What is the Great Wall?

Collision breeds colorful

Collision creates power

We once used an article titled "Where did China come from" to describe

How the collision of plates shaped China's physical geography

The formation of the Chinese nation

It is also closely related to a collision

This is farming and nomadism

Thousands of years of collision and fusion

The front line of the collision

It is still vivid on the surface of the earth

The most spectacular and longest cultural heritage on earth

Great Wall

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Wuwei, Gansu, Wushaoling Great Wall, this is the highest Great Wall in China, with an altitude of about 3,000 meters, photographer @魏悦忠)

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Yes

The Great Wall and the Formation of the Chinese Nation and Chinese Civilization

Closely related

That’s why

It can be ranked alongside the Yangtze River and the Yellow River.

Become the spiritual symbol of the Chinese nation

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Beijing Miyun, Simatai Great Wall, photographer @王启宏)

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Ignore the mountains and rivers

Ignore altitude differences

Crossing the Gobi Desert and climbing over thousands of peaks

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Beijing Huairou, Jiankou Great Wall, photographer @魏悦忠)

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Can cross thousands of miles of mountains and rivers

Become a long

21196.18km

A dragon half the length of the equator

A dragon that has no equal in the history of ancient civilization

It is the largest human work in the history of the world.

(The above data comes from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage; please watch in horizontal screen, the distribution of the Great Wall of China in various dynasties, map by @陈志浩&张靖/Planet Research Institute)

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All this

From the land of China

A far-reaching division

01

Division

About 10,000 years ago

Sedentary farming groups

Gradually expanding in the north and south of China

But in the northern grasslands, crops are difficult to grow

Nearly 3,000 years ago

With the domestication of animals

People began to domesticate cattle and sheep and live wherever there is water and grass.

A nomadic group that was very different from farming was born

On the Chinese land

Since then, there has been a division between farming and nomadism.

This also marked the beginning of a 2,000-year-long confrontation between the two major ethnic groups.

Or the nomadic people drove their horses southward, knocked on the gates and plundered.

Or the agricultural dynasty crossed the line and counterattacked, attacking the royal court

(Sketch of the modern agricultural-pastoral transition zone and the Great Wall of various dynasties, drawn by @陈志浩/Planetary Research Institute)

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During the Warring States Period, more than 2,000 years ago

The states that attacked each other

On each other's borders

Building a continuous wall is the border wall

And attached with facilities such as pass, pavilion and barrier

To prevent enemy raids

soon

The more northern states

This defense system was also used to defend against nomadic groups.

This is what later generations called the Great Wall.

It is worth noting that

The Great Wall since its creation

It's not just the side walls.

It includes a series of facilities such as passes, pavilions and barriers.

Systematic defense engineering

(Distribution of the Great Wall of the Warring States Period, drawn by @Chen Zhihao/Planet Research Institute)

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Faced with such a defense system

Originally highly mobile nomadic cavalry

The only way to go south is to take a detour or break through the Great Wall.

Mobility is greatly reduced

And even if a Great Wall is breached

Nomadic cavalry also face the problem of moving south

The risk of being blocked

The Great Wall thus became

The Central Plains states used this weapon to fight against nomadic invasions

The sadness also shifted to the latter's face.

(The early Great Wall is shown in the figure. The inner and outer sides of the Great Wall are for illustration only, not the real inner and outer sides. The base map is the Dunhuang Han Great Wall Ruins. Map by @Du Rui/Planetary Research Institute. Image source: @Visual China)

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But few people realize

The Great Wall will bring more than just tactical changes to both sides.

It is an unprecedented qualitative change in the political organization.

Inside the Great Wall

The Qin State fought a brutal war

Destroy the six kingdoms and unify the Central Plains

The first unified dynasty in Chinese history

Qin Dynasty

Born in the agricultural land

(Xiaoshetai Qin Great Wall, picture source @Visual China)

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Beyond the Great Wall

The scattered nomadic tribes faced an impenetrable Great Wall.

Beginning to unite

On the vast grassland

The first powerful tribal alliance

Huns

Also quietly rising

They will be the ones who will be

The nightmare of farming people

(Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, Wulanbutong Grassland, Photographer @朱正)

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The growing strength of the Huns

While Qin unified the six kingdoms and had no time to look north,

Break through the Great Wall and capture Hetao

After the establishment of the Qin Dynasty

General Meng Tian led his army to defeat the Xiongnu

And along the Yinshan Mountains that separate farming and animal husbandry

Cutting rocks and building stone walls

The Yinshan Great Wall

(Qin Great Wall in Guyang County, Baotou, Inner Mongolia, photographer @黑桃K)

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But only so

Obviously, it cannot meet the needs of resisting the Huns.

The Great Wall built by each vassal

Connected by Meng Tian

West to Lintao, Gansu, east to the Korean Peninsula

Between China's first unified agricultural dynasty and nomadic empire

A defense line of more than 10,000 miles

Great Wall

Born

(Distribution of the Great Wall of the Qin Dynasty, map by @Chen Zhihao/Planet Research Institute)

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In the process

The Qin Dynasty used harsh laws to conscript many people to build the Great Wall

The countless sorrows and sorrows that occurred during this period

Became the material for the legend of Meng Jiangnu

And more tyranny is superimposed

Eventually, the peasants were forced to revolt.

It also sounded the death knell of the tyrannical Qin Dynasty.

(Jinan, Shandong, the Great Wall of Qi during the Warring States Period. The prototype of the legend of Meng Jiangnu actually took place at the Great Wall of Qi during the Warring States Period. Photographer @杨东)

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After the Qin Dynasty

The new Han Dynasty urgently needed to recuperate

Therefore, they temporarily formed a marriage alliance with the Xiongnu to make peace.

And agreed to use the Great Wall as the boundary

(Emperor Wen of Han sent a letter to Chanyu, from "Records of the Grand Historian: Biography of the Xiongnu")

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North of the Great Wall, the country of bows, was appointed by the Chanyu

Inside the Great Wall, I also built the room for wearing hats and belts.

Under the seemingly peaceful "plastic peace"

The confrontation between farming and nomadism has escalated

Quietly gestating

02

upgrade

121 BC

On the vast Mobei grassland

Huo Qubing, a 19-year-old general of the Han army

Leading the cavalry on a 1,000-kilometer long-distance raid

More than 70,000 Xiongnu were captured

He also offered sacrifices to heaven and earth at Mount Langjuxu

This is "Fenglangjuxu"

It became a synonym for the highest honor for ancient Chinese soldiers.

(Mongolia's Hangai Mountain, formerly known as "Yanran Mountain", is as famous as "Yanran Legong" and "Fenglangjuxu". Both Hangai Mountain and Langjuxu Mountain are now located in Mongolia. Image source: @Visual China)

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The northern border of the Han Dynasty at that time

Almost every household raises horses

Sufficient war horses supported the Han army generals

Defeat the Huns in the Hun way

"If the enemy can go, I can go too"

Their cavalrymen were each equipped with two horses.

Faster than the Huns

They also plundered a large number of Xiongnu livestock to support the war.

Reduce logistical pressure

(The above “If the enemy can go, I can go too” comes from the lines of Emperor Wu of Han in the TV series “The Emperor of Han Wu”; Shandan Military Horse Farm, Zhangye, Gansu, picture source @Visual China)

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but

Military victory could not completely eliminate the Huns.

Vast grasslands full of life

Just a few years or decades

It will allow the Huns to regain their strength.

then

Active attack

While building the Great Wall for long-term confrontation

Two preparations for becoming the Han Empire

The Great Wall of Han

East to the Korean Peninsula

West to the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain

The total length is nearly 20,000 miles, the longest in Chinese history.

(Distribution of the Great Wall in the Han Dynasty, drawn by @Chen Zhihao/Planet Research Institute)

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Most of the Han Great Wall was built with rammed earth or stones.

The craftsmen first placed the wooden boards on both sides.

Then fill it with soil and tamp it down with a pestle.

Then lift the wooden board upwards and fill it with soil and tamp it down.

This cycle continues, layer by layer

This is the rammed earth construction method

In areas lacking soil

For example, the Hexi Corridor and the Western Desert

The sand and plant branches are rammed alternately.

It is also called "Reed Great Wall" and "Red Willow Great Wall".

(Please watch in horizontal mode, a diagram of the construction of the Hexi Great Wall in the Han Dynasty, drawn by @杜睿&大雄/Planet Research Institute)

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These rammed earth walls

More than 2,000 years

Still winding among the towering mountains

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Wuwei, Gansu, Wushaoling Great Wall. It is worth noting that the Great Wall of the Han and Ming dynasties are both distributed in Wushaoling. This picture is for illustration only. Photographer: Liu Zhongwen)

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Or guarding the lush oasis

(Dunhuang Dafangpan City, Jiuquan, Gansu, may have been a warehouse for the Dunhuang garrison during the Han Dynasty, photographer @杨文杰)

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at the same time

To save construction costs

The Han Dynasty did not build a continuous border wall along the entire line

But in some areas

Build a defense line with beacons

Beacon towers are towers that are higher than the ground.

In case of enemy

During the day, smoke is burned on it, which is called "beacon".

At night, fire is lit on it, which is called "flint".

Different types and quantities of fuel

It also corresponds to the number of enemies.

(Diagram of beacon towers during the day and night in the Han Dynasty, drawn by @Daxiong & Du Rui/Planetary Research Institute)

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Beacons may stand on the peaks

Looking far ahead

(Xiaokouzidun, Zhangye, Gansu; as there are few Han Dynasty beacon towers left, most of the following pictures are of Ming Dynasty beacon towers, which will not be repeated below. Photographer: @魏悦忠)

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Or standing on a major traffic route

Monitoring of transactions

(Gansu Jinchang, Gao Sidun, photographer @刘忠文)

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Or standing by a spring or river in the desert

Control water sources

(Zhangye, Gansu, Tuerdun, photographer @魏悦忠)

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Or in the long night

Watch the Stars

(Wuwei, Gansu, with Comet Neowise in the same frame, Wushaoling Beacon Tower, photographer @Luyi)

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This wisp of smoke

It constituted the fastest military communication system in ancient times.

Some scholars have calculated

From Dunhuang to Chang'an is more than 1,700 kilometers

The speed of smoke signals in the Han Dynasty could reach 580 kilometers per day to convey enemy information.

It only takes 3 days and 2 nights to deliver

Even with the modern Mongolian horse running at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour

This distance will take at least 5 days and 4 nights

This means

The flames of war are faster than horses

(The long-distance running data of modern Mongolian horses above comes from the 1903 Beijing-Tianjin long-distance riding competition. During the 120-kilometer journey, the champion horse had an average speed of 16 kilometers per hour; Jiuquan, Gansu, a beacon tower on the Qilian Mountains, photographer @姜鸿)

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In addition to the beacon

The Han Great Wall also has a large number of passes.

The famous Yangguan Pass and Yumen Pass

It was established on the main traffic route of the Silk Road.

Used to check people and goods coming and going

And heavily guarded

For the Han Dynasty merchants traveling to and from the Western Regions

Going out of the pass means leaving the protection

Seeing the pass again symbolizes returning home

This may also be

Another meaning of "Spring breeze does not reach Yumen Pass"

(Jiuquan, Gansu, Yumen Pass in Dunhuang, photographer @赵高翔)

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The Huns faced

This road is composed of border walls, beacon towers, passes, etc.

A super defense line stretching nearly 20,000 miles

Southward advance is frequently blocked

Compared with the increasingly centralized Central Plains Empire

The Xiongnu themselves were only a relatively loose tribal alliance.

The Han Empire's conquests, natural disasters, and power struggles

and the rise of other grassland tribes.

Together, they contributed to the continuous disintegration and division of the Xiongnu.

final

Part of the Xiongnu surrendered to the Han Dynasty

Gradually assimilated into the Han nationality or other ethnic groups

The other part migrated westward

Dispersed in the mist of history

(Siberia, Russia, looking towards the Altai Mountains from Russia; this was the only way for the Northern Huns to migrate westwards, picture source: @Visual China)

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In the next thousand years

The struggle between agriculture and nomadism

Most of them still revolve around the Great Wall.

Even after the northern ethnic minorities established their regime in the Central Plains

The same is true

(Zhangjiakou, Hebei, the Great Wall of Northern Qi. As one of the separatist regimes of the Northern Dynasties, Northern Qi was a Han dynasty that was sinicized by the Xianbei. Photographer: @王启宏)

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Northern Wei and Northern Qi during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties

The Jin Dynasty during the Song-Liao-Jin Confrontation

Their Xianbei and Jurchen rulers

Originated from Northeast China

They have a variety of modes such as nomadic, fishing, hunting, and farming.

It is also easier to accept the farming life in the Central Plains

Therefore, the dynasty they established in the Central Plains

They also continued to build the Great Wall

To protect against nomadic groups further north

(Golden Great Wall of Keshiketeng Banner, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, photographer @杨东)

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However

This time it landed

A very important exception

Tang

The turbulent Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties lasted for more than 300 years

Make many Hu people assimilate

It also made many Han people become Hu people.

National integration in troubled times

It also allowed the rulers of the Tang Dynasty to adopt a more tolerant approach.

Dealing with the conflict between farming and nomadism

(Tang Taizong's oral instructions, from "Zizhi Tongjian·Tang Ji 14")

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"Since ancient times, people have valued China and despised foreigners, but I love them all equally"

The Tang Dynasty recruited and employed a large number of ethnic minority generals

Guard the border with a strong army

And reward the tribal leaders

Use them to rule the grasslands

Under various measures

In addition to building beacon towers in the Western Regions, the Tang Dynasty

The Great Wall is of little use

(Kizilgaha Beacon Tower in Kuche, Aksu, Xinjiang, was first built in the Han Dynasty and was also repaired in the Tang Dynasty. Photographer: @李文博)

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But with the decline of the Tang Dynasty

What followed was the division of the Five Dynasties

Confrontation with Song, Liao, Jin and Western Xia

after

A more powerful nomadic force on the grassland

Begin to form

Conflict between agriculture and nomadism

It will reach an unprecedented peak

And bring the last and most extreme upgrade to the Great Wall

03

peak

13th century AD

Mongolia rises on the steppes

Leader Temujin unified the tribes

And absorbed the centralized advantages of the Central Plains Empire

Established an unprecedented nomadic empire

Nomadic tribes across the grassland

All are classified as 95 thousand households

Below the thousand households is the hundred households, and below the hundred households is the ten households.

A loose tribal alliance during the Xiongnu era

Upgraded to a powerful military-political organization

(Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, life on the grassland, the picture is for illustration only, the picture source is @Visual China)

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So powerful that it is almost overwhelming

Conquered Xixia, conquered Jin Dynasty, and persuaded Tubo to surrender

Conquer Dali and the Southern Song Dynasty

The first unified dynasty in China established by nomadic peoples

Yuan

Born

Less than a century

Zhu Yuanzhang rose up under oppression

Issued a manifesto to "expel the barbarians and restore China"

The Ming army then captured Dadu

Ended the Yuan Dynasty's rule over the country

(Sketch of the territory of the Yuan Dynasty, drawn by @Chen Zhihao/Planetary Research Institute)

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Afterwards

The Ming Dynasty used the emperor to guard the country's borders and established Beijing as the capital

He also made several northern expeditions and went deep into the northern desert.

But the threat of Mongol advance to the south

But still can't end

1449 AD

In a series of chaotic decisions

The Ming emperor was even captured by the Mongols

The Ming Dynasty's defense system is in urgent need of a major upgrade

The Great Wall thus ushered in

The peak of construction lasting nearly 200 years

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Jinshanling Great Wall, Chengde, Hebei, image source: Visual China)

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first

It is an upgrade of materials

The Great Wall of previous dynasties was mostly built with rammed earth and stones.

The important sections of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall

All outside of rammed earth and stone

Additional blue brick cladding

Greatly enhanced the durability of the wall

Blue brick

Repeatedly beaten by extremely sticky river mud

Slow bake for one month on low heat, and bake for half a month on high heat

Then it is roasted over charcoal for three days and three nights.

Its shape is square and its texture is hard

Each piece weighs about 10.5 kg

The craftsman's name is engraved on the bricks.

To check the quality

(The above weights are based on the Great Wall of Jizhou Town and are not unified across the country; the following figure is a schematic diagram of the production of blue bricks in the Ming Dynasty. The production methods vary from place to place. This figure is for reference only. Map by @Du Rui/Planetary Research Institute)

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Between the bricks

Mix lime with river sand and loess

Add glutinous rice juice and sheep peach vine juice

After mixing thoroughly, it is made into white lime and filled with brick joints.

To increase adhesion

(Beijing Miyun, blue bricks on Simatai Great Wall, photographer @杨东)

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therefore

When you see the Great Wall like this in the photo

It is undoubtedly the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty

(Jinshanling Great Wall, Chengde, Hebei, photographer @杨东)

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Secondly

It is an upgrade of defense facilities

Many sections of the Ming Great Wall are no longer just a wall

Spacious top wall

Width ranges from tens of centimeters to several meters

Soldiers can station and fight on it

Becoming a linear combat platform across the border

(Beijing Yanqing, Badaling Great Wall, photographer @杨东)

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On the enemy side of some parts of the Great Wall

Set up pointed crenels

It can broaden the vision of the defenders on the city.

It has also increased the difficulty for enemies to climb the Great Wall.

The crenel can also be equipped with a Portuguese machine

This is a cannon imported from Portugal.

The firing rate can reach up to 7 seconds per round

Enough to inflict heavy damage to the enemy troops at the gate

(Chengde, Hebei, the pointed crenels of the Jinshanling Great Wall, map by @Daxiong/Planetary Research Institute, photographer @Yang Dong)

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A certain slope

Soldiers are easily exposed to enemy attacks

So add a barrier

Protect soldiers from the side

(The barrier wall of Jinshanling Great Wall in Chengde, Hebei, photographer @揣连海)

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The most iconic innovation is

Hollow Enemy Tower

The enemy tower is a high platform that spans the side wall.

Previously usually solid

Under the auspices of Qi Jiguang , a famous general in the Ming Dynasty

A large number of hollow enemy towers appear

In the hollow enemy tower

The garrison's food and weapons were stored there.

Greatly improved the conditions of the garrison soldiers

There are also arrow windows on the outer wall.

According to the number of arrow windows on the maximum side

It is called "Three-Eyed Building" or "Five-Eyed Building".

(Beijing Miyun, Simatai Great Wall, the Three-Eyed Tower is in the foreground, the Five-Eyed Tower is in the distance on the left, photographer @吴强)

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There is even a "Nine-Eyed Building"

Circumference up to 80 meters

The remaining height is still 7.8 meters.

(Beijing Yanqing, Jiuyan Tower, photographer @轻烟)

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The top of the platform above the enemy tower can also be used for observation.

You can also attack enemies from higher ground.

There is usually a small house in the center of the top of the platform.

It is called "loulu"

Sheltering the soldiers from the wind and rain

The entire hollow enemy tower

Rich in functions and powerful in effects

A small castle on the Great Wall

(Sketch of the hollow enemy tower on the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty, drawn by @Daxiong & Du Rui & Zhang Jing/Planetary Research Institute)

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Among the thousands of hollow enemy towers

One even has a command post behind it.

According to legend, it was once the residence of Qi Jiguang

Hence the name "General Building".

(Hebei Chengde, the "General's Tower" of the Jinshanling Great Wall, map by @Daxiong/Planet Research Institute, photographer @Yang Dong)

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A mountain standing at an altitude of nearly 1,000 meters

Looking out over Beijing, which it has guarded for five hundred years

Therefore, it is called "Wangjing Tower".

(Beijing Miyun, Simatai Great Wall "Wangjing Tower", map @Daxiong/Planet Research Institute, photographer @Yang Dong)

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Solid blue brick wall

Ingenious battlements and barriers

And the castle-like hollow enemy tower

Together they form a powerful local defense system

Can kill a large number of invading enemies

(Please watch in horizontal mode, illustration of the war scene on the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty, made by @大雄&杜瑞&张靖/Planet Research Institute)

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in

Jinshanling Great Wall in Chengde, Hebei

The total length is 10.5 kilometers, but there are 67 enemy towers

On average, there is one every 150 meters.

This is the section of the Great Wall where enemy towers are most densely distributed.

(Jinshanling Great Wall, Chengde, Hebei, photographer @Toby who climbs the Great Wall)

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Simatai Great Wall in Miyun, Beijing

The eastern section rises from 295 meters above sea level to 986 meters above sea level.

The drop along the route is close to 700 meters

Standing tall on the mountains

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Beijing Miyun, Simatai Great Wall, photographer @轻烟)

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The Jiankou Great Wall winding through Huairou, Beijing

Multiple wall sections straight up and down

Like a full bow with an arrow

(Beijing Huairou, Jiankou Great Wall, photographer @Toby who climbs the Great Wall)

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The Shanhaiguan Great Wall stretches across Qinhuangdao, Hebei

One section is like a dragon head reaching into the Bohai Sea

So it is called "Old Dragon Head"

(Qinhuangdao, Hebei, Shanhaiguan Laolongtou, photographer @焦潇翔)

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In addition to upgrading materials and facilities

There is a third upgrade

That is, multiple Great Walls are used in important areas.

Shanxi

Guarding Beijing’s flank security

A Great Wall is not enough

The Great Wall in the north of Shanxi was originally used as the Outer Great Wall.

Another Inner Great Wall was built along the Taihang Mountains.

A second Great Wall was built between the inner and outer Great Walls.

The three Great Walls form a triangle in northern Shanxi.

This leaves a wide buffer zone.

Let the enemy cavalry who dared to break into the outer Great Wall

Into the siege

(Sketch of the inner and outer Great Walls of the Ming Dynasty, drawn by @Chen Zhihao/Planetary Research Institute)

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There are many passes here.

The Inner Great Wall has three inner passes.

Juyong Pass, Zijing Pass, Daoma Pass

The Second Great Wall has three outer passes

Yanmen Pass, Ningwu Pass, Piantou Pass

(Yanmen Pass, Xinzhou, Shanxi Province, map by @Daxiong/Planet Research Institute, photographer @Dong Hongwei)

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In this area

Almost every dynasty in the Ming Dynasty had some additions and revisions.

Even in some important defense areas

The number of beacons far exceeds the actual need

Extremely dense, a spectacle

(Datong, Shanxi, Zhenchuankou Great Wall, photographer @Dong Zhuoping)

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The most important thing is the fourth upgrade

Nine-sided defense system

This is a military command system that covers almost the entire northern border of the Ming Dynasty.

Horizontally

The Ming Great Wall from west to east

Divided into 9 key towns for defense

Abbreviated as "Nine Sides"

(Distribution of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty and the "Nine Frontiers". "Wala" and "Tartar" are the names of Mongolian tribes. Map by @Chen Zhihao/Planetary Research Institute)

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Vertically

Each important town is divided into five layers.

Military castles are set up layer by layer

Increase defense in depth

The highest level is town

There are 3 to 8 road cities under it.

Several acropolises were set up under the road city.

Several cities were set up under the Acropolis

The lowest level is the castle

Together they form a tightly coordinated military castle system

(Please watch in horizontal mode. This is a diagram of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall castle defense system. The scale of garrisons at each level is for reference only. Map by @大雄&张靖/星球研究院)

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in

The largest town is Xuanfu Town

The town's circumference is 14,104 meters

The maximum number of troops stationed was 150,000

(Zhangjiakou, Hebei, Xuanhua Town Shuo Tower, which is also the drum tower of Xuanhua Ancient City, picture source @Visual China)

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The lowest level military fort is no less impressive

For example, Laoniuwanbao in Xinzhou, Shanxi

Controlling the Yellow River and looking at the Mongolian border from afar

(Laoniuwanbao, Xinzhou, Shanxi, photographer @杨东)

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There are even military forts built on top of the Yungang Grottoes.

The majestic momentum stands on the top of the Buddhist country

(Yungang Fort, Datong, Shanxi, photographer @Toby who climbs the Great Wall)

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Millions of soldiers from all corners of the world

Stay in one of the 700+ castles

Farming in peacetime

Killing enemies in blood during war

The most vivid and lively part of the Ming Great Wall

1555 AD

The Mongols break through the Great Wall

Laoyingbao in Xinzhou, Shanxi Province, rose up to resist

Facing an enemy that is several times larger than oneself

The defenders vowed to fight to the death, and all 700 of them died in the battle.

(Laoyingbao, Xinzhou, Shanxi, photographer @黄雪峰)

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1557 AD

Youwei City in northern Shanxi was surrounded by heavy siege

A full six months

Soldiers and civilians in the city demolished their houses for heating and ate horses for food

No one surrendered

(Shuozhou, Shanxi, Youwei City, photographer @Huang Xuefeng)

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However

The Great Wall defense system has reached its peak

Can it really be as solid as a rock?

1629 AD

Huang Taiji of the Later Jin Dynasty led his army to break into Xifengkou

The gates of Beijing were forced to close tightly, and no one dared to make any rash moves.

After that, he attacked the Great Wall four times in succession.

They looted the area around the capital, plundering millions of people

1644

Ming Army garrison commander at Shanhaiguan

Kaesong welcomes the Qing army

Another dynasty ends

(Qinhuangdao, Hebei, Shanhaiguan, photographer @揣连海)

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The reason

The Great Wall at its peak

It can only be a part of the defense system of the Central Plains Dynasty.

It's not even the decisive factor.

In the face of corrupt and incompetent rulers and bureaucratic systems

No matter how sophisticated the defense system is, it is powerless to save the situation.

But the more important question is

Conflict between agriculture and nomadism

Where will it go?

What historical mission will the Great Wall face?

04

Fusion

Answer

Maybe it has appeared before

November 8, 1570 AD

In Yunshibao near Datong

The defending general Yuan Zongru was on pins and needles

Outside the castle

It was the Mongolian army and 9 Ming army prisoners

However, the imperial edict to release the Mongolian prisoners has not yet arrived.

The Mongolian army suspected that the Ming Dynasty lacked sincerity and became restless.

At the critical moment

Yuan Zongru and his 12-year-old son volunteered to serve as hostages

The Mongolian army was deeply moved and called off the battle

Eight days later, the imperial edict arrived and the two sides successfully negotiated peace.

The beginning of the war between Mongolia and the Ming Dynasty

Decades of peaceful trade

Known in history as the "Longqing Peace Agreement"

(Datong, Shanxi, Desheng Fort. The above scene takes place in Yunshi Fort in Datong, but the Longqing Peace Talks took place in Desheng Fort. Photographer: Wang Lu)

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The Great Wall Refuses to Be Conquered

But did not refuse to communicate

A heavily guarded grim fortress

Transformed into a fireworks market for peaceful trade

Herders use cattle, sheep and horses on the grassland

Exchange cloth and tea from farmers

(Ming Dynasty: Mu Wenxi, Zhangjiakou)

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"Golden whip proudly tramples on peach blossom horses, chasing the Chanyu into the market"

(Zhangjiakou, Hebei, Xidapingbao, Weixian, photographer @杨东)

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Trade around the Great Wall

It is the prelude to the integration of the Central Plains and the grasslands

The next game-breaker came from the Qing Dynasty.

Through a series of political, military and religious means

The relationship between the Qing rulers and the Mongolian princes became increasingly close

Conflicts disappear

Great Wall

From "outer frontier" to "inner frontier"

Become a tool for rulers to carry out internal bans

The 2,000-year-old frontier epic finally came to an end

The Qing Dynasty also built on this basis

Achieved unprecedented unification in Chinese history

At the same time, Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui and Tibetan peoples were included in his command

And laid the foundation for the modern Chinese territory

(Putuo Zongcheng Temple in Chengde, Hebei Province. This is a Tibetan Buddhist temple built by Emperor Qianlong to receive Mongolian princes who came to celebrate his 60th birthday. It is worth noting that the Qing Dynasty achieved the unification of the Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui and Tibetan regions for the first time in Chinese history. Image source: Visual China)

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The Great Wall

More witnesses of the integration of the Great Wall inside and outside

September 7, 1689

The Sino-Russian Treaty of Nerchinsk stipulates tea trade

A "Tea Road" passing through Zhangjiakou was formed.

This Ming Dynasty Great Wall military fort

It became one of the financial centers in the middle of the Qing Dynasty.

(Please watch in horizontal mode, Zhangjiakou, Hebei, Dajingmen, photographer @周璐玮)

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1902

The Qing government lifted the ban on grassland reclamation

Allowing the people of Shanxi and Shaanxi to walk out of the Great Wall to kill the tiger

Develop a new home

This is how the name "Zou Xikou" came about.

The agricultural and pastoral boundaries that have been crossed for thousands of years

Disappeared into the invisible

(Shahukou, Shuozhou, Shanxi, this is the only way for Shanxi immigrants to go north in the late Qing Dynasty, photographer @杨东)

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But the mission of the Great Wall

But it’s far from over

On the evening of March 12, 1933

The setting sun is like blood

On a hill in Gubeikou

7 Chinese soldiers resisted the attack of more than 2,000 Japanese troops

After killing more than 160 Japanese soldiers

All of them were eventually killed in a heavy artillery bombardment.

(Xifengkou Great Wall in Tangshan, Hebei, one of the places where the Great Wall War of Resistance against Japan took place in 1933, photographer @爬长城的toby)

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That Spring

There are more than 200,000 Chinese people

Rushed to the Great Wall to resist Japanese aggression

In those turbulent years

Including Han, Mongolian, Manchu,

Hui, Tibetan, Uyghur, etc.

All ethnic groups are united as never before

The national consciousness of the Chinese nation is unprecedentedly high

Seven Warriors of Gubeikou

It is a microcosm of the Chinese people.

1935

The Great Wall Anti-Japanese War movie "Children of Storms" was released

Its ending song inspires people

"Let our flesh and blood build our new Great Wall"

This song "March of the Volunteers"

It was eventually chosen as the national anthem of New China.

Great Wall

After two thousand years of war and peace

Shaping the Four Thousand Miles Home and Country

It has also officially become the spiritual symbol of the Chinese nation.

(In 1938, in Baoding, Hebei, the Eighth Route Army's Yang Chengwu Detachment fought at the Great Wall near Futuyu Village, Laiyuan County. Map by @Daxiong/Xingxing Research Institute, Photographer @Shafei)

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It symbolizes

The Chinese nation's strong belief in defending its homeland

That was a desperate situation.

For the blood-related family members

Opening up a hopeful path forward

(Beijing Huairou, Jiankou Great Wall, photographer @Toby who climbs the Great Wall)

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It symbolizes

The Chinese nation's powerful creativity in rebuilding its country

That is billions of shoulders carrying billions of baskets of bricks and stones

In this wilderness among thousands of peaks

Build a miracle

In front of the majestic mountains

Human beings are so small

But there are always some human creations

Firmly telling the aspirations and ambitions of mankind

(Beijing Huairou, Xiangshui Lake Great Wall, photographer @杨东)

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Mr. Lu Xun once said

(Lu Xun, 1934, "Have the Chinese Lost Their Self-Confidence?")

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"Since ancient times, we have had people who work hard, people who work hard, people who plead for the people, and people who sacrifice their lives for the law... These are the backbone of China."

Inside and Outside the Great Wall

This group of people who are regarded as the "backbone of China" gather together

From collision to fusion

Finally, a Chinese

(Pan Jie Nong, The Ballad of the Great Wall, 1937)

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"Four hundred million compatriots share the same heart, the new Great Wall is ten thousand miles long"

(Beijing Huairou, Jiankou Great Wall overlooking the distant Beijing city, photographer @魏悦忠)

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This article was created by

Written by : Gong Zekai

Editor : Director

Image : Zhang Zhaohai

Design : Daxiong & Du Rui

Map : Chen Zhihao

Proofreading : Yelu & Li Chuyang & Wu Xintian

Cover Photographer : Chuai Lianhai & Wu Qiang & Yang Dong

Audit Expert

College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University

Professor Han Maoli

School of History and Culture, Shanxi University

Lecturer Ma Wei

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