Source:Travel to Qinhuangdao and Shanhaiguan
The First Pass under Heaven
The strategic passage which connects Shenyang with Beijing
The first pass of the Great Wall
The idea to build the Great Wall is really great, which can protect us from enemies’ invasion.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the dukes built walls to connect the beacon towers and formed the Great Walls that are used to “defend from each other”, or “resist the Hu (barbarian tribes).” The Great Wall of Qi State was the earliest one, from Jinan to Qingdao, with a total length of more than 500 kilometers.
Emperor Qin Shi Huang reunified the whole country, and sent the general Meng Tian to attack the Huns with 300,000 soldiers who connected the Great Walls built in the Warring States Period for the purpose of resisting the Hu, and built a new Great Wall on the north side stretching ten thousand li, which is the origin of the Great Wall.
The construction of the Great Wall is based on local conditions. The one built in the west of the Yellow River is made of clay, and the one on Yinshan Mountains are made of natural stones. At the same time, the Great Walls for resisting each other were demolished, and the classic works of the schools were burnt by the Qin Dynasty.
Those who disobeyed the orders will be sent to build the Great Wall for four years as the punishment, patrolling during the day, and building the Great Wall at night. At that time, in addition to the prisoners who were sent to the army, there were 300,000 soldiers and the 500,000 people who were forced to come.
800-li Great Wall fell down by the weeping of Meng Jiangnv, whose husband was forced to build the Great Wall and died. She found and buried her husband’s body, then jumped into the Bohai Sea and died for love. -- This story first appeared in Zuo Zhuan·Duke Xianggong· the 23th year .
Beacon Tower is the most important part of the Qin Great Wall defense system, each every ten miles to inform the military situation by smoke during the day, and fire at night.
In 133 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty dispatched 300,000 soldiers to fight the Huns, he not only repaired the Qin Great Wall built by Meng Tian, but also built the Great Wall of ten thousand li on the other side. The Han Dynasty had the longest Great Wall made up of red mud, coarse sand and lime. The bricks was made of sand and mud with a mold, adding lime or animal blood as a stabilizer.
In the desert area, there is a lack of masonry and mud. The Great Wall of Han Dynasty is mainly made of layers of red willow branches, reeds and sand. Yumenguan and Yangguan Great Wall are built with these materials.
During the Northern Dynasties, the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Eastern Wei Dynasty, the Northern Qi Dynasty, and the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Great Wall was repaired and rebuilt. The Northern Wei Dynasty led innovation and built the Great Wall of the masonry for the first time. The Juyongguan Pass was built in the Northern Wei Dynasty to become part of the Great Wall, and an important military fortress in the northeast of Beijing ever since.
In 1644, the Qing Dynasty entered the Shanhaiguan Pass from the northeast of China. The words Guannei, Guanwai, Chuangguandong are all related to the Shanhaiguan Pass, which used to be thought of the east end of the Great Wall built in the Ming Dynasty until the one in Liaoning province was discovered in 1990.
The Great Wall starts from Shanhaiguan in the east, Jiayuguan in the west, and the Old Dragon’s Head is the end of it which is hailed as “the soul of China”, with the walls of 4,769 meters long, 11.6 meters high and 10 meters thick. Shanhaiguan was the product of the establishment of the “Military institute system” in the Ming Dynasty. The “Farmland system” and the reform policy of the Ming Dynasty played an important role in the consolidation and development of Shanhaiguan.
The 14th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1381)
The pass and city were built, which was named Shanhaiguan after the construction between the mountains and the sea.
Bell and Drum Towers, built by Xu Wuning in the Ming Dynasty
According to Linyu Annals during Guangxu’s years of the Qing Dynasty
The Bell and Drum Towers are in the middle of the city
With about 10 meters high and 16 meters long,
Four holes in the heart,
Wenchang temple on the top
Kui Xing temple on the back
The bell tower on the left and the drum tower on the right
We are living at the foot of the Great Wall.
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