The Great Wall
of China
What is the Great Wall?
The Great Wall of China is the
world’s largest military structure.
It was built as a defense to stop
invaders from northern areas.
The Great Wall is actually a series
of walls built and rebuilt by
different dynasties over 1,000
years.
It has a total length of over 6,000 kilometers. The Chinese measured the wall
in “li”. A single li is equivalent to half a kilometer.
In Chinese the wall is called “Wan-Li Ch’ang-Ch’eng” which means 10,000-Li
Long Wall.
The Great Wall runs from Jiayu Pass of Gansu Province in the west to the
mouth of the Yalu river in Liaonling Province in the east.
Who Built The Great Wall?
Zhou Dynasty (1045 b.c. – 246 b.c.)
During the Zhou Dynasty, Xiongnu tribes frequently attacked northern
border states. In the 7th century B.C., the northern states built their own
walls for defense purposes.
Qin Dynasty (221 b.c. – 207 b.c.)
Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of China and is
considered the first Great Wall builder. He was a
relentless tyrant who’s dynasty eventually fell to
peasant uprising.
The oldest section of the Great Wall was begun in 221
b.c. The construction linked together the restored
ruins of older walls created in the Zhou Dynasty to
create a 5000 kilometer (10,000 li) section.
This is the origin of the 10,000-li wall name.
First Emperor Qin Shi
Huang
Who Built The Great Wall?
Qin Dynasty (221 b.c. – 207 b.c.) cont.
It is estimated that over 3 million people
(70% of China’s population at the time)
were involved in the construction of the
wall.
The Qin Great Wall is constructed out of
local materials. The builders used dry-laid
stone or used layers of compacted earth.
To build with compacted earth the workers
first built a 4 inch high frame, then filled it
with loose earth, and packed it. Thus, the
wall was built one 4-inch layer at a time.
A section of the Qin Wall built using the
tamped-earth process.
According to historical records, the Qin Great Wall was built in 10 years or
about 25 miles a month.
In modern dollars, the estimated cost to build the Qin Great Wall would be
$260 billion.
Who Built The Great Wall?
Han Dynasty (206 b.c. – 220 a.d.)
Han Wu-Di expanded the China empire
westward into the wilderness of Central
Asia. He is considered the second
Great Wall builder.
During the Han Dynasty the crumbling
Qin wall was rebuilt and extended over
480 kilometers through the Gobi desert.
Since local materials were always used
for the construction, the Han Great Wall
A section of the Han Wall built using water,
gravel, and willow reeds.
is created from a mixture of water and fine gravel, reinforced with willow reeds.
These layers were compacted upon each other in much the same manor as the
Qin Dynasty compacted earth.
The major contribution of the Han Dynasty to the Great Wall was the
watchtowers.
Who Built The Great Wall?
Han Dynasty (206 b.c. – 220 a.d.) cont.
The watchtowers were typically spaced 15 to 30
miles apart and were used to alert other sentries
to attacks and defend the wall.
In the event of an attack, the guards would set
fire to a mixture of wolf dung, sulfur, and
saltpeter. This would create a column of smoke
to alert the other watchtowers.
The number of columns of smoke related to the
attacking force. One column meant an outpost
was under attack by a force of fewer than 500
troops. Two columns would represent a force
fewer than 2500, etc.
The Chinese realized the smoke beacons carried
alerts faster than a rider on a horse.
A watchtower signaling an attack
Who Built The Great Wall?
Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644)
The Ming Dynasty is considered the
greatest of all Great Wall builders. The
walls built by the Ming Dynasty were
larger, longer, and more ornate than
the walls from previous dynasties.
The Ming Dynasty rebuilt crumbling
sections of the Han Great Wall and
lengthened it to 6,400 kilometers.
Kiln-fired bricks used during the Ming Dynasty
The major advancement in the Ming Great Wall was the use of kiln-fired brick
rather than cutting individual stones. The new wall sections were built with a
tamped earth interior and encased in this brick. If you took all of the bricks
from the Ming portion of the Wall alone, they could circle the Earth at the
equator in a wall five feet high and three feet thick.
Who Built The Great Wall?
Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) cont.
The Ming Wall crosses some of
the most forbidding terrain in all
of China. In some places, the
Wall rises at a 70 degree angle.
The Ming Dynasty also
purchased cannons from
Portuguese traders and mounted
them in strategic watchtower
locations.
Section of BaDaLing wall built during Ming Dynasty
The cannons were used in defense of the Wall and as an alert (in addition to the
smoke columns) to alert other sentries to an attack.
It took approximately 200 years to complete the Ming Wall.
In modern terms, construction of the Ming Great Wall would cost $360 billion.
At its peak, the Ming Great Wall contained thousands of individual forts and
towers. It was guarded by more than a million men.
Sections of the Great Wall
BaDaLing
The BaDaLing section of the Great Wall
was built at the beginning of the Ming
Dynasty. It was built to safeguard the
capital of Beijing and is considered an
important strategic point.
BaDaLing has battle forts at important
locations including the corners.
It is 7.8 meters in height and 5 meters
wide. The top of the wall is paved with
square bricks and is wide enough for
six horses or ten soldiers to march
side by side.
The BaDaLing wall is built from local
materials including green bricks from
the surrounding hills and rectangular
slabs of stone.
Section of BaDaLing wall near Beijing
Sections of the Great Wall
BaDaLing cont.
Near BaDaLing is the Pass of Conscripted
Laborers. The important gateway northwest
of Beijing is believed to be named after the
workers and slaves conscripted to build the
Great Wall.
It is built 10 kilometers south of the BaDaLing
section in an 18.5 long valley.
Pass of Conscripted
Laborers
Passage Inscriptions
The interior of the Pass contains
carvings of elephants, lions, birds,
flowers, and heavenly kings as well as
charms in six languages.
Sections of the Great Wall
Mutianyu Section
The Mutianyu Section of the Great Wall is
located 70 kilometers northeast of Beijing.
It links the Gubeikou section on the east and
the BaDaLing section on the west.
The Mutianyu Wall one of the best-preserved
parts of the Great Wall and is older than the
BaDaLing section.
It is heavily fortified to stop invaders and
some of the battle forts are as close as 50
meters apart.
The upper protective walls are notched on
both the inside and outside so that shots
could be fired at enemies on either side.
This feature is very rare on other parts of the
Great Wall.
Mutianyu Section
Sections of the Great Wall
JinShanLing Section
The JinShanLing section contains 67
watchtowers within an 11 kilometer
stretch. Each watchtower is unique
and an example of different
architecture.
This section of the Wall is 5 to 8
meters high. Its sides taper from 6
meters wide at the bottom to 5 meters
wide at the top.
The JinShanLing Wall is considered to
be the most spectacular section of the
Wall and representative of the Ming
Dynasty.
JinShanLing Section with Watchtowers
The battlements take advantage of mountain ridges to give guards the
advantage of high terrain. And is part of the GujbeiKou defense barrier.
Sections of the Great Wall
Simatai Section
The Simatai Section is located east
of JinShanLing and is also part of
the Gubeikou defense barrier.
It is 5.4 kilometers long and has 35
watchtowers.
This section of Great Wall is
uniquely designed by
incorporating the different
characteristics of other sections of
the Great Wall.
The Simatai Wall rises and falls
with the precipitous mountain
ridge and the watchtowers are
located high upon the hilltops.
Simatai Section of Great Wall
Sections of the Great Wall
Lost Sections of the Great Wall
Since the 1600’s, parts of the Wall in some areas
have been dismantled to provide building
materials.
Other areas have succumb to nature and are
buried by silt.
Using satellite data, scientist have rediscovered
more than 600 miles of buried Wall in the past
decade.
Scientist have discovered a deteriorated second
wall running parallel to the BaDaLing section.
Only a few meters separate the locations. “It was
partially buried and so degraded that you’d have
to know it was there to recognize it in the field.”,
says Diane Evans, project scientist at NASA’s Jet
Propulsion Laboratory.
Satellite Photo of the Great Wall
Note double lines in B&W radar
images – remainder of previous wall.
References:
Books:
Ann Paludan, Chronicle of the Chinese Emperors.
New York: Thames & Hudson Inc., 1998
Robert E. Murowchick, Cradles of Civilization – China.
Normand: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994
Magazine:
The Great Wall’s Ancestor, Discover (Aug. 1996)
Internet:
The Great Wall, www.chinavista.com/travel/greatwall/greatwall.html
(2001) Viewed: 11-05-2001
Billy Chan, The Great Wall of China, www.londonccnc.ca/chinese_school/greatwall/
(2001) Viewed: 11-05-2001
Secrets of the Great Wall, www.discovery.com/stories/history/greatwall/greatwall.html
(2001) Viewed: 11-05-2001
Famous Scene of the Great Wall, www.travelchinaguide.com/china_great_wall/scene/index.htm
(2001) Viewed: 11-05-2001