长城英文简介-The-Great-Wall-of-China

TheGreatWallofChinaTheGreatWallofChinaistheworld’slargestmilitarystructure.Itwasbuiltasadefensetostopinvadersfromnorthernareas.TheGreatWallisactuallyaseriesofwallsbuiltandrebuiltbydifferentdynastiesover1,000years.Ithasatotallengthofover6,000kilometers.TheChinesemeasuredthewallin“li”.Asingleliisequivalenttohalfakilometer.InChinesethewalliscalled“Wan-LiCh’ang-Ch’eng”whichmeans10,000-LiLongWall.TheGreatWallrunsfromJiayuPassofGansuProvinceinthewesttothemouthoftheYaluriverinLiaonlingProvinceintheeast.WhatistheGreatWall?DuringtheZhouDynasty,Xiongnutribesfrequentlyattackednorthernborderstates.Inthe7thcenturyB.C.,thenorthernstatesbuilttheirownwallsfordefensepurposes.QinShiHuangwasthefirstemperorofChinaandisconsideredthefirstGreatWallbuilder.Hewasarelentlesstyrantwho’sdynastyeventuallyfelltopeasantuprising.TheoldestsectionoftheGreatWallwasbegunin221b.c.TheconstructionlinkedtogethertherestoredruinsofolderwallscreatedintheZhouDynastytocreatea5000kilometer(10,000li)section.Thisistheoriginofthe10,000-liwallname.QinDynasty(221b.c.–207b.c.)WhoBuiltTheGreatWall?ZhouDynasty(1045b.c.–246b.c.)FirstEmperorQinShiHuangItisestimatedthatover3millionpeople(70%ofChina’spopulationatthetime)wereinvolvedintheconstructionofthewall.TheQinGreatWallisconstructedoutoflocalmaterials.Thebuildersuseddry-laidstoneorusedlayersofcompactedearth.Tobuildwithcompactedearththeworkersfirstbuilta4inchhighframe,thenfilleditwithlooseearth,andpackedit.Thus,thewallwasbuiltone4-inchlayeratatime.WhoBuiltTheGreatWall?QinDynasty(221b.c.–207b.c.)cont.AsectionoftheQinWallbuiltusingthetamped-earthprocess.Accordingtohistoricalrecords,theQinGreatWallwasbuiltin10yearsorabout25milesamonth.Inmoderndollars,theestimatedcosttobuildtheQinGreatWallwouldbe$260billion.HanWu-DiexpandedtheChinaempirewestwardintothewildernessofCentralAsia.HeisconsideredthesecondGreatWallbuilder.DuringtheHanDynastythecrumblingQinwallwasrebuiltandextendedover480kilometersthroughtheGobidesert.Sincelocalmaterialswerealwaysusedfortheconstruction,theHanGreatWallWhoBuiltTheGreatWall?HanDynasty(206b.c.–220a.d.)iscreatedfromamixtureofwaterandfinegravel,reinforcedwithwillowreeds.TheselayerswerecompacteduponeachotherinmuchthesamemanorastheQinDynastycompactedearth.ThemajorcontributionoftheHanDynastytotheGreatWallwasthewatchtowers.AsectionoftheHanWallbuiltusingwater,gravel,andwillowreeds.Thewatchtowersweretypicallyspaced15to30milesapartandwereusedtoalertothersentriestoattacksanddefendthewall.Intheeventofanattack,theguardswouldsetfiretoamixtureofwolfdung,sulfur,andsaltpeter.Thiswouldcreateacolumnofsmoketoalerttheotherwatchtowers.Thenumberofcolumnsofsmokerelatedtotheattackingforce.Onecolumnmeantanoutpostwasunderattackbyaforceoffewerthan500troops.Twocolumnswouldrepresentaforcefewerthan2500,etc.TheChineserealizedthesmokebeaconscarriedalertsfasterthanarideronahorse.WhoBuiltTheGreatWall?HanDynasty(206b.c.–220a.d.)cont.AwatchtowersignalinganattackTheMingDynastyisconsideredthegreatestofallGreatWallbuilders.ThewallsbuiltbytheMingDynastywerelarger,longer,andmoreornatethanthewallsfrompreviousdynasties.TheMingDynastyrebuiltcrumblingsectionsoftheHanGreatWallandlengtheneditto6,400kilometers.WhoBuiltTheGreatWall?MingDynasty(1368–1644)ThemajoradvancementintheMingGreatWallwastheuseofkiln-firedbrickratherthancuttingindividualstones.Thenewwallsectionswerebuiltwithatampedearthinteriorandencasedinthisbrick.IfyoutookallofthebricksfromtheMingportionoftheWallalone,theycouldcircletheEarthattheequatorinawallfivefeethighandthreefeetthick.Kiln-firedbricksusedduringtheMingDynastyTheMingWallcrossessomeofthemostforbiddingterraininallofChina.Insomeplaces,theWallrisesata70degreeangle.TheMingDynastyalsopurchasedcannonsfromPortuguesetradersandmountedtheminstrategicwatchtowerlocations.WhoBuiltTheGreatWall?MingDynasty(1368–1644)cont.ThecannonswereusedindefenseoftheWallandasanalert(inadditiontothesmokecolumns)toalertothersentriestoanattack.Ittookapproximately200yearstocompletetheMingWall.Inmodernterms,constructionoftheMingGreatWallwouldcost$360billion.Atitspeak,theMingGreatWallcontainedthousandsofindividualfortsandtowers.Itwasguardedbymorethanamillionmen.SectionofBaDaLingwallbuiltduringMingDynastyTheBaDaLingsectionoftheGreatWallwasbuiltatthebeginningoftheMingDynasty.ItwasbuilttosafeguardthecapitalofBeijingandisconsideredanimportantstrategicpoint.BaDaLinghasbattlefortsatimportantlocationsincludingthecorners.Itis7.8metersinheightand5meterswide.Thetopofthewallispavedwithsquarebricksandiswideenoughforsixhorsesortensoldierstomarchsidebyside.TheBaDaLingwallisbuiltfromlocalmaterialsincludinggreenbricksfromthesurroundinghillsandrectangularslabsofstone.SectionsoftheGreatWallBaDaLingSectionofBaDaLingwallnearBeijingNearBaDaLingisthePassofConscriptedLaborers.TheimportantgatewaynorthwestofBeijingisbelievedtobenamedaftertheworkersandslavesconscriptedtobuildtheGreatWall.Itisbuilt10kilometerssouthoftheBaDaLingsectioninan18.5longvalley.SectionsoftheGreatWallBaDaLingcont.PassofConscriptedLaborersPassageInscriptionsTheinteriorofthePasscontainscarvingsofelephants,l