Chinese Wall. Destruction and restoration

The Chinese Wall is one of the most famous and largest monuments of ancient architecture. It passes through all of North China for almost 9,000 kilometers and in the Badaling area near Beijing.

History of erection

The construction of the first wall in China began in the 3rd century BC during the Warring Kingdoms period. At this time ruled the emperor of China, Qin Huangdi-Shi (he belonged to the Qin Dynasty). The purpose of this wall was to protect the state from the devastating raids of nomads Hunnu. About a fifth of the total population of the state participated in the construction, that is, about one million people. The length of the Chinese wall, including all branches, was 8851.8 kilometers. She also defined the limits of the possible expansion of the Chinese people themselves and protected the subjects of the empire from the transition to a barbarous semi-nomadic way of life. It fixed the boundaries of the civilization of China, contributed to the creation of a single empire from a number of kingdoms that had just been conquered by it.

During the reign of the Han dynasty (approximately 206-220 BC), the great Chinese wall was significantly expanded to the west. In addition, a line of special watchtowers was built, which went into the very depths of the desert and was intended to protect against the raids of nomads trading caravans. During construction, the Chinese used a special glutinous rice porridge, in which they added slaked lime. Virtually all sections of the wall, preserved until our time, were created during the reign of the great Ming dynasty. In this era, the basic materials for the construction were stone blocks and bricks. They made the wall construction more reliable and sturdy. During the time that the Ming Dynasty rules , the length of the great Chinese wall increased significantly. It stretched from west to east from the outpost of Yummenguan to Shanhaiguan, which was on the shore of the Bohai Bay.

The destruction of the Chinese wall and its further restoration

With the help of the treachery of Sanggu, the Manchu Qing Dynasty overcame the wall and treated it with extreme disdain. For 3 centuries of the reign of this dynasty, the Chinese wall almost all collapsed under the inexorable impact of time. Survived only one small area near Beijing. He performed the function of "gateway to the capital", and for this reason was kept in order. However, in 1899, the newspapers of the United States of America made a false rumor that the Chinese wall would soon be demolished, and in its place a modern freeway would be built. In 1984, the program for its restoration was launched on the initiative of Xiaopeng Dan. It was financed from the funds of individuals, as well as foreign and local companies.

The Chinese news reports that a section of the wall (about seventy kilometers) in Gansu Province is subject to active erosion due to the introduction of intensive methods in agriculture. This led to the desiccation of groundwater, which made the region the center of the emergence of strong sandstorms. Already more than forty kilometers of the wall has disappeared, and the others are still standing still. In some places, its height has decreased from six to two or three meters.

In 2007, William Lindsey found a long section of the wall fragment, which was later attributed to the time of the Han rule. And in 2012, with further searches in Mongolia, the remaining lost areas were discovered. In the same year, a significant section of the wall, located in Hebei Province, collapsed because of the strongest rainy rains. Its length was thirty-six meters. At collapse no one was hurt. This event occurred on the sixth of August, but the official news appeared only on the tenth day.