Today, the Great Wall is generally recognized as one of the most impressive architectural feats in human history. In the mid-17th century, the Manchus from central and southern Manchuria broke through the Great Wall and encroached on Beijing, eventually forcing the fall of the Ming Dynasty and beginning of the Qing Dynasty.īetween the 18th and 20th centuries, the Great Wall emerged as the most common emblem of China for the Western world, and a symbol both physical – as a manifestation of Chinese strength – and a psychological representation of the barrier maintained by the Chinese state to repel foreign influences and exert control over its citizens. Strategic “passes” (i.e., fortresses) and gates were placed along the wall the Juyong, Daoma and Zijing passes, closest to Beijing, were named the Three Inner Passes, while further west were Yanmen, Ningwu and Piantou, the Three Outer Passes. Starting west of Juyong Pass, the Great Wall was split into south and north lines, respectively named the Inner and Outer Walls. The Ming wall extended from the Yalu River in Liaoning Province to the eastern bank of the Taolai River in Gansu Province, and winded its way from east to west through today’s Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia and Gansu. After an initial phase of territorial expansion, Ming rulers took a largely defensive stance, and their reformation and extension of the Great Wall was key to this strategy. The construction of the Great Wall as it is known today began around 1474. Under the strong hand of the Ming rulers, Chinese culture flourished, and the period saw an immense amount of construction in addition to the Great Wall, including bridges, temples and pagodas. In 1421, the Ming emperor Yongle proclaimed China’s new capital, Beijing, on the site of the former Mongol city of Dadu.
Like the Mongols, the early Ming rulers had little interest in building border fortifications, and wall building was limited before the late 15th century. Though the beginning of the Great Wall of China can be traced to the fifth century B.C., many of the fortifications included in the wall date from hundreds of years earlier, when China was divided into a number of individual kingdoms during the so-called Warring States Period.ĭespite its long history, the Great Wall of China as it is exists today was constructed mainly during the mighty Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Though the Great Wall never effectively prevented invaders from entering China, it came to function as a powerful symbol of Chinese civilization’s enduring strength. The best-known and best-preserved section of the Great Wall was built in the 14th through 17th centuries A.D., during the Ming dynasty. as a means of preventing incursions from barbarian nomads. Perhaps the most recognizable symbol of China and its long and vivid history, the Great Wall was originally conceived by Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the third century B.C.
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The Great Wall of China is an ancient series of walls and fortifications, totaling more than 13,000 miles in length, located in northern China. Significance of the Great Wall of China.Great Wall of China Through the Centuries.
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