From how it was built, to the importance of the wall today, join me as we explore facts
and historical points about the Great Wall of China!
9.
The Great Wall Of China's Popularity Fun fact, the Great Wall of China originally
wasn't one long wall.
It actually was sections of wall that were eventually filled in to become one great long
wall that we now know of today.
Furthermore, the wall that we know of now, isn't the same wall (per se) that was started
with.
As this wall has been upgraded, remade, rebuilt, and enhanced over the various Chinese dynasties.
There was even completely separate great walls that don't exist anymore.
But this one does.
Widely hailed as one of the most impressive feats by man, the Chinese initially built
the Great Wall of China to help ward of raiders and invaders to the north.
As their nation and Empire grew, so did the wall.
To the extent that as of now, the wall is over 13,000 miles long.
It is so big, that it is one of the few landmarks you can see from outer space.
Naturally, people go to the wall not just for the view, but to walk upon it, and see
just how far it truly goes.
It's attracted all manner of people from various nations, and even a President from United
States in a historic moment.
Millions of people come to see the wall, which isn't too hard when the length of the thing
allows you to see it from various places and angles.
8.
The Building Of The Wall So as we teased, the Great Wall of China wasn't
just something that was made in one sitting, or even by one group of Chinese people.
It's a massive project that took over 1800 years to make in full, with many people coming
together one after another to add onto it and more.
Also as noted, this wasn't the first wall that the Chinese built themselves.
In fact, throughout the course of Chinese history, you'll find that walls and barriers
were the go-to defense mechanism for them to try and defend against the invaders that
they knew were coming.
This eventually led to the start of the Qin dynasty, ruled over by Qin Shi Huang.
He had captured a whole bunch of places within China, and to ensure that he could defend
them, he built a 5000 kilometer wall.
This was mean to defend his territory as well as keep a lock on what was his.
This was the first true part of the Great Wall of China.
But, as I stated, this wasn't the end of it.
As more and more dynasties came to be, they kept the wall up, and then added onto it.
Sometimes to continue the reach of the wall, and other times to just improve upon it.
The Ming Dynasty is one of the dynasties that are most credited with the "completion" of
the wall.
This is because of how the wall looks now and how it is kept together.
Which brings us to the other misconception of the wall.
If you look at it from above, the Great Wall of China looks like one long, snaking wall.
But that's not exactly true.
It's "interrupted" by various things, including buildings.
It is connected, but it's not like regular border walls where they are a continuous line.
Rather, it's a "network" that spans 20,000 kilometers and is broken up by buildings,
towers, and more that help connect them.
It's still an impressive feat, no doubt.
But it's not exactly what everyone says that is.
And if you actually look at the shape of the wall, you'll see all the different angles
that the wall turns in.
A singular wall would be much straighter.
7.
The Wall's Construction Force Given the nature of the Great Wall of China,
you would be forgiven for thinking that various townsfolk and soldiers and such were responsible
for the bulk of the work.
And to an extent, that probably is true, but not unlike many other massive monuments in
the world today, back then, the main force of labor...were slaves and criminals.
Not unlike the Coliseum of Vespasian where over 10,000 slaves helped build that monument.
But for the Great Wall of China, it was the criminal element that really helped make the
wall what it was, including in the days of the Qin dynasty where the wall got started.
It was dictated that wall construction, maintenance and surveillance were all punishments to be
carried out by criminals.
The ironic thing here is that when it came to the various crimes that would have been
dealt with via wall duty, it was a very wide net.
It didn't matter if you were a murderer, or someone who just didn't pay their taxes on
time, you were sent to the wall.
Now to be clear, there were regular builders, workers, and civilians on the walls, so to
make sure that everyone knew which was which, all criminals would have their heads shaved,
their faces blackened, and would have their limbs put in chains.
You might be thinking, "Why were they so bent on putting criminals on the wall?
Did they not have jails or something?"
That is one way of thinking about it, but what you need to know here is that building
the Great Wall of China...was dangerous work.
So the Qin leadership decided that if they were going to have people die on the wall,
they'd rather it be criminals.
Sure enough, it's believed that over 400,000 people died while working on the wall.
6.
Do you want rice with that?
Without a doubt, one of the reasons that we marvel at various monuments like the Great
Wall of China, the Coliseum, the Great Pyramids of Giza and more is that they're still around
for us to admire today despite being thousands upon thousands of years old at times.
For the Great Wall especially, this was a project that took place in parts over 1800
years, unlike others that took place in one area at virtually one time period.
So how is it that the Great Wall of China still stands?
Part of it is because of how it was built, but apparently, there was also a "secret ingredient"
that helped keep the wall up...rice.
No, I'm not joking with you, when it came to the mortar that they used to help keep
the bricks and stones that comprised the wall together, they would put in a special kind
of rice, called "Sticky Rice" in the mix to help seal everything up.
But whether they knew it or not, they also made it so that the weather and other elements
wouldn't be able to chip away at it.
As the thing that made the rice sticky also made it so that the stones and mortar were
more resistant.
And you thought rice was just tasty...
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5.
The Rooster Crow Ok, so you remember a little bit ago when
I mentioned how there had been about 400,000 deaths on the Great Wall of China during construction?
Well...when you basically kill that many people (via labor accidents obviously not intentional
deaths), that means that there are going to be a LOT of people in mourning over the course
of its construction.
What's more, the Chinese at this time were very superstitious about what would happen
to the souls and the spirits of their family members because they died at the wall.
To the extent that they honestly feared that they would be trapped within the wall for
all eternity.
Not a nice way to stick around, am I right?
So, the government decided to help ease the pain and fears of the locals by doing a certain
tradition.
When a death happened at the wall, a man would walk across the wall with a rooster in his
hands.
The rooster would crow, and that was believed to be a sign or a message to the souls and
spirits of the departed that they could leave the wall and go to the afterlife in peace.
You might think that this is a somewhat...odd way to please the dead and their restless
spirits.
But remember that animals in many cultures have power.
And the rooster is one of the members of the Chinese zodiac, so it all lines up in the
end.
4.
It Was Predicted?
Sometimes in history, whether we want to believe it or not, there are things that happen that
seem to predict what will come in the future.
Such as texts from historical documents, the last writings of Nostradamus, and in terms
of the Great Wall of China, a poem called The Shijing, a collection of Ancient Chinese
poems written between the 11th and 7th centuries BCE.
Well before the Great Wall of China was made.
Within the poem itself lies an entry stating that a king would build a "defensive barrier"
in order to ward off invaders.
Now to be fair, the use of small walls and barriers have been used for many ages, including
in Chinese history.
But the way that they talked about the barrier in The Shijing seems to point to this being
about the Great Wall of China in some form.
Sure, it's a coincidence, but it's one heck of a coincidence if you ask me.
3.
A Tribute We already noted the one true purpose of the
Great Wall of China was to keep invading forces out, right?
But there was also a more subtle purpose to the wall that was added on later.
Mainly, some of the buildings that helped connect the far reaches of the wall were built
as temples and monuments to certain legendary figures in Chinese history.
One of them was Guan Yu, a third-century general who served during the Han dynasty, is honored
with temples built on the Wall.
There are also tributes to the four heavenly kings in the Buddhism faith, one of the prominent
religions in China.
This perfectly ties into the fact that China is a place of deep belief and tribute.
And given the length of the wall, there are many other tributes and temples and places
of remembrance for people to go and see as they walk along it.
2.
China Honestly Didn't Care About The Wall Until The 19th Century
I want you to picture in your minds, the various massive monuments of the world, regardless
of culture and location.
How much do you think these nations value those monuments?
Depending on the place, it would be fair to say that they care very deeply for them.
Especially if they're a window into their history.
But for China?
They honestly didn't care about the Great Wall until about the 19th Century in regards
to its "historical importance".
Which I know sounds odd because of the many dynasties that helped make it.
But in truth, they just didn't care because it wasn't doing anything for them right then
and there.
And by the 19th century, the Great Wall...was just a wall, one that could be destroyed via
explosives or bulldozed by tanks when the time came.
It wasn't an effective means of...anything...except...to get tourists.
Because as the 19th century went on, they found that more and more tourists were spreading
word about the Great Wall, and they were making art of it, and telling stories of it, and
on and on.
When China realized there was a money making opportunity here, they started to expand upon
it.
They would do tours, have art and trinkets to buy and sell for the wall, and on and on.
So if you think about it, if it wasn't for the other nations...the Great Wall might have
just been left to rot.
Not something you would expect for one of the modern wonders of the world, am I right?
1.
It...Really Didn't Keep Invaders Out So when you think of the Great Wall of China,
you think about its length, and you think about its purpose.
Especially when you think about the many movies and such that have talked about how the wall
was supposed to protect China from all attackers.
But...that really didn't happen.
The wall exists, and battles have been fought at it and on it...but it honestly didn't deter
that many people.
Granted, there were certain nomadic tribes that the Chinese could easily defeat with
their "higher ground" and their weapons.
But when it came to forces like the Mongols...ones who could think very tactically and seize
opportunities, it honestly didn't affect them too much.
Sure, the height of the wall would ensure first responses and be able to allow first
contact.
But the wall actually isn't that high.
On average, the height of the wall is about 20 feet.
So if you were to bring ladders, or even do human ladders, you can breach the wall pretty
easily.
To that extent, when Ghengis Khan came around, he not only conquered the wall, he put his
own people on it to help make sure that the supply lines of his army would be unharmed.
Many dynasties, including the Ming Dynasty, relied heavily on the wall, and fell when
it was breached by their enemies.
Nowadays, the Great Wall of China is seem more like a "symbol of endurance" than an
actual military fortification that helped define the country.
Which in some ways makes the Great Wall of China one of the most ironic monuments in
the world.
I'm just saying.
Thanks for watching everyone!
What did you think of these facts and tidbits about the Great Wall of China?
Does this help give you a greater appreciation for the monument?
Did you learn some things that you honestly didn't know before?
Let me know in the comments below, be sure to subscribe, and I'll see you next time on
the channel!