What is inside the Chinese wall. the great Wall of China

Construction of the first sections of this grandiose facility began during the Warring States period in the 3rd century BC. e. The Great Wall of China was supposed to protect the subjects of the Empire from the nomadic tribes that often attacked the populated areas developing in the center of China. Another function of this grandiose object was to clearly fix the boundaries of the Chinese state and contribute to the creation of a single empire, which before these events was composed of many conquered kingdoms.

Construction of the Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China was built quite quickly - within 10 years. This was largely due to the cruelty of Qin Shi Huang, who ruled at that time. Almost half a million people were involved in its construction, most of whom died at the foot of this site from hard work and exhaustion. These were mainly soldiers, slaves and landowners.

As a result of construction, the Great Wall of China stretched for 4000 km and watchtowers were installed on it every 200 meters. Two centuries later, the wall was extended to the west, as well as deep into the desert, to protect trade caravans from nomads.

Over time, this structure lost its strategic purpose, the wall was no longer occupied, which contributed to its destruction. The Great Wall of China was given a second life by the rulers of the Ming Dynasty, who were in power from 1368 to 1644. It was during their time that grandiose construction work began again on the restoration and expansion of the Great.

As a result, it stretched from the Liaodong Gulf to the Gobi Desert. Its length became 8852 km, including all branches. The average height in those days reached 9 meters, and the width varied from 4 to 5 meters.

Current state of the Great Wall of China

Today, only about 8% of the Great Wall of China has retained its original appearance, which was given to it during the reign of the Ming Dynasty. Their height reaches 7-8 meters. Many sections have not been able to survive to this day, and most of the remaining wall is being destroyed due to weather conditions, acts of vandalism, the construction of various roads and other objects. Some areas are actively eroding due to improper management Agriculture in the 50-90s of the last century.

However, since 1984, a program for the restoration of this important cultural and historical building has been launched. the highest level. After all, the Great Wall of China is still an architectural monument and a place of mass pilgrimage for tourists from all over the world.

The most recognizable symbol of China, as well as its long and vibrant history, has become. This monumental structure consists of numerous walls and fortifications, many of which run parallel to each other. Originally conceived for protection against nomadic raids by Emperor Qin Shi Huang (circa 259-210 BC). Great Wall of China (China) became one of the most ambitious construction projects in the history of mankind.

The great Wall of China: Interesting Facts

VKS is the longest wall in the world and the largest building of antiquity.
Stunning scenery, from the beaches of Qinhuangdao to the rugged mountains around Beijing.

Consists of many sections:

Badaling
- Huang Huancheng
- Juyunguan
- Ji Yongguan
- Shanhaiguan
- Yanguan
- Sponge
- Giancu
- Jin Shan Ling
- Mutianyu
- Symatai
- Yangmenguang

Length of the Great Wall of China

Contrary to popular belief, the wall is not visible from space without a good approach.
Already during the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC), sticky rice dough was used for construction as a kind of material for holding stone blocks together.
The labor force at the construction site were military personnel, peasants, convicts and prisoners, naturally not of their own free will.
Although officially 8,851 km, the length of all branches and sections built over thousands of years is estimated at 21,197 km. The circumference of the equator is 40,075 km.

There is a popular legend about Meng Jing Nu, whose husband died at a construction site. Her cry was so bitter that the Great Wall of China collapsed, exposing her husband's bones, and the wife was able to bury him.
There are still traces of bullets in the Gubeik area; there was a fierce battle here in the past.
During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), many stones from the wall were stolen to build houses, farms and reservoirs.

Northwestern sections of the wall (eg in Gansu and Ningxia provinces) will likely disappear within 20 years. The reason for this is how natural conditions, and human activity.
The most famous part of the Great Wall, Badaling, has been visited by more than 300 heads of state and dignitaries from around the world, the first being the Soviet politician Klim Voroshilov in 1957.

The Great Wall of China (China): history of creation

Significance: The longest fortification ever built by man.
Purpose of construction: protection of the Chinese Empire from Mongol and Manchu invaders.
Significance for tourism: the largest and at the same time the most popular attraction of the PRC.
Provinces where the Great Wall of China passes: Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu.
Start and end: From Shanhaiguan Pass (39.96N, 119.80E) to Jiayu Belt (39.85N, 97.54E). The direct distance is 1900 km.
Closest site to Beijing: Juyunguan (55 km)

Most visited site: Badaling (63 million visitors in 2001)
Terrain: mostly mountains and hills. Great Wall of China, China extends from the Bohai coast in Qinhuangdao, around the northern part of the Chinese Plain, across the Loess Plateau. Then it goes along the desert province of Gansu, between the Tibetan plateau and the loess hills of Inner Mongolia.

Altitude: from sea level to more than 500 meters.
Most the right time years to visit the Great Wall of China: areas that are best visited near Beijing in spring or autumn. Jiayuguan - from May to October. Shanhaiguan Passage - in summer and early autumn.

The Great Wall of China is the largest cemetery. More than a million people lost their lives during its construction.

How the Great Wall of China was built
Everyone is interested how the Great Wall of China was built structures. Here's the whole story chronologically.
7th century BC: Feudal warlords began construction of the Great Wall of China.
Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC): Sections of the wall that had already been built were joined together (along with the unification of China).
206 BC - 1368 AD: restoration and expansion of the wall in order to prevent the plunder of the lands by nomads.

Ming Dynasty (1368-1644): The Great Wall of China reached its greatest extent.
Qing Dynasty (1644-1911): The Great Wall of China and surrounding lands fell to Manchu invaders in alliance with a traitorous general. Maintenance of the wall ceased for more than 300 years.
Late 20th century: Various sections of the Great Wall of China became listed buildings.

The Great Wall of China on the world map:

The colossal defensive structures known today as the “Great Wall of China” were built by those who, thousands of years ago, possessed technologies that we have not yet developed. And these were clearly not Chinese...

In China, there is another material evidence of the presence in this country of a highly developed civilization, to which the Chinese have no relation. Unlike the Chinese pyramids, this evidence is well known to everyone. This is the so-called The great Wall of China.

Let's see what orthodox historians say about this largest architectural monument, which Lately has become a major tourist attraction in China. The wall is located in the north of the country, stretching from the sea coast and going deep into the Mongolian steppes, and according to various estimates, its length, including branches, is from 6 to 13,000 km. The thickness of the wall is several meters (on average 5 meters), the height is 6-10 meters. It is alleged that the wall included 25 thousand towers.

Short story The construction of the wall today looks like this. They supposedly started building the wall in the 3rd century BC during the reign of the dynasty Qin, to defend against raids by nomads from the north and clearly define the border of Chinese civilization. The construction was initiated by the famous “collector of Chinese lands” Emperor Qin Shi-Huang Di. He gathered about half a million people for construction, which, considering the total population of 20 million, is a very impressive figure. Then the wall was a structure made mainly of earth - a huge earthen rampart.

During the reign of the dynasty Han(206 BC - 220 AD) the wall was expanded to the west, strengthened with stone and a line of watchtowers was built that went deep into the desert. Under the dynasty Min(1368-1644) the wall continued to be built. As a result, it stretched from east to west from the Bohai Gulf in the Yellow Sea to the western border of the modern province of Gansu, entering the territory of the Gobi Desert. It is believed that this wall was built by the efforts of a million Chinese from bricks and stone blocks, which is why these sections of the wall have been preserved to this day in the form in which a modern tourist is already accustomed to seeing it. The Ming Dynasty was replaced by the Manchu Dynasty Qing(1644-1911), which was not involved in the construction of the wall. She limited herself to maintaining in relative order small area near Beijing, which served as the "gateway to the capital."

In 1899, American newspapers started a rumor that the wall would soon be demolished and a highway would be built in its place. However, no one was going to demolish anything. Moreover, in 1984, a program to restore the wall was launched on the initiative of Deng Xiaoping and under the leadership of Mao Zedong, which is still being carried out today, and is financed from Chinese and foreign companies, as well as individuals. It is not reported how much Mao drove to restore the wall. Several areas were repaired, and in some places they were completely rebuilt. So we can assume that in 1984 the construction of the fourth wall of China began. Usually, tourists are shown one of the sections of the wall, located 60 km northwest of Beijing. This is the area of ​​Mount Badaling, the length of the wall is 50 km.

The wall makes the greatest impression not in the Beijing region, where it was built on not very high mountains, but in remote mountainous areas. There, by the way, you can clearly see that the wall, as a defensive structure, was made very thoughtfully. Firstly, five people in a row could move along the wall itself, so it was also a good road, which is extremely important when it is necessary to transport troops. Under the cover of the battlements, the guards could secretly approach the area where the enemies were planning to attack. The signal towers were located in such a way that each of them was within sight of the other two. Some important messages were transmitted either by drumming, or by smoke, or by the fire of fires. Thus, the news of an enemy invasion from the farthest borders could be transmitted to the center per day!

During the restoration of the wall, interesting facts were discovered. For example, its stone blocks were held together with sticky rice porridge mixed with slaked lime. Or what the loopholes on its fortresses looked towards China; that on the north side the height of the wall is small, much less than on the south, and there are stairs there. The latest facts, for obvious reasons, are not advertised and are not commented on in any way by official science - neither Chinese nor world. Moreover, when reconstructing towers, they try to build loopholes in opposite direction, although this is not possible everywhere. These photos show the south side of the wall - the sun is shining at midday.

However, this is where the weirdness comes from Chinese wall don't end. Wikipedia has a complete map of the wall, which shows in different colors the wall that we are told was built by each Chinese dynasty. As we see, there is more than one great wall. Northern China is often and densely dotted with the “Great Walls of China”, which extend into the territory of modern Mongolia and even Russia. Light was shed on these oddities A.A. Tyunyaev in his work “The Chinese Wall - the Great Barrier from the Chinese”:

“Tracing the stages of construction of the “Chinese” wall, based on the data of Chinese scientists, is extremely interesting. It is clear from them that the Chinese scientists who call the wall “Chinese” are not very concerned about the fact that the Chinese people themselves did not take any part in its construction: every time another section of the wall was built, the Chinese state was far from the construction sites.

So, the first and main part of the wall was built in the period from 445 BC. to 222 BC It runs along 41-42° northern latitude and at the same time along some sections of the river. Yellow River. At this time, naturally, there were no Mongol-Tatars. Moreover, the first unification of peoples within China took place only in 221 BC. under the kingdom of Qin. And before that there was the Zhanguo period (5-3 centuries BC), in which eight states existed on Chinese territory. Only in the middle of the 4th century. BC. The Qin began to fight against other kingdoms, and by 221 BC. conquered some of them.

The figure shows that the western and northern border of the Qin state by 221 BC. began to coincide with that section of the “Chinese” wall that began to be built in 445 BC and it was built exactly in 222 BC

Thus, we see that this section of the “Chinese” wall was built not by the Chinese of the Qin state, but northern neighbors, but precisely from the Chinese spreading to the north. In just 5 years - from 221 to 206. BC. - a wall was built along the entire border of the Qin state, which stopped the spread of its subjects to the north and west. In addition, at the same time, 100-200 km west and north of the first, a second line of defense against Qin was built - the second “Chinese” wall of this period.

The next construction period covers the time from 206 BC to 220 AD During this period, sections of the wall were built, located 500 km to the west and 100 km to the north of the previous ones... During the period from 618 to 907 China was ruled by the Tang dynasty, which did not mark itself with victories over its northern neighbors.

In the next period, from 960 to 1279 The Song Empire established itself in China. At this time, China lost dominance over its vassals in the west, in the northeast (on the Korean Peninsula) and in the south - in northern Vietnam. The Song Empire lost a significant part of the territories of the Chinese proper in the north and northwest, which went to the Khitan state of Liao (part of the modern provinces of Hebei and Shanxi), the Tangut kingdom of Xi-Xia (part of the territories of the modern province of Shaanxi, the entire territory of the modern province of Gansu and Ningxia-Hui autonomous region).

In 1125, the border between the non-Chinese Jurchen kingdom and China ran along the river. Huaihe is 500-700 km south of where the wall was built. And in 1141, a peace treaty was signed, according to which the Chinese Song Empire recognized itself as a vassal of the non-Chinese state of Jin, pledging to pay it a large tribute.

However, while China itself huddled south of the river. Hunahe, 2100-2500 km north of its borders, another section of the “Chinese” wall was erected. This part of the wall built from 1066 to 1234, passes through Russian territory north of the village of Borzya next to the river. Argun. At the same time, 1500-2000 km north of China, another section of the wall was built, located along the Greater Khingan...

The next section of the wall was built between 1366 and 1644. It runs along the 40th parallel from Andong (40°), just north of Beijing (40°), through Yinchuan (39°) to Dunhuang and Anxi (40°) in the west. This section of the wall is the last, the southernmost and the deepest penetrating into the territory of China... At the time of the construction of this section of the wall, the entire Amur region belonged to Russian territories. By the middle of the 17th century, Russian fortresses (Albazinsky, Kumarsky, etc.), peasant settlements and arable lands already existed on both banks of the Amur. In 1656, the Daurian (later Albazinsky) voivodeship was formed, which included the valley of the Upper and Middle Amur on both banks... The “Chinese” wall, built by the Russians by 1644, ran exactly along the border of Russia with Qing China. In the 1650s, Qing China invaded Russian lands to a depth of 1,500 km, which was secured by the Aigun (1858) and Beijing (1860) treaties...”

Today the Chinese Wall is located inside China. However, there was a time when the wall meant country border. This fact is confirmed by ancient maps that have reached us. For example, a map of China by the famous medieval cartographer Abraham Ortelius from his geographical atlas of the world Theatrum Orbis Terrarum 1602 On the map, north is on the right. It clearly shows that China is separating from northern country- Tartaria with a wall. On the map of 1754 "Le Carte de l'Asie" it is also clearly visible that the border of China with Great Tartaria runs along the wall. And even a map from 1880 shows the wall as China's border with its northern neighbor. It is noteworthy that part of the wall extends quite far into the territory of China’s western neighbor - Chinese Tartaria...

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“There are roads that are not taken; there are armies that are not attacked; there are fortresses over which they do not fight; there are areas over which people do not fight; There are orders from the sovereign that are not carried out.”

"Art of War". Sun Tzu

In China, they will definitely tell you about the majestic monument stretching several thousand kilometers and about the founder of the Qin dynasty, thanks to whose command the Great Wall of China was built in China more than two thousand years ago.

However, some modern scholars very much doubt that this symbol of the power of the Chinese empire existed before the mid-20th century. So what do they show tourists? - you say... And tourists are shown what was built by the Chinese communists in the second half of the last century.

According to the official historical version, the Great Wall, intended to protect the country from attacks by nomadic peoples, began to be built in the 3rd century BC. by the will of the legendary emperor Qin Shi Huang Di, the first ruler who united China into one state.

It is believed that it has survived to this day Great Wall, built mainly during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and in total there are three historical periods of active construction of the Great Wall: the Qin era in the 3rd century BC, the Han era in the 3rd century and the Ming era.

Essentially, the name “Great Wall of China” combines at least three major projects in different historical eras, which, according to experts, total a total length of walls of at least 13 thousand km.

With the fall of the Ming and the establishment of the Manchu Qin dynasty (1644-1911) in China, construction work ceased. Thus, the wall, whose construction was completed in the mid-17th century, has largely been preserved.

It is clear that the construction of such a grandiose fortification structure required the Chinese state to mobilize enormous material and human resources to the limit of its capabilities.

Historians claim that at the same time up to a million people were employed in the construction of the Great Wall and the construction was accompanied by monstrous human casualties (according to other sources, three million builders were involved, that is, half of the male population of ancient China).

It is not clear, however, what the ultimate meaning was seen by the Chinese authorities in the construction of the Great Wall, since China did not have the necessary military forces, not only to defend, but at least to reliably control the wall along its entire length.

Probably due to this circumstance, nothing specific is known about the role of the Great Wall in the defense of China. However, Chinese rulers stubbornly built these walls for two thousand years. Well, it must be that we are simply unable to understand the logic of the ancient Chinese.

However, many sinologists are aware of the weak persuasiveness of the rational motives proposed by researchers of the subject that must have prompted the ancient Chinese to create the Great Wall. And to explain the more than strange history of the unique structure, philosophical tirades are uttered with approximately the following content:

“The wall was supposed to serve as the extreme northern line of the possible expansion of the Chinese themselves; it was supposed to protect the subjects of the “Middle Empire” from transitioning to a semi-nomadic way of life, from merging with the barbarians. The wall was supposed to clearly fix the boundaries of Chinese civilization and contribute to the consolidation of a single empire, just made up of a number of conquered kingdoms.”

Scientists were simply amazed by the blatant absurdity of this fortification. The Great Wall cannot be called an ineffective defensive object; from any sane military point of view, it is blatantly absurd. As you can see, the wall runs along the ridges of hard-to-reach mountains and hills.

Why build a wall in the mountains, where not only nomads on horseback, but also a foot army are unlikely to reach?!.. Or were the strategists of the Celestial Empire afraid of an attack by tribes of wild climbers? Apparently, the threat of invasion by hordes of evil climbers really frightened the ancient Chinese authorities, since with the primitive construction technology available to them, the difficulties of constructing a defensive wall in the mountains increased incredibly.

And the crown of fantastic absurdity, if you look closely, you can see that the wall in some places where mountain ranges intersect branches, forming mockingly meaningless loops and forks.

It turns out that tourists are usually shown one of the sections of the Great Wall, located 60 km northwest of Beijing. This is the area of ​​Mount Badaling, the length of the wall is 50 km. The wall is in excellent condition, which is not surprising - its reconstruction in this area was carried out in the 50s of the 20th century. In fact, the wall was built anew, although it is claimed that it was on old foundations.

The Chinese have nothing more to show; there are no other credible remains from the allegedly existing thousands of kilometers of the Great Wall.

Let's return to the question of why the Great Wall was built in the mountains. There are reasons here, except for those that may have recreated and extended, perhaps, the old fortifications of the pre-Manchu era that existed in the gorges and mountain defiles.

Construction of the ancient historical monument in the mountains has its advantages. It is difficult for an observer to ascertain whether the ruins of the Great Wall really extend for thousands of kilometers along mountain ranges, as he is told.

In addition, in the mountains it is impossible to determine how old the foundations of the wall are. Over several centuries, stone buildings on ordinary soil, carried by sedimentary rocks, inevitably sink several meters into the ground, and this is easy to check.

But on rocky ground this phenomenon is not observed, and a recent building can easily be passed off as very ancient. And besides, there is no large local population in the mountains, a potential inconvenient witness to the construction of a historical landmark.

It is unlikely that initially the fragments of the Great Wall north of Beijing were built on a significant scale; even for China at the beginning of the 19th century this is a difficult task.

It seems that the few tens of kilometers of the Great Wall that are shown to tourists were, for the most part, first erected under the Great Helmsman Mao Zedong. Also a Chinese emperor of his kind, but still it cannot be said that he is very ancient

Here is one opinion: you can falsify something that exists in the original, for example, a banknote or a painting. There is an original and you can copy it, which is what forger artists and counterfeiters do. If a copy is made well, it can be difficult to identify a fake and prove that it is not the original. And in the case of the Chinese wall, it cannot be said that it is fake. Because there was no real wall in ancient times.

Therefore, the original product of modern creativity of hardworking Chinese builders has nothing to compare with. Rather, it is a kind of quasi-historically based grandiose architectural creation. A product of the famous Chinese desire for order. Today it is a Great Tourist Attraction, worthy of being included in the Guinness Book of Records.

These are the questions I asked Valentin Sapuno in:

1 . Who, exactly, was the Wall supposed to protect from? The official version - from nomads, Huns, Vandals - is unconvincing. At the time of the creation of the Wall, China was the most powerful state in the region, and perhaps in the whole world. His army was well armed and trained. This can be judged very specifically - in the tomb of Emperor Qin Shihuang, archaeologists unearthed a full-scale model of his army. Thousands of terracotta warriors in full equipment, with horses and carts, were supposed to accompany the emperor in the next world. The northern peoples of that time did not have serious armies; they lived mainly in the Neolithic period. They could not pose a danger to the Chinese army. One suspects that from a military point of view the Wall was of little use.

2. Why was a significant part of the wall built in the mountains? It passes along ridges, over cliffs and canyons, and meanders along inaccessible rocks. This is not how defensive structures are built. In the mountains and without protective walls, the movement of troops is difficult. Even in our time in Afghanistan and Chechnya, modern mechanized troops do not move over mountain ridges, but only along gorges and passes. To stop troops in the mountains, small fortresses dominating the gorges are enough. To the north and south of the Great Wall lie plains. It would be more logical and many times cheaper to build a wall there, and the mountains would serve as an additional natural obstacle to the enemy.

3. Why does the wall, despite its fantastic length, have a relatively small height - from 3 to 8 meters, rarely up to 10? This is much lower than most European castles and Russian kremlins. A strong army, equipped with assault technology (ladders, mobile wooden towers), could, by choosing a vulnerable spot on a relatively flat piece of terrain, overcome the Wall and invade China. This is what happened in 1211, when China was easily conquered by the hordes of Genghis Khan.

4. Why is the Great Wall of China oriented on both sides? All fortifications have battlements and curbs on the walls on the side facing the enemy. They don’t put the teeth towards their own. This is pointless and would complicate the maintenance of soldiers on the walls and the supply of ammunition. In many places, the battlements and loopholes are oriented deep into their territory, and some towers are moved there, to the south. It turns out that the builders of the wall assumed the presence of the enemy on their side. Who were they going to fight in this case?

Let's start our discussion with an analysis of the personality of the author of the idea of ​​the Wall - Emperor Qin Shihuang (259 - 210 BC).

His personality was extraordinary and in many ways typical of an autocrat. He combined brilliant organizational talent and statesmanship with pathological cruelty, suspicion and tyranny. At a very young age of 13, he became the prince of the state of Qin. It was here that the technology of ferrous metallurgy was first mastered. It was immediately applied to the needs of the army. Possessing more advanced weapons than their neighbors, equipped with bronze swords, the army of the Principality of Qin quickly conquered a significant part of the country. From 221 BC a successful warrior and politician became the head of a united Chinese state - an empire. From that time on, he began to bear the name Qin Shihuang (in another transcription - Shi Huangdi). Like any usurper, he had many enemies. The emperor surrounded himself with an army of bodyguards. Fearing assassins, he created the first magnetic control weapons. On the advice of experts, he ordered an arch made of magnetic iron ore. If the person entering had an iron weapon hidden, magnetic forces would tear it out from under his clothes. The guards immediately kept up and began to find out why the person entering wanted to enter the palace armed. Fearing for his power and life, the emperor fell ill with persecution mania. He saw conspiracies everywhere. He chose the traditional method of prevention - mass terror. At the slightest suspicion of disloyalty, people were captured, tortured and executed. The squares of Chinese cities were constantly resounding with the cries of people who were cut into pieces, boiled alive in cauldrons, and fried in frying pans. Severe terror pushed many to flee the country.

Constant stress and poor lifestyle undermined the emperor’s health. A duodenal ulcer developed. After 40 years, symptoms of early aging appeared. Some wise men, or rather charlatans, told him a legend about a tree growing across the sea in the east. The fruits of the tree supposedly cure all diseases and prolong youth. The emperor ordered to immediately supply the expedition for the fabulous fruits. Several large junks reached the shores of modern Japan, founded a settlement there and decided to stay. They rightly decided that the mythical tree did not exist. If they return empty-handed, the cool emperor will swear a lot, and maybe come up with something worse. This settlement later became the beginning of the formation of the Japanese state.

Seeing that science was unable to restore health and youth, he brought down his anger on the scientists. The “historical”, or rather hysterical decree of the emperor read: “Burn all books and execute all scientists!” The emperor, under public pressure, nevertheless granted amnesty to some of the specialists and works related to military affairs and agriculture. However, most of the priceless manuscripts were burned, and 460 scientists, who constituted the then flower of the intellectual elite, ended their lives in cruel torture.

It was this emperor, as noted, who came up with the idea of ​​the Great Wall. Construction work did not start from scratch. There were already defensive structures in the north of the country. The idea was to combine them into a single fortification system. For what?

The simplest explanation is the most realistic

Let's resort to analogies. The Egyptian pyramids had no practical meaning. They demonstrated the greatness of the pharaohs and their power, the ability to force hundreds of thousands of people to do any action, even a meaningless one. There are more than enough such structures on Earth, with the sole purpose of exalting power.

Likewise, the Great Wall is a symbol of the power of Shi Huang and other Chinese emperors who picked up the baton of grandiose construction. It should be noted that, unlike many other similar monuments, the Wall is picturesque and beautiful in its own way, harmoniously combined with nature. Talented fortifiers who knew a lot about the Eastern understanding of beauty were involved in the work.

There was a second need for the Wall, a more prosaic one. Waves of imperial terror and the tyranny of feudal lords and officials forced peasants to flee en masse in search of a better life.

The main route was north, to Siberia. It was there that Chinese men dreamed of finding land and freedom. Interest in Siberia as an analogue of the Promised Land has long excited ordinary Chinese, and for a long time it has been common for this people to spread throughout the world.

Historical analogies suggest themselves. Why did Russian settlers go to Siberia? For a better life, for land and freedom. They were fleeing from the royal wrath and lordly tyranny.

To stop uncontrolled migration to the north, which undermined the unlimited power of the emperor and nobles, they created the Great Wall. It would not have held a serious army. However, the Wall could block the path of peasants walking along mountain paths, burdened with simple belongings, wives and children. And if men further away, led by a sort of Chinese Ermak, went to break through, they were met by a rain of arrows from behind the battlements facing their own people. There are more than enough analogues of such sad events in history. Let's remember the Berlin Wall. Officially built against Western aggression, its goal was to stop the flight of the inhabitants of the GDR to where life was better, or at least it seemed so. For a similar purpose, in Stalin’s times they created the most fortified border in the world, which was nicknamed the “Iron Curtain,” over tens of thousands of kilometers. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the Great Wall of China has acquired a double meaning in the minds of the peoples of the world. On the one hand, it is a symbol of China. On the other hand, it is a symbol of Chinese isolation from the rest of the world.

There is even an assumption that the “Great Wall” is the creation not of the ancient Chinese, but of their northern neighbors.

Back in 2006, President of the Academy basic sciences Andrei Aleksandrovich Tyunyaev, in the article “The Great Wall of China was built... not by the Chinese!”, made an assumption about the non-Chinese origin of the Great Wall. In fact, modern China has appropriated the achievement of another civilization. In modern Chinese historiography, the purpose of the wall was also changed: initially it protected the North from the South, and not the Chinese south from the “northern barbarians.” Researchers say that the loopholes of a significant part of the wall face south, not north. This can be seen in works of Chinese drawings, a number of photographs, and in the most ancient sections of the wall that have not been modernized for the needs of the tourism industry.

According to Tyunyaev, the last sections of the Great Wall were built similarly to Russian and European medieval fortifications, the main task of which was protection from the impact of guns. The construction of such fortifications began no earlier than the 15th century, when cannons became widespread on the battlefields. In addition, the wall marked the border between China and Russia. At that period of history, the border between Russia and China passed along the “Chinese” wall.” On the 18th-century map of Asia produced by the Royal Academy in Amsterdam, two geographical formations are marked in this region: Tartarie was located in the north, and China was in the south, the northern border of which ran approximately along the 40th parallel, that is, exactly along the Great Wall. On this Dutch map, the Great Wall is indicated by a thick line and labeled "Muraille de la Chine". From French this phrase is translated as “Chinese wall”, but can also be translated as “wall from China”, or “wall delimiting from China”. In addition, other maps confirm the political significance of the Great Wall: on the 1754 map “Carte de l’Asie” the wall also runs along the border between China and Great Tartary (Tartaria). The academic 10-volume World History contains a map of the Qing Empire of the second half of the 17th - 18th centuries, which shows in detail the Great Wall, which runs exactly along the border between Russia and China.

The following is the evidence:

ARCHITECTURAL wall style, now located on the territory of China, is imprinted with the peculiarities of the construction “handprints” of its creators. Elements of the wall and towers, similar to fragments of the wall, in the Middle Ages can only be found in the architecture of ancient Russian defensive structures of the central regions of Russia - “northern architecture”.

Andrey Tyunyaev proposes to compare two towers - from the Chinese Wall and from the Novgorod Kremlin. The shape of the towers is the same: a rectangle, slightly narrowed at the top. There is an entrance leading into both towers from the wall, which is blocked round arch, made of the same brick as the wall with the tower. Each of the towers has two upper “working” floors. On the first floor of both towers there are round-arched windows. The number of windows on the first floor of both towers is 3 on one side and 4 on the other. The height of the windows is approximately the same - about 130–160 centimeters.

There are loopholes on the top (second) floor. They are made in the form of rectangular narrow grooves approximately 35–45 cm wide. The number of such loopholes in the Chinese tower is 3 deep and 4 wide, and in the Novgorod one - 4 deep and 5 wide. On the top floor of the “Chinese” tower there are square holes along its very edge. There are similar holes in the Novgorod tower, and the ends of the rafters sticking out of them, on which the wooden roof is supported.

The situation is the same in comparing the Chinese tower and the tower of the Tula Kremlin. The Chinese and Tula towers have the same number of loopholes in width - there are 4 of them. And the same number of arched openings - 4 each. On the upper floor between the large loopholes there are small ones - in the Chinese and in the Tula towers. The shape of the towers is still the same. The Tula tower, like the Chinese one, uses white stone. The vaults are made in the same way: at the Tula one there are gates, at the “Chinese” one there are entrances.

For comparison, you can also use the Russian towers of the Nikolsky Gate (Smolensk) and the northern fortress wall of the Nikitsky Monastery (Pereslavl-Zalessky, 16th century), as well as the tower in Suzdal (mid-17th century). Conclusion: design features The towers of the Chinese Wall reveal almost exact analogies among the towers of Russian Kremlins.

What does a comparison of the surviving towers of the Chinese city of Beijing with the medieval towers of Europe say? The fortress walls of the Spanish city of Avila and Beijing are very similar to each other, especially in the fact that the towers are located very often and have practically no architectural adaptations for military needs. The Beijing towers have only an upper deck with loopholes, and are laid out at the same height as the rest of the wall.

Neither the Spanish nor the Beijing towers show such a high similarity with the defensive towers of the Chinese Wall, as do the towers of Russian kremlins and fortress walls. And this is something for historians to think about.

And here is the reasoning of Sergei Vladimirovich Leksutov:

The chronicles say that the wall took two thousand years to build. In terms of defense, construction is absolutely pointless. Is it that while the wall was being built in one place, in other places nomads walked around China unhindered for two thousand years? But the chain of fortresses and ramparts can be built and improved within two thousand years. Fortresses are needed to defend garrisons from superior enemy forces, as well as to house mobile cavalry detachments in order to immediately go in pursuit of a detachment of robbers who have crossed the border.

I thought for a long time, who and why built this senseless cyclopean structure in China? There is simply no one except Mao Zedong! With his characteristic wisdom, he found an excellent means of adapting to work tens of millions of healthy men who had previously fought for thirty years and knew nothing but how to fight. It is unthinkable to imagine what kind of chaos would begin in China if so many soldiers were demobilized at the same time!

And the fact that the Chinese themselves believe that the wall has stood for two thousand years is explained very simply. A battalion of demobilizers comes to an open field, the commander explains to them: “Here, in this very place, the Great Wall of China stood, but the evil barbarians destroyed it, we have to restore it.” And millions of people sincerely believed that they did not build, but only restored the Great Wall of China. In fact, the wall is made of smooth, clearly sawn blocks. Is it that in Europe they didn’t know how to cut stone, but in China they were able to? In addition, they sawed stone soft rocks, and it is better to build fortresses from granite or basalt, or from something no less hard. But they learned to cut granites and basalts only in the twentieth century. Along its entire length of four and a half thousand kilometers, the wall is made of monotonous blocks of the same size, but over two thousand years the methods of stone processing inevitably had to change. And construction methods have changed over the centuries.

This researcher believes that the Great Wall of China was built to protect the Ala Shan and Ordos deserts from sandstorms. He noticed that on the map compiled at the beginning of the twentieth century by the Russian traveler P. Kozlov, one can see how the Wall runs along the border of shifting sands, and in some places it has significant branches. But it was near the deserts that researchers and archaeologists discovered several parallel walls. Galanin explains this phenomenon very simply: when one wall was covered with sand, another was built. The researcher does not deny the military purpose of the Wall in its eastern part, but the western part of the Wall, in his opinion, served the function of protecting agricultural areas from natural disasters.

Soldiers of the invisible front

Perhaps the answers lie in the beliefs of the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom themselves? It is difficult for us, people of our time, to believe that our ancestors would erect barriers to repel the aggression of imaginary enemies, for example, disembodied otherworldly entities with evil intentions. But the whole point is that our distant predecessors considered evil spirits to be completely real beings.

Residents of China (both today and in the past) are convinced that the world around them is inhabited by thousands of demonic creatures that are dangerous to humans. One of the names of the wall sounds like “the place where 10 thousand spirits live.”

Another interesting fact: the Great Wall of China does not stretch in a straight line, but in a winding one. And the features of the relief have nothing to do with it. If you look closely, you will find that even in flat areas it “winds” around. What was the logic of the ancient builders?

The ancients believed that all these creatures could move exclusively in a straight line and were unable to avoid obstacles along the way. Perhaps the Great Wall of China was built to block their path?

Meanwhile, it is known that Emperor Qin Shihuang Di constantly conferred with astrologers and consulted with fortunetellers during construction. According to legend, the soothsayers told him that a terrible sacrifice could bring glory to the ruler and provide reliable defense to the state - the bodies of the unfortunate people buried in the wall who died during the construction of the structure. Who knows, perhaps these nameless builders are still standing eternally guarding the borders of the Celestial Empire...

Let's look at the photo of the wall:

Masterok,
livejournal

Despite the fact that the height of the Great Wall of China is about ten meters, climbing it is much easier than descending. The ascent is cheerful, cheerful, fervent, but the descent is real torture. All levels have different heights- from 5 to 30 centimeters, so you need to look at your feet extremely carefully. When descending from such a height, the main thing is not to stop, since it will be extremely difficult to continue the descent after stopping. Nevertheless, the Great Wall of China is the place where every tourist wants to visit.

Despite such difficulties, the tourist will be provided with vivid impressions for the rest of his life, and he will be able to feel like a 100% local resident. It’s not for nothing that the Chinese love to repeat the words of Mao Zedong: whoever has not climbed the Wall is not Chinese. The Great Wall of China from space is also a popular request from tourists as the grand structure has a unique view from space.

The Great Wall of China is the largest architectural monument ever built by human hands. Its total length (including its branches) is almost nine thousand kilometers (however, some researchers claim that the length of the Great Wall of China actually exceeds 21 thousand km). The width of the wall is from 5 to 8 meters, the height is about ten. Some facts say that at one time it was used as a road, and in some places additional fortifications and fortresses were erected near it.

Who built the Great Wall of China and how did it happen? Construction of the wall officially began in the third century BC by order of Emperor Qin Shihuang. The original purpose of construction was to protect the country from barbarian raids. It fixed the borders of the Chinese empire, which at that time consisted of several conquered kingdoms, and thereby contributed to the formation of a single state. It was also intended for the Chinese themselves, since it was not supposed to allow them to leave the country, return to a semi-nomadic way of life and merge with the barbarians.

The Great Wall of China is also interesting because it fits extremely organically into the surrounding landscape and one can even argue that it forms an integral composition with it. And all because during construction it smoothly skirted mountains, spurs, hills, and deep gorges.

Nowadays, the Great Wall of China and its length leaves tourists with an ambiguous opinion about itself. On the one hand, restoration work has been carried out in some places, lighting and illumination have been added. On the other hand, in places where tourists are a rare occurrence, it is completely abandoned, and the few travelers who get there have to make their way through dense bushes, crumbling steps and areas that are dangerous to such an extent that you have to almost crawl through them (otherwise you might break down).

The height of the walls of this amazing structure is on average about seven and a half meters (if we take into account rectangular shape battlements - then all nine), width at the top - 5.5 m, at the bottom - 6.5 m. Towers of two types are built into the wall, mainly rectangular in shape:

• The towers that existed before construction are smaller in width than the wall;
• The towers, which were built simultaneously with it, were placed every two hundred meters.

There are signal towers in the wall - from them the soldiers watched the enemies and transmitted signals.

Where does the wall begin

The Great Wall of China begins in the northern city of Shanhai-guan (located on the shores of the Bohai Bay of the Yellow Sea) and is the easternmost point of the Long Wall (that is what the Chinese call this structure).

Considering that for the Chinese the Great Wall of China symbolizes the earthen dragon, its head is the Laoluntou Tower (Dragon Head), from which this grandiose structure originates. Moreover, it is interesting that Laoluntou is not only the beginning of the Great Wall of China, but also the only place in China where it is washed by the sea, and where it directly extends 23 meters into the bay.

Where does the wall end

From Laolongtou, the Great Wall of China zigzags across half the country into the center of China and ends near the city of Jiayuguan - this is where it is best preserved. Despite the fact that the fortpost here was built back in the 14th century, it was constantly restored and strengthened, thanks to which over time it became the best outpost of the Celestial Empire.

According to one legend, the craftsmen so accurately calculated the amount of material needed for the construction of the walls that when the construction was completed, only one brick remained, which, as a symbol of respect for the ancient builders, was subsequently placed on the arch of the outer wall of the gate facing the west.

An outpost was erected near Jiayuoshan Mountain and it consists of a semicircular outer adobe wall in front of the main gate, ditch, compacted earthen embankment and inner wall. As for the gates, they are located on the eastern and western sides of the outpost. Here is the Yuntai Tower - it is interesting because on its interior walls you can see carved bas-reliefs of heavenly kings and Buddhist texts.

Lost section of wall

Several years ago, on the border with Mongolia, scientists found a fragment of a wall that was built during the Han Dynasty, about which researchers had no idea before. Five years later, its continuation was discovered in neighboring Mongolia.

Building a wall

One Chinese legend says that the mortar used to fasten stones together was made from powder prepared from the bones of people who died while working on a construction site. Naturally, this is not true: ancient masters prepared mortar from ordinary rice flour.

Interesting facts say that until the Qin dynasty, any available materials were used in the construction of walls. To do this, layers of clay and small stones were laid between the rods, and sometimes unfired bricks dried in the sun were used. It is precisely because of the use of such building materials The Chinese called their wall the “earth dragon.”

When representatives of the Qin dynasty came to power, they began to use stone slabs to build the wall, which were laid end-to-end on compacted earth. True, the stone was used mainly in the east of the country, since it was not difficult to get it there. In the western lands it was difficult to access, so the walls were built from compacted embankment.

Pre-construction

Erect Long wall began in the third century BC even before the unification of the kingdoms into one empire, when they fought with each other. More than one million people took part in its construction, which was 1/5 of the total Chinese population.

First of all, it was needed to protect cities that had become large shopping centers, from nomads. The first walls were adobe structures. Since at that time a single Celestial Empire did not yet exist, several kingdoms began to build them around their possessions:

1. Kingdom of Wei - around 352 BC;
2. Kingdoms of Qin and Zhao - around 300 BC;
3. Yan Kingdom - around 289 BC

Emperor Qin Shi Huang: Construction begins

After Shi Huangdi united the warring kingdoms into one country, the Celestial Empire became an extremely powerful power. It was then that the commander Meng Tian received orders to begin construction (primarily near the ridge of the Yingshan mountain range).

For the construction, first of all, existing walls were used: they were strengthened and connected to new areas. At the same time, the walls separating the kingdoms were demolished.

They built the wall over the course of ten years, and the work was extremely difficult: difficult terrain for such work, lack of adequate food and water, numerous epidemics and hard work. As a result, more than one thousand people died here (that’s why this wall is unofficially called the longest cemetery on the planet).

The Chinese had an entire funeral ceremony specifically designed for those who lost their lives on construction work. While the relatives of the deceased were carrying the coffin, there was a cage on it with a white rooster in it. According to legend, the bird's cries kept the spirit of a dead person awake until the funeral procession crossed the Long Wall.

If this is not done, then the spirit of the deceased will wander along the structure that destroyed him until the end of the century.

Researchers claim the construction of the wall played an important role in the overthrow of the Qin Dynasty.

Construction during the Han Dynasty

When the country began to be ruled by the Han Dynasty (206 BC -220 AD), construction continued to the west, and thus reached Dunhuang. In addition, at this time it was connected to watchtowers located in the desert (their main purpose was to protect caravans from nomads).

Representatives of the Han Dynasty reconstructed the existing walls and added about ten thousand kilometers more (which is twice as much as their predecessors). About 750 thousand people took part in the construction.

Construction during the Ming Dynasty

Sections of the wall that have been well preserved to this day, from 1368 to 1644. built by representatives of the Ming Dynasty. To do this, they used brick and stone blocks, which made the structure much stronger and more reliable than before. It was during this time that the Great Wall of China was built in Shanhaiguan and connected to the western outpost of Yumenguan.

The effectiveness of the wall as a defensive structure

An example of the effectiveness of this structure as a defensive structure can well be the words of the medieval historian Wang Sitong, who said that when the authorities announced the construction of a wall in the east of the country, the barbarians would certainly attack from the west. They easily destroyed walls, climbed over them and robbed - whatever they wanted and wherever they wanted. When they left, the walls began to be built again.

Despite all the criticism, in our time the Chinese have given their wall a new meaning - it has come to symbolize the indestructibility, endurance and creative power of the nation.

What breaks down the wall

Fragments of the wall, which are significantly removed from the tourist pilgrimage, are in terrible condition. At the same time, it is not only time that destroys them. Facts say that in Gansu province, due to unsustainable farming practices, almost all underground springs have dried up, so this area has recently become the site of severe sandstorms. Because of this, about forty kilometers of the wall (out of fifty) have already disappeared from the face of the earth, and the height has decreased from 5 to 2 meters.

Several years ago, in Hebei province, a section of the wall, the length of which was about thirty-six meters, collapsed due to days of rain.

Quite often, the wall is dismantled by local residents when they plan to build a village where it runs, or simply need building stone to build their houses. Other facts indicate that the wall is destroyed during the construction of a highway, railway, etc. Some “artists” raise their hand to paint the walls with graffiti, which also does not contribute to the integrity of the image.