THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

The Great Wall is not a monolithic structure. It was built in several stages and includes fragmented sections constructed at different times. It is believed that the first walls, designed to stop the attacks of northern nomads, the Huns, appeared on the site of the Great Wall in the early third century BCE during the Three Kingdoms period.

At that time, building fortifications was a common practice as kingdoms used them to protect themselves from foreign invaders and neighboring rivals. However, after China was unified by the Qin Dynasty, all the defensive fortifications in the country were demolished to prevent any potential rebellions or uprisings against the central authority. Only the walls in the north remained, and these became the start of the Great Wall of China.

The era of warring kingdoms came to an end with Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who unified the lands of China under his rule at the end of the third century BCE. After removing all other walls between the previously warring kingdoms, he ordered the walls on the northern border to be extended and connected, launching an ambitious construction project. It took him more than ten years and enormous human resources to build the Great Wall of China; in fact, archeologists estimate that he employed between several hundred thousand and one million people for this project.

Qin Shi Huang was known for his love of big construction projects, and the Great Wall of China was not his only monumental undertaking. With absolute power over his subjects, he used them to make history. During his reign, a three-lane road across the country, the huge Epang Palace (named after his favorite concubine) and the 36-kilometer Lingqu Canal were built. His lavish tomb, which took thirty-eight years to build, included 8,100 full-length terracotta statues of warriors and their horses. All of these (sometimes totally unnecessary) constructions were accompanied by countless human casualties, which only confirmed the emperor’s unlimited power as he dreamed of ruling the empire forever.

After the fall of the Qin dynasty at the end of the third century BCE, work on the wall continued in several stages. The next major phase of construction was started by the Jin dynasty in the twelfth century, when more than 10,000 kilometers of the Great Wall were built. At the end of the fourteenth century, the Ming Dynasty came to power and continued construction, adding another 5,000 kilometers. The builders of this dynasty were famous for mastering new building materials, which is why the best preserved parts of the wall date from this period. It is believed that the construction of the wall ended in 1644, with the end of the Ming dynasty.

However, by this time, the Chinese had gradually moved away from seeing the Great Wall as a pure siege defense because it had proved to be a rather poor fortification. As a result, it was systematically destroyed and gradually fell into disrepair. This continued until 1984, when the Chinese government launched a massive program to restore the wall, involving numerous international investors. Today, limited sections of the wall are open to tourists.

It is estimated that about half a million people lost their lives over the centuries it took to build the Great Wall. A lack of infrastructure to support the massive workforce, to feed the huge number of workers, grueling working conditions, and outbreaks of disease all played a role. Some legends claim that the bodies of these workers were buried in the Great Wall itself, but this speculation has not been scientifically confirmed—archeologists have yet to find human remains in the wall.

The construction of the Great Wall was also complicated by China’s complex and rugged terrain, literally merging with it. The wall was built in gorges and on hills, and it is laid along the mountain range, wrapping around all its convexities. The builders (including slaves, peasants, conscripted soldiers, and criminals sent there as punishment) had to work in incredibly difficult conditions and carry the building materials on their own shoulders.

It is often said that the Great Wall of China is so huge that it is the only man-made structure that can be seen from space (by the way, this myth was born long before orbital flights were a reality), but this is not true. Astronauts say that the wall cannot be seen from orbit because it is too thin: its width varies between 5 and 8 meters only. Moreover, the Great Wall blends in too well with the terrain because of the color of the materials used to build it.

The length of the wall is about 10,000 kilometers, but if we include all its branches and crossings, modern scientists estimate its length to be almost 21,000 kilometers. This incredible distance is greater than the direct line between the two poles of the Earth. The Great Wall begins on the Liaodong Peninsula on the coast of the Yellow Sea and ends in Gansu Province in northwestern China.

The Great Wall is one of the best examples of how building materials and techniques evolved over time. It was initially built in a very primitive manner, because of which many of its oldest sections are very poorly preserved. Before Qin Shi Huang came to power, the Wall was built using earth, stone, and wood, earning it the popular name ‘the Earth Dragon’. However, as technology developed, construction methods improved, reaching their peak during the Ming dynasty. At that time, durable bricks became the primary building material, making construction faster and more efficient since bricks were much lighter and easier to use than stone and other bulky materials.

Doubts about whether the Great Wall was effective protection against the empire's enemies arose even during the reign of Qin Shi Huang. The emperor’s critics questioned whether the disproportionately large human sacrifices involved in its construction was worth it. In retrospect, we can say that the wall was indeed a failure as a defensive structure. It was too large to protect all of its sections at once, and enemies could easily discover poorly defended areas or bribe traitors among the guards and military.

The most infamous betrayal in the history of the Great Wall occurred in 1644. The Chinese general Wu Sangui opened the Shanhaiguan (Shanhai Pass) to the Manchus, which eventually led to the fall of the Ming Empire and the rise of the Manchu Qing dynasty in Beijing, which ruled until 1912.

The wall also failed to protect China from Chinggis Khan. In August 1211, the khan captured an important strategic point through which it was possible to breach the Great Wall, and it was from here that an impressive Mongol army entered China. As a result, the northern regions of the Jin dynasty were conquered by the Mongols.

At the same time, it is believed that the Great Wall was sometimes very useful as a signaling system. It not only helped to warn of approaching enemies but also to control emigration and trade. During the Ming dynasty, watchtowers and guard towers were built on the wall at a distance of about 200 meters, which was the length of the flight of an arrow’s flight. Another theory is that the Wall was not built primarily as a defensive structure, but as a protected trade route connecting the whole country. However, this theory is still only a marginal one.

n 1987, the Great Wall of China was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The nomination stated that one of the purposes of the Great Wall was to protect and preserve Chinese culture from foreign customs. Thus, for the Chinese themselves, the Wall took on a more symbolic meaning as a barrier between Chinese civilization and the rest of the world, allowing China to develop in peace.

Indeed, attitudes toward the Great Wall have changed over time. Despite its failures as a defensive structure, it has played an important role in the construction of the Chinese cultural identity. While the Wall surprised Chinese intellectuals with its uselessness during the Ming dynasty, and for the Manchu Qing dynasty, the Europeans’ interest in this strange and almost forgotten monument was astonishing, today the wall is more of a visual embodiment of the creative energy of the Chinese people and a symbol of China’s unification—as well as one of the country’s most commercially successful tourist attractions.