H. J. P., "The Great Wall: Is It or Isn't It?" Astronomy Now, 1995.
- ISBN 978-0-691-13589-2.
- Luo, Zewen, et al. and Baker, David, ed. (1981). The Great Wall. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Book Company (UK). ISBN 0-07-070745-6
- Man, John. (2008). The Great Wall. London: Bantam Press. 335 pages. ISBN 978-0-593-05574-8.
- Michaud, Roland and Sabrina (photographers), & Michel Jan, The Great Wall of China. Abbeville Press, 2001. ISBN 0-7892-0736-2
- ISBN 978-0-520-05462-2.
- Yamashita, Michael; Lindesay, William (2007). The Great Wall – From Beginning to End. New York: Sterling. 160 pages. ISBN 978-1-4027-3160-0.
External links
- International Friends of the Great Wall Archived February 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine – organization focused on conservation
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre profile
- Enthusiast/scholar website (in Chinese)
- Great Wall of China on In Our Time at the BBC
- Photoset of lesser visited areas of the Great Wall
- Geographic data related to Great Wall of China at OpenStreetMap