Great wall information

the Great Wall

The Great Wall is a great miracle created by the working people in ancient China and a witness to the long history of China. Together with Tiananmen Square and Terracotta Warriors, it is regarded as a symbol of China by the world. Because it is longer than Wan Li, it is also called "Wan Li Great Wall". According to records, Qin Shihuang used nearly one million laborers to build the Great Wall, accounting for one twentieth of the national population. At that time, there was no machinery, and all labor depended on manpower. The working environment was very difficult, with mountains and cliffs. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, in order to prevent other countries from invading, the vassal States built beacon towers and connected them with city walls, forming the earliest Great Wall. Since then, most kings have been reinforced and repaired. The Great Wall starts from Hushan, Dandong, Liaoning Province in the east and ends at Jiayuguan, Gansu Province in the west, passing through 10 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities from east to west. The total length of the Great Wall is 885 1.8km, including 6,259.6km of artificial Great Wall and 2,592.2km of trench and natural formation. ..

The topography of the Great Wall

"Because of the terrain, traffic is blocked by danger" is an important experience in building the Great Wall, which was affirmed by Qin Shihuang and recorded by Sima Qian in Historical Records. After that, every dynasty built the Great Wall according to this principle. All the passes in Guancheng are built between two high mountains and canyons, or at the bend of a river, or where they will pass through the plain, which can not only control the danger, but also save manpower and material resources, and achieve the effect of "one person guards it, and ten thousand people can't force it". Building castles or beacon towers in dangerous places is also an option. As for building city walls, we should make full use of the terrain. For example, Juyongguan, Badaling and other Great Walls are all built along the back of the mountain. Some sections are steep from the outside of the city wall, but very gentle inside, which has the effect of "easy to defend but difficult to attack". In Liaoning Province, the Great Wall of Liaodong Town in Ming Dynasty was called the Mountain Dangerous Wall and the Split Gable, which was made by slightly splitting the steep cliff. Some places completely use cliffs, rivers and lakes as natural barriers, which can be said to be wonderful. As a great project, the Great Wall has become a precious heritage of the Chinese nation.

On June 25th, 20001year, the Great Wall, as an ancient building from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Ming Dynasty, was approved by the State Council to be included in the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

Contributions of various dynasties

In the Ming Dynasty, in addition to the "outer" Great Wall, the "inner" Great Wall and the "inner three passes" Great Wall were also built. The "Neiguan" Great Wall, built in the Northern Qi Dynasty, starts from Pianguan at the junction of Inner Mongolia and Shanxi in the west, passes through Yanmenguan and Pingxingguan in the east, enters Hebei, then turns to the northeast, passes through Yuanyuan, Fangshan and Changping counties, reaches Juyongguan directly, and then reaches Huairou Siguan from north to east, and is connected with the "Outer" Great Wall, with Zijingguan as the center, generally showing a north-south trend. The "Neisanguan" Great Wall is parallel to the "Inner" Great Wall in many places. In some places, the two cities are only tens of miles apart. In addition, a large number of "heavy cities" have been built. There are 24 "heavy cities" in Yanmenguan area!

The Great Wall lies in the north of China. It starts from Hushan, Liaoning Province in the east and reaches Jiayuguan, Gansu Province in the inland area in the west. It runs through 9 provinces, cities and autonomous regions such as Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia and Gansu, with a total length of about 885 1.8km and a length of about 17703.6 Li, and is known as the "Great Wall of Wan Li" in the world. It criss-crosses the east, west, north and south, and stretches on the vast land of our great motherland. It is like a dragon, crossing towering mountains, vast grasslands, vast deserts and heading for the vast sea. According to historical documents, more than 20 vassal states and feudal dynasties built the Great Wall. If you add up the Great Wall built in past dynasties, it is about 10 Wan Li. The length of the Great Wall in Qin, Han and Ming Dynasties exceeded 1 Wan Li. At present, Xinjiang, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Henan, Shandong, Hubei, Hunan and other provinces, cities and autonomous regions have the remains of the ancient Great Wall and beacon towers. Among them, the Great Wall of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region alone reaches 3 Vandory.

[Edit this paragraph] The starting point and ending point of the Great Wall

According to historical documents, there are three dynasties where the Great Wall is more than 5,000 kilometers: First, the Great Wall of Wan Li, which starts from Lintao in the west and ends in Liaodong in the east, was built by Qin Shihuang; Second, the Great Wall and beacon towers built in the Han Dynasty with a total length of 13000 kilometers from Xinjiang in the west to Liaodong in the east; 3. Jiayuguan in the west and the Great Wall along the Yalu River in the east, built in the Ming Dynasty, with a total length of 8851.8km (revised in 2009). If you add up the Great Wall built in different periods, it will be more than 50,000 kilometers. These Great Wall sites are distributed in more than 0/0 provinces, cities and autonomous regions in China today, such as Beijing, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Xinjiang, Tianjin, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Shandong. Among them, only Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has 1.5 million kilometers of sites. Followed by the Great Wall of Gansu.

Because of its long history, most of the early Great Wall was incomplete, and now the Great Wall built in Ming Dynasty is relatively complete. So when people talk about the Great Wall, they mainly refer to the Ming Great Wall. The length of the Great Wall also indicates the length of the Great Wall, from Jiayuguan in the west to Yalu River in the east.

Great Wall Pass Jiayuguan, Shanhaiguan, Juyongguan, Yumenguan, Jingxingguan, Niangziguan, Yanmenguan, Piantouguan, Pingxingguan, Gubeikou, xifengkou, Yulin, Huangyaguan, Waqiaoguan, Hushan Great Wall, Raven Pass, Niuzhuang City, fenshuiguan, Ningyuan City, Yangguan and Pingding. Dushikou, Zhangjiakou, Mashikou, Yangfangbaoguan, Shuikouguan, Zijingguan, Xuanhua City, Santunying, Sandaoguan, damao mountain, Yiyuankou, Jielingkou, Chongyukou, Xuliukou, Lengkouguan, Baiyangyuguan, Qingshan Pass, tiemenguan, Panjiakou, Longjingguan, Hongshankou, Shangguan and Changyukou. Lupiguan, Hefanggou, Lianhuachiguan, Huanghua Chengguan, Qiaodaokou, Jiukonglou, Sihai Estuary, Juyansai Old Town, Gill Sai, Gaoquesai, Datong, Shahukou, Weilubaokou, Jinsuo Pass, Huangzeguan, Huangyuguan, Beiloukou, Ning Wuguan, Liminbaokou, Shengshengkou, Zhenhongbaokou, Pingping. Refuse to be a wall fort, refuse to be a door fort, Fuma Fort, Broken Road Fort, Security Fort, Luning Fort, Broken Tiger Fort, Residual Tiger Fort, Ma Bao Fort, Marble Fort, Shaojia Fort, Dahe Fort, Defeated Tiger Fort, Ying 'en Fort, Blocked Tiger Fort, General Huibao, Yajiao Mountain, Laoying Fort, Hongmenkou Fort and Tiger Fort.

[Edit this paragraph] Building structure and building materials of the Great Wall

In the long history of China, many feudal dynasties built the Great Wall many times in order to consolidate their rule. In ancient China, thousands of working people in Qian Qian contributed wisdom and blood to it, making it a wonder of the world. Both the dragon-shaped city wall and the throat artery reflected the war thought of building a city at that time, and also marked the high achievement of architectural technology at that time. For example, during the Ming Dynasty, with the high development of feudal economy, the construction industry also embodied a huge production process and a relatively scientific brick and tile firing workshop. Therefore, the output of brick products has greatly increased, and bricks are no longer precious building materials, so the inner and outer eaves of many places in the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty are built with giant bricks. Under the conditions of manual construction and manual handling of building materials at that time, it was not only convenient to build the city wall with bricks with small weight and the same size, but also improved the construction efficiency and building level. Secondly, the gates of many passes are long-span arches made of blue bricks. Some of these blue bricks have been severely weathered, but the whole gate is still magnificent, showing the superb skills of building arches at that time. Judging from the architectural decoration of the Guanta Tower, many stone carvings and brick carvings are extremely complicated and elaborate, reflecting the artistic talent of craftsmen at that time.

The city wall is the main part of the city wall, with an average height of 7.8 meters, and some sections are as high as 14 meters. Where the mountain is steep, the building is low, and the flat place is high; The key places are higher, and the general places are lower. The wall body is the main part of defending the enemy, with a relatively wide total thickness, a foundation width of 6.5 meters and an average floor width of 5.8 meters on the wall, so as to ensure that the two wagons run in parallel. The wall is composed of an outer eave wall and an inner eave wall, filled with soil and gravel. The cornice wall refers to the side of the skin wall facing the city. There are obvious points when building, generally 25% of the wall height. The separation of the wall can increase the width of the lower part of the wall, enhance the stability of the wall, strengthen its defensive performance, and make the outer wall magnificent. The inner cornice wall refers to the inner side of the outer skin wall, which is generally constructed as a vertical wall without obvious points. As for the thickness of the outer cornice wall, it is generally based on the wall thickness at the "crib". The thickness here is generally one and a half bricks wide, and it gets thicker as it goes down. Bricklaying method is mainly flat masonry.

The structural content of the wall depends on the local climate conditions. Generally speaking, the Wan Li Great Wall has the following construction methods:

(1) version of rammed earth wall

(2) Adobe masonry wall

(3) Brick masonry wall

(4) Stone wall

(5) Mixed masonry

Bricks, stones and masonry are used to build city walls. When the slope of the terrain is small, bricklaying or masonry is parallel to the terrain, and when the local potential slope is large, the wall is built by horizontal descent method.

[Edit this paragraph] The history of the Great Wall

The Great Wall in northern China began in Qin, Zhao and Yan during the Warring States Period.

The Starting Point of the Great Wall —— Why Lao Longtou, Qin, Zhao and Yan built the Great Wall in the North

Why did Qin Zhaoyan build the Great Wall in the north? This should start from the situation in the Warring States period. The Warring States period is a period of transition from slave society to feudal society in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and Yangtze River in China. With the strengthening of political and economic ties between countries, the exchange and integration between Zhu Xia culture and Qin, Chu and Wu-Yue cultures has become increasingly strong. After the seven countries of Wei, Zhao, Han, Chu, Qi, Qin and Yan, which were carrying out feudal reforms at that time, became powerful, they waged a war of annexation and sought to unify the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River by force. At this time, the ethnic minorities in the grasslands of northern Shaanxi, northern Shanxi, northern Hebei and Inner Mongolia gradually became stronger and plundered the northern borders of Qin, Zhao and Yan. In the north of Qin, there are Yiqu and Xiongnu in the north; There are loufan in the northwest of Zhao, and Huan and Xiongnu in the north. Donghu, the northern boundary of Yan State. These northern minority regimes, apart from engaging in agriculture, make a living by nomadic and hunting. Yiqu is a powerful country on the Loess Plateau in the northwest of China. It fought with Qin for more than one hundred years from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Warring States Period. Xiongnu, Donghu and other nomadic peoples have high military quality and strong combat capability. According to historical records? Biography of Xiongnu records that Huns live by nomadic and hunting, with horses, cattle and sheep as the most livestock, followed by camels, donkeys and mules. They "migrate by water plants and don't have to live in the city to farm." However, there are also points. "Men learned to ride horses and shoot at an early age." Children can ride sheep and shoot birds and mice with bows; If it grows less, it will shoot foxes and rabbits; Use it to make food. Therefore, once you are an adult, you will become a "rider". "During the Warring States period, the Huns had entered the slave society and had state power institutions. The king is called Khan, and there are left and right sages, left and right kings, left and right generals, left and right commanders, left and right leaders, and left and right leaders. Except for the right and left ministers, all the other ministers are hereditary. Donghu, Hu Lin, Huaneng and Loufan are basically the same as Xiongnu.

Since the mid-Warring States period, they have been plundering Qin, Zhao and Yan in the northern region. Because they are good at riding and shooting, are good at fighting, take sudden attacks, come and go freely, haunt, and show strong combat effectiveness. In the mid-Warring States period, the combat troops of Qin, Zhao and Yan were mainly infantry and chariots, wearing big sleeves that took off their coats and moving slowly for 30 to 50 miles a day. Naturally, they could not stop the Huns and Donghu people from attacking and plundering. This not only seriously threatened the lives and property of the people in the northern part of the three countries, but also seriously damaged their production and greatly affected the cause of reunification of the three countries. In response to this passive situation, the three countries successively carried out military reforms and built the Great Wall in the north.

Starting from Shang Yang, the State of Qin began to reform and promote Qiang Bing to become a rich country. The army gradually changed into infantry and cavalry, and was rewarded and promoted with military merit, so the combat effectiveness of the army increased and it was invincible. In six years (the first 332 years) and ten years, King Huiwen defeated Wei and seized Weixi County (now Luohe Valley in Shaanxi Province) and Shangjun County (now northeast Shaanxi Province). In order to prevent the Huns from plundering the south, Zhao Haoqi ordered the Great Wall to be built on the northern border of Longxi, Beidi and Shang Jun, and sent troops to station it.

In the 19th year of Zhao Wuling (307 BC), he began to reform the military system and carried out riding and shooting. Since then, the troops have become more powerful. In twenty years, King Wuling traveled west to the lakeside and arrived in Yuzhong. King Hu Lin surrendered his horse before returning home. In the twenty-sixth year (the first three hundred years), Zhongshan was broken, and the prosperous place reached Yan and Dai in the north (now northwest of Shanxi), and then extended to Yunzhong and Jiuyuan in the northwest (now from Helinger County to Wujiahe in Inner Mongolia). So he ordered the construction of the Great Wall, merged with Yinshan Mountain (now Daqing Mountain and Wulate Mountain in Inner Mongolia), and went west to reach the Dahe River (now Wujiahe River in Inner Mongolia). At the same time, Daijun County, Yanmen County and Yunzhong County were set up to prevent the Huns from plundering south. In order to specialize in Northwest China, the following year, he gave way to his son, Wang Huiwen He, who was named the main father. In the second year of King Huiwen (297 BC), his father went to Xihe (the Yellow River between Shanxi and Inner Mongolia), and the ruined building angered the king and sent troops.

Yan State is the weakest country among the Seven Heroes in the Warring States Period, bordering Qiangqi and the newly established Zhao State in the south and East Lake in the north. It was not until he ascended the throne (the first 3 1 1) that Yan became strong, recruited talents and carried out reforms. At that time, Donghu was powerful and often plundered the northern part of Yan. In order to maintain the peace in the north, the Yan army was forced to make peace with King Donghu and held the general hostage. Zhao Shi was born in East Lake. He is clever and brave, and King Donghu trusts him very much. Therefore, he is free to move, and he can understand the dangers and obstacles, protection and laws of military activities in the south of East Lake. After returning home, he led an army to attack East Lake, which was broken, but it was thousands of miles away. And "crossing Liaodong to attack Korea" was extended to Tanshui (now Qingchuan River in North Korea). So, "Yan also built the Great Wall to make Yang (now kangbao county, Hebei, Taibus Banner, Inner Mongolia) go to Xiangping; Put it in Shanggu, Yuyang, Youbeiping, Liaoxi and Liaodong counties to refuse Hu. "

To sum up, the reason why Qin, Zhao and Yan built the Great Wall in the north during the Warring States Period was to defend against Xiongnu and Donghu from the south.

The Great Wall developed from cities and castles. As a military defense project, cities and fortresses began as early as the end of the primitive commune. Because it can play an effective defensive role, it has developed in general since it entered the class society. The Great Wall first appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period, such as Fangcheng of Chu State (in the present Nanyang area of Henan Province). During the Warring States Period, there were the Great Wall of Weixi County, the Great Wall of Zhangzhao Water, the Great Wall of Zhongshan West, the Great Wall of Yanyi Water and the Great Wall of Taishan Mountain. These Great Walls once played a great role in the war. The swift cavalry of nomadic people in the north is unpredictable, and no country can stop their attack and plunder, whether it is infantry or cavalry. Only by building the Great Wall and garrison defense can they be prevented from plundering south. Only by building the Great Wall in the north can we deploy the main forces in the annexation and defense war between countries and complete the great cause of reunification.

Second, the value of the Great Wall of Qin, Zhao and Yan

What role did the Great Wall of Qin, Zhao and Yan play in the war as a military defense project? There are few records about its function, especially Qin Changcheng and Yan Changcheng, and even fewer records about Zhao Changcheng. Does this mean that they have no effect? No, on the contrary, it just shows that after the Three Kingdoms built the Great Wall, Xiongnu and Donghu did not cross the Great Wall and swept south. The Great Wall played an important role in military defense.

As we all know, the Wang Zhao period was one of the fastest periods for the territory expansion of Qin State. If the Great Wall had not been built in the north, Qin would have sent troops to guard the important passages and passes in the north to prevent the powerful Xiongnu from plundering the south. How can we deploy an army to constantly defeat the allied forces of the six countries and occupy a large area of land in the six countries? Visible, after the completion of Qin Changcheng, only need a small number of troops stationed, can stop the huns south. If the Xiongnu army goes south, it will not be easy to break for a while because of the Great Wall defense; Xianyang and Qin Dou are not far from here, and they can be rescued in one day and one night or two or three days and three nights. Therefore, the Huns dared not go south and failed to recruit themselves. In a word, since King Qin Zhao built the Great Wall, the Huns have never plundered south again, which just shows the military defense function of the Great Wall.

As for Zhao Great Wall, it was built at the foot of Yinshan Mountain (now southeast of Daqingshan and Wulashan), with poor quality and close to Xiongnu, so it was often attacked by Xiongnu troops at first. Although Zhao sent troops to defend and took the initiative to go out of the city to fight, he was defeated repeatedly. During the reign of Zhao Daoxiang (224-236 BC), Zhao's frontier defense was defeated by Xiongnu, and the north was tight, so he sent general Li Mu to the Great Wall to lead the army to defend it. The loss of Wang Xiang gave Li Mu the privilege of cheap appointment and dismissal of subordinate officials, and handed over the business tax and land tax in Yunzhong, Yanmen and northern Dai Jun to Li Mu for military expenditure. Li Mu headquarters is located under the North Great Wall in Yanmen County, so as to give consideration to both things. He is very kind to soldiers, killing a few cows every day to improve food; He ordered the army: "When the Huns came to plunder, all soldiers immediately entered the Great Wall with cattle, horses and sheep, and whoever dared to catch them would be beheaded!" Every time the Huns invaded, because of the tight firepower and knowing the news in advance, the soldiers and civilians of Zhao took livestock into the Great Wall. Xiongnu plundered people, livestock and wealth and had to retreat. A few years later, although the Huns were not defeated, Zhao Jun was not defeated. The Xiongnu and the border people of Zhao thought Li Mu was timid, and the prince of Zhao also blamed Li Mu. And Li Mu remains the same. The king of Zhao was angry and recalled the shepherd to North Korea and replaced him with another general. The new strategy will be to meet the challenge; Every time the Huns came, he led the army to attack and lost several times. For more than a year, soldiers suffered many casualties and could not graze in the north. The prince of Zhao had no choice but to ask Li Mu to defend the Great Wall again. Li Mu goldbrick, overseers, refused to life. Zhao Wang is a strong shepherd. Let the shepherd guard the north. Li Mu said to the prince of Zhao, "Wang Yi wants to use me. I still use the previous strategy. I dare to be ordered only if you agree. " Zhao Wang had to agree. Li Mu arrived at the Great Wall, as before. After several years, the Huns got nothing. In the end, however, I was afraid of Li Mu. Zhao Shoubian's soldiers "are willing to fight every day if they are rewarded or not." Therefore, Li Mu chose 1, 300 chariots, 1, 300 horses, 50,000 soldiers who could defeat the enemy and capture generals, and 1, 000,000 sharpshooters to train and fight. After practice, I will do a lot of animal husbandry. North of the Great Wall, there are people and animals everywhere. When the Huns heard about it, they came to plunder it. Small entry, grazing will fail, and people and animals will be responsible. Khan was overjoyed, so he led his troops south. Li Mu set an ambush in advance, and under the attack of Zhang's left and right wings, he defeated more than 65,438+10,000 people in tarkan. Khan was defeated and fled to the north. After 10 years, the Huns dared not go near the Zhao Great Wall. Zhao defeated the enemy, destroyed East Lake and surrendered. In this way, the northern part of Zhao is very calm and the people live and work in peace and contentment. From here, we can clearly see the great role of Zhao Great Wall in military defense.

At the end of Qin Dynasty and the beginning of Han Dynasty, Xiongnu crossed the Great Wall built by Qin and Meng Tian in the Central Plains War and was bounded by the Great Wall of Qin, Zhao and Yan in the Warring States Period. Due to the disrepair of the Great Wall and the scarcity of defenders in the north, the powerful Xiongnu continued to plunder the Great Wall and went deep into Daigu, Taiyuan, Xihe, Shang Jun and Beidi counties. Emperor Gaozu, Hui Di, Wendi and Jingdi were forced to adopt a pro-Xiongnu policy. Marry a princess to be E Shi (queen) for Khan and give him a lot of wealth. However, even this dilapidated Great Wall has played a role in military defense to a certain extent. If it weren't for the Xiongnu army, it would be impossible to enter the Great Wall and plunder. Secondly, if the defenders are effective, even with the Xiongnu army, they can't enter the Great Wall. Like Li Guang, Cheng Wu is also a famous Great Wall Guardian. He was very strict in running the army and was always on guard against the Huns' surprise attack, which also showed that the Great Wall of the Warring States period played a certain role. Later, Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, GongSunHe and Gong attacked the Huns, all of which were based on Zhao and Qin Changcheng. This shows that until the early Western Han Dynasty, the Great Wall of Qin, Zhao and Yan in the Warring States period was still playing a military defense role, although its defense ability was much worse than that in the Warring States period. It was not until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty drove the Huns to Mobei, restored the Qin Changcheng built by Meng Tian and built the Outer Great Wall that the Great Wall of Qin, Zhao and Yan in the Warring States was abandoned and the military defense function ended.

Third, the historical value and practical value of the Great Wall of Qin, Zhao and Yan.

The Great Wall of Qin, Zhao and Yan during the Warring States Period has important historical value. First of all, it shows that only by building the Great Wall and increasing a certain number of troops can the lightning attack of nomadic cavalry in the north be prevented. Without the Great Wall, even with a large number of infantry and cavalry, it is still impossible to defend. The historical facts of the Warring States period proved this point. Because the Great Wall was an effective military defense project, it was later adopted by Qin Shihuang. After Qin Shihuang expelled Xiongnu to Mobei, he ordered Meng Tian to build a new Great Wall immediately.

Secondly, the Great Wall built by Qin, Zhao and Yan during the Warring States Period is quite scientific. It was basically built by taking advantage of the dangerous situation of mountains and rivers. Build tall and thick walls in mountain passes and plains to cut off the entrance and exit of Xiongnu and East Lake cavalry. In addition to the Great Wall, beacon towers have been built at the commanding heights inside and outside, which are used to detect the enemy's situation, deliver news and prepare the defenders on the Great Wall. Barricades will be built at traffic intersections and valleys, and the garrison will strengthen the defense capability of the Great Wall. Within the Great Wall, large cities with garrisons will be built at regular intervals, and communication networks will be set up to deliver news quickly, and unified command and mutual support will be carried out. The Great Wall of the Three Kingdoms and its supporting buildings, such as beacon towers, barriers and city walls, constitute a complete military defense system. This military defense system is scientific and effective. It provides a model for later military defense projects. Although the Qin Changcheng built by Meng Tian is newly built, it is obvious that he designed it on the basis of referring to the Great Wall buildings of Qin, Zhao and Yan in the Warring States period, and at the same time, he learned from each other's strong points. For example, he uses mountains and rivers to build cities and obstacles because they are dangerous. He built the Great Wall on a high mountain, making use of ridges and peaks as much as possible, making it impossible for tarquin to cross it. Try to use the river as a barrier, and try to build the Great Wall to the north of the river so that the enemy can't get water. On the hills and plains, build tall city walls, or build them with earth and stone clips or rammed with earth. The sections of the Great Wall are connected into a magnificent dragon to separate the north from the south. Compared with the Great Wall of the Three Kingdoms, the beacon tower in Qin Changcheng has been improved. They are all built on the open hills outside the Great Wall. According to the terrain, there is one in every 10, 20 and 30 miles. The barrier city has also been improved, and two barrier cities, north and south, have been built at traffic intersections or taniguchi. The cities where large troops are stationed are all built to the south of the Great Wall and are closely connected with it. It can be said that Qin Changcheng's highly scientific architectural system is the inheritance and development of the Great Wall architectural system of Qin, Zhao and Yan in the Warring States Period.

Finally, the historical value of the Great Wall of Qin, Zhao and Yan in the Warring States not only shows the great spirit of the Chinese nation more than 2,200 years ago, but also shows the high wisdom, indomitable spirit, superb military scientific level and high scientific culture of the people of China at that time.

[Edit this paragraph] The defense engineering system of the Great Wall

In the era of cold weapons, the military role of the Great Wall defense system is fruitful. During the Qin Dynasty, "the Great Wall was built in the north to guard the fence. The Huns were more than 700 miles away, and the Hu people dared not go south to herd horses." ("New Book Crossing Qin") When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, "build fortresses, pavilions, outer cities, set up garrison and guard them, and then use less border security." (Biography of Xiongnu in Han Shu)

King Wuling of Zhao, who built the Great Wall and blocked the highest gate in the next generation of Yinshan Mountain, is a world-famous politician who changed customs and clothes and learned to ride and shoot (Biography of Xiongnu in Historical Records). In fact, the Great Wall was built by Qin Huang and Wu Han, including in the early Ming Dynasty, when they took the initiative to attack and gained overwhelming military superiority. It can be seen that building the Great Wall is not only an active defense, but also a strategy of accumulating strength and continuing to forge ahead.

The construction of the Great Wall is a positive measure taken in view of the actual situation in the northwest, which is to turn passivity into initiative, because for the nomadic tribes in the north, "the master of construction will run away, and if he fails to get it, he will be punished." When the teacher came back, the money went up again; "The cost of keeping soldiers vigilant will be high, so we must build the Great Wall to prevent it." "However, the Great Wall was built, so it is necessary to preserve the garrison, prevent money from being stolen, and stop the army and let the people rest." (Chapter III of Lv Simian and China Ethnic History)

Moreover, it should be emphasized that the defensive function of the Great Wall is not reflected in what most people think is "self-defeating"; Its real use lies in that the invaders may concentrate on breaking through one or two passes occasionally and breaking into the mainland, but as long as the whole Great Wall has strong troops stationed, the invaders will always be in danger of being blocked and ambushed and unable to go home; In particular, the Great Wall has seized the traffic arteries of Yanshan Mountain and the northern branch of Taihang Mountain. Even if the nomadic cavalry broke through the customs, they could only harass the mainland, and their logistics could not be transported through the customs and could not stand on the mainland, thus shaking the foundation of the Chinese empire. No matter how serious scabies are, they can't be invaded, which is the fundamental significance of the existence of the Great Wall.

[Edit this paragraph] The role of the Great Wall now

With the Great Wall of Wan Li as the intermediary, the Great Wall Belt, which is composed of vast northern and southern regions, runs through a considerable part of Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Qinghai, Xinjiang and other provinces (cities, autonomous regions), including parts of the Mongolian People's Republic and the Korean Peninsula in historical period. Its range is hundreds or even thousands of kilometers wide from north to south and thousands of kilometers long from east to west. The Great Wall Belt has been inhabited by many ethnic groups since ancient times, and the development of ethnic groups and their relations is the key to observing and understanding everything in the Great Wall Belt.

In the course of historical development, some ancient ethnic groups in the Great Wall Belt disappeared, and some new ethnic groups merged and formed, all of which are closely related to more than 20 ethnic groups distributed in the Great Wall Belt today. All ethnic groups, whether they have disappeared or continue to develop today, have made important contributions to the historical development of China.

The Great Wall of Wan Li is the product of the development of ethnic relations in ancient China, but at present, the research on the internal development law of ethnic relations between the north and the south of the Great Wall is not sufficient. Summarizing the existing research results, broadening the research fields and revealing the internal relationship between the Great Wall and the development of ethnic relations in China are of great practical significance and theoretical research value for the study of the Great Wall, ethnology and the development of the history of ethnic relations in China.

[Edit this paragraph] The economic structure and ethnic pattern of the Great Wall Belt

Economic and cultural structure

China's special geographical location and topographical features constitute the geographical environment and climate characteristics, which determines that the ancient economy and culture of Chinese mainland can be roughly divided into two regions: east and west and two natural layouts: north and south. The eastern and western regions start from Xing 'an Mountains in the north, pass through Yanshan Mountain, Yinshan Mountain, Helan Mountain and Minshan Mountain to Hengduan Mountain, the eastern region is an agricultural economic development zone, and the western region is an animal husbandry (mainly small watershed or oasis agriculture) economic development zone. Qinling Mountains and the south of Huaihe River are paddy agricultural economic development zones; Qinling Mountains, north of Huaihe River to Yinshan Mountain, south of Yanshan Mountain and northeast plain are dry farming economic development zones, while north of Yinshan Mountain and west of Helan Mountain are animal husbandry economic development zones. The natural layout of the two districts and three belts constitutes two major economic and cultural types of agriculture and animal husbandry in ancient Chinese mainland. The Great Wall Belt includes the whole dry farming economic development belt and most animal husbandry economic development belts, forming a complete and independent economic system. Economically based on agricultural economy, animal husbandry is an important supplement to agriculture, and the two economies are interdependent and complementary. Culturally, farming culture is dominant, and farming and animal husbandry cultures permeate and absorb each other, constantly merging and radiating. In the course of historical development, agriculture first developed in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, becoming the center of the whole agricultural economy and culture in China and the center of national economic and cultural exchanges. In the whole animal husbandry economic zone, the Inner Mongolia prairie west of Xing 'an Mountains and north of Yinshan Mountain has developed into the economic and cultural center of animal husbandry with its unique conditions. Located at the natural intersection of these two economic and cultural centers, the Great Wall is the product of a certain economic development foundation. The Great Wall not only separates the two economies and cultures, but also links them together.

Now, the Great Wall has lost its military use, more embodies the spiritual civilization of the Chinese nation, and inspires the Chinese people to defend the Chinese nation. At the same time, we are also witnessing the unity, hard work and enterprising of the people of China in this land of China, expressing miracles and glory.