The Great Wall
The Great Wall is one of the greatest architectural projects in China's history and the greatest national defense project in China's history. It begins at the Shanhai Pass by near the Bohai Sea in the east, passes Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Shaanxi Province and Ningxia Province, and reaches the Jiayu Pass in Gansu Province in the west, traversing the north of China and stretching more than 12,000 li (6,000 kilometers) along meandering mountains and vast deserts, hence the name "Ten Thousand Li Great Wall."
In the Chinese nation's history, the direct purpose of building the Great Wall was to prevent northern nomadic ethnic groups from going south. In the early Warring States Period (475BC-221BC), Huns, a mainly nomadic ethnic group, lived to the north of the Qin State, the Zhao State and the Yan State among the Seven Warring States. To prevent Hun slave owners and aristocrats from invading the south, they built the Great Wall on their northern borders. After the First Emperor of Qin (259-201BC) united China, to further prevent invasion of Huns and eastern barbarians, the sections of the Great Wall built by the Yan State, the Zhao State and the Qin State were connected into the embryonic form of the Great Wall.
At that time, there were no machines, so all work was completed manually. A total of 300,000 soldiers and nearly 2 million civilians, prisoners of war and criminals were dispatched. After the Qin Dynasty, the Great Wall was repaired and extended by later dynasties.
In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), to prevent invasion by Mongolians in the north and the Nüzhen people in the northeast, large-scale repair of the Great Wall began again.
About the book
Chinese Architecture Written by Cai Yanxin Published by China Intercontinental Press
The Great Wall is one of the greatest architectural projects in China's history and the greatest national defense project in China's history. It begins at the Shanhai Pass by near the Bohai Sea in the east, passes Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Shaanxi Province and Ningxia Province, and reaches the Jiayu Pass in Gansu Province in the west, traversing the north of China and stretching more than 12,000 li (6,000 kilometers) along meandering mountains and vast deserts, hence the name "Ten Thousand Li Great Wall."
In the Chinese nation's history, the direct purpose of building the Great Wall was to prevent northern nomadic ethnic groups from going south. In the early Warring States Period (475BC-221BC), Huns, a mainly nomadic ethnic group, lived to the north of the Qin State, the Zhao State and the Yan State among the Seven Warring States. To prevent Hun slave owners and aristocrats from invading the south, they built the Great Wall on their northern borders. After the First Emperor of Qin (259-201BC) united China, to further prevent invasion of Huns and eastern barbarians, the sections of the Great Wall built by the Yan State, the Zhao State and the Qin State were connected into the embryonic form of the Great Wall.
At that time, there were no machines, so all work was completed manually. A total of 300,000 soldiers and nearly 2 million civilians, prisoners of war and criminals were dispatched. After the Qin Dynasty, the Great Wall was repaired and extended by later dynasties.
In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), to prevent invasion by Mongolians in the north and the Nüzhen people in the northeast, large-scale repair of the Great Wall began again.
About the book
Chinese Architecture Written by Cai Yanxin Published by China Intercontinental Press
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