The great Wall of China. Who really built the Great Wall of China
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One of the most famous architectural structures world is the Great Wall of China. It attracts millions of tourists like a magnet. This large-scale fortification, erected in the northern part of China, is striking in its size:
- the length of the continuous fortification is about 9 thousand km;
- the length of the entire wall, taking into account individual sections, is 21,196 km;
- maximum height – 10m;
- minimum height – 6 m;
- maximum width – 8 m;
- minimum width – 5 m.
Since the 17th century, this architectural monument has been a symbol of China. But in last years many scientists express doubts that this largest fortification on the planet was actually built by the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire. So who built the Chinese Wall and what do the finds of archaeologists and historians say?
What caused doubts among scientists
Scientists from all over the world have shown interest in the Great Wall of China for many years. By studying ancient maps, historians have established that the fortified fortification was actually built on the border of China. But inexplicable is the fact that in some areas the walls of the loopholes in the wall are located towards the heavenly side. Then the question arises: why would the Chinese build a wall from which it is convenient to shell the territory of their state?
It is worth noting that there is another part of the fortification. On it, the loopholes are located on the side behind which the expanses of another state began. But this part was reconstructed, and reliable information about what the wall looked like before restoration work, could not be found. In addition, research on China's main architectural monument is not encouraged by the country's government, making it quite difficult for scientists to conduct research.
New version about the construction of the Great Wall of China
Today, scientists put forward a version according to which the construction of the Great Wall of China was carried out by residents ancient state Tartary. Artifacts found by archaeologists prove that people who are genetically similar to the Slavs lived on its territory. In ancient Chinese manuscripts they are described as white gods. Archaeological finds also showed that the development of the people of Tartaria was at a fairly high level, which made it possible to build such a massive fortification.
Interesting discoveries were made by scientists who examined objects found on the territory that belonged to Tartaria. On the vases discovered during excavations, symbols were found that are very similar to the letters of the Old Russian alphabet. Based on this discovery, historians suggest that Russians lived next door to China. True, reliable information about when and why these lands were abandoned by them has not yet been found.
Reasons why the Great Wall of China was built
Historians who have studied ancient records and maps undertake to assert that between the inhabitants of Tartaria and China for a long time The bloody war continued. Over the many years of battles, great amount of people. But the warring parties managed to reach a peace agreement, after which the inhabitants of Tartary began to build a massive fortress wall.
Some scientists put forward a hypothesis that claims that the ancient Slavs still managed to defeat the Chinese. They refer to ancient records found that contain such information. Many historians claim that the reflection of that battle is on the coat of arms of the Russian capital, in which St. George slays a dragon with his spear. As you know, the symbol of China is the dragon. Based on this information, scientists concluded that the coat of arms shows how the Russian people defeated the Chinese.
Origin of the name of the state
Historians also put forward new version origin of the country's name. In Old Russian, the word ky meant wall, and the word tai meant peak. Consequently, the territories in which the dragon people lived, located behind the wall, were called China. It is worth clarifying that for now this is only a hypothesis. No documentary evidence has yet been found for this version.
Existing version of origin
In the 3rd century BC. China was a prosperous empire. Many of its settlements began to develop rapidly, turning into large centers of trade. This attracted the attention of the ancient Xiongnu nomads, who made constant raids on the rich lands of the Celestial Empire. Many kingdoms that were part of the Chinese Empire began to build fortifications at that time. About a million people were collected for the construction of fortified walls. The construction of massive fortifications was mainly carried out by soldiers and slaves.
A huge contribution to the construction of the Great Wall of China was made by the emperors of the Qin dynasty. Individual sections of the fortification were built on and strengthened. They also began to build additional connecting sections between them. Thanks to this approach, the wall soon became a reliable border with neighboring countries. But dissatisfaction with the constant mobilization for construction work began to brew among Chinese residents. There were riots in many cities in the Middle Kingdom, which led to the fall of the Qin Dynasty.
Completion of construction
Almost every dynasty of emperors of the Celestial Empire was engaged in the construction of the Chinese Wall. Fortress structures extended further and further along the state border. The completion of the construction of fortifications dates back to the 17th century. Construction was completed by the Ming Dynasty. The sections of the wall erected at that time have survived to this day in excellent condition.
But the built fortifications did not help the Chinese Empire cope with its enemies. Nomadic tribes constantly made their way through the wall into the territory of the Celestial Empire, plundering settlements. There is an assumption that even the guards, constantly present on the wall, often let enemies through, receiving a substantial reward for this.
So who built the Great Wall of China?
So far, scientists have not been able to provide convincing evidence for their hypothesis that the Chinese Wall was built Slavic peoples. In the overwhelming majority, the version is confirmed only by assumptions, which are not enough for it to be recognized by the world scientific community. Until the contrary is proven, the people who built this majestic architectural monument remain the Chinese.
Video
“There are roads that are not taken; there are armies that are not attacked; there are fortresses over which they do not fight; there are areas over which people do not fight; There are orders from the sovereign that are not carried out.”
"Art of War". Sun Tzu
In China, they will definitely tell you about the majestic monument stretching several thousand kilometers and about the founder of the Qin dynasty, thanks to whose command the Great Wall of China was built in China more than two thousand years ago.
However, some modern scientists very much doubt that this symbol of power Chinese Empire existed until the mid-20th century. So what do they show tourists? - you say... And tourists are shown what was built by the Chinese communists in the second half of the last century.
According to the official historical version, the Great Wall, intended to protect the country from attacks by nomadic peoples, began to be built in the 3rd century BC. by the will of the legendary emperor Qin Shi Huang Di, the first ruler who united China into one state.
It is believed that it has survived to this day Great Wall, built mainly during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and there are three in total historical periods active construction of the Great Wall: the Qin era in the 3rd century BC, the Han era in the 3rd century and the Ming era.
Essentially, under the name “Great Wall of China” they combine at least three major projects in different historical eras, which, according to experts, total total length walls are at least 13 thousand km.
With the fall of the Ming and the establishment of the Manchu Qin dynasty (1644-1911) in China, construction work ceased. Thus, the wall, whose construction was completed in the mid-17th century, has largely been preserved.
It is clear that the construction of such a grandiose fortification structure required the Chinese state to mobilize enormous material and human resources to the limit of its capabilities.
Historians claim that at the same time up to a million people were employed in the construction of the Great Wall and the construction was accompanied by monstrous human casualties (according to other sources, three million builders were involved, that is, half of the male population of ancient China).
It is not clear, however, what the ultimate meaning was seen by the Chinese authorities in the construction of the Great Wall, since China did not have the necessary military forces, not only to defend, but at least to reliably control the wall along its entire length.
Probably due to this circumstance, nothing specific is known about the role of the Great Wall in the defense of China. However, Chinese rulers stubbornly built these walls for two thousand years. Well, it must be that we are simply unable to understand the logic of the ancient Chinese.
However, many sinologists are aware of the weak persuasiveness of the subject proposed by researchers rational motives, which must have inspired the ancient Chinese to create the Great Wall. And to explain more than strange story unique structure They pronounce philosophical tirades with approximately the following content:
“The wall was supposed to serve as the extreme northern line of the possible expansion of the Chinese themselves; it was supposed to protect the subjects of the “Middle Empire” from transitioning to a semi-nomadic way of life, from merging with the barbarians. The wall was supposed to clearly fix the boundaries of Chinese civilization and contribute to the consolidation of a single empire, just made up of a number of conquered kingdoms.”
Scientists were simply amazed by the blatant absurdity of this fortification. The Great Wall cannot be called an ineffective defensive object; from any sane military point of view, it is blatantly absurd. As you can see, the wall runs along the ridges of hard-to-reach mountains and hills.
Why build a wall in the mountains, where not only nomads on horseback, but also a foot army are unlikely to reach?!.. Or were the strategists of the Celestial Empire afraid of an attack by tribes of wild climbers? Apparently, the threat of invasion by hordes of evil climbers really frightened the ancient Chinese authorities, since with the primitive construction technology available to them, the difficulties of constructing a defensive wall in the mountains increased incredibly.
And the crown of fantastic absurdity, if you look closely, you can see that the wall in some places where mountain ranges intersect branches, forming mockingly meaningless loops and forks.
It turns out that tourists are usually shown one of the sections of the Great Wall, located 60 km northwest of Beijing. This is the area of Mount Badaling, the length of the wall is 50 km. The wall is in excellent condition, which is not surprising - its reconstruction in this area was carried out in the 50s of the 20th century. In fact, the wall was built anew, although it is claimed that it was on old foundations.
The Chinese have nothing more to show; there are no other credible remains from the allegedly existing thousands of kilometers of the Great Wall.
Let's return to the question of why the Great Wall was built in the mountains. There are reasons here, except for those that may have recreated and extended, perhaps, the old fortifications of the pre-Manchu era that existed in the gorges and mountain defiles.
Building an ancient historical monument in the mountains has its advantages. It is difficult for an observer to ascertain whether the ruins of the Great Wall really extend for thousands of kilometers along mountain ranges, as he is told.
In addition, in the mountains it is impossible to determine how old the foundations of the wall are. Over several centuries, stone buildings on ordinary soil, carried by sedimentary rocks, inevitably sink several meters into the ground, and this is easy to check.
But on rocky ground this phenomenon is not observed, and a recent building can easily be passed off as very ancient. And besides, the mountains lack numerous local population, a potential inconvenient witness to the construction of a historical landmark.
It is unlikely that initially fragments of the Great Wall north of Beijing were built on a significant scale, even for China early XIX century this is a difficult task.
It seems that the few tens of kilometers of the Great Wall that are shown to tourists were, for the most part, first erected under the Great Helmsman Mao Zedong. Also a Chinese emperor of his kind, but still it cannot be said that he is very ancient
Here is one opinion: you can falsify something that exists in the original, for example, a banknote or a painting. There is an original and you can copy it, which is what forger artists and counterfeiters do. If a copy is made well, it can be difficult to identify a fake and prove that it is not the original. And in the case of the Chinese wall, it cannot be said that it is fake. Because there was no real wall in ancient times.
Therefore, the original product of modern creativity of hardworking Chinese builders there is nothing to compare with. Rather, it is a kind of quasi-historically based grandiose architectural creation. A product of the famous Chinese desire for order. Today it is a Great Tourist Attraction, worthy of being included in the Guinness Book of Records.
These are the questions I asked Valentin Sapuno in:
1 . Who, exactly, was the Wall supposed to protect from? The official version - from nomads, Huns, Vandals - is unconvincing. At the time of the creation of the Wall, China was the most powerful state in the region, and perhaps in the whole world. His army was well armed and trained. This can be judged very specifically - in the tomb of Emperor Qin Shihuang, archaeologists unearthed a full-scale model of his army. Thousands of terracotta warriors in full equipment, with horses and carts, were supposed to accompany the emperor in the next world. The northern peoples of that time did not have serious armies; they lived mainly in the Neolithic period. They could not pose a danger to the Chinese army. One suspects that from a military point of view the Wall was of little use.
2. Why was a significant part of the wall built in the mountains? It passes along ridges, over cliffs and canyons, and meanders along inaccessible rocks. This is not how defensive structures are built. In the mountains and without protective walls troop movement is difficult. Even in our time in Afghanistan and Chechnya, modern mechanized troops do not move over mountain ridges, but only along gorges and passes. To stop troops in the mountains, small fortresses dominating the gorges are enough. To the north and south of the Great Wall lie plains. It would be more logical and many times cheaper to build a wall there, and the mountains would serve as an additional natural obstacle to the enemy.
3. Why does the wall, despite its fantastic length, have a relatively small height - from 3 to 8 meters, rarely up to 10? This is much lower than most European castles and Russian kremlins. A strong army, equipped with assault technology (ladders, mobile wooden towers), could, by choosing a vulnerable spot on a relatively flat piece of terrain, overcome the Wall and invade China. This is what happened in 1211, when China was easily conquered by the hordes of Genghis Khan.
4. Why is the Great Wall of China oriented on both sides? All fortifications have battlements and curbs on the walls on the side facing the enemy. They don’t put the teeth towards their own. This is pointless and would complicate the maintenance of soldiers on the walls and the supply of ammunition. In many places, the battlements and loopholes are oriented deep into their territory, and some towers are moved there, to the south. It turns out that the builders of the wall assumed the presence of the enemy on their side. Who were they going to fight in this case?
Let's start our discussion with an analysis of the personality of the author of the idea of the Wall - Emperor Qin Shihuang (259 - 210 BC).
His personality was extraordinary and in many ways typical of an autocrat. He combined brilliant organizational talent and statesmanship with pathological cruelty, suspicion and tyranny. At a very young age of 13, he became the prince of the state of Qin. It was here that the technology of ferrous metallurgy was first mastered. It was immediately applied to the needs of the army. Possessing more advanced weapons than their neighbors, equipped with bronze swords, the army of the Principality of Qin quickly conquered significant part territory of the country. From 221 BC a successful warrior and politician became the head of a united Chinese state - an empire. From that time on, he began to bear the name Qin Shihuang (in another transcription - Shi Huangdi). Like any usurper, he had many enemies. The emperor surrounded himself with an army of bodyguards. Fearing assassins, he created the first magnetic weapon control in his palace. On the advice of experts, he ordered an arch made of magnetic iron ore to be placed at the entrance. If the person entering had an iron weapon hidden, magnetic forces would tear it out from under his clothes. The guards immediately kept up and began to find out why the person entering wanted to enter the palace armed. Fearing for his power and life, the emperor fell ill with persecution mania. He saw conspiracies everywhere. He chose the traditional method of prevention - mass terror. At the slightest suspicion of disloyalty, people were captured, tortured and executed. The squares of Chinese cities were constantly resounding with the cries of people who were cut into pieces, boiled alive in cauldrons, and fried in frying pans. Severe terror pushed many to flee the country.
Constant stress wrong image life shook the emperor's health. A duodenal ulcer developed. After 40 years, symptoms of early aging appeared. Some wise men, or rather charlatans, told him a legend about a tree growing across the sea in the east. The fruits of the tree supposedly cure all diseases and prolong youth. The emperor ordered to immediately supply the expedition for the fabulous fruits. Several large junks reached the shores of modern Japan, founded a settlement there and decided to stay. They rightly decided that the mythical tree did not exist. If they return empty-handed, the cool emperor will swear a lot, and maybe come up with something worse. This settlement later became the beginning of the formation of the Japanese state.
Seeing that science was unable to restore health and youth, he brought down his anger on the scientists. The “historical”, or rather hysterical decree of the emperor read: “Burn all books and execute all scientists!” Some of the specialists and works related to military affairs and agriculture, the emperor, under public pressure, nevertheless granted an amnesty. However, most of the priceless manuscripts were burned, and 460 scientists, who constituted the then flower of the intellectual elite, ended their lives in cruel torture.
It was this emperor, as noted, who came up with the idea of the Great Wall. Construction works didn't start from scratch. There were already defensive structures in the north of the country. The idea was to combine them into a single fortification system. For what?
The simplest explanation is the most realistic
Let's resort to analogies. The Egyptian pyramids had no practical meaning. They demonstrated the greatness of the pharaohs and their power, the ability to force hundreds of thousands of people to do any action, even a meaningless one. There are more than enough such structures on Earth, with the sole purpose of exalting power.
Likewise, the Great Wall is a symbol of the power of Shihuang and other Chinese emperors who picked up the baton grand construction. It should be noted that, unlike many other similar monuments, the Wall is picturesque and beautiful in its own way, harmoniously combined with nature. Talented fortifiers who knew a lot about the Eastern understanding of beauty were involved in the work.
There was a second need for the Wall, a more prosaic one. Waves of imperial terror and the tyranny of feudal lords and officials forced peasants to flee en masse in search of a better life.
The main route was north, to Siberia. It was there that Chinese men dreamed of finding land and freedom. Interest in Siberia as an analogue of the Promised Land has long excited ordinary Chinese, and for a long time it has been common for this people to spread throughout the world.
Historical analogies suggest themselves. Why did Russian settlers go to Siberia? For a better life, for land and freedom. They were fleeing from the royal wrath and lordly tyranny.
To stop uncontrolled migration to the north, which undermined the unlimited power of the emperor and nobles, the Great Wall was created. It would not have held a serious army. However, the Wall could block the path of peasants walking along mountain paths, burdened with simple belongings, wives and children. And if men further away, led by a sort of Chinese Ermak, went to break through, they were met by a rain of arrows from behind the battlements facing their own people. There are more than enough analogues of such sad events in history. Let's remember Berlin Wall. Officially built against Western aggression, its goal was to stop the flight of the inhabitants of the GDR to where life was better, or at least it seemed so. For a similar purpose, in Stalin’s times they created the most fortified border in the world, which was nicknamed the “Iron Curtain,” over tens of thousands of kilometers. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the Great Wall of China has acquired a double meaning in the minds of the peoples of the world. On the one hand, it is a symbol of China. On the other hand, it is a symbol of Chinese isolation from the rest of the world.
There is even an assumption that the “Great Wall” is the creation not of the ancient Chinese, but of their northern neighbors.
Back in 2006, the President of the Academy of Basic Sciences, Andrei Aleksandrovich Tyunyaev, in his article “The Great Wall of China was built... not by the Chinese!”, made an assumption about the non-Chinese origin of the Great Wall. In fact, modern China has appropriated the achievement of another civilization. In modern Chinese historiography, the purpose of the wall was also changed: initially it protected the North from the South, and not the Chinese south from the “northern barbarians.” Researchers say that the loopholes of a significant part of the wall face south, not north. This can be seen in works of Chinese drawings, a number of photographs, and in the most ancient sections of the wall that have not been modernized for the needs of the tourism industry.
According to Tyunyaev, the last sections of the Great Wall were built similarly to Russian and European medieval fortifications, the main task of which was protection from the impact of guns. The construction of such fortifications began no earlier than the 15th century, when cannons became widespread on the battlefields. In addition, the wall marked the border between China and Russia. At that period of history, the border between Russia and China passed along the “Chinese” wall.” On the 18th-century map of Asia produced by the Royal Academy in Amsterdam, two geographical formations are marked in this region: Tartarie was located in the north, and China was in the south, the northern border of which ran approximately along the 40th parallel, that is, exactly along the Great Wall. On this Dutch map, the Great Wall is indicated by a thick line and labeled "Muraille de la Chine". From French this phrase is translated as “Chinese wall”, but can also be translated as “wall from China”, or “wall delimiting from China”. In addition, other maps confirm the political significance of the Great Wall: on the 1754 map “Carte de l’Asie” the wall also runs along the border between China and Great Tartary (Tartaria). In the academic 10-volume World History there is a map of the Qing Empire of the second half of the 17th - 18th centuries, which shows in detail the Great Wall, which runs exactly along the border between Russia and China.
The following is the evidence:
ARCHITECTURAL wall style, now located on the territory of China, is imprinted with the peculiarities of the construction “handprints” of its creators. Elements of the wall and towers, similar to fragments of the wall, in the Middle Ages can only be found in the architecture of ancient Russian fortifications central regions Russia – “northern architecture”.
Andrey Tyunyaev proposes to compare two towers - from the Chinese Wall and from the Novgorod Kremlin. The shape of the towers is the same: a rectangle, slightly narrowed at the top. There is an entrance leading into both towers from the wall, which is blocked round arch, made of the same brick as the wall with the tower. Each of the towers has two upper “working” floors. On the first floor of both towers there are round-arched windows. The number of windows on the first floor of both towers is 3 on one side and 4 on the other. The height of the windows is approximately the same - about 130–160 centimeters.
There are loopholes on the top (second) floor. They are made in the form of rectangular narrow grooves approximately 35–45 cm wide. The number of such loopholes in the Chinese tower is 3 deep and 4 wide, and in the Novgorod one - 4 deep and 5 wide. On the top floor of the “Chinese” tower there are square holes along its very edge. There are similar holes in the Novgorod tower, and the ends of the rafters sticking out of them, on which the wooden roof is supported.
The situation is the same in comparing the Chinese tower and the tower of the Tula Kremlin. The Chinese and Tula towers have the same number of loopholes in width - there are 4 of them. And the same number of arched openings - 4 each. On the upper floor between the large loopholes there are small ones - in the Chinese and in the Tula towers. The shape of the towers is still the same. The Tula tower, like the Chinese one, uses white stone. The vaults are made in the same way: at the Tula one there are gates, at the “Chinese” one there are entrances.
For comparison, you can also use the Russian towers of the Nikolsky Gate (Smolensk) and the northern fortress wall of the Nikitsky Monastery (Pereslavl-Zalessky, 16th century), as well as the tower in Suzdal (mid-17th century). Conclusion: design features The towers of the Chinese Wall reveal almost exact analogies among the towers of Russian Kremlins.
What does a comparison of the surviving towers of the Chinese city of Beijing with the medieval towers of Europe say? The fortress walls of the Spanish city of Avila and Beijing are very similar to each other, especially in the fact that the towers are located very often and have practically no architectural adaptations for military needs. The Beijing towers have only an upper deck with loopholes, and are laid out at the same height as the rest of the wall.
Neither the Spanish nor the Beijing towers show such a high similarity with the defensive towers of the Chinese Wall, as do the towers of Russian kremlins and fortress walls. And this is something for historians to think about.
And here is the reasoning of Sergei Vladimirovich Leksutov:
The chronicles say that the wall took two thousand years to build. In terms of defense, construction is absolutely pointless. Is it that while the wall was being built in one place, in other places nomads walked around China unhindered for two thousand years? But the chain of fortresses and ramparts can be built and improved within two thousand years. Fortresses are needed to defend garrisons from superior enemy forces, as well as to house mobile cavalry detachments in order to immediately go in pursuit of a detachment of robbers who have crossed the border.
I thought for a long time, who and why built this senseless cyclopean structure in China? There is simply no one except Mao Zedong! With his characteristic wisdom, he found an excellent means of adapting to work tens of millions of healthy men who had previously fought for thirty years and knew nothing but how to fight. It is unthinkable to imagine what kind of chaos would begin in China if so many soldiers were demobilized at the same time!
And the fact that the Chinese themselves believe that the wall has stood for two thousand years is explained very simply. A battalion of demobilizers comes to an open field, the commander explains to them: “Here, in this very place, the Great Wall of China stood, but the evil barbarians destroyed it, we have to restore it.” And millions of people sincerely believed that they did not build, but only restored the Great Wall of China. In fact, the wall is made of smooth, clearly sawn blocks. Is it that in Europe they didn’t know how to cut stone, but in China they were able to? In addition, they sawed stone soft rocks, and it is better to build fortresses from granite or basalt, or from something no less hard. But they learned to cut granites and basalts only in the twentieth century. Along its entire length of four and a half thousand kilometers, the wall is made of monotonous blocks of the same size, but over two thousand years the methods of stone processing inevitably had to change. Yes and construction methods change over the centuries.
This researcher believes that the Great Wall of China was built to protect the Ala Shan and Ordos deserts from sandstorms. He noticed that on the map compiled at the beginning of the twentieth century by the Russian traveler P. Kozlov, one can see how the Wall runs along the border of shifting sands, and in some places it has significant branches. But it was near the deserts that researchers and archaeologists discovered several parallel walls. Galanin explains this phenomenon very simply: when one wall was covered with sand, another was built. The researcher does not deny the military purpose of the Wall in its eastern part, but the western part of the Wall, in his opinion, served the function of protecting agricultural areas from natural disasters.
Soldiers of the invisible front
Perhaps the answers lie in the beliefs of the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom themselves? It is difficult for us, people of our time, to believe that our ancestors would erect barriers to repel the aggression of imaginary enemies, for example, ethereal otherworldly entities with evil intentions. But the whole point is that our distant predecessors considered evil spirits to be completely real beings.
Residents of China (both today and in the past) are convinced that the world around them is inhabited by thousands of demonic creatures that are dangerous to humans. One of the names of the wall sounds like “the place where 10 thousand spirits live.”
Another interesting fact: the Great Wall of China does not stretch in a straight line, but in a winding one. And the features of the relief have nothing to do with it. If you look closely, you will find that even in flat areas it “winds” around. What was the logic of the ancient builders?
The ancients believed that all these creatures could move exclusively in a straight line and were unable to avoid obstacles along the way. Perhaps the Great Wall of China was built to block their path?
Meanwhile, it is known that Emperor Qin Shihuang Di constantly conferred with astrologers and consulted with fortunetellers during construction. According to legend, the soothsayers told him that a terrible sacrifice could bring glory to the ruler and provide reliable defense to the state - the bodies of the unfortunate people buried in the wall who died during the construction of the structure. Who knows, perhaps these nameless builders are still standing eternally guarding the borders of the Celestial Empire...
Let's look at the photo of the wall:
Masterok,
livejournal
The visiting card of the Celestial Empire - the Great Wall of China - has been under the protection of UNESCO since 1987 as a historical heritage of the whole world. By decision of the public it is considered one of the new wonders of the world. There is no other defensive structure of this length on the planet.
Parameters and architecture of the “wonder of the world”
Contemporaries calculated the length of the grandiose Chinese fence. Taking into account areas that have not been preserved, it is 21,196 km. According to some studies, 4000 km have been preserved, others give the figure - 2450 km, if you connect the starting and ending points of the ancient wall with a straight line.
In some places its thickness and height reaches 5 m, in others it grows to 9–10 m. outside The wall is complemented by rectangles of 1.5-meter battlements. The widest section of the wall reaches 9 m, the highest from the ground surface is 7.92 m.
Real fortresses were built at the guard posts. On the most ancient sections of the wall, every 200 m of the fence there are towers made of brick or stones of the same style. They contain observation platforms and loopholes with rooms for storing weapons. The further from Beijing, the more often towers of other architectural styles are found.
Many of them have signal towers without interior spaces. From them, the watchmen lit a fire, signaling danger. For that time it was the most quick way warnings. According to legend, during the reign of the Tang family, women were placed as watchmen on the towers and their legs were deprived so that they would not leave their post without permission.
"The longest cemetery in the world"
The beginning of the construction of the grandiose Chinese structure dates back to the 7th century BC, the end - to the 17th century. According to historians, at least 10 rulers of small Chinese provinces made efforts to build it. They fenced their possessions with high mounds of earth.
Qin Shi Huang united the lands of small principalities into a single empire, ending the two-hundred-year era of the Warring States. With the help of defensive fortifications, he decided to ensure reliable protection of the state from attacks by nomads, especially the Huns. He ruled China from 246–210 BC. In addition to defense, the wall fixed the borders of the state.
According to legend, the idea was born after a court soothsayer predicted the destruction of the country by nomads who would come from the north. Therefore, they initially planned to build a wall on the northern borders of the country, but then continued to build it in the west, turning China into an almost impregnable possession.
According to legend, the direction and place of construction of the wall was indicated to the emperor by a dragon. The border was laid in his footsteps. Some researchers claim that the view of the wall from above resembles a soaring dragon.
Qin Shi Huang appointed the most successful general Meng Tian to lead the work. By combining the existing earthworks, they were strengthened and completed by more than half a million slaves, peasants, prisoners of war and prisoners. The emperor was opposed to the teachings of Confucius, so he shackled all the Confucian scholars and sent them to construction sites.
One of the legends says that he ordered them to be walled up in the wall as a sacrifice to the spirits. But archaeologists have not found confirmation of the rituality of the single burials found in the towers. Another legend tells of a farmer's wife, Meng Jiang, who brought clothes to her husband, who was mobilized to work on a construction site. But he had died by then. No one could say where he was buried.
The woman lay down against the wall and cried for a long time until a stone fell out, revealing the remains of her husband. Meng Jiang brought them to her native province and buried them in the family cemetery. Perhaps the workers who participated in the construction were buried in the wall. That's why people called it the “wall of tears.”
Construction spanning two millennia
The wall was completed and rebuilt in parts, from various materials- earth, bricks, stones. Active construction was continued in 206–220 by the emperors of the Han clan. They were forced to strengthen China's defenses against the attacks of the Huns. The earthen ramparts were reinforced with stones to protect them from destruction by nomads. All rulers of China monitored the safety of defensive structures, except for the emperors of the Mongol Yuan family.
Most of the grandiose structures that have survived to this day were built by the Ming emperors who ruled China from 1368 to 1644. They were actively engaged in the construction of new fortifications and repair of defensive structures, because before new capital state - Beijing - was only 70 kilometers away, so high walls were a guarantee of its safety.
During the reign of the Manchu Qing family, defensive structures lost their relevance because the northern lands were under its control. They stopped paying attention to the grandiose structure, and the wall began to collapse. Its restoration began at the direction of Mao Zedong in the 50s of the twentieth century. But during the “cultural revolution” most of it was destroyed by opponents of ancient art.
Video on the topic
Today it is believed that the Chinese began building their Great Wall of China as early as the 3rd century BC. e. Built for protection from northern nomads. Current state The walls are shown in Fig. 37 and 38. Regarding this, N.A. Morozov wrote:
“One thought is that the famous Chinese Wall, 6 to 7 meters high and up to three thick, stretching for THREE THOUSAND KILOMETERS, began construction back in 246 BC by Emperor Shi Hoang Ti (aka Shi Huang Di - Initial Venerable Emperor - Auto.) and WAS FINISHED ONLY AFTER 1866 YEARS, BY 1620 AD, is so absurd that it can only cause annoyance to a serious historian-thinker. After all, every large building has a predetermined practical purpose... Who would have thought of starting a huge construction that could only be completed in 2000 years, and until then would only be a useless burden for the population... And the Chinese Wall would be preserved as well as it is now could only if it was no more than several hundred years old”, vol. 6, p. 121–122.
Rice. 37. The Great Wall of China. Taken from, vol. 6, p. 121.
They will tell us that the Chinese took care of and constantly repaired their Wall for two thousand years in a row. Doubtful. It only makes sense to repair a building that is not very old, otherwise it will become hopelessly outdated and simply fall apart. This is what we are seeing, by the way, in Europe. Old defensive walls were dismantled and new, more powerful ones were built in their place. For example, many military fortifications in Rus' were rebuilt in the 16th century.
Rice. 38. Great Wall of China modern form. Taken from, vol. 21.
But in China everything was supposedly completely different. We are told that the Chinese Wall was built and stood for TWO THOUSAND YEARS. Historians don’t say that “ modern wall recently built on the site of an ancient one.” No, they claim that today we see exactly the same wall that conscientious Chinese workers built two thousand years ago. In our opinion, this is extremely strange, to say the least.
When and against whom was the Wall built? It's easy to give an approximate answer. As we have already said, “Chinese” history up to the 15th century AD. e. actually unfolded IN EUROPE. Therefore, the Chinese Wall could only have been created NO EARLIER than the 15th CENTURY AD. That is, when Chinese history“settled” already in modern China. And the Wall was built, of course, not against arrows and spears with copper or even stone tips of the 3rd century BC. Against which stone wall three meters thick is simply not needed. Walls such as the Chinese Wall were already built against battering rams and firearms. And they began to be built no earlier than the 15th century, when GUNS appeared on the battlefields, including SIEGE WEAPONS. In Fig. 39 we show another image of the Chinese Wall. It is very interesting that ancient authors also called it the WALL OF GOG AND MAGOG, vol. 1, p. 294. This was stated, for example, by Abulfeda.
Who was the wall built against? We cannot yet answer for sure. This requires additional research.
However, we will express the following thought, which will simultaneously indicate our proposed dating of the Wall.
Apparently, the Great Wall of China was built primarily as a structure marking the BORDER between China and Russia. And it was only partially conceived as a military-defensive structure - and it was hardly ever used in this capacity. Defend the 4000-kilometer wall, p. 44, from an enemy attack is SENSELESS. Even if it stretches “only” one or two thousand kilometers. The wall in its current form is only slightly short of 4 thousand kilometers.
L.N. Gumilyov wrote: “The wall stretches for 4 thousand km. Its height reached 10 meters, and watchtowers rose every 60-100 meters. But, when the work was completed, it turned out that all of China’s armed forces were not enough to organize an effective defense on the wall (as if this could not have been realized BEFORE construction began - Auth.). In fact, if you place a small detachment on each tower, the enemy will destroy it before the neighbors have time to gather and send help.
Rice. 39. The Great Wall of China. It turns out that it was also called “The Wall of Gog and Magog”, vol. 1, p. 293–294. Taken from, vol. 1, p. 293.
If large detachments are spaced out less frequently, gaps will form through which the enemy can easily and unnoticed penetrate deep into the country. A FORTRESS WITHOUT DEFENDERS IS NOT A FORTRESS”, p. 44.
How does our point of view differ from the traditional one? We are told that the Wall separated China from the nomads in order to secure the country from their raids. But, as A.N. correctly noted. Gumilev, this explanation does not stand up to criticism. If the nomads wanted to cross the Wall, they could easily do so. And more than once. And anywhere.
We offer a completely different explanation. We believe that the Wall was built primarily to MARK THE BORDER BETWEEN TWO STATES. And it was built when an agreement was reached on this border. Apparently in order to eliminate border disputes in the future. And there probably were such disputes. Today, the parties to the agreement draw the border ON THE MAP (that is, on paper). And they think that this is enough. And in the case of Russia and China, the Chinese side, apparently, gave the agreement such great importance, that she decided to immortalize it not only on paper, but also on the terrain itself, drawing the Wall along the agreed border. This was more reliable and, as the Chinese probably thought, should have eliminated border disputes for a long time.
The length of the Wall itself speaks in favor of this assumption. Four thousand kilometers may well be the LENGTH OF THE BORDER between the two states. But for a purely military structure such a length is meaningless.
But the northern border of China has changed many times over its supposedly more than two-thousand-year history that has passed since the construction of the Wall. What the historians themselves tell us about. China was either united or divided into separate states, lost and gained some lands, etc.
But then we are given a wonderful opportunity not only to test our idea that the Wall was from the very beginning the BORDER of China, but also to supposedly DATE the construction of the Wall. Because if we manage to find a RELIABLE DATED old map, on which the BORDER OF CHINA RUNS EXACTLY ALONG THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA, then this will mean that, most likely, THE WALL WAS BUILT AT THIS TIME.
Today the Chinese Wall is INSIDE China. Was there a time when she passed EXACTLY ALONG THE BORDER? And when was this? By answering these questions we will get an approximate dating of the Wall.
Let's try to find a GEOGRAPHICAL MAP on which the Chinese Wall runs EXACTLY ALONG THE NORTHERN BORDER OF CHINA. It turns out that SUCH CARDS REALLY EXIST. Moreover, there are many of them. These are maps of the 17th–18th centuries AD.
Take, for example, an 18th-century map of Asia produced by the Royal Academy in Amsterdam. The map is part of a rare 18th-century atlas. The inscription on the map reads: L"Asie, Dresse sur les observations de l"Academie Royale des Sciences et quelques autres et Sur les memoires les plus recens. Par G. de l "Isle Geographe a Amsterdam. Ches R. & J. Ottens, Geographes dans le Kalverstraat au Carte du Monde. See Fig. 40.
On this map we see two large states in Asia: Tartarie and China. See Figure 41 and our drawing of the map in Figure 42. China's northern border runs approximately along the 40th parallel. THE CHINA WALL IS VERY CLOSE TO THIS BORDER. Moreover, on the map the Wall is MARKED as a thick line with the inscription Muraille de la Chine, that is, “high wall of China” translated from French.
We see the same Chinese Wall, with the same inscription on it, on another map of 1754 - Carte de l "Asie, which we took from a rare atlas of the 18th century. See Fig. 43. Here the Chinese Wall goes EXACTLY along the border between China and Great Tartary. See Fig. 44 and drawing in Fig. 45.
Rice. 40. Map of Asia from an 18th century atlas. Made in Amsterdam. L"Asie, dresse sur les observations de l"Academie Royale des Sciences et quelques autres, et sur les memoires les plus recens. Par G. de l'lsle Geographe. a Amsterdam. Chez R. & J. Ottens, Geographes dans le Kalverstraat au Carte du Monde. Taken from.
We see literally the same thing on another map of Asia in the 17th century, placed in the famous Blau world atlas of 1655. See Fig. 46. The Chinese Wall runs exactly along the border of China, and only its small western section is already inside China.
It is also important that the cartographers of the 18th century ACTUALLY CONSIDERED IT NECESSARY TO PLACE THE CHINESE WALL ON THE POLITICAL MAP OF THE WORLD. Which indirectly suggests that the Wall HAD THE MEANING OF A POLITICAL BORDER. After all, they did not depict other wonders of the world. For example, Egyptian pyramids not on this map. And they painted the Chinese Wall.
Rice. 41. Fragment of a map of Asia from an 18th century atlas. It is clearly visible that the Chinese Wall runs exactly along the border of China. The wall is not only depicted on the map, but is also directly called the “Wall of China”: Muraille de la Chine. Taken from
The Great Wall of China is depicted on a color map of the Qing Empire in the second half of the 17th–18th centuries from the academic 10-volume World History, p. 300–301. This map shows the Great Wall in detail, with all its small curves in the terrain. Almost along its entire length it runs EXACTLY ALONG THE BORDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE, with the exception of a small westernmost section no more than 200 kilometers long.
Rice. 42. Our drawing of a fragment of a map of Asia in the 18th century with the image of the Great Wall of China. Map taken from.
Rice. 43. East End maps of Asia from the atlas of XVIII Bek. Taken from .
Rice. 44. Fragment of a map of Asia from an 18th century atlas. The Great Wall of China runs exactly along the border of China. It is not only depicted on the map, but also directly named “ Chinese wall": Muraille de la Chine. Taken from .
Rice. 45. Our drawing of a fragment of the map of 1754. "Carte de I" Asie. 1754. It is clearly visible that the Great Wall of China runs exactly along the northern border of China. Map taken from.
Rice. 46. Fragment of a map of Asia from the Blaeu atlas of 1655. The Chinese Wall runs exactly along the border of China, and only a small western section is located inside China. Taken from .
Rice. 47. The Great Wall of China on a map supposedly from 1617, running exactly along the border between “China” (China) and Tartary. Taken from, p. 190–191.
Rice. 48. Enlarged image of the Chinese Wall, which plays the role of the border between China and Tartary. From a map supposedly from 1617. Taken from, p. 190–191.
On a map supposedly from 1617 from the Blau Atlas, we also see the Chinese Wall, running EXACTLY ALONG THE BORDER between “China” - that is, China - and Tartaria (TARTARIA), Fig. 47 and 48.
We see exactly the same picture on the map allegedly dated 1635 from the Blaeu Atlas, p. 198–199. Here, exactly along the border between China-China (CHINAE) and Tartaria, runs the Great Wall of China, fig. 49 and 50.
Rice. 49. The Chinese Wall runs exactly along the border between China and Tartaria on a map allegedly dating from 1635. Taken from Blaeu's Atlas, p. 198–199.
Rice. 50. Enlarged fragment depicting the Chinese Wall as a border between states. Taken from, p. 199
In our opinion, all this means the following. THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA WAS PROBABLY BUILT IN THE 17TH CENTURY TO DELIVER THE STATE BORDER BETWEEN CHINA AND RUSSIA.
And if, after all these maps, someone still insists that the Chinese, they say, still built their Wall in the 3rd century BC, then we will answer this way. Maybe you're right. Let's not argue. However, in this case, we will have to admit that the “ancient” Chinese had such an amazing gift of foresight that they predicted exactly how the state border in northern China in the 17th–18th centuries of the NEW ERA. That is, two thousand years after them.
They may object to us: the wall was not built along the border, but, on the contrary, the border between Russia and China in the 17th century was drawn along the ancient Wall. However, in this case, the Wall would have to be mentioned in a written Russian-Chinese treaty. But, as far as we know, there are no such references.
But if the Great Wall of China is really the border between Russia and China, then WHEN EXACTLY was it built? Apparently, in the 17th century. No wonder it is believed that its construction was “completed” only in 1620, vol. 6, p. 121. Or maybe even later. We will return to this issue in the next chapter.
And I immediately remember that EXACTLY in the 17th century there were BORDER WARS between Russia and China. See S.M. Soloviev, “History of Russia since ancient times,” vol. 12, chapter 5, . It was probably only at the end of the 17th century that the border was agreed upon. And then they built the Wall to FIX THE AGREEMENT.
Did the Wall exist in some form before the 17th century? Apparently not. As we now understand, in the XIV-XVI centuries Rus' AND CHINA STILL CONSTITUTED ONE EMPIRE. It is believed that China was conquered by the “Mongols”, after which it became part of the Great = “Mongol” Empire. Therefore, there was no need to build a border wall. Most likely, such a need arose only after the Great Troubles of the early 17th century and the seizure of power in Rus' by the pro-Western Romanov dynasty. Then Türkiye separated from the Empire and heavy wars began with it. China also separated. The Manchu dynasty needed to build a wall to secure the border of the state they created. Which is what was done.
By the way, many “ancient Chinese” chronicles talk about the Great Wall. So what year were they written? It is clear that after the construction of the Wall, that is, not earlier than the 17th century AD. e.
And one more interest Ask. Are there any other powerful stone fortress structures still preserved in China that were erected earlier than the 17th century, that is, before the Manchu rule over China? And also stone palaces and temples? Or did the Great Wall, before the arrival of the Manzhurs in the 17th century, stand in China in splendid isolation as the ONLY powerful stone fortification structure in the entire country? If so, then it’s very strange. Is it really possible that in the two thousand years that have supposedly passed since the construction of the Wall, the Chinese did not think of building many other structures that were even remotely comparable to the Wall? After all, they tell us that Long story China was filled with internecine wars. Why then did the Chinese not fence each other off with walls? According to the logic of historians, in two thousand years all of China should have been blocked by a wide variety of Great - and not so great - Walls. But there is nothing like it.
In Europe and Rus', for example, a lot of stone fortifications have been preserved. If the Chinese, two thousand years ago, built a gigantic stone structure, generally useless from a military point of view, then why didn’t they direct their remarkable talents to build the ones that were really needed? stone kremlins in your cities?
If the Wall was built, as we assume, only in the 17th century and was ONE OF THE FIRST grandiose stone buildings in China, then everything falls into place. Since the 17th century, there have been no major internecine wars in China. Until 1911, the same Manjurian dynasty ruled there. And after it, in the 20th century, no one built stone fortresses for military purposes. They are no longer needed.
Apparently, it is possible to even more accurately indicate the time of construction of the Great Wall of China.
As we have already said, the Wall was apparently built as a border between China and Russia during the border disputes of the 17th century. ARMED COLLISIONS between the two countries flared up from the middle of the 17th century. The wars went on with varying degrees of success, p. 572–575. Descriptions of the wars are preserved in Khabarov’s notes.
The treaty that secured the northern border between China and Russia was concluded in 1689 in Nerchinsk. Perhaps there were earlier attempts to conclude a Russian-Chinese treaty. Therefore, we would expect that the Great Border Wall of China was built sometime between 1650 and 1689. This expectation is justified. It is known that the Chinese Emperor (Bogdykhan) Kangxi “began the implementation of his plan to oust the RUSSIANS FROM AMUR. Having built a chain of fortifications in Manzhuria (! - Author), Bogdykhan in 1684 sent the Manjurian army to the Amur”, vol. 5, p. 312. We show a portrait of Bogdykhan Kangxi based on a drawing from the 18th century in Fig. 51.
Rice. 51. Chinese Bogdykhan. (Emperor) Kangxi (1662–1722), under whom construction of the Great Wall of China probably began. From an 18th century drawing. Taken from, vol. 5, p. 312.
What kind of fortification chain did Bogdykhan Kangxi build by 1684? In our opinion, this refers to the construction of the Great Wall of China. A CHAIN OF FORTIFIED TOWERS CONNECTED BY A WALL.
Figure 52 shows an engraving from the early 18th century, which depicts the Russian embassy passing through the Great Wall of China. It is worth noting that the Wall depicted here bears little resemblance to a real military fortification. For example, both passages in the towers through which the road from Russia to China is laid are COMPLETELY DEprived of ANY GATES OR GRATINGS, Fig. 53. Both through passages through the Wall are quite high and spacious. They are not protected by anything! The thickness of the wall, judging by the drawing, is quite small. So, from a military-defensive point of view, the Wall depicted in Fig. 54 is rather meaningless.
Rice. 52. An ancient image entitled: “The Russian embassy passes through the gates of the Great Wall of China. Engraving from the book by I. Ides. Beginning of the 18th century." This Wall is not like the Chinese Wall that we are shown today. It is much narrower than modern and there is no wide passage along its top. And today in China a much thicker “ancient” Wall with a wide road along the top has already been built. Taken from, p. 143.
Rice. 53. An enlarged fragment of an ancient engraving from the 18th century depicting the passage towers of the Chinese Wall. The passage through them is wide and high. There are no gates or bars visible in the towers. Such a wall is in no way capable of serving as a serious military-defensive structure, but it may well mark the border between two states. Taken from, p. 143.
The Great Wall, which the Chinese show their guests today, is constructed significantly differently. It has become much thicker and there is now a wide road along its top, fig. 55. The question is, when was it built in this form? Isn't it in the 20th century? By the way, the road leading along the top of the modern Chinese Wall looks as if it was made for tourists to walk, and not for soldiers to run under a hail of arrows. It's a wide road that opens up beautiful views to the surrounding area. Figure 56 shows a photograph of the Wall of China, believed to have been taken in 1907. But perhaps this photograph was taken much later or was heavily retouched. It is possible that a significant contribution to the construction of the “most ancient” Chinese Wall was made in the 20th century, already under Mao Zedong, when it was necessary to create an outstanding symbol of the greatness of the “most ancient” China. The wall was completed, expanded, and in some places rebuilt from scratch... And they said that, they say, it has always been this way.
Rice. 54. The current state of the Great Wall of China. It is already made very thick and there is a wide road along its top. Probably a remake for tourists. Taken from, p. 362.
Rice. 55. Photograph of the Great Wall of China, allegedly taken in 1907 (which, however, is doubtful). Taken from, p. 122.
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The Great Wall of China is also called " Long wall". Its length is 10 thousand li, or more than 20 thousand kilometers, and to reach its height, a dozen people must stand on each other's shoulders... It is compared to a writhing dragon, stretching from the Yellow Sea to the Tibetan Mountains. There is no other place on earth one similar structure.
Construction of the Great Wall of China begins
By official version, construction began during the Warring States period (475-221 BC), under Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi, in order to protect the state from the raids of the Xiongnu nomads, and lasted ten years. About two million people built the wall, which then amounted to a fifth of the total population of China. Among them were people of various classes - slaves, peasants, soldiers... The construction was supervised by the commander Meng Tian.
Legend has it that the emperor himself rode on a magical white horse, plotting the route for the future structure. And where his horse stumbled, then a watchtower was erected... But this is just a legend. But the story about the dispute between the Master and the official looks much more plausible.
The fact is that the construction of such a huge building required talented builders. There were plenty of them among the Chinese. But one was especially distinguished by his intelligence and ingenuity. He was so skilled in his craft that he could accurately calculate how many bricks were needed for such a construction...
The imperial official, however, doubted the Master's ability and set a condition. If, they say, the Master makes a mistake by only one brick, he himself will install this brick on the tower in honor of the craftsman. And if the mistake amounts to two bricks, then let him blame his arrogance - severe punishment will follow...
A lot of stones and bricks were used for the construction. After all, in addition to the wall, watchtowers and gate towers also rose. There were about 25 thousand of them along the entire route. So, on one of these towers, which is located near the famous ancient Silk Road, you can see a brick, which, unlike the others, noticeably protrudes from the masonry. They say this is the same one that the Official promised to lay in honor of the skilled Master. Consequently, he escaped the promised punishment.
The Great Wall of China is the longest cemetery in the world
But even without any punishment, so many people died during the construction of the Wall that this place began to be called “the longest cemetery in the world.” The entire construction route was covered with the bones of the dead. In total, experts say, there are about half a million of them. The reason was poor working conditions.
According to legend, a loving wife tried to save one of these unfortunate people. She hurried to him with warm clothes for the winter. Having learned on the spot about the death of her husband, Meng - that was the woman’s name - began to cry bitterly, and from the profuse tears her part of the wall collapsed. And then the emperor himself intervened. Either he was afraid that the whole Wall would crawl from the woman’s tears, or he liked the widow, beautiful in her sadness, - in a word, he ordered to take her to his palace.
And she seemed to agree at first, but it turned out only in order to be able to bury her husband with dignity. And then faithful Meng committed suicide by throwing herself into a stormy stream... And how many more such deaths have happened? However, is there a record of victims when great state affairs are accomplished...
And there was no doubt that such a “fence” was an object of great national importance. According to historians, the wall not only protected the great “Celestial Middle Empire” from nomads, but rather guarded the Chinese themselves so that they would not flee from their dear fatherland... They say that the greatest Chinese traveler Xuanzang had to climb over the wall, stealthily, in the middle of the night, under a hail of arrows from the border guards...
The Great Wall of China was not built by the Chinese, but by the inhabitants of the north
Many are surprised that a number of loopholes in the wall face south, inland. Is it really against the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire themselves? True, there is a version that the Great Wall of China was not built by the Chinese at all, but by residents of the north in order to defend themselves from their bellicose southern neighbor...
If the main part of the wall was built between 445 and 222 BC, as many researchers believe, then it is worth remembering that at that time no Mongol-Tatar nomads had ever been heard of, so it turns out that there was no one to defend against... Moreover, At that time, China did not yet exist as a single country. There were eight small states on the map, each of which was unable to build such a grandiose structure.
And the Qin dynasty, to which Shi Huangdi belonged, dates back to 221 BC, that is, it turns out that by that time the main part of the wall had already been completed. In addition, the Great Wall of China is very reminiscent of European defensive structures that were built after the Middle Ages to protect against cannons and siege weapons.
So, probably, that part of the wall that tourists are used to seeing - with towers, loopholes and a wide road on top - was built much later than is commonly believed...