The Great Wall – an overview
Yip Tin Nok Joseph, Group 2: Non-Fiction, Lingnan University Alumni Association Primary School Hong Kong
he Great Wall of China was a fortification system. It took thousands of years to construct, rebuild,
extend and modify. Over 20 ducal states and dynasties participated in making this world’s longest
man-made architecture come true out of different motivations. Yet, countless lives were sacrificed. It is
an icon of modern China and worth studying this world heritage to discover lessons from it.
The Wall’s history reflected that it was built for military and economic reasons. China was not a
united country in ancient times. Different states lived separately with their own rules and systems.
Walls were built as boundary lines between them in the Chun Qiu period. Then, during the warring period, the
ducal states Yan, Zhao, Wei and Qin built their own walls to guard themselves from the invasion of the nomads,
Xiong Nu and Dong Hu, and to set borders for their lands, When Qin conquered the other ducal states and
unifies China, the threat from nomads still existed. Emperor Qin joined up all the different walls and made
further extensions and reinforcements. During the Han Dynasty, the Wall was used a pass to the Western places
for commercial purpose in addition to its fortification function. China was ruled by Xiong Nu after Han for
hundreds of year. Thus when Ming dynasty came to rule, it launched the most vigorous fortification project of
the wall. The Great Wall we see today is mainly the work of the Ming Dynasty.
Primarily, the Wall was built for national defense. The military design is wonderful and amazing. There
were inner and outer walls. Between the thick walls were wide horse tracks where soldiers could ride across.
Watch towers, buttresses and ramparts were built along the wall for watching enemy movement and guarding
purpose. Watch towers were placed at strategic locations within sight of one another at about 400-meter
intervals, about two bow-shot lengths. It was to guarantee that any enemy on the ground would be within firing
range of soldiers of either tower.
Buttresses served to protect soldiers from enemies’ firing arrows from below. In addition, Wall guards
could fire at enemies attempting to climb up the Wall. In times of peace, soldiers could take rest in buttresses.
Ramparts were embankments in the Wall that served as quarters for garrisoned troops and a store house
for their weapons and provisions. On top of the ramparts were towers where soldiers were stationed. Just like
watch towers, any two adjacent ramparts had to be in sight of each other for easy communication.
Beacon towers scattered along the walls on either side from 3 to 5 kilometers apart on average. Smoke or
bonfires were used in days or nights for alarming of imminent danger purpose. Combustion of straw mixed with
manure during the day released smoke, whilst burning sulfur and saltpeter with twigs during the night let out
flames. The Ming dynasty formed a signal code. Different numbers of smoke alarms and gun shots indicated
different numbers of approaching enemies. This made communication clearer.
The fortress and gates were so wisely built that just a few were enough to guard against invaders.
Jiayuguan was the most sophisticated and wisely designed fortress and it deterred many invaders away. There
was a Chinese saying, “One on the guan can resist 10 thousand enemies.” This indicates the strength of the
fortress.
The building methods of the Wall were fantastic. All natural resources were used. It follows natural
terrains such as mountains, valleys, plains and plateaus making use of natural defenses such as steep ridges and
rivers. Nearby resources and building materials such as mud, bricks and even straw were used in different
sections of the Wall.
Without machinery aids, a great deal of man-power was needed for the building of the Wall. Emperor Qin
forced many civilians to be labourers against their wills. Taxation was heavy to gather more money. There were
many legends revealing the sad stories of the people. One of the most popular stories is that of Meng Jiang Nu.
Meng Jiang Nu and her husband, Fan Qi Liang, had just married when Fan was forced to join the
labourers building the Wall. After waiting for a period of time, Meng did not hear any news from Fan. When
winter came, Meng made some winter clothes for her husband. She decided to go find her husband. After taking
a long and difficult journey, Meng reached the construction site. However, she was told that her husband had
died of exhaustion and was buried under the Great Wall. She was shocked and heartbroken. The miserable
Meng cried all day. Legend says that the woman cried so much that even the gods were moved. As she was
crying, a section of the wall collapsed revealing the dead body of her husband. At last, Meng jumped into the
Bohai Sea to end her life.
The Wall was also used to guard trade routes running between China and foreign countries, the western
side of China in the Ming Dynasty. It runs parallel with the famous trade passage “the Silk Road”. Besides
economic benefits, China also gained cultural benefits from this route.
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