Why did China build the Great Wall in ancient times?

The Great Wall, also known as the Great Wall of Wan Li, was an ancient military fortress in China. It is a tall, solid and continuous long wall, which is used to limit the enemy's actions. The Great Wall is not a simple isolated wall, but a defense system with the wall as the main body and a large number of cities, obstacles, pavilions and landmarks.

The history of the construction of the Great Wall can be traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the famous allusion "bonfire drama princes" took place in Haojiang, the capital city (now Xi 'an, Shaanxi). During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, countries competed for hegemony and defended each other, and the construction of the Great Wall entered its first climax, but the construction length at this time was relatively short. After Qin destroyed the six countries and unified the world, Qin Shihuang connected and repaired the Great Wall of the Warring States Period, which was called the Great Wall of Wan Li. The Ming Dynasty was the last dynasty to overhaul the Great Wall, and most of the Great Wall seen by people today was built at this time.

Great Wall resources are mainly distributed in Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Shandong, Henan, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang and other provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. Among them, the length of Hebei province is more than 2000 kilometers, and the length of Shaanxi province is 1838 kilometers. According to the results of the national Great Wall resources survey conducted by cultural relics and surveying and mapping departments, the total length of the Great Wall in Ming Dynasty was 885 1.8km, and it was more than 1 1,000 km in Qin and Han Dynasties and its early period, and the total length was more than 2 1 1,000 km. The existing cultural relics of the Great Wall include the Great Wall, trenches/trenches, single buildings, customs castles and related facilities, totaling more than 43,000 places (blocks/sections).

196 1 On March 4th, the Great Wall was announced by the State Council as the first batch of national key cultural relics protection units. 1987 65438+February, the Great Wall was listed as a world cultural heritage. On1October 26th, 2020, 165438+ National Cultural Heritage Administration released the first batch of national important sections of the Great Wall.

The history of the Great Wall:

The Great Wall is an ancient defense project with the longest construction time and the largest engineering quantity in China and even in the world. Since the Western Zhou Dynasty, it has been built continuously for more than 2,000 years, distributed in the vast land in northern and central China, with a total length of more than 20,000 kilometers. Since Qin Shihuang, almost all dynasties that ruled the Central Plains have built the Great Wall. More than ten dynasties, including Han, Jin, Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, Northern Zhou, Sui, Tang, Song, Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing, all built the Great Wall of different scales. Judging from the ruling nationalities who built the Great Wall, besides the Han nationality, many dynasties in which ethnic minorities ruled China also built the Great Wall, and there were more than those ruled by the Han nationality. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, although the construction of the Great Wall was stopped on a large scale, it was later built in some places. It can be said that from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Qing Dynasty, the construction of the Great Wall has never stopped for more than two thousand years. According to historical documents, more than 20 vassal states and feudal dynasties built the Great Wall. If you add up the Great Walls built in different eras, it is 10 more than Wan Li, and the length of the Great Wall built by Qin, Han, Jin and Ming is 1 0 more than Wan Li.

1, pre-Qin.

The history of building the Great Wall can be traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty. In order to resist the attack of nomadic people in the north, the Zhou Dynasty built a series of castles "Fierce Cities" for defense. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, in order to compete for hegemony and defend each other, countries built the Great Wall on their borders according to their respective defense needs. The earliest building was the "Chu Fangcheng" in the 7th century BC. Later, the vassal states of Qi, Han, Wei, Zhao, Yan, Qin and Zhongshan all built the "Great Wall of Mutual Defense" for self-defense. Among them, Qin, Zhao and Yan are adjacent to Xiongnu, a powerful nomadic people in the north. While they were building the Great Wall to prevent feudalism, they also built the Great Wall in the north to resist Hu. Since then, almost all monarchs have been reinforced and built. At this time, the Great Wall is characterized by different directions in the east, south, west and north, and its length is short, ranging from several hundred kilometers to 1000-2000 kilometers. In order to distinguish it from the Great Wall of Wan Li built by Qin Shihuang, historians call it the Great Wall of Pre-Qin Dynasty. According to the defense objects, the Great Wall in the pre-Qin period can be roughly divided into the North Great Wall and the South Great Wall.

2. Qin dynasty.

In the 26th year of Qin Shihuang (22 1 year), Qin annexed six countries, unified the world and established the first unified multi-ethnic centralized country in China history. In order to maintain and consolidate the unprecedented unity and security of the Great Empire, Qin Shihuang successively adopted a series of major strategic measures for national defense construction and frontier defense, one of which was the large-scale construction of the Great Wall of Wan Li. In the thirty-second year of Qin Shihuang (2 15), General Meng Tian led 300,000 troops to attack the Huns in the north and took the land of Henan. Later, the Great Wall was built, winding from Lintao (now Shanni County, Gansu Province) in the west to Liaodong (now Liaoning Province) in the east for more than 10,000 miles. Since Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall, it has been called the Great Wall of Wan Li.

3. Han dynasty.

At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the Huns took advantage of the war in China to cross the Great Wall built by Qin General Meng Tian, and confronted the Qin, Zhao and Yan Great Walls of the Han Empire during the Warring States Period. Due to the disrepair of the Great Wall, there are few defenders in the north, and the powerful Xiongnu constantly enter the Great Wall to plunder. However, even such a dilapidated Great Wall has played a role in military defense to a certain extent. Cheng Wu is a famous soldier stationed in the Great Wall, and he is strict in running the army. As long as he guards the Huns, he won't dare to attack. Later, Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, GongSunHe, Gong and others attacked the Huns, all of which were based on Qin and Zhao Changcheng.

4. Sui Dynasty.

In order to deal with the harassment and plunder from Mobei Turks, Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty regarded the construction of the Great Wall and the consolidation of border defense as an important national defense policy since the founding of the People's Republic of China. After Emperor Yang Di Yang Guang ascended the throne, he not only continued to resist the harassment of the northern Turks, but also made great efforts to deal with the Tuyuhun invasion from the northwest. Because of this, the Great Wall was built twice, and the amount of labor was unprecedented in the Sui Dynasty. During the 28 years from the first year of Huang Kai to the fourth year of Daye, the rulers of Sui Dynasty mobilized nearly 2 million laborers seven times to build the Great Wall and fortifications on the northern and northwestern borders. On the basis of the construction of the Great Wall in the Northern Wei and Zhou Dynasties, it goes to He Zi in the east, passes through the territory of Shuofang and Lingwu, and reaches the Great Wall and fortifications east of Yugu Valley in the west.

5. Tang Dynasty.

For a long time, people have come to the conclusion that there was no Great Wall in the Tang Dynasty. The Great Wall was built in the Tang Dynasty, but it was built for the purpose of unifying the war, which is different from the traditional "rejecting the Great Wall of Hu". In the early days of the Tang Dynasty, there were 14 separatist regimes, one of which was Liu Wuzhou, who was attached to the Turks and claimed to be the emperor. In the second year of Tang Gaozu Wude (6 19), Liu Wuzhou captured Jinyang (now Taiyuan), the birthplace of Li Yuan, captured most of Hedong and bullied Guanzhong. The Tang dynasty quickly took tough measures. On the one hand, Li Shimin, the king of Qin, was sent to resist Liu Wuzhou, on the other hand, defensive facilities were quickly built, and the Great Wall from Pingcheng to Lukou came out.

6. Song Dynasty.

In the Song Dynasty, the Great Wall started from Qingcheng Mountain in kelan county in the west and reached Heyeping Mountain in the east. The existing 38-kilometer-long Great Wall of Song Dynasty is all made of flaky stones. After preservation, the height is about 4.2m, and the top width is about1.6m. In some areas, there are female walls of about 30cm, and in some areas, there are fortress ruins. A large number of Song Dynasty porcelain pieces were scattered nearby, and the remains of batteries were also found in some areas. Cheng Dalin, an expert on the Great Wall in China, confirmed after visiting the Great Wall in Kelan that the Great Wall in Kelan was built in the Northern Qi, Sui and Song Dynasties. This is the first time that China discovered the Great Wall in Song Dynasty, which filled the blank in the study of the history of the Great Wall in China.

7. Ming dynasty.

The Great Wall of Ming Dynasty is a military defense project built in the northern part of Ming Dynasty, also known as the side wall, which is different from the Great Wall of Wan Li built by Qin Shihuang. In the Ming Dynasty, the "inner" Great Wall and the "inner three passes" Great Wall were built outside the "outer" Great Wall. On the basis of the Northern Qi Dynasty, the "interior wall" starts from Pianguan at the junction of Inner Mongolia and Shanxi in the west, enters Hebei at Yanmenguan and Xing Ping in the east, then goes to the northeast, passes through Laiyuan, Fangshan and Changping counties, reaches Juyongguan directly, and then reaches Huairou Siguan from north to east, and is connected with the "outer" Great Wall, with Zijingguan as the center, showing a general north-south trend. The "Neisanguan" Great Wall is parallel to the "Inner" Great Wall in many places. In some places, the two cities are only tens of miles apart. In addition, a large number of "heavy cities" have been built, and there are 24 "heavy cities" around Yanmenguan.

8. Qing dynasty.

Although there was an order from Kangxi not to repair the side wall in the Qing Dynasty, the form was greater than the meaning. In fact, the scale of the Great Wall in Qing Dynasty is quite large, and its geographical span is unprecedented. Its construction scope basically includes all provinces north of Huaihe River, especially north of Yellow River. The Great Wall in Qing Dynasty is different from the Great Wall in Ming Dynasty, and it is also different from the Great Walls in previous dynasties. Internally, it is a tool to suppress peasant uprisings and national uprisings, but not externally. The Great Wall in Qing Dynasty is rough, poorly preserved and single in function, so it is rarely mentioned and cannot be compared with the Great Wall in Ming Dynasty.

Introduction to the famous scenic spots of the Great Wall:

1, Badaling Great Wall.

Located in Yanqing, Beijing, Badaling Great Wall is the most representative section of Juyongguan outpost in Ming Dynasty, with an altitude of10/5 meters. It has always been a battleground for military strategists, an important military pass in the Ming Dynasty and an important barrier to the capital Beijing. Climb the Great Wall here and enjoy the magnificent mountain scenery. So far, more than 300 celebrities, including Obama, Nixon and Margaret Thatcher, have visited here. Badaling Scenic Area is famous for its magnificent landscape, perfect facilities and profound cultural and historical connotations. Known as one of the nine blockades in the world in history, it is the essence of the Great Wall of Wan Li and unique among the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty. Badaling Great Wall Museum is a comprehensive museum with the theme of Wan Li Great Wall, which comprehensively reflects the history, politics, military affairs, economy and culture of the Great Wall. China Great Wall Museum is located outside Badaling Pass and opened on 1994. ?

2. Mutianyu Great Wall.

Mutianyu Great Wall, located in Huairou District, is one of the sixteen scenic spots in New Beijing. Juyongguan Great Wall in the west and Gubeikou in the east. The open 2250-meter section of the Great Wall features piles on both sides of the Great Wall, especially the three enemy towers in the viewing platform. The famous Great Wall landscape arrow buckle, horn edge and upside-down flying eagle are located at the western end of Mutianyu Great Wall, which are the essence of Wan Li Great Wall. Mutianyu Great Wall is a mountainous area with a vegetation coverage rate of over 90%. Mutianyu Great Wall is equipped with domestic first-class cable cars, and projects such as China Dream Stone Town and Shibeide Slide have been developed, forming an organic combination of Great Wall culture, stone culture, sports, fitness and entertainment. Former British Prime Minister john major, former US President Bill Clinton and many other foreign leaders have visited Mutianyu. 1992 was rated as the best tourist destination in Beijing. In 2002, it was rated as 4A-level scenic spot. ?

3. Simatai Great Wall.

The Simatai Great Wall, with five characteristics of "danger, density, strangeness, cleverness and completeness", is located in Gubeikou Town, northeast of Miyun County, Beijing, 0/20km away from Beijing/KLOC. It starts from wangjinglou in the east and ends at Houchuankou in the west, with a total length of 5.4 kilometers and 35 watchtowers. The whole section of the Great Wall is exquisite in conception, unique in design, novel in structure and different in shape, and it can be called the essence of the Great Wall in Wan Li. Professor Luo, a famous expert on the Great Wall, praised that the Great Wall in China is the highest in the world, and the Great Wall in Simatai is the highest in China. Simatai Great Wall 1987 is listed in the World Heritage List and belongs to the national key cultural relics protection unit. It is the only ancient building site in China that retains the original appearance of the Ming Dynasty.

4. Gubeikou Great Wall.

Gubeikou Great Wall is the most complete Great Wall system in the history of China Great Wall. It consists of the Northern Qi Great Wall and the Ming Great Wall, including Wohu Mountain, Panlong Mountain, Jinshanling and Simatai. Gubeikou is the Great Wall fortress between Shanhaiguan and Juyongguan. It is the throat of Liaodong Plain and Inner Mongolia leading to the Central Plains. It has always been a battleground for military strategists, especially in Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. The competition for Gubeikou has never stopped, so the role of the Great Wall is particularly important.

5. Buckle the Great Wall.

Jiankou Great Wall is located in Badaohe Township, northwest of Huairou County, a suburb of Beijing, about 30 kilometers away from Huairou County. The mountains are varied, and the Great Wall above the steep peaks and cliffs is even more majestic and steep. The Great Wall with an arrow buckle is named after the whole section of the Great Wall meanders in a W-shape, like a bow and arrow buckle. The Jiankou Great Wall is one of the most famous dangerous sections of Wan Li Great Wall in Ming Dynasty. It is the section with the highest photogenic rate in various Great Wall albums in recent years, and it has always been a hot spot in Great Wall photography.

6. Jinshanling Great Wall.

Jinshanling Great Wall is located in the Yanshan Mountains at the junction of Miyun County and Luanping County in Hebei Province, which is 40 kilometers away from Beijing/KLOC-0. It starts from Longyukou in the west and ends in wangjinglou in the east, with a total length of 10.5km ... There are 67 enemy towers with different buildings, 2 beacon towers and 5 passes. There are many enemy towers on the Great Wall, generally 50- 100 meters. This wall is based on huge stones and is 5-8 meters high. There are horse-blocking walls, stacked walls and barrier walls, which are various in form and have their own characteristics. Known as the "Great Wall of Wan Li, Jinshan stands out from the crowd".

7. Shanhaiguan Great Wall.

Shanhaiguan Great Wall is where the Great Wall of Wan Li flows into the sea. The Great Wall, which belongs to Shanhaiguan, has a total length of 26 kilometers and mainly includes: Laolongtou Great Wall, Guancheng Great Wall in the south wing, Jiao Shan Great Wall in the north wing, Mishimaguan Great Wall and Jiumenkou Great Wall. Laolongtou Great Wall is the end part of the Great Wall that enters the sea, and it has the reputation of "the soul of China".

Shanhaiguan City consists of seven castles: Guancheng, Dongluo City, Xiluo City, South Wing City, North Wing City, Weiyuan City and Ninghai City. The surrounding city walls are 4,769 meters long, 1 1.6 meters high and 10 meters thick. The city walls are tall, solid and magnificent. There are four gates in the east, west, south and north of the city. There are turrets in the southeast corner and northeast corner of the city, and there is a magnificent bell and drum tower in the center of the city. The entire Acropolis building is large in scale and the defense project is solid. Shanhaiguan was the product of the garrison system established in Ming dynasty, and the "reclamation system" and reform policy of Ming dynasty played an important role in the consolidation and development of Shanhaiguan.

8. Jiayuguan Great Wall.

Jiayuguan Great Wall is the starting point of the western end of the Great Wall in Ming Dynasty. It was built in the fifth year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (1372). At present, it is the most well-preserved Chengguan, the first pass in Hexi and an important stop on the Silk Road. Chengguan is a complete defense system composed of inner city, outer city and moat. Now we can see the inner city of Chengguan, which is made of rammed loess and covered with city bricks. It is strong and majestic. The walls at both ends of the city pass through the Gobi, and you can feel the desolation of the desert lonely city. Modern grass "Great Wall" poem: "The wind blows the desert far away from Qian Shan, and the snow dances in Qilian in June; Climbing to the wall to discuss Chu and Han, and the Great Wall is a good fish to see Xiongguan "gives a true interpretation. ?

9. Dajingmen Great Wall.

Dajingmen Great Wall is located in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province. This is the only pass in the Great Wall named after the gate. One of the four passes of the Great Wall. Dajingmen Great Wall was built in Chenghua period of Ming Dynasty, and it is located on the towering East-West Taiping Mountain. According to the strategic pass of the Great Wall, it is the key to the border pass. The wall of Dajingmen is 12m high, 13m long and 9m wide. On the west side, there is Xijing Gate (small gate) excavated in Wanli period of Ming Dynasty. There are many historical sites in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, such as the Great Wall Park in Xitaipingshan, Laiyuanbao, Xiaojinmen, Guandi Temple, Erlang Temple and Mountain Temple. It is the "first gate of the Great Wall of Wan Li".

Legends and stories of the Great Wall:

Meng Jiangnv cried at the Great Wall.

In ancient times, Meng Laohan and Jiang Laohan were neighbors separated by a wall. One spring, Meng Laohan planted a gourd seed in his yard. After careful cultivation by watering and fertilizing, the gourd seedlings grew fat and tall, climbed over the fence and made a big gourd in Jiang Laohan's yard, weighing dozens of pounds. When the gourd was ripe, Lao Manjiang cut it with a knife. Suddenly, he saw a white, fat and lovely female doll lying inside. Lao Manjiang was overjoyed and ran to tell everyone. When the villagers heard about it, they came to watch this new thing one after another, but Meng and Jiang had a contradiction and quarreled bitterly. Meng Laohan said firmly, "I planted this gourd myself, and the fat girl is mine." Lao Manjiang stubbornly said, "This gourd is tied in my yard, and this girl should be mine." After three days and nights of quarreling, it was inseparable and fruitless. After mediation by the villagers, it was said that the female doll belonged to two families, lived in turn and raised each other, and was named "Meng Jiangnv".

Time flies, the sun and the moon fly, and in a blink of an eye, more than ten years have passed, and Meng Jiangnv has grown up. One day, when Meng Jiangnv was picking gourds, she found a person hiding behind the gourd rack. Meng Jiangnv was about to call someone when that person covered her mouth. Later, the man told Meng Jiangnv that his name was Fan Xiliang, and he hid behind the gourd rack to avoid the officers and men arresting people to repair the Great Wall. From then on, Fan Xiliang lived in Meng Jiangnv's house. As the saying goes, Fan Xiliang married Meng Jiangnv with the consent of two elders. Unforeseen things happened. On their wedding day, the groom was taken away by several officials. Fan Xiliang was sent as a migrant worker to repair the Great Wall. A year passed in a blink of an eye, and there was no news from Fan Xiliang. She was so anxious that Meng Jiangnv couldn't eat or sleep and didn't know what to do. After consulting with the two old people, she decided to find her husband and vowed never to go home until she found him.

She brought her husband dry food and extra warm clothes and set off. Along the way, wind and rain, sun and rain, hunger and cold, trekking thousands of miles, after arduous trekking, she finally found a place to repair the Great Wall. After asking, she learned that many people died in building the Great Wall. Her husband Fan Xiliang was exhausted and buried under the Great Wall, and her bones could not be found. The news was like a bolt from the blue. Meng Jiangnu immediately burst into tears, and her tears were like a torrent. She cried earth-shattering, and it was dark. Seeing that the Great Wall collapsed a little, wherever she cried, she collapsed, which was 800 miles. This time, the engineering director was anxious to report to Qin Shihuang, who had been here to inspect the progress of the project. Qin Shihuang hurried to see Meng Jiangnv, trying to find out the root cause. After seeing her, I was fascinated by her beauty and insisted on making her the "queen of the palace". Although Meng Jiangnu was full of anger, she still suppressed her hatred and had a brainwave. She must agree to the three conditions of Qin Shihuang to become a "formal queen". First, find the body of her husband Fan Xiliang; Second, hold a state funeral for her husband; Third, Qin Shihuang will wear linen for Fan Xiliang and Dai Xiao, and have a funeral. Qin Shihuang listened to the three conditions mentioned by Meng Jiangnv and thought for a moment. In order to get the beautiful Meng Jiangnv, he crustily skin of head agreed. After paying homage to Fan Xiliang's grave, Meng Jiangnu's long-cherished wish came true. Facing the rolling Bohai Sea, she committed suicide by jumping into the sea.

2. transporting stones on the ice channel.

When the Jiayuguan Great Wall was built, thousands of stone strips with a length of 2 meters, a width of 0.5 meters and a thickness of 0.3 meters were needed. After the craftsman chisels the stone strips in Montenegro, people can't lift them, cars can't pull them, and the mountains are high and the roads are far, so it is impossible to transport them. Everyone is worried while cutting stone strips. Seeing that winter is coming, the stone strips have not been shipped out of the mountains. If the construction period is delayed, it will be small without salary, and this head will be difficult to protect. Everyone is sighing. Just then, suddenly there was a muffled thunder from the top of the mountain, and a piece of brocade fell from the white clouds. All the craftsmen quickly caught it and saw several lines looming on it. After reading it, everyone suddenly realized and did it. When winter came, people built a road from the mountain to Guancheng, poured water on the road to form an ice lane, and then put stones on the ice lane to slide and transport. As a result, the stone strips were successfully transported to Jiayuguan City, which not only did not delay the construction period, but also saved a lot of time. In order to thank God for his protection, many craftsmen built temples near Guancheng to worship the gods, which became a must-visit place for craftsmen after they started their careers.

3. Goats carry bricks.

Jiayuguan City, the wall is 9 meters high, and dozens of pavilions of different sizes and countless stacked walls will be built on the wall. The amount of bricks used is amazing. At that time, the construction conditions were very poor, there was no lifting equipment, and it was all carried by hand. At that time, the bricks used to repair Guancheng were all burned 40 miles away. After the brick is burned, it will be pulled to the bottom of Guancheng by ox cart, and then carried up manually. Because of the height of the city, the only way to get up and down is steep and it is difficult to get up and down. Although many people were sent to carry the bricks on the wall, all of them were tired to death, but the bricks on their backs were still in short supply, which seriously affected the progress of the project. One day, a shepherd boy came here to play with sheep. Seeing this scene, he had a brainwave. He took off his belt, tied a brick at both ends and put it on the goat. Then he patted the goat on the back with his hand. The little goat trotted up the wall with a brick on its back. People were surprised and happy after seeing it, and they followed suit. A large number of bricks were quickly transported to the city wall.

4. release yanming.

According to legend, in ancient times, there was a pair of swallows nesting in Rouyuanmen, Jiayuguan. One morning, two swallows went through the customs. At dusk, the female Yan flew back first, and when the male Yan came back, the door was closed and he could not enter the customs. As a result, the female Yan was heartbroken and made a "chirp" sound from time to time, crying and dying. After his death, his soul is still there. Every time someone hits the wall with a stone, he makes a "chirp" to tell people. In ancient times, people thought it was auspicious to hear the sound of Yan Ming in Jiayuguan. When the general went to war, his wife knocked on the wall to pray. Later, before going out, the soldiers took their children to pray in the corner, which formed a custom.

5. Wannian Grey and Yanjing City.

People say that the Great Wall of Wan Li was first built by Qin Shihuang. In fact, he didn't build the Great Wall at first. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period before Qin Shihuang, there was a prince of Yan State, who was in danger of being eaten by neighboring countries at any time because of his small territory, few military forces and weak strength. In order to save his country, the monarch of Yan requisitioned civilian workers and built a high wall on his national border to prevent foreign enemies from invading.

Because there was no lime at that time, the walls, stones and bricks he built were plastered with mud. In order to seize the time and repair the city wall as soon as possible, he ordered not to stop work in winter. It was cold and the mud needed hot water, so the migrant workers carried the big iron pot to the construction site, supported it with three stones, and added firewood to boil water. Over time, the iron pot was burned with a big hole, and the water in the pot leaked out; Put out the fire under the pot. However, migrant workers also unexpectedly found that when water was spilled on the stones in the pot, the hot stones exploded in the water, and many white noodles were fried. It's strange for migrant workers to watch and think. When a person mixes this white flour with water and thinks it is wetter and more sticky than mud, he puts it in the gap between stone strips and bricks. The next day, migrant workers found that the stone strips and brick joints plastered with this white flour were much stronger than those plastered with mud. Yan people were inspired and burned lime to wipe the seams of the city walls.

Later, Qin Shihuang unified China. In order to prevent the Chinese nation from being conquered by Huns, he also imitated the way of the Prince and built the Great Wall of Wan Li. When construction started, he ordered the original Yan people to do the work of burning lime. So the lime used to build the Great Wall at that time was burned by Yan people. Where the Great Wall was built, it was burned on the hillside. The quality of the burned ash was very good, and it was called "eternal ash" by later generations, which means it will not deteriorate for ten thousand years. After the Great Wall was completed, other migrant workers returned to their respective places. Because Yan people burned ashes, Qin Shihuang took out gold and silver to build a town for Yan people. This town is Beijing. So at that time, Beijing was called Yanjing, and the mountain where Yan people burned ashes with stones was collectively called Yanshan.