书城外语HistoryofChina
47665400000041

第41章 Epilogue:TheGreatWall,a Symbol of China(1)

Just before we come to the end of the historic journey,allow me to look back at the Chinese civilization in virtue of the Great Wall.The Great Wall went through more than 2,500 years of the Chinese history and bestrides the vast terrain over a dozen of provinces in northern China.It has become a symbol of China.

The Great Wall is a great military fortification project in China that is regarded as a miracle in the history of ancient architecture.

The Great Wall was first built from the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods back in the 5th century BC.The northern states built walls as fortification against each other.In the 3rd century BC,the Qin Emperor unified China and sent Meng Tian with 300,000 troops to drive out the Huns to the north.Meng Tian connected the broken segments of the Great Wall from Liaodong to Linyao of Gansu and continued the construction to prevent aggressions from nomads of the north.Some of it still survived till today.From then on the Qin Emperor has been regarded as the first emperor that built the Great Wall.Throughout the dynasties,the Great Wall has been constructed and reconstructed continually until the middle Ming Dynasty in the 17th century.The whole process lasted two thousand years.The existent Great Wall starts from Jiayu Pass of Gansu and ends at Shanhai Pass of Hebei.The length of the Great Wall is 6,300 kilometers,about 13,000 miles,thus gets its name of“10 thousand miles Great Wall.”The construction of the Great Wall is the result of hard labor and sacrifice ofChinese people through the dynasties.It had become a symbol of Chinese civilization.The Great Wall is listed among the world heritage sites.During the architectural contest of the New Seven World Miracles in 2006,the Great Wall was ranked number one.The Great Wall is a must-visit site for tourists worldwide when they come to China and Beijing.Many of them put on T-shirts with Mao Zedong’s poetry saying“you are not a man until you climbed up the Great Wall”when they happily ascent the steps of the Great Wall.The experience becomes unforgettable.