Throughout Chinese history, flood management and border defense were vital signs of the governing power. Levees were essential for protecting human lives, livestock, and farmland. Fortifications were necessary for preventing invasions of foreign forces. Unfortunately, the levees did not always measure up to the power of raging water, and the fortresses could not always fend off the attackers. Moreover, the costs of these infrastructures, both in terms of monetary expenditure and human casualties, often led to suffering of commoners. Still, the levees continued to get higher; and the walls, extended.
The Zhou Dynasty, the longest lasting sovereignty in Chinese history, was divided into the Western Zhou (1046-771 BC) and the Eastern Zhou (771-256 BC)[1]. In the Western Zhou, Chinese people enjoyed several hundred years of peace and prosperity. Although the Zhou court continue to exist for over five centuries, feudalism gradually decentralized the nation. Feudal states, recognized by the Zhou court, competed for control of land and power. Historians divided this transitional period, between the Western Zhou and the Qin Dynasties, into Spring and Autumn Period (771-476 BC), so named because of the chronicle Spring and Autumn Annals,[2] and the Warring States Period (476-221 BC). Fortresses were erected by Individual states to protect themselves from aggressive neighbors. These structures were called 城牆, literally “town-walls.”[3] Defensive walls were also constructed in northern states to ward off invasions from predatory tribes. Structurally, these fortifications were small in scale. Strategically, they were crucial to the balance of power among the states.
In 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang unified the nation; established the Qin Dynasty; and proclaimed himself the First Emperor.[4] Seven years later, he dispatched General Meng Tian, commanding three hundred thousand men, to expel invaders from the west and the north, protecting Hetao, and to build the “long wall.” Sima Qian, a historian of the early Han Dynasty, who reported these events in Records of the Grand Historian, further detailed the constructions: “Based on the geographic features, strategic fortresses were set up from Lintao to Liaodong, meandering for ten thousand li.”[5] This accounted for the first document in which the length of the wall was mentioned. Constructed with rammed earth, most of the original structures did not survive. Reconstructions and extensions of the wall continued throughout the later periods. The existing structures are mainly the stone walls from the Ming Dynasty.
It is impossible to know the exact number of forced labors drafted for the wall construction. The toll in human suffering is, on the other hand, unquestionable. In a Chinese folktale, Lady Meng Jiang, whose husband had been taken by officials to the north to build the wall, traveled alone days and nights to search for him. By the time she reached the wall, he had died of exhaustion, and was buried under the wall. She sat by the wall and cried until her tears caused the wall to collapse and revealed his bones.[6]
With the unification of the nation, the walls of individual states were torn down. The sole function of the Long Wall was to prevent the invasions of foreign tribes. 拒胡 “resisting Hu” was a generic term used to describe such approach. “Hu” in its boarder sense could imply any outside groups and their cultures. From generation to generation, the names of various foreign tribes were recorded in history books. Xiongnu, a nomadic pastoral people from the northern steppes, were the most aggressive and most recognized invaders. Turkic peoples were also repeat offenders. Others included Xianbei from Mongolia/Inner Mongolia, and Korean from the northeastern region.[7] These foreign tribes invaded China mostly for material and territorial gains. On the other hand, as defenders, rulers of China sought to protect not only their land and prosperity, but also their cultural heritage: one that invented paper, gunpowder, compass, and printing—both woodblock engraving and movable type.[8]
Remnants from the Neolithic Age, including agricultural tools and fabrics, indicated that human civilization had begun along the Yellow River.[9] Nevertheless, the legendary Yellow Emperor, Huangdi (2711-2598 BC?), was hailed as the initiator of the “five thousand years” of Chinese culture. His wife, Leizhu, was credited for the invention of sericulture. Their direct descendant Da Yu, revered for his success in flood management, founded the Xia Dynasty, the first in the nation’s history. [10] Although there are no existing records of these ancient rulers, Chinese people often identify themselves as descendants of Yan-Huang炎黃 and/or Hua-Xia 華夏.[11]
The Shang Dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC) succeeded the Xia. Inscriptions on Shang oracle bones, ox scapulae or tortoise plastrons, bore evidence of the earliest written form of Chinese language, ritualistic acts, and related events. In late Shang, scripts were cast onto bronze ceremonial instruments, a practice that continued in later periods.[12]
The creation and application of a written language paved the way for rapid and formative cultural growth throughout the Zhou Dynasty, especially during the Spring and Autumn Period: Chronicles, poetry, and philosophic writings of this period formed the body of Chinese canonical texts. In 551 BC Kong Qiu was born in the State of Lu.[13] Intelligent and studious, he grew to be the educator and philosopher known to Westerns today by his Latinized honorifics “Confucius.” His teaching—Ruism—became the nucleus of the Huaxia culture, influencing over two thousand years of literature, governmental systems, and day-to-day life in China as well as in neighboring Asian countries.
Since the Han people are the largest ethnic group in China, to defend Chinese culture was to defend the Han culture. While the Great Wall provided strategical security, Ruism offered the spiritual sustenance. Periodically, China was governed by non-Han groups—all invaders from the north—partially or entirely. Inevitably, these foreign rulers either adopted the Han culture or overturned by the Han people. [14]
The Manchus, descendants of the Jurchen, seized Beijing, capital of the Ming Dynasty in 1644 and established the Qing Dynasty. They were the last and the longest non-Han rulers of China proper. While maintaining their own customs, they quickly adopted Confucian governing system and the Han language.[15] The Kangxi Emperor ordered the compilation of a Chinese dictionary in 1710. Containing over forty-seven thousand characters, it took six years to complete.[16] In 1772, the Qianlong Emperor ordered the compilation of Siku Quanshu — Complete Library in the Four Branches of Literature—the largest collection of books in Chinese history.[17] It was divided into four groups: classics, history, philosophy, and literature. Despite the controversies of censorship and editorial approach, the compilation helped to relocate and preserve many ancient sources, thought to have been lost.
In the height of the Qing Dynasty, there was a renaissance of Ruism. As in all prosperous times throughout Chinese history, the imperial courts considered the nation as the center of the world and themselves the ruler of the universe. Whether the earth was flat or round, they wished to make their power as far-reach as possible. With a sense of pride, they also wished to share the treasurable Chinese culture with all peoples. The vastness of the land and the richness of resources helped sustaining the fantasy until the mid-19th century.
Jesuit missionaries began arriving in China in the 16th century and became conduits of cultural exchanges. For several hundred years, what they introduced to China was thought to be trivial or even frivolous. Suddenly, when being defeated by the English and its European allies during the Opium Wars, the Qing Imperial Court became aware of the strength of western cultures. In the follow decades, a soul-searching took place among Chinese elites. Having been the core of Chinese civilization for thousands of years, Ruism became the culprit for the weakening of the nation. The final line of defense for the national pride crumbled.
Today, the remnants of the Great Wall stand testament to the strength of a brilliant civilization. They are reminders for all Chinese descendants, Han or non-Han, to preserve the traditions while embracing new ideas.
[1] Zhou_Dynasty_facts_&_details
[2] Spring_and_Autumn_Annals_Wiki
[3] The earliest existing wall, located in today’s Shandong Province, was built by the State of Qi. The construction was believed to have started in 441 BC. Great_Wall_of_Qi_Wiki
[4] The Qin Dynasty lasted only for fifteen years. The tyrannical, oppressive governing style of the emperor contributed greatly to its demise.
[5] Hetao, “river loop,” is a region in Northwestern China where the Yellow River forms an upside-down-U shape loop. Hetao_Wiki
The exact length of li is believed to be 415.8 meter during the Qin Dynasty. Map_of_the_Qin_wall_jpg_travelchinaguide.com
《史記·蒙恬列傳》：「秦已並天下，乃使蒙恬將三十萬眾，北逐戎狄，收河南。築長城。因地形，用制險塞，起臨洮，至遼東，延袤萬餘里。」
[6] Lady_Meng_Jiang_Wiki
[7] 遊牧民族/中國歷史上的遊牧民族_Wiki, Xiongnu_Wiki,
突厥_Wiki, Turkic_peoples_Wiki,
Xianbei_Wiki
[8] List_of_Chinese_inventions_Wiki
[9] Yangshao_culture_facts_&_details
[10] Yellow_Emperor_Wiki, Leizu_Wiki, Sericulture_Wiki, Yu_the_Great_Wiki
[11] 炎黃子孫_Wiki, Yan_Huang_Zisun_Wiki
華夏_Wiki, Huaxia_Wiki
[12] Shang_Dynasty_ancient.eu, Oracle_bone_Wiki, Chinese_bronze_inscriptions_Wiki
[13] Confucius_Wiki
[14] Xianbie established Northern Wei Dynasty in 386 AD, controlling northern China. During their hundred-and-fifty years regime, through intermarriage and systematic conformation, Wei rulers gradually assimilated with the Han people. Wei-dynasty_britannica.com, Northern_Wei_Wiki
Jurchens invaded Northern Song Dynasty and took over northern China and founded the Jin Dynasty in 1115 AD. They proclaimed themselves the ruler of “China,” denying the legitimacy of the Han-governed Southern Song. Initially, the Jin rulers resisted the Han culture. Gradually, they adopted the Song governing system; became indoctrinated by Ruism; and intermarried with the Han people. Jin_dynasty_(1115-1234)_Wiki
In 1271, Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, vanquished the Southern Song and established the Yuan Dynasty, the first non-Han dynasty that controlled the entire Chinese territory. Although the Yuan rulers revived Confucian rituals and founded schools for Confucian scholars, Han people, socially oppressed, rebelled. Legend has it that the leaders of Han revolutionaries hid secret messages in moon cakes, telling people to rise up against the Mongols. In 1368, the Han people established the Ming Dynasty and regained control of the nation, making the Yuan one of the shortest lasting sovereignties in Chinese history.
[15] An anecdote relating to Manchurian court’s approach in governing Han people: A young sociologist in Taiwan sought instructions in Four Books from a leading scholar, a descendant of the Aisin Gioro clan, the imperial family of the Qing Dynasty. As an introductory statement, the scholar mentioned that his ancestors, understanding the importance of Ruism in Chinese culture, made the study and implementations of the classic texts their priority. With this approach, the Manchurian dynasty had solid control of the nations for several centuries.
[16] Kangxi_Dictionary_Wiki
[17] Complete_Library_of_the_Four_Treasuries_Wiki
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