The Great Wall of China, known as “long Wall of 10,000 Li” in China, extends about 8,850 kilometers. The people of China are up in arms at the way foreign tourists are treating one of their most treasured pieces of national heritage – The Great Wall. Earlier this month about one hundred tourists camped overnight on the Great Wall, with some saying officials turned a blind eye after receiving a generous ‘donation’ from the campers.The campers had so much gear that the tents and sleeping bags alone required a truck to transport up the mountain at Jinshanling. Some additions and modifications were made to these simple walls over the next millennium but the major construction of the “modern” walls began in the Ming Dynasty.
The Great Wall was key to protecting agriculture and resisting cavalry of the Huns and other warrior tribes from the north. The advantages of the enormous barrier diminished with the advancement of gunpowder and other weaponry. The wall was originally built of stone, wood, grass and earth. In the Ming Dynasty bricks were produced in kilns set up along the wall. The bricks were transported by men carrying them on their backs, donkeys, mules and even goats had a brick tied to their head before being driven up a mountain. Most people tend to think that the Great Wall was a product of wars, thus its role ought to have been most closely related to battles and bloodshedding. It is, however, not that case. Most time under the Great Wall was actually peace rather than war; the Great Wall, in all times, was connected to the culture, foreign policies, and economy. Philosophically, the Great Wall speaks well for a growth in the mixed soil of peace and war. It stands for some power, an unbeatable power despite all bitter conditions, known as the Great Wall Spirit among Chinese people.
0 comments:
Post a Comment