Great Wall Of China

Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is one of the wonders of the world. The Great Wall is not a single wall but a series of walls built and rebuilt by different Chinese dynasties over a thousand years. The Great Wall stretches to about 6,560 km from east to west of China. It is the largest man-made structure on Earth.

The construction of the Great Wall was conceived over 2,000 years ago by Qin Shi Huangdi the first emperor of China. He was the founder of the Qin (Ch’in) dynasty that ruled China, from 221 BC to 206 BC. Shi Huangdi decided to construct a great wall by unifying all the independent walls built in ancient times to protect China from the raids of the northern nomadic tribes. The Great Wall became the world's greatest military structure during the Ming dynasty.

The first wall

The first wall was constructed between the 7th and 8th centuries BC by Emperor Shi Huangdi of the Qin dynasty. This wall stretched from east to west for about 4,960 km. The emperor recruited peasants and prisoners from all over China to build the wall. He stationed armies at the wall to stand guard over the workers. The construction lasted for centuries with succeeding dynasties adding to the height, breadth, and length of the wall.

Ming Wall

The present Great Wall, which we are familiar with, was built by the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). During the rule of the Ming dynasty, the northern nomadic tribes like the Huns became very powerful. The groups were equipped with modern ammunitions and were a cause of constant threat to the Ming rulers. The need for a stronger wall to protect their land became important. During this period, the Wall was renovated many times and another 960 km long wall was added to the existing wall. The Ming Wall was bigger, longer, and more imposing
than the walls of the previous dynasties. The wall passed through some of China’s most hostile landscapes.

Dimensions

The Great Wall stands at a height of 7.5 m.The base of the wall is around 7.5 m thick but it narrows down to 4.5 m at the top. Guard stations and watchtowers are placed at regular intervals along the length of the wall.

Smoke signals

The Chinese troops and workers used
to smoke by day to send messages along the length of the Great Wall. They burnt
wood and straw mixed with wolf dung,
Which produced rich black columns
of smoke. There were different types
of signals for different situations. For instance, a one-column smoke indicated an impending attack by a force of fewer than 500 men and a two-column smoke indicated that there was a force of fewer
than 3,000 men. A four-column smoke signal meant a force of 10,000 men.

Materials used

The Great Wall was built of stone, wood, grass, and earth. The Mings used advanced brick building technology and had state-of-the-art kilns to mass-produce bricks, which were as strong as modern-day masonry blocks. In many places, a mixture of sticky rice and egg whites was used to cement the stones or bricks together. The bricks were transported by men, donkeys, mules, and goats. There were areas where the wall passed through deserts or barren lands. In those portions, it was constructed using dirt rammed between rough wood and tied together with woven mats.

General Meng Tian

General Meng Tian supervised the construction of the Great Wall for the first time. According to historians, the general mobilized 3,00,000 laborers for the construction of the Great Wall during the dynasty.