Around 220 BC, Qin Shihuang, who dominated the world, connected some intermittent fortifications built earlier into a complete defense system to resist aggression from the north. In the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1368 ~ 1644), construction continued, making the Great Wall the longest military facility in the world. Its cultural and artistic value is equal to its historical and strategic importance.
The Great Wall is an ancient defense project with the longest construction time and the largest engineering quantity in the world. Since the 7th and 8th centuries BC, it has been built continuously for more than 2,000 years, distributed on the vast land in the north and middle of China, with a total length of more than 50,000 kilometers, which is called "Wan Li with more than 2,000 years up and down, vertical and horizontal 10". Such a huge project is unique not only in China, but also in the world, so it was listed as one of the seven wonders of the world with the Colosseum and the Leaning Tower of Pisa hundreds of years ago.
201On June 5th, February, National Cultural Heritage Administration released the investigation and appraisal results of Juyongguan Great Wall resources: the total length of the Great Wall in previous dynasties was 21196.18km, including the Great Wall heritage of walls, trenches, single buildings, closed castles and related facilities, etc. 4372 1. It is urgent to rescue and protect these representative sites of the Great Wall.
The history of building the Great Wall can be traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty in the 9th century BC, in order to defend against the attack of nomadic people in the north. Once built a continuous arrangement of castles "Fierce City" as a defense. In the 7th and 8th centuries BC, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the governors of various countries fought for hegemony and defended each other, and fought their own battles according to their own defense needs? The Great Wall is built on the border. The earliest building was the Great Wall of Chu in the 7th century BC, followed by Qi, Han, Wei, Zhao, Yan, Qin and Zhong? The mountains and other vassal States built the Great Wall to defend themselves. 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.
In 22 1 BC, Qin Shihuang destroyed the governors of six countries and unified the world, ending the disputes in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and completing the great cause of the first feudal centralized and unified country in the history of China. In order to consolidate the safety of the unified empire and the safety of production? Set, defend the powerful Xiongnu nomadic slave owners in the north, and then overhaul the Great Wall. Besides using the original Yan, Zhao and Qin parts? In addition to the foundation of the Great Wall in the north, many places have been newly built and expanded, "from Lintao in the west to Liaodong in the east, with a span of Vandory". This is the title of Wan Li Great Wall. Since Qin Shihuang, almost all dynasties that ruled the Central Plains have built the Great Wall. More than ten dynasties, including Han, Jin, Northern Huai, 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, among which the Great Wall of Han, Jin and Ming dynasties was the largest, reaching 5,000? Km or 10000 km. Their status is different. 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, more than those ruled by the Han nationality. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, although the large-scale construction of the Great Wall was stopped, it was later built in some places. It can be said that since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period? From the beginning to the Qing Dynasty, the construction of the Great Wall has never stopped for more than 2,000 years.
The defense engineering system of the Great Wall? The Great Wall, which stretches across Wan Li, is not only a single wall, but a complete defense engineering system composed of various fortifications such as the wall, watchtower, Guancheng, Dunbao, Yingcheng, Wei Shuo and Zhencheng beacon tower. This national defense engineering system is commanded and controlled by military command systems at all levels. Take the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty as an example. There are nine military jurisdictions on the Great Wall, namely Liaodong, Yuji, Fu Xuan, Datong, Shaanxi, Yulin, Ningxia, Guyuan and Gansu? The Great Wall starts from Yalu River in the east and ends at Jiayuguan in the west, with a total length of more than 7,000 kilometers, which is called "Nine Faces Weight". "Town, every town has a company commander as the military chief of this section of the Great Wall. Under the command of the Ministry of War, he is responsible for the defense within the military region under his jurisdiction? Or ordered to support the defense of the surrounding military regions. The defensive forces along the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty were about 1 10,000 people. The company commanders are usually stationed? In the town, other officials at all levels are stationed in health centers, camps, Guancheng and enemy towers and piers on the city walls.
National defense engineering building of the Great Wall? The defense engineering building of the Great Wall has accumulated rich experience in the construction process of more than two thousand years. First of all, in terms of layout, when Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall in Wan Li, he summarized the experience of "blocking roads because of dangerous terrain". This principle has been followed for more than two thousand years and has become an important basis for military deployment. Based on the principle of "using local materials and teaching students in accordance with their aptitude", many structural methods have been created. There is also a mixture of rammed earth, stones, flaky and masonry? Isomorphic structure; In the desert, the structure of willow branches, reeds and sand grains is also used, which is called "ingenuity". In today's Yumenguan, Yangguan, Xinjiang and other places in Gansu Province, this section of the Great Wall remains in the Western Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago.
● The wall of the Great Wall is the main part of this defense project. It is built on steep mountains or plains. Built according to the needs of terrain and defense function, everything is tall and strong in plains or passes, but in mountainous areas? Dangerous places are relatively low and narrow to save manpower and cost, and even some steepest places can be mined without building? Take the method of "dangerous mountain wall" and "splitting mountain wall", and the Great Wall City in Juyongguan, Badaling, Hebei, Shanxi and Gansu? The average height of the wall is about seven or eight meters, the bottom is about six or seven meters thick and the top is about four or five meters wide. On top of the city wall, there is a building wall inside. It is more than one meter high to prevent patrol soldiers from falling. The outer side is provided with a crib wall, which is about 2 meters high, and the upper part of the crib wall is provided with a lookout. There are shooting holes and rolling stone holes in the lower part, which are used to observe the enemy situation and shoot and roll stones. On top of some important city walls, there are floors? Barricade wall, in order to resist the enemy who boarded the wall. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, when the famous anti-Japanese warrior Qi Jiguang was transferred to Yuji Town as the company commander? The fortifications of the Great Wall have been greatly improved, and an enemy tower or platform has been set up at the top of the wall to accommodate patrolling soldiers and soldiers. Storing weapons, food and socks greatly enhanced the defensive function of the Great Wall.
● Guancheng is the most concentrated defensive stronghold on the defense line of Wan Li Great Wall. The location of Guancheng is very important. Have they all been chosen? Choosing a place with favorable defensive terrain can achieve the effect of resisting powerful invaders with very few troops. In ancient times, it was called "one person guards it, and ten thousand people can't force it", which vividly explained the importance of Guancheng. Guancheng along the Great Wall is large and small, with a large number. With what? As far as the Guancheng of the Ming Great Wall is concerned, there are nearly a thousand places, such as Shanhaiguan, Huangyaguan, Juyongguan and Zijingguan. 、? Daomaguan, Pingxingguan, Yanmenguan, Pianguan, Jiayuguan, Yangguan and Yumenguan in the Han Dynasty. Some big ones are still near Guancheng? There are many small passes, for example, there are more than a dozen small pass cities near Shanhaiguan, which together constitute the defense engineering building system of the Great Wall of Wan Li. ? Some important passes have several lines of defense, such as Juyongguan, Nanguan, Beiguan and Shangguan. Badaling, the north entrance, is the most important outpost of Juyongguan.
● The beacon tower is one of the most important components of the Wan Li Great Wall defense project. What is its function as a transmission? Military intelligence facilities. Beacon, a tool for transmitting information, has existed for a long time. Was the Great Wall built well? Using and gradually improving it has become one of the best ways to transmit military information in ancient times. The way to spread is to burn smoke during the day and raise fire at night, because the sun is very strong during the day and the fire is not easy to see, and it can be seen far away at night. This is a very scientific and fast way of information transmission. In order to report the number of invading enemy soldiers, the number of smoke and fire is used to distinguish. In the Ming Dynasty, the number of cigarettes and torches was also increased, so as to enhance the effect of alarm and make military information transmit thousands of miles in an instant. In the absence of telephone and radio communication in ancient times, this method of transmitting military information can be said? Very fast. The layout of the beacon tower is also very important. The important thing is to arrange it in high mountains or dangerous places. Where the peaks and turns around, and it must be that all three stations can see each other, so that it is easy to see and transmit. Beacon Tower used to be called Pavilion, Pavilion Tunnel and Beacon Tower in Han Dynasty, and Yandun in Ming Dynasty. In addition to transmitting military information, it also protects the safety of diplomatic envoys, provides accommodation, supplies horses and other services. In some sections of the Great Wall, there are only beacon towers and pavilions without walls, which shows the importance of beacon towers in the Great Wall defense system.
Status quo and protection of the Great Wall: Affected by natural and man-made factors such as earthquake, flood, wind and rain erosion for a long time, the protection of the Great Wall site in China is not optimistic. Take the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty as an example, only 8.2% of the man-made city walls are in good condition, while 74. 1% is in poor condition and even only underground foundation remains. A large number of Great Wall sites are facing great dangers such as collapse and tilt. At present, the Great Wall has the following main problems in protection, research and management:
First, the phenomenon of legal person breaking the law is serious. Some localities and departments unilaterally pursue immediate interests and local interests in capital construction and the utilization of the Great Wall resources, and dig and destroy the Great Wall at will. Second, the awareness of protection is relatively weak, and some local people lack knowledge and awareness of cultural relics protection. The phenomenon of taking bricks and soil, leveling roads and planting crops on the Great Wall is more serious. Third, the basic work of protection is quite weak. Due to the remoteness of the Great Wall, local financial difficulties and poor management ability, the basic work of its "four haves" (that is, delineating the scope of protection, making signs, establishing records and files, and setting up management institutions or personnel) is progressing slowly; Fourth, the overall research level is not high, and the research power is scattered. There are few academic achievements that have a significant impact on the value, characteristics, protection, maintenance, display, monitoring and management of the Great Wall World Cultural Heritage and have been widely recognized by the international heritage protection community.
National Cultural Heritage Administration said that during the Twelfth Five-Year Plan period, technical forces should be organized to carry out rescue protection and maintenance projects of the Great Wall in batches according to the degree of danger. Necessary protective facilities, such as safety, lightning protection, fences, etc. Set up a monitoring and early warning system for the Great Wall in the sections of the Great Wall that are of great value or have been opened for visit, basically eliminate major hidden dangers, ensure the effective protection of the Great Wall heritage identified by investigation, and greatly enhance the overall protection of the Great Wall.
Wan Li Great Wall: A Dragon in China.