The Great Wall of China 221 BC-AD 1644 DRSTEPHENTURNBULL,a leadingauthorityonFarEastern hinory,hasanMAinTheology andanMAinMiliaryHistory. inadditiontDaPhDfromLeeds Universityforhisworiton Japanesereligioushittory. Hehastr.lvelledenensively inEurope""dtheFarEastand alsorunsawell-usedpicture library.Hisworkhasb en recognl2edbytheawarding oftheCanonPrizeoftheBritish AssociationforJapaneseStudies andaJap3l1FestivalUterary Award.HeisaleCt1.lrel"in Japan Religionatthe UniversityofLeeds. STEVENOONwasbornin Kent,UK,andattended rt coli geinCornwall.Hehas hadalife-longpassionfor iIlunration.andhasworked asaprofessionalartist';ncc> 1985.Scevehasprovided award-winningillustrationsfo.. renownedpublishersDorting Kind I y,wherehisinterest inhistoricalillustrationbegan. Fortress • 57 The Great Wall of China 221 Be-AD 1644 Stephen Turnbull· Illustrated by Steve Noon SeN' e()~(c!'; Mar::usCowPeranc .kola; 30go.a-QV'C The Fortress Study Group (FSG) Theobjen0 the FSGistoadvancetheeducationofthepu lot inthestUdyofaIaspectsoffortificationsand theirarmaments. especiallyworksconstrUCtedtomoon orresinartilleryTheFSG holdsanannualconferencetoSeptemberoveralongweekend AIrights,.."..".....d.Aportfromanyn..de:olingforthepurposeofpnv;Itestudy. withvisitsandeveninglectUres.anannual courabroadlasting res "AAcriddsmorrev .aspermittedundt'rtheCopyright.DesignsandP1'tenu abouteightdays.andanannual Members' Day. Act,1988.nopartofthISpublicationmayber'1!produte<f,scoredinaretrieval.system, The FSG journalFORTis publishedannually.and its newsletter or[ransmittedInOInyformorbyanymCaIls.~lccU'O"Ic.elecuical.chemic::al,IY'lcch<l.nic.aL Casemateispublished three timesayear.Membershipis opdeul.photoCopylnt.f"Gcordlngoromerwisc,withoutthl:!:priorwna.enpermJss;on internationalForfurther details.pleasecontact: of,~.copyright"""",r&>qu,....shouldbeaddreue<lrothePubldhon. TheSecretary.do 6Lanark Place.LondonW9 IBS.U Author's dedication tS8 978I816QlOG<a TojoBrayshaw. hp ::,:Kvoll>ll~[~~_) IndexllyAlisonWonbo0E'O" TypeoaioMonocypeGIlSonsandITCStoneSent' Preface MapsbyTheM,pStudiOLtd OriglnocodbyUnltodGr:lphics,Singapore Outofall the monumentsofmilitaryarchitectureinworld PrlrucdInChill;)tl~r'ou&hBookbL.lilders history.theGreatWallofChina is the bestknown butthe least well understood.Tostand highononeofItsremotesectionsand 07 08 09 10 II 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 L I seethisgreatsconedragontwistingalongtheridgesbothtothe FOR CATALOGU!Of-AU.IOOUPI.".5l;io-IDBYO~ T ;TAD"AN::A~1A,~ horlzonbehindand- soexcitingly- tothedistanthorizon In ,.,sJoJ/CCO"'-"CT': fronc.istoexperienceathrill thatnootherfortifiedsuuctlJreon earthcanprovide.TheGreatWall0 C Inahasbeen recognzed NORTliAM3'JCA force turiesasthelargestfortifieden tyever ui ye has ~Direa.tJolbI.-nHoo=DisuiI>uOoCICon=.4ilIlHcha I'CflUlnedpoorlystudieduntilcomparativelyrecenttimes.ItIS Wo"""""'o<.MD21157 therefore bothimpresslVl!andelusive;pre:scnonganappearance [email protected]«X1l thatcansometimesseemtobeverysimpleand repetitive,yetat othertimescomplexandbaffling. ALLOTHERREGIONS Even though itsconstructioniswell recorded,themythology O.preyD'coctUK.P.O.80><140.Wol1;ngborough.Norman".NN8LFAUK and political propagandathathasgrown uparound theGreatWall E·,na'~inlo@o,preyd'roct.to,uk often tendsto obscureanystraightforwardexaminationofeither www.ospreypublishina·c.om itshistorical record ortheattendantarchaeologicalevidence. Fromthemythsofitsunbrokenconstructionhistoryand unbrokenlength,andfrom thetalesofhumanbodiesbefOgused tobuildit.tothenotoriousnonsenseabout beingvisiblefrom theMoon.theGreatWallofChinaIsfarmorethanjusta Editor's note defensivestructUre:ItISanational icon.Oncedespisedasa symbolofall thatwaswrongwithanna..theGreatWall nowaCtS asasymbolofallthatis rightwithit.Builtfrom thedustofChina Unlessotherwiseindicued,all theimagesinthisbookarethe and.in manyplacessadly.retumingtoIt.theGreatWallhasoften propertyoftheauthor, been morepillaged than preservedand nowfacesgreaterthreats to Its continuedexistencethan ever before.In today's commercial world,wheretheGreatWall's role has becomeone ofattracting Artist's note visitors to Chinainsteadofpersuadingthemtostayaway.a journeyalongitsdiverse ramparts easilyrevealsitsvulnerability. Readersmaycare tonotethattheonginalpaintingsfromwhich butitalsoprovokesmorequestionsthanitprovidesanswers. thecoOUl"placesinthis bookwerepreparedareavoJilablefor ItIs!hepurposeofthisbooktogiveaconciseaccountof pnvacesale. reproductioncopyrlg whatsoeverISre ned thIS gnifitentyetdauntingedificebasedon thebestandmost bythePublishers.Allenquiriesshouldbeaddressedto~ reliableevidenceavailableforitshistory.constructionandusage. InthisconteXtIwouldliketothankTravelspherelid.whose SceveNoon excellenttourofthe MingGreat:Wall providedmypersonal SOColchesterAvenue introductiontothesubject.ProfessorRichard Merriman,with Penylan whom IwalkedseveralsectionsoftheGreatWall,provided Cardiff valuable insightsinto thegeologyoftheWalland itsenvironment. CF239BP Iam alsogreatlyindebtedtoWilliam Lindesay.who probably UK knows moreaboutthissurprisinglyfragile monumentthan almost anyoneelseonearth.and isdoingsomuch tohelp preserveitso ThePublishersregretthattheycanenterintonocorrespondence thatfuturegenerationsmaybeabletoexperiencethegreatest upon thismatter. militarywonderoftheworld. Contents Introduction: raiding and trading 4 Chronology 8 Design and development 9 TI'teGrutWalIIandit$bulklers • Theconstr1.Ktlooof!heGreatWlIII The.uucnnJmet~fwwra01d'leGrut~ The Great Wall as a strategic defensive system 30 W.- I'1obile-ma..cIsalic~ • Thef'1in&Grot andp[()O~ The Great Wall at the operational level 36 Oefend;fllmeGreatYQlI • ~and..~evlherin& . ArtiI\eryondieGr&r.~ The Great Wall from end to end 41 The living site 49 lif!!MIdde.unonmeGrutW~ • Gu¥difllthe.GreatWall Operational history 52 FromboredomtoboIales • TheGrotWallinmodem'III1r'fart' Aftermath: the Great Wall as a symbol 58 The Great Wall today 59 Bibliography 63 Index 64 ntroduct· on: raiding and trading The Great Wall of China ow s its existence to the history ofthe interaction betw n th settledagricultural communitiesofChinaand theirpredominantly nOl)1adi neighbours to the north. Nearly half J' the territory that makes up modcrn hinaisdesert, mountainorarid plateau, and for muchofthecountry's history peoples whose culturc and languages were vcry different from those of the ethnic Han Chinese occupicd these lands. Some conductedagriculture ona small calc, but the vast majority lived lives that were sustained by what is known a pastoral nomadism. 'Iastoral' means that they herded vast flocks of domesticated animaJs, mainly sheep, aCT open grasslands, rather than confining them within orrals and feeding them ha. omadism' refers to the needto movearoundtoseekrenewedpasturelandswhiletheonesthe had just left\ IeregeneratinG.Thelifeofa nomad"\ia5a high] mobileonewhere ·'115 ath rnanshipwereGreat!, p·zed.Children1 mooto:rideataveryearlya e, and thewh Ieexperienceoftheirlivesactedasa trainingforfuture \ ars,,,>hen rapidl movingmobileunitswouldmid settledcommunitiesorenga ethem in battle; highlyskilledmountedarchery wasthe nomad'greatestasset. For 2,000 years the setUed agricultural civilization of the Chinese Empire wasregularlythreatened, hara sed, invadedand sometimeseven con4u redby thes northern nomadictribes, andthereason why this happened pr yoked a TheclassicimageoftheGreacWall debate that IJegan centuries ago in the Chinese ourt and still. continues in ofChina.as shown in thispanorama academic circles today. To the early emperors the nomads were just naturally oftheBadalingsection In 1987. (PhotographbyIanClark) warlike, uncivilizedandevensub-human.TheXionb'Ilu for example, ac ording 4 to a hi torian ofthe Han dynasty, bad an inborn nature to go off plunderill<T TheGrearWallarShanhaiguanis and marauding. )110 ern historians take a less prejudiced View, and several anImpressivefora-ess complex builr theories have been put fon...ard to explain the rationale behind nomadic roundthel"amous RrsrPassUnder Heaven:ahugegarehou>ecomplex raiding. Oneapproachis toconsiderthebasi incompati ilitybetween settled pror.ected byacourryanl.Ontxlp a riculture and no adi berdina. Ifthe two ·vities could be carried outin ofirswidebardememsisamajes.c e arate areas then there was no possibili of onflict, but if reason of gate-towerwithatileddoubleroof drougbt or famine on their native stepp the nomads were forced to seek andcolourfuleaves.ThisviewIs pa tureselsewherethen fri . n·woulddevelop. Indesperatetimesthe nomads from thewest. might even attack d ntary communities for food in order to survive. Unfortunately, notenough is known about the climatic history 0 the area to proveifthis did actually happen. therhistorians have lookedat whatitwasthat the nomadsactually needed from the Chinese oth r than food suppli s in times of crisis, ecause certain goods and commodities could only be supplied \\-ith great difficulty within a nomadic lifestyle. These items induded grain to supplement their diet, and textilesand metalobject uchasweapon .Therewasalsoa need totrade1lU..'UI)' items to sustain therelationships between noma rulers and their regional and local chieftains. Trad , in thiscontext, meant more than a simple exchange of goods,and indudedsu mechanismsasintennarriageofroyal families, tribute missionsandthesettingupofbordermarke .Therewasalso thefactor ofwhat theChinese neededfr m th n mads.The hineseheartlandswere notsuitable f r the raising of horses, and cavalry was an essential item in warfare if the nomad armies were to be met on their own terms. When th Chinese were willingtoallowsuch trade t takeplace,itcan beargued,peaceful relationships pr v il d.Ifforany reason thcse complextraderelationswerecutoff, and there wcre several instances in hinese history when they were, thcn th nomads might takc matterSinto theirown hands. 5 Oneofthe nomadwarriorswhose raidsonChinaledtotheGreat Wallbeingbuiltasoneresponse to thethreattheyposed.Rapllily moVingmobileunitswould raid se edcommunitiesor~e them InImrie,whemhighlyskilled mountedarcherywasthenomads' greatestasset. In other words, the nomads needed either t trade or Lo raid, and wben raiding \ as seen to be easier than trading, the boundaries between the two activiti b arne blurred. RI ted and unche k pillaging easilyd loped into contr 1 from a distan ,as exemplified by th relations betw n th Xiongnll and the early Han dynasty, Control from a di tance could dev lop into the a cupationofpalclles fterritory, so that the invadingforces directed any economic exchange. The culminationofsuch a rrocess was the c nquest ofChina itselfandthesetting upofdynastiesbas d on whatwerealreadyquite sophisticated nomadic empir s. This dramatic chan e happened remarkabl frequentl in Chinese tIDtor from the time of the Wei dynast, who ruled mu h of northern China <.luring the 5thand 6th enturies AD. Th Kitan Dao dynast} (AD 916-1125 and th Jurchen Jin d 'nasty (1126-1234 had their on in inManchuria,where heirpredominantlypa toralnomadiccultur also includeden ughelementsof JedagIicuJlureto pr parethemfor th t kof governin hma through the us oftaxation and the like. The Yuan dynasty 1279-1368) \'\'<15 establi hed by Kublal Kh n, grandson of ,enghis Khan, who laid the foundali n ofthe vast Mongol mpiIe_ The Yuan wer overthrown by the native hinese Ming dynast, but th Millg were I lose control in 1644 to another northern conquest dynasty: the Qin' (Manchu) dynasty, who ruled until 1912 nd came from the same ethnic st k as the 6 JurcheDJin. This long catalogue of failures by the Han Chinese to defmd themselvC$ against the nomads undcrllnC5 why the control of [heir northern neighbours, whether by diplOmatk or military means, became the chief preoccupation of successiveemperors. It ISaimimportanttorealizethattheChinesedid notonly have to deal with sporadiC raids by 100000Iy organized groups of nomads. The nomad threat was also expressed through several major campaigns conducted against their borders by the armies of .....eU-organizcd step~ empires who already controlled dC"doped eronomia Their ambilions went much further than mere plunder, 'Ihe long-lasting threat from the north provided a considerabh.' challenge thatwasconstamlychanginganddeveloping. II wasneveronethatcouldeasily be met on purely military terms, because the direct approach of launching retaliatory campaigns into nomadic territory was dangerous and costly. The Han Emperor Wudi achieved some suc~s In 119 lIC when he mounted an expedition into the Xiongnu homelands, but there are few other similar e:1C.3I1Jples_ Impro\'ed wt'aponry for Chinese infantrymen to enable them to brea!..theimpactofa nomadchargewasanotherpossiblecounter-measure, but such small-scale tactics \\ere only effectivt' If the enemy hOrsemen aIIo","-oo lhemsel\"es toget ncarenough 10 theChinese lines.. Chineseca\OII~nwere sometimes useful against the raiders, but the)' nel-er attained the nomads' 1("\'('15 of skill at horsemanShip. Amore str.1tcgic approach was required, and a historian of the Song d)"nast}', Ouyang Xiu (1007-72), recommended the follOWing wa}'ofdealingwith thenomads: OurChinese infamrJlDen are at their best In obstructing strategic passes, while the barbarian cavalrymen are at their best on the flatlands. Let us r('SOlutely stand on guard lat the strategic passes) and nOt dash off in pursuit ofthem orstrive tochase them off. Iftheycome, we should close strategic passes so that they cannot enter; if they withdraw, we should close strdtt>gic passes sothat theycannot return. OnefascinatingaSpKtoftheabcwequotationisofcoursethelackofreference to anything resembling a Great Wall ("o1.'n though, in popular belief, such a barrier designed specifically to keep the nomadsout had been in existence for 1,200yearsandhadbeenrontinuallyrepauedand maintained throughoutthat lime.ThisisoneofthegreatmythsoftheGreatWall,sothatitispossibletoread cardess accounts of nomads 'raiding through the Great Wall', when no such structure actually existed in the specified location at the specified time. In fact thebuildingofa physical barrier between the Chinese and the'barb,uians' was / but 011('option amonga rangeofpolicychoices thatsuccessive dynastiescould exercise in response La their gre:Jtest preoccupation. Contrary to popular belief. 11 wasan option exercisedon veryfew occasions in Chinese history, butwhen it was put Into operation It was carried out on a grand scale and, unlike military expediliom into nomad territories, it left behind a physical legacy, It is this physical leg.lcy of impressive lengths ofdisparatelyconstrut1ed ramparts, built centuriesapart with often little reference to each other, which we nowcall the 'Great WallofChina', 7 Chronology 121 Ie UnificationofChi~underthe Qin Emperor 215 Be MengrlanorderedtobuIld defen<:es:the Qin Great~r 119 Ie HanWudi'sexpeditionJgVnSttheXiongnu leads to H,mGreatWall ADSSG RiseofNorthern Qidynasty,whobuiltsomewalls 1211 Mongolsridethrough theJuyongguan Pons 1215 fall ofZhongdu (Beijing)totheMongols 1368 foundingoftheMingdynasty 1372 Mingdefeated by MongolAnn)'iltKarakorum Firstmilitarystructure built3tJiayuguan 1382 Wall builtatShanhaiguan 1429 Firstuseoftennchongcheng in a Mingdocument 1442 Ramparts built in Liaodong 1449/ Ming Emperor captured in theTumu Incident 1474 Wall completed in Ordos area 1482 Mongol raiders defeated beside the Ordoswall 1530 Breech-loading cannon orderedfor the GreatWall IS39 Buildingrecordedat Ib.daling 1540 RebuildingofJiayuguan rOrtr"e$s 1550 Altan Khanattacks Beijing 1567 QiJiguangtr.ronsferrec:l from toan:aJ defente toGn!atW;i]1construct:lon 1570 ProbabledateofcommentementofJinshanlingsection 1626 TheGn!atWallisdepictedon.fohnSpeed'smapofChina 1644 Mmchus enterBeijing 1617 Qing Emperor-deodes nottorestOn!theGreatWalt 1793 lord Macartney'smlulOndescribestheGreatWall 1900 Old Dragon's Heilddesuoyed dUringBolter Rebellion 193] JapaneseatclckShilnhiliguiln 19)7 JilpallesedefeatediltPingxingguan 1984 DengXiaopingprllises the GrearWall 8