Some information about the Great Wall

The Great Wall is the largest defensive military project in ancient China. It starts from Shanhaiguan in the east, passes through mountains, crosses deep valleys, stretches in deserts and grasslands, and reaches Jiayuguan, the destination. It has a total length of more than 12, Li, so it is called the Great Wall of Wan Li.

The construction of the Great Wall was gradually completed in a long period of time. It took more than 2, years from the beginning to the final completion. If the Great Walls built in previous dynasties are connected, With a total length of over 5, kilometers, the Great Wall has become one of the greatest projects in the world because of its grandeur. From the satellite, one of the few buildings you can see is the Great Wall of Wan Li, which is a symbol of the Chinese nation's hardship, perseverance and ancient civilization.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period from the fifth century BC to the seventh century BC, the central plains was contended for hegemony and wars were frequent. In order to prevent the powerful nomadic tribes in the northern grasslands from harassing the central plains. Located in the north, Yan, Zhao, Qin and other countries built walls at strategic locations. Qin Shihuang unified China and connected the Great Walls of other countries into a line, thus forming a military barrier from Lintao, Gansu in the west to Yanjin, Wan Li, Liaodong in the east, creating a world-famous ancient engineering miracle.

The Great Wall was built and added in different scales from Qin Dynasty to Ming Dynasty. "The Great Wall continued to be built in the Han Dynasty. From Wendi to Xuan Di, it was built into a great bay in the west. It reaches the north bank of Heilongjiang in the east, with a total length of nearly 1, kilometers. Half of the ancient Silk Road is along this Great Wall, which is the longest in history. In the Ming Dynasty, in order to prevent the invasion of Tatars and Waci people, the construction of the Great Wall never stopped, from Hongwu to Wanli, during which a Jiayuguan in Gansu was built in the west and Hushan in eastern Liaoning. The side wall with a total length of 6,35 kilometers.

The Great Wall has extremely high tourism value and historical and cultural significance. Now, after careful development and restoration, Shanhaiguan, Juyongguan Badaling, Simatai, Mutianyu, Jiayuguan and other places have become well-known tourist attractions at home and abroad. Climbing high and overlooking, the ancient battlefield of Jinge Iron Horse seems to be in sight. Now, the Great Wall and the golden pagoda in Egypt, the Colosseum in Rome, The leaning tower of Pisa in Italy is regarded as the seven wonders of the world, the monument and wisdom crystallization of the ancient Chinese culture, symbolizing the Chinese nation's bloodline and national spirit.

By studying, you can learn about the construction of the Great Wall, the maintenance of the Great Wall in past dynasties, and the far-reaching influence of the Great Wall on the Chinese nation. You can also understand the Great Wall around us more clearly. It is of great practical significance to truly understand the Great Wall, a world cultural heritage, for our socialist construction with China characteristics today.

This course will cover the construction of the Great Wall in Qin Dynasty, the maintenance and expansion of the Great Wall in Ming Dynasty, and the practical significance shown by the Great Wall.

The Great Wall in Wan Li in Qin Dynasty

I. Overview of the Great Wall

The Great Wall in Wan Li is one of the greatest architectural projects in Chinese history. It is also the greatest national defense project in the history of our country. It starts from Shanhaiguan on the coast of Bohai Sea in the east, passes through Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Ningxia and other provinces and autonomous regions, and reaches Jiayuguan in Gansu Province in the west. It stretches for more than 12, miles along the rolling mountains and the vast desert. The Great Wall has played an important role in preventing the invasion of nomadic people in the north and ensuring the production and life of people in the northern frontier. In addition, Objectively, it has also stopped the wind and sand blowing in the north. The construction scale of the Great Wall is very huge, which is difficult to compare with Beijing, Nanjing or foreign ancient Rome and Alexandria. It is estimated that if the masonry used to build the Great Wall is built into a city wall with a height of five meters and a width of one meter, its length can surround the earth, which shows what a magnificent project it is! No wonder astronauts can't see anything else clearly when they look at the earth's surface from the moon. Only the Dutch reclamation project and the Great Wall in China can be seen.

Second, the appearance of the Great Wall

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, due to the frequent, fierce and expanding scale of wars, military fortification techniques were widely developed. In order to prevent sudden attacks by neighboring countries, various vassal States often built some garrison facilities such as customs, blockades, pavilions and obstacles on their borders. Later, the so-called Great Wall came into being by further checking, blocking, pavilions and barriers were connected by city walls, or the dikes of the great river were expanded. The earliest Great Wall in Chinese history was Fangcheng of Chu State, which was built in the 7th century BC and located in the area of Zhushan, Hubei Province, and Biyang, Henan Province. By the early and middle Warring States period, with the intensification of the merger war, all the major vassal States in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River built mutual defense Great Walls. In the middle and late Warring States period, due to the Huns and Donghu, As nomadic tribes grew stronger and moved south, Qin, Zhao and Yan all built a large-scale Great Wall along the border.

Third, the reason for the construction of the Great Wall in Wan Li

Xiongnu was originally an ancient ethnic minority in northern China, and it became strong in the late Warring States period. When the northern Yan and Zhao countries declined, Xiongnu nobles invaded south step by step and occupied a large area of land in the Yellow River Hetao area. They mainly collected and hunted for a living and relied on coming and going. Plunder population and property, destroy agricultural production, and make the border very restless.

After Qin Shihuang unified the Central Plains, on the one hand, he ordered that "the battlements should be destroyed, and the obstacles should be removed" in order to facilitate the reunification of the country, thus all the princes in the mainland were demolished to defend each other against the Great Wall. On the other hand, out of the need to resist the Huns and strengthen national defense, not only did the Great Wall on the border be demolished, but also in the border areas of the Qin, Zhao and Yan kingdoms mentioned above. Connecting and adding buildings, the Great Wall of Wan Li in Qin Dynasty, which is famous in Chinese history, appeared.

The reason why the Great Wall of Wan Li was overhauled in Qin Dynasty was not because the national strength was weak and Qin Jun was afraid of fighting, so the Xiongnu was stronger, but because of the particularity of the contradiction between the ancient agricultural economic nationalities in the Central Plains and the nomadic economic nationalities in the north. Agricultural production needed a peaceful, unified and stable environment to facilitate cultivation and harvest, and to develop economy and culture. Nomadic nationalities lived by water and grass, and drifted from place to place. As soon as the army withdrew, it was harassed and plundered as before. This is the fundamental reason why Qin, Zhao and Yan overhauled the Great Wall in the border area since the middle of the Warring States Period.

Fourth, the construction of the Great Wall in Wan Li

The construction of the Great Wall in Wan Li in the Qin Dynasty was divided into two stages, ***12 years.

The first stage, from the 26th to the 32nd year of Qin Shihuang (221-215 years ago). A series of reforms and measures to consolidate reunification are being carried out nervously in China, and the strategic defense policy is adopted for the Huns. The Great Wall in the border areas of the former Qin, Zhao and Yan countries has been repaired with emphasis, and several parts have been newly built to connect them. As the key task in the first stage is to repair the old Great Wall, there are not many new parts and the engineering quantity is not large, which is mainly completed by the troops led by Meng Tian and the soldiers and civilians in the border counties, and there is no large-scale mobilization of manpower, material resources and financial resources throughout the country. Therefore, there is little reflection on this situation in the history books.

In the second stage, from the thirty-third year to the thirty-seventh year of Qin Shihuang (214-21 BC), the situation has changed greatly. At this time, Qin Shihuang's work of consolidating the interior has been completed, the repair of the Great Wall on the border has basically ended, the frontier defense has been consolidated, all preparations for the Xiongnu war have been made, and the strategic defense has been turned into a strategic attack, and a major victory has been achieved. In the thirty-second year of Qin Shihuang, Meng Tian. The following year, he crossed the Yellow River, captured Gaoque, and took control of Yangshan and the northern holiday area, thus pushing the border of Qin Dynasty far north. In order to consolidate the newly occupied area, he began to build the Great Wall in the second stage. There were two tasks in the second stage. First, "from Yuzhong (now Yuzhong, Gansu) to the east of the river, it belongs to Yinshan Mountain, thinking that (4) fourteen counties and cities. In the first stage, Didao was connected with the Great Wall extending to the northwest along Taoshui River, along the Yellow River to the east, until it was connected with Yinshan Mountain, that is, it was connected with the western end of the former Yinshan Mountain South Great Wall of Zhao State, and 44 city blocks were built along the river bank to establish 44 counties, thus strengthening the defense along the river. Second, pavilions were built in Gaoque, Yangshan and Beifake areas to drive away people. That is to say, the Yinshan Mountain North built by King Zhao Wuling was rebuilt. After joining the former Great Wall of Yinshan Mountain in Zhao to the east, it turned to the northeast in Zhuozi, Inner Mongolia today, winding to the north of Shangdu County in Inner Mongolia, south of Huade County and south of kangbao county, Hebei Province, and connecting with the former Great Wall of Yan State in Taibus Banner, Inner Mongolia today. These two tasks are mainly new buildings, including the restoration of the Great Wall of Yinshan Mountain in Zhao Wuling, which is similar to new buildings due to the long-term destruction of Huns. In addition, the terrain is similar. It is difficult to accomplish the task only by the troops led by Meng Tian and the soldiers and civilians in the counties along the border, so the manpower and material resources of the mainland were used on a large scale. It is estimated that about 5, troops and 5, civilian workers were put into building the Great Wall at that time, with a total manpower of no less than 1 million. Therefore, the working people in the Qin Dynasty did not know how many sacrifices and huge costs they paid to build the Great Wall in Wan Li!

Fifth, the role and significance of the Great Wall in Wan Li

Qin Shihuang knew that his military strength was strong, and he could destroy the six countries in the east, and defeat the Huns in one fell swoop by "whipping the world and inspiring the four seas". However, defeating the Huns could not conquer and occupy the Huns, change their living conditions, environment and habits, and could not eradicate their vagaries and vagaries. Qin Shihuang decided to take a strategic policy of active defense against the Huns, on the one hand, severely attacking the Huns militarily, and on the other hand, overhauling the Great Wall of Wan Li to ensure the consolidation of border defense and national security. From the history of the Qin Dynasty, the role and significance of the Great Wall of Wan Li mainly include the following three aspects:

First, shortening the length and consolidating the border defense. Compared with the Xiongnu army, Qin Jun is well-organized, well-equipped, well-trained, and coordinated with cars, steps and riding. However, the flexibility and mobility are poor, which is limited by the terrain conditions. It is shorter than going over mountains and mountains, making long-distance raids and scattered operations, and the logistics support is also very difficult. Compared with Qin Jun, the Xiongnu army is just the opposite, with no strict organization, training, relatively simple and backward weapons and equipment, and no cooperation from multiple arms. But everyone is used to riding and shooting, brave in fighting, and better at Mercedes-Benz raids. "If it is profitable, it will retreat, and it will not be ashamed to walk away." Decentralized operations, without logistical support. Shorter than siege, is one of its major weaknesses. It is precisely because of the Great Wall of Wan Li as a barrier in the border defense of the Qin Dynasty that tarkan's activities are restricted, and it is difficult to easily enter and exit the frontier fortress. The Qin army, on the other hand, turned short into long, and defended more than enough. Therefore, in the end of the Qin Dynasty, there was no great harm of Xiongnu's invasion, which was inseparable from the role of the Great Wall in Wan Li.

The second was to guarantee the attack and consolidate the victory. Meng Tian was able to successfully defeat Xiongnu, which was of course due to Qin Jun's strength and correct operational guidance, but it was closely related to his careful maintenance of the Great Wall in the first stage. The border between Qin and Hungary was as long as Wan Li, without the shield of the Great Wall. Even if they can launch an attack, the Huns can retreat from one side to the other, circling and disturbing everywhere. It is precisely because the Great Wall effectively consolidated the border defense and ensured the safety of Qin Jun's flank that Meng Tian was able to concentrate hundreds of thousands of troops and launch a fierce attack in the main strategic direction, winning quickly, recovering Henan and winning Yinshan in one fell swoop, which dealt a great blow to the Huns. On the one hand, the Huns suffered a military defeat, and on the other hand, there was no gap to take advantage of because of the cover of the Great Wall everywhere on the Qin side. So he was forced to retreat to the north of Yinshan Mountain. Meng Tian won a military victory, and then overhauled the Great Wall in the second stage, thus consolidating his victory. It can be seen that the Great Wall of Wan Li is not only an important means of defense, but also an important means of safeguarding the attack and consolidating victory.

Third, it promoted the development and construction of border areas. The Great Wall of Wan Li not only protected the economy and culture of the Central Plains from the Huns, Moreover, it has made great contributions to the development and construction of border areas. The Qin Dynasty set up 12 counties along the Great Wall, including Longxi, Beidi, Shangjun, Jiuyuan, Yunzhong, Yanmen, Daijun, Shanggu, Yuyang, Youbeiping, Liaoxi and Liaodong. Under the protection of the Great Wall, people can live and work in peace and contentment, land can be developed and agricultural production can be developed. After Qin Shihuang immigrated in large numbers and set up 44 counties, it quickly became a new economically prosperous area.

Since the Qin Dynasty, the Great Wall of Wan Li has been inherited by many feudal rulers. After more than 2, years of continuous repair and expansion, its scale has become more and more magnificent. It is one of the miracles in the history of military fortification in China and is still the pride of the Chinese nation.

Ming Changcheng

The word Great Wall is familiar to everyone. Looking down at the earth from a distant space by plane, we can see the Great Wall of Wan Li in China, which has become one of the seven wonders of the world. Do you know in which dynasty the existing Great Wall was built? Why did it build? What role did it play at that time?

After the Yuan Dynasty was destroyed in the Ming Dynasty, the Mongolian nobles, the original rulers, fled back to their old places and continued to harass and plunder in the south. Later, Nuzhen rose in the northeast. In order to defend against the harassment of Mongolian, Jurchen and other nomadic aristocrats, the Ming Dynasty attached great importance to the defense in the north. Zhu Yuanzhang, the great ancestor of Ming Dynasty, was a leader of peasant uprising, and had personal experience in attacking the city. When he had gained the world, he attached great importance to fortification measures in order to consolidate his rule. Originally, when Zhu Yuanzhang was about to unify the whole country, he adopted Zhu Sheng's "building a wall and accumulating grain". To be king slowly ".To build a high wall means to build a city to prepare for war. Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, not only the city walls of all prefectures and counties in the country were built very firmly, all of them were built with bricks, but also the Great Wall was built on the northern border.

In the first year of Hongwu (AD 1368), the first year of Zhu Yuanzhang's official founding of the People's Republic of China, Xu Da was sent to build Juyongguan and other Great Walls. In the fourteenth year of Hongwu (AD 1381), A section of the Great Wall along the Yellow River in Gansu Province (south to Jingyuan) was built, and Jiayuguan and its nearby Great Wall were built. In the Ming Dynasty, the construction of the Great Wall and the defense of the Great Wall were almost never stopped. It took more than 2 years before and after 1644 AD to basically complete the construction of the Great Wall in Wan Li. This Great Wall starts from Yalu River in the east and reaches Jiayuguan in the west, with a total length of more than 14,6 miles. Among them, the Great Wall from Shanhaiguan to Yalu River was seriously damaged because of its simple project, while the project from Shanhaiguan to Jiayuguan was relatively solid and well preserved. There were two Guancheng East-West confrontations, so people called the Great Wall of Wan Li, which was more than 12, miles in length from Shanhaiguan in the east to Jiayuguan in the west, that is, our existing Great Wall.

The Ming Dynasty was the heyday in the history of Great Wall construction. It took the longest time to build the Great Wall in Ming Dynasty. The quality is the highest, and the architecture is the most exquisite. The Great Wall is tall and majestic, forming a strong east-west defense line in northern China.

The Great Wall built in past dynasties is different from each other in terms of structure, construction methods and shape. However, as far as the basic principles of building the Great Wall are concerned, the dynasties have been the same. This basic principle is the same.