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One of the most famous architectural structures in the 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 the 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 Tartary was quite 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 many years of fighting, a huge number of people died. 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 began to brew among Chinese residents. construction works. 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
It was suggested that in fact the “Chinese” wall was built for defense against the Chinese, who subsequently simply appropriated the achievements of other ancient civilizations. Here, to confirm our scientific correctness, it is enough to cite only one fact. THE LOOPS on a significant part of the wall ARE NOT DIRECTED TO THE NORTH, BUT TO THE SOUTH! And this is clearly visible not only in the most ancient, unreconstructed sections of the wall, but even in recent photographs and works of Chinese drawing.
Architecture and defensive structures on the territory of modern China
The “Chinese” wall is made similarly to European and Russian medieval walls, the main direction of action of which is protection from firearms. The construction of such structures began no earlier than the 15th century, when cannons and other siege weapons appeared on the battlefields. Before the 15th century, naturally, the so-called “northern nomads” did not have guns.
From the experience of constructing structures of this kind it follows: the “Chinese” wall was built as a military-defensive structure marking the border between two countries - China and Russia, after an agreement was reached on this border. And this can be confirmed by a map of the time when the border between Russia and China passed along the “Chinese” wall.
Today, the “Chinese” wall is located inside China and demonstrates the illegality of the presence of Chinese citizens in the territories located north of the wall.
The name of the "Chinese" wall
The 18th century map of Asia produced by the Royal Academy in Amsterdam shows two geographical formations: from the north - Tartarie, from the south - China (Chine), the northern border of which runs approximately along the 40th parallel, that is, exactly along "Chinese" wall. On this map, the wall is marked with a bold line and signed “Muraille de la Chine”, now often translated from French as “Chinese Wall”. However, literally we have the following: muraille “wall” in a nominal construction with the preposition de (noun + preposition de + noun) la Chine expresses the object and its accessory, that is, “the wall of China”.
But in other variants of the same construction we find different meanings of the phrase “Muraille de la Chine”. For example, if it denotes an object and its name, then we get the “wall of China” (similar, for example, to place de la Concorde - Place de la Concorde), that is, a wall built not by China, but named in its honor - the reason for its formation was the presence of a nearby wall of China. A clarification of this position is found in another version of the same construction, that is, if “Muraille de la Chine” denotes the action and the object to which it is directed, then it means “the wall (from) China.” We get the same thing with another translation option for the same construction - the object and its location (similarly, appartement de la rue de Grenelle - apartment on Grenelle Street), that is, “a wall (in the neighborhood) of China.” The cause-and-effect construction allows us to translate the phrase “Muraille de la Chine” literally as “wall from China” (similarly, for example, rouge de fièvre - red with heat, pâle de colère - pale with anger).
Compare, in an apartment or in a house we call the wall that separates us from our neighbors the neighbor’s wall, and the wall that separates us from the outside - outer wall. We have the same thing when naming borders: Finnish border, “on the Chinese border,” “on the Lithuanian border.” And all these borders were built not by the states after which they are named, but by the state (Russia) that defends itself from the named states. In this case, the adjectives indicate only the geographical location of Russian borders.
Thus, the phrase “Muraille de la Chine” should be translated as “wall from China”, “wall delimiting from China”.
Images of the "Chinese" wall on maps
Cartographers of the 18th century depicted on maps only those objects that were related to the political delimitation of countries. On the mentioned map of Asia from the 18th century, the border between Tartarie and China runs along the 40th parallel, that is, exactly along the “Chinese” wall. On the 1754 map “Carte de l’Asie” the “Chinese” wall also runs along the border between Great Tartary and China. In the academic 10-volume World History presents a map of the Qing Empire of the second half of the 17th – 18th centuries, which depicts in detail the “Chinese” wall, running exactly along the border between Russia and China.
Time of construction of the "Chinese" wall
According to Chinese scientists, the construction of the Great Wall of China began in 246 BC. Emperor Chi Hoang Ti. The height of the wall is from 6 to 7 meters.
Sections of the "Chinese" wall, built at different times
L.N. Gumilyov wrote: “The wall stretched for 4 thousand km. Its height reached 10 meters, and every 60 – 100 meters there were watchtowers.” The purpose of its construction is protection from northern nomads. However, the wall was built only by 1620 AD, that is, after 1866 years, clearly overdue for the purpose stated at the start of construction.
From European experience it is known that ancient walls, more than several hundred years old, are not repaired, but rebuilt - due to the fact that both the materials and the construction itself cost more than long time They get tired and just fall apart. Thus, many military fortifications in Rus' were rebuilt in the 16th century. But representatives of China continue to claim that the “Chinese” wall was built exactly 2000 years ago and now appears before us in its original form.
L.N. Gumilev also wrote:
“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. 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. 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.”
But let's use Chinese dating and see who built different sections of the wall and against whom.
Early Iron Age
It is extremely interesting to trace the stages of construction of the “Chinese” wall, based on data from Chinese scientists. It is clear from them that the Chinese scientists who call the wall “Chinese” are not very concerned about the fact that the Chinese people themselves did not take any part in its construction: every time another section of the wall was built, the Chinese state was far from the construction sites.
So, the first and main part of the wall was built in the period from 445 BC. to 222 BC It runs along 41° – 42° northern latitude and at the same time along some sections of the river. Yellow River.
At this time, naturally, there were no Mongol-Tatars. Moreover, the first unification of peoples within China took place only in 221 BC. under the kingdom of Qin. And before that there was the Zhanguo period (5th – 3rd centuries BC), in which eight states existed on Chinese territory. Only in the middle of the 4th century. BC. The Qin began to fight against other kingdoms and by 221 BC. e. conquered some of them.
Sections of the “Chinese” wall at the beginning of the creation of the Qin state
Sections of the “Chinese” wall at the beginning of the creation of the Qin state (by 222 BC).
The figure shows that the western and northern border of the Qin state by 221 BC. began to coincide with that section of the “Chinese” wall, which began to be built back in 445 BC. and was built precisely in 222 BC.
Thus, we see that this section of the “Chinese” wall was built not by the Chinese of the Qin state, but by its northern neighbors, but precisely from the Chinese spreading to the north. In just 5 years - from 221 to 206. BC. - a wall was built along the entire border of the Qin state, which stopped the spread of its subjects to the north and west. In addition, at the same time, 100 - 200 km west and north of the first, a second line of defense against Qin was built - the second “Chinese” wall of this period.
Sections of the "Chinese" wall during the Han era
Sections of the "Chinese" wall during the Han era (206 BC - 220 AD).
The next period of construction covers the time from 206 BC. to 220 AD During this period, sections of the wall were built, located 500 km west and 100 km north of the previous ones.
Early Middle Ages
In 386 - 535 17 non-Chinese kingdoms that existed in northern China united into one state - Northern Wei.
Through their efforts and precisely during this period, it was erected next part wall (386 - 576), one part of which was built along the previous section (probably destroyed over time), and the second part - 50 - 100 km to the south - along the border with China.
Advanced Middle Ages
In the period from 618 to 907. China was ruled by the Tang dynasty, which did not mark itself with victories over its northern neighbors.
Sections of the “Chinese” wall at the beginning of the Tang dynasty
Sections of the “Chinese” wall, built at the beginning of the Tang dynasty.
In the next period, from 960 to 1279. The Song Empire established itself in China. At this time, China lost dominance over its vassals in the west, in the northeast (on the Korean Peninsula) and in the south - in northern Vietnam. The Song Empire lost a significant part of the territories of the Chinese proper in the north and northwest, which went to the Khitan state of Liao (part of the modern provinces of Hebei and Shanxi), the Tangut kingdom of Xi-Xia (part of the territories of the modern province of Shaanxi, the entire territory of the modern province of Gansu and Ningxia-Hui autonomous region).
Sections of the "Chinese" wall during the reign of the Song Dynasty
Sections of the "Chinese" wall, built during the reign of the Song Dynasty.
In 1125, the border between the non-Chinese Jurchen kingdom and China ran along the river. Huaihe is 500 - 700 km south of the site where the wall was built. And in 1141, a peace treaty was signed, according to which the Chinese Song Empire recognized itself as a vassal of the non-Chinese state of Jin, pledging to pay it a large tribute.
However, for now China itself huddled south of the river. Hunahe, 2100 - 2500 km north of its borders, another section of the “Chinese” wall was erected. This part of the wall, built from 1066 to 1234, runs through Russian territory north of the village of Borzya next to the river. Argun. At the same time, 1500 - 2000 km north of China, another section of the wall was built, located along the Greater Khingan.
Late Middle Ages
The next section of the wall was built between 1366 and 1644. It runs along the 40th parallel from Andong (40°), just north of Beijing (40°), through Yinchuan (39°) to Dunhuang and Anxi (40°) in the west. This section of the wall is the last, the southernmost and the deepest penetrating into Chinese territory.
Sections of the "Chinese" Wall built during the Ming Dynasty
Sections of the "Chinese" wall, built during the reign of the Ming dynasty.
China was ruled by the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) at this time. At the beginning of the 15th century, this dynasty pursued not a defensive policy, but external expansion. For example, in 1407, Chinese troops captured Vietnam, that is, territories located outside the eastern section of the “Chinese” wall, built in 1368 - 1644. In 1618, Russia managed to agree with China on the border (mission of I. Petlin).
At the time of the construction of this section of the wall, the entire Amur region belonged to Russian territories. By the middle of the 17th century, Russian fortresses (Albazinsky, Kumarsky, etc.), peasant settlements and arable lands already existed on both banks of the Amur. In 1656, the Daurian (later Albazinsky) voivodeship was formed, which included the valley of the Upper and Middle Amur on both banks.
On the Chinese side, the Qing dynasty began to rule in China in 1644. In the 17th century, the border of the Qing Empire ran just north of the Liaodong Peninsula, that is, exactly along this section of the “Chinese” wall (1366 - 1644).
In the 1650s and later, the Qing Empire attempted military force capture Russian possessions in the Amur basin. Christians also supported China. China demanded not only the entire Amur region, but all the lands east of the Lena. As a result, according to the Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689), Russia was forced to cede its possessions along the right bank of the river to the Qing Empire. Argun and on parts of the left and right banks of the Amur.
Thus, during the construction of the last section of the “Chinese” wall (1368 – 1644), it was the Chinese side (Ming and Qing) that waged wars of conquest against Russian lands. Therefore, Russia was forced to wage defensive border wars with China (see S.M. Solovyov, “History of Russia since ancient times,” volume 12, chapter 5).
The “Chinese” wall, built by the Russians in 1644, ran exactly along the Russian border with Qing China. In the 1650s, Qing China invaded Russian lands to a depth of 1,500 km, which was secured by the Aigun (1858) and Beijing (1860) treaties.
conclusions
The name "Chinese" wall means "wall demarcating from China" (similar to the Chinese border, Finnish border, etc.).
At the same time, the origin of the word “China” itself comes from the Russian “whale” - a string of poles that were used in the construction of fortifications; Thus, the name of the Moscow district “China City” was given in a similar way back in the 16th century (that is, before the official knowledge of China), the building itself consisted of a stone wall with 13 towers and 6 gates;
The construction time of the “Chinese” wall is divided into several stages, in which:
The non-Chinese began building the first section in 445 BC, and having built it by 221 BC, they stopped the advance of the Qin Chinese to the north and west;
The second section was built by non-Chinese from Northern Wei between 386 and 576;
The third section was built by non-Chinese between 1066 and 1234. two rapids: one at 2100 - 2500 km, and the second at 1500 - 2000 km north of the borders of China, passing at that time along the river. Yellow River;
The fourth and final section was built by the Russians between 1366 and 1644. along the 40th parallel - the southernmost section - it represented the border between Russia and China of the Qing Dynasty.
In the 1650s and later, the Qing Empire captured Russian possessions in the Amur basin. The “Chinese” wall ended up inside Chinese territory.
All of the above is confirmed by the fact that the loopholes of the “Chinese” wall face the south – that is, the Chinese.
The “Chinese” wall was built by Russian settlers on the Amur and in Northern China to protect against the Chinese.
Old Russian style in the architecture of the Chinese Wall
In 2008, at the First International Congress “Dokirylovskaya Slavic writing and pre-Christian Slavic culture" in Leningradsky state university named after A.S. Pushkin (St. Petersburg) a report was made “China - younger brother Rus'", which presented fragments of Neolithic ceramics from the territory of the eastern part of Northern China. It turned out that the signs depicted on the ceramics have nothing in common with the Chinese “hieroglyphs”, but show an almost complete coincidence with the Old Russian runic - up to 80% [Tyunyaev, 2008].
Another article - “In the Neolithic, Northern China was inhabited by Russians” - based on the latest archaeological data, it is shown that in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, the population of the western part of Northern China was not Mongoloid, but Caucasian. These geneticists made a clarification: this population was of Old Russian origin and had the Old Russian haplogroup R1a1 [Tyunyaev, 2010a]. Mythological data says that the movements of the ancient Rus in the eastern direction were led by Bogumir and Slavunya and their son Skif [Tyunyaev, 2010]. These events are reflected in the Book of Veles, whose people in the 1st millennium BC. partially went to the west [Tyunyaev, 2010b].
In the work “The Chinese Wall - the Great Barrage from the Chinese,” we came to the conclusion that all sections of the Chinese Wall were not built by the Chinese, since the Chinese were simply not present in the places where the wall was built at the time of construction. In addition, the last section of the wall was most likely built by the Russians between 1366 and 1644. along the 40th parallel. This is the southernmost section. And it represented the official border between Russia and China under the control of the Qing dynasty. That is why the name “Chinese Wall” literally means “wall demarcating from China” and has the same meaning as “Chinese border”, “Finnish border”, etc.
http://www.organizmica.org/arc…
A comparison of these two streams may indicate that there were two massive civilizations of antiquity: northern and southern. The Kremlins and the Chinese Wall were built by the northern civilization. The fact that the walls of the structures of the northern civilization are better suited for combat indicates that in most cases the aggressors were representatives of the southern civilization.
On November 7, 2006, an article by V.I. was published in the journal Organizmica. Semeyko "Great the Chinese wall built... not the Chinese!”, in which the President of the Academy of Basic Sciences, Andrei Aleksandrovich Tyunyaev, expressed his thoughts about the non-Chinese origin of the “Chinese” wall:
– As is known, north of the territory modern China there was another, much more ancient civilization. This has been repeatedly confirmed by archaeological discoveries made in particular in the territory Eastern Siberia. The impressive evidence of this civilization, comparable to Arkaim in the Urals, not only has not yet been studied and comprehended by world historical science, but has not even received proper assessment in Russia itself. As for the so-called “Chinese” wall, it is not entirely legitimate to talk about it as an achievement of ancient Chinese civilization.
Here, to confirm our scientific correctness, it is enough to cite only one fact. THE LOOPS on a significant part of the wall ARE NOT DIRECTED TO THE NORTH, BUT TO THE SOUTH! And this is clearly visible not only in the most ancient, unreconstructed sections of the wall, but even in recent photographs and works of Chinese drawings. It has also been suggested that in fact the “Chinese” wall was built for defense against the Chinese, who subsequently they simply appropriated the achievements of other ancient civilizations.
After the publication of this article, its data was used by many media outlets. In particular, on November 22, 2006, Ivan Koltsov published the article “History of the Fatherland. Rus' began in Siberia,” in which he spoke about the discovery made by researchers from the Academy of Basic Sciences. After this, interest in reality in relation to the “Chinese” wall grew significantly.
Literature:
Solovyov, 1879. Solovyov S.M., History of Russia since ancient times, volume 12, chapter 5. 1851 - 1879.
Tyunyaev, 2008.
Tyunyaev, 2010. Tyunyaev A.A. Ancient Rus', Svarog and Svarog’s grandchildren // Studies of ancient Russian mythology. – M.: 2010.
Tyunyaev, 2010a. Tyunyaev. In the Neolithic, Northern China was inhabited by Russians.
Tyunyaev, 2010b. About the journey of the people of VK.
The Chinese Wall is a great barrier against the Chinese, built by the Russians...
DEMAND CHINESE TOUR OPERATORS TO TRAVEL IN THE GREAT CREATION OF NON-CHINESE! AND THEY WILL SHOW YOU, BUT WHAT?..
The Great Wall of China is the most grandiose defensive structure in the history of mankind. The prerequisites for its creation were formed long before the centuries-old construction. So many northern principalities and kingdoms of China built walls for defense against the attacks of nomads. After the unification of these small kingdoms and principalities in the 3rd century BC. Under the Qin dynasty, Qin Shi Huang was elected emperor. It was he who, with the combined efforts of all of China, began the long construction of the Great Wall of China, designed to protect China from attacks by enemy troops.
The Great Wall of China in facts and figures
Where is the Great Wall of China? In China. The wall originates in the city of Shanhai-guan and from there stretches in snake-like curves across half the country into Central China. The end of the wall is near Jiayuguan City. The width of the wall is approximately 5-8 meters, the height reaches 10 meters. On a stretch of 750 kilometers, the Great Wall of China was once even used as an excellent road. Near the wall in some areas there are additional fortifications and fortresses.
The length of the Great Wall of China, if measured in a straight line, reaches 2,450 kilometers. And the total length, taking into account all the twists and branches, is estimated at 5,000 kilometers. Since ancient times, myths and legends have been telling about the size of this building; it was even said that the wall can be seen from the moon. But this myth in our age technical progress freely exposed. Although from space (orbit) the Wall of China is visible, especially if it concerns satellite images. Satellite map By the way, you can see it below.
Satellite view of the wall
The history of the grandiose construction of China
The construction of the Great Wall of China began in 221 BC. According to legend, the emperor’s army (about 300 thousand people) was sent to the construction. Here they were also involved a large number of peasants, because the loss of builders had to be constantly compensated for by new human resources, fortunately there were no problems with this in China. There are even a number of people who believe that the Great Wall of China was built by the Russians, but let's leave this as another beautiful guess.
The main part of the wall was erected just under the Qing. The front work was carried out to combine the already built fortifications into a single structure and expand the wall to the west. Most of the wall was ordinary earthen embankments, which were later replaced with stone and brick.
Unrestored section of wall
The geographical position of the wall is of interest. It seems to divide China into two parts - the north of the nomads and the south of the farmers. Further ongoing research confirms this fact.
At the same time, the longest fortification is also the longest cemetery. One can only guess about the number of builders buried here. Many were buried right here in the wall and construction continued on their bones. Their remains are still found today.
Based on the high mortality rate, many legends have surrounded the wall over the centuries. According to one of them, Emperor Qin Shi Huang was predicted that the construction of the wall would be completed either after the death of a person named Vano or 10 thousand other people. The Emperor, of course, ordered to find Vano, kill him and bury him in the wall.
During the existence of the wall, attempts were made to restore it many times. This was done by the Han and Sui dynasties. Modern look The Great Wall of China was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It was here that earthen mounds replaced bricks and some areas were rebuilt. Watchtowers were also installed here, some of which have survived to this day. The main purpose of these towers was to warn of enemy advances. So at night the alarm was transmitted from one tower to another with the help of a kindled fire, and during the day with the help of smoke.
Watchtowers
Construction acquired a huge scale during the reign of Emperor Wanli (1572-1620). Many people, right up to the 20th century, thought that it was he, and not Qin Shi Huang, who erected this grandiose structure.
The wall performed poorly as a defensive structure. After all, for a major conqueror, a wall is not an obstacle. Only people can interfere with the enemy, but there were problems with the people on the wall. Therefore, for the most part, the guards of the wall looked not to the North, but to... the South. It was necessary to keep an eye on the peasants, tired of taxes and work, who wanted to move to the free north. In this regard, there is even a semi-myth that the loopholes of the Great Wall of China are directed towards China.
With the growth of China to the North, the function of the wall as a border disappeared completely and it began to decline. Like many other large structures of antiquity, the wall began to be dismantled for building materials. And only in our time (1977) did the Chinese government introduce a fine for damaging the Great Wall of China.
The wall in a photograph from 1907
Now the Great Wall of China is a recognized symbol of China. Many sections have been restored again and are shown to tourists, one section even runs close to Beijing, which attracts millions of lovers of Chinese culture.
Badaling site near Beijing
The Great Wall of China is a unique structure; it looks like the body of a long dragon, spread across northern China. The length is more than 6400 km, the thickness of the wall is about 3 meters, and the height can reach seven meters. It is believed that it was in the 3rd century BC that the construction of the wall began, and ended only in the 17th century AD. It turns out that according to the accepted historical version, this construction lasted almost 2000 years. Truly a unique building. History does not know such long-term construction. Everyone is so accustomed to this historical version that few people think about its absurdity.
Any construction site, especially a large one, has a certain practical purpose. Who today would think of starting a huge construction project that can only be completed in 2000 years? Of course, no one! Because it's pointless. Not only will this endless construction put a heavy burden on the population of the country, the building itself will be constantly destroyed and will have to be restored. This is what happened with the Great Wall of China.
We will never know what the first sections of the wall, allegedly built before our era, looked like. They, of course, collapsed. And those sections that have survived to this day were mainly built during the Ming Dynasty, that is, allegedly, in the period from the 14th to the 17th centuries AD. Because in that era building materials there were bricks and stone blocks that made the structure more reliable. So historians are still forced to admit that this “wall,” which anyone can see today, appeared no earlier than the 14th century AD. But even 600 years is a fairly respectable age for a stone building. It is still not clear why this structure is so well preserved.
In Europe, for example, medieval defensive structures grew old and fell apart over time. They had to be dismantled and new, more modern ones built. The same thing happened in Rus'. Many medieval military fortifications were rebuilt in the 17th century. But in China, for some reason these natural physical laws do not apply...
Even if we assume that the ancient Chinese builders had some kind of secret, thanks to which they created such a unique structure, historians do not have a logical answer to the most important question: “Why did the Chinese build a stone wall with such tenacity for 2000 years? Who did they want to protect themselves from? - historians answer: “The wall was built along the entire border of the Chinese empire to protect against the attacks of nomads...”
Such a wall, as much as 3 meters thick, was not needed against the nomads. Russians and Europeans began to build such structures only when cannons and siege weapons appeared on the battlefields, that is, in the 15th century.
But the point is not even in its thickness, but in its length. The wall, stretching for several thousand kilometers, could not protect China from raids.
Firstly, in many places it passes at the foot of mountains and nearby hills. It is quite obvious that the enemy, having climbed onto the neighboring peaks, could easily shoot all the defenders on this section of the wall. From arrows flying from above, the Chinese soldiers would simply have nowhere to hide.
Secondly, along the entire length of the wall, watchtowers were built every 60-100 meters. Large military detachments were constantly supposed to be in these towers and monitor the appearance of the enemy. But back in the 3rd century BC, under Emperor Qin Shihuang Di, when 4,000 km of the wall had already been built, it became clear that if the towers were installed so often, it would not be possible to ensure effective defense of the wall. All the armed forces of the Chinese Empire will not be enough. And if you place a small detachment on each tower, then it will become easy prey for the enemy. A small detachment will be destroyed before neighboring detachments have time to come to its aid. If the defensive detachments are made large, but deployed less frequently, then too long and unprotected sections of the wall are formed, through which the enemy can easily penetrate deep into the country.
It is not surprising that the appearance of such a fortification did not protect China from raids. But its construction greatly depleted the state, and the Qin dynasty lost its throne. The new Han dynasty no longer had much hope for the great wall and returned to the system of maneuver warfare, but, according to historians, the construction of the wall, for some reason, continued. Strange story...
It is also interesting that until the end of the 17th century, apart from the Great Wall of China, not a single large stone structure was built in China. But scientists claim that the Chinese population waged constant wars among themselves. Why didn’t they fence themselves off from each other with walls and build stone kremlins in their cities?
With such experience as the construction of the Great Wall of China, the entire country could be covered with defensive structures. It turns out that the Chinese spent all their resources, strength and talents only on the construction of the, in general, useless from a military point of view - the Great Wall of China.
But there is another historical version of the construction of the Great Wall of China. This version is not as popular among historians as the first, but it is more logical.
Great Wall was indeed built along the border of China, but not for protection from nomads, but as a marking of the border between the two states. And its construction began not 2000 years ago, but much later, in the 17th century AD. That is, the famous wall is no more than 300 years old. An interesting historical fact speaks in favor of this version.
According to the official historical version, by the middle of the 17th century northern lands China was severely depopulated and in order to protect these lands from settlement by Russians and Koreans, in 1678 Emperor Kangxi ordered this border of the empire to be surrounded by a special fortified line. Its construction continued until the end of the 80s of the 17th century.
The question immediately arises: why did the emperor need to build some kind of new fortified line, if a huge stone wall?
Most likely, there was no wall there yet, so in order to protect their lands, the Chinese began building a line of fortifications, because it was at that time that China was fighting border wars with Russia. And only in the 17th century both sides agreed where the border between the two states would be.
In 1689, a treaty was signed in the city of Nerchinsk, which fixed the northern border of China. Probably the Chinese rulers of the 17th century attached great importance great importance Nerchinsk Treaty, which is why they decided to mark the border not only on paper, but also on the ground. So a border wall appeared along the entire border with Russia.
On the map of Asia of the 18th century, made by the Royal Academy in Amsterdam, two states are clearly visible, China and Tartary. China's northern border runs approximately along the 40th parallel, and the Chinese Wall runs exactly along the border. Moreover, it is highlighted with a bold line and the inscription: “Muraille de la Chine” - which translated from French means: “Wall of China”. The same thing can be seen in many other maps produced after the 17th century.
Of course, one can assume that the ancient Chinese foresaw 2000 years ago where the Russian-Chinese border would be, and in 1689, the two states simply drew the border along the wall that stood here, but in this case, this would definitely have been indicated in the treaty, but in the Nerchinsk Treaty there is no mention of the wall.
For several decades now, scientists around the world have been sounding the alarm. One of the seven wonders of the world, the Great Wall of China, is rapidly collapsing! And indeed, in some places, the height of the wall has decreased to two meters, in some places the observation towers have completely disappeared, several tens of kilometers of the wall have been completely lost, and hundreds of kilometers continue to rapidly collapse. And this despite the fact that over the past few centuries, the wall has been repaired and restored several times, why was it not destroyed at such a rate before? Why, after standing for more than two thousand years, did the wall quickly begin to turn into ruins?
Scientists blame climate, ecology, Agriculture and, of course, tourists. Every year 10 million people visit the wall. They go where they can and where they can’t. They want to see even those parts of the wall that are closed to the public. But the matter is most likely something else...
The Great Wall of China is being destroyed in a completely natural way, just like all similar structures were destroyed. 300 years is a very respectable age for a stone building, and the version that the great Chinese long-term construction is as long as 2000 years old is a MYTH. As is much of Chinese history itself.
P.S. There is also another version circulating on the Internet that the Great Wall of China was not built by the Chinese at all. In those days, in China, practically nothing was built of stone except this wall. Moreover, the loopholes on the old, unrestored sections of the wall are located only on the south side. Unfortunately, I have not been to China and cannot say with certainty whether this is actually true. Photos used to determine south side based on the sun's shadow cannot be taken as evidence. As you know, the wall does not go in a straight line, the directions are completely different, the sun can shine from both the southern and northern sides of the wall, roughly speaking.
European architecture
However, researchers who managed to visit inside the Chinese Wall claim that those small piles of stones, in fact, the remains of the original masonry, could not protect against any raids.
And that wall that we are used to seeing in photographs, powerful, with towers and loopholes, with a road along the ridge on which two carts can pass each other, that wall was built much later, when the wild northern nomadic tribes no longer had time for the Chinese and before the raids. And the wall itself, if you look at it objectively, is surprisingly reminiscent of European defensive buildings created after the 15th century, and designed to protect against cannons and other serious siege weapons, which the nomads simply could not have had.
By the way, about the loopholes. Many people pay attention to the fact that some of the loopholes in the Great Wall of China are facing not to the north, but... to the south - against the Chinese themselves! What is this? Error when modern reconstruction? But in the surviving ancient sections, the walls of the loophole are also directed to the south. So, maybe the Great Wall of China was not built by the Chinese, but, on the contrary, by the northern inhabitants, in order to defend themselves from the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire?
There is an assumption that the Chinese Wall was erected between China and Russia at a time when these two countries agreed on a common border. There are maps on which the Chinese Wall serves as the dividing line between China and Russian Empire. For example, on a map of Asia in the 18th century produced by the Royal Academy in Amsterdam, Tartary is indicated to the north, and China to the south. The border between them runs approximately along the 40th parallel, that is, exactly along the wall. And this border is designated in French - Muraille de la Chine, that is, not the “Chinese Wall”, but the “Wall of China”. In other words, a wall that fences off a certain territory from China.
There was no such country
It is also interesting to trace the history of the construction of the Chinese Wall. According to sources stored in the Celestial Empire, the main part of the wall was built in the period from 445 BC. e. to 222. BC e, that is, when there were no traces of any Mongol-Tatar nomads and there was no one to defend against.
Moreover, there was no one to defend himself, since China itself did not exist as a single country. There were eight small states, each of which was not able (and there was no need) to engage in such titanic work. The unification of them all into one Chinese state under the rule of the Qin dynasty began only in 221 BC. e., that is, a year after the main part of the wall was already completed. It turns out that the first part of the wall was not built by the Chinese at all.
If we consider the history of the construction of the Chinese Wall further (and it was built with long interruptions, in different places until the middle of the 17th century), according to the Chinese historical sources, then it turns out that the remaining parts of this structure were not built by the Chinese themselves and not at all for defense against the northern tribes. Who then built the Great Wall of China? This question remains a mystery for now.
