The Great Wall of China 221 BC

First published in 2007 by Osprey Publishing

Midland House, West Way, Botley, Oxford OX2 0PH, UK

443 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016, USA

All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Enquiries should be addressed to the Publishers.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Print ISBN 978 1 84603 004 8

PDF e-book ISBN: 978 1 84908 056 9

ePub e-book ISBN: 978 1 78200 516 2

Page layout by: Ken Vail Graphic Design (kvgd.com)

Index by Alison Worthington

Typeset in Monotype Gill Sans and ITC Stone Serif

Maps by The Map Studio Ltd

Originated by United Graphics, Singapore

Printed in China through Bookbuilders

07 08 09 10 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Editor’s note

Unless otherwise indicated, all the images in this book are the property of the author.

Artist’s note

Readers may care to note that the original paintings from which the colour plates in this book were prepared are available for private sale. All reproduction copyright whatsoever is retained by the Publishers. All enquiries should be addressed to:

Steve Noon

50 Colchester Avenue

Penylan

Cardiff

CF23 9BP

The Publishers regret that they can enter into no correspondence upon this matter.

© Osprey Publishing. Access to this book is not digitally restricted. In return, we ask you that you use it for personal, non-commercial purposes only. Please don’t upload this ebook to a peer-to-peer site, email it to everyone you know, or resell it. Osprey Publishing reserves all rights to its digital content and no part of these products may be copied, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise (except as permitted here), without the written permission of the publisher. Please support our continuing book publishing programme by using this e-book responsibly.

Every effort has been made by the Publisher to secure permissions to use the images in this publication. If there has been any oversight we would be happy to rectify the situation and written submission should be made to Osprey Publishing.

The Fortress Study Group (FSG)

The object of the FSG is to advance the education of the public in the study of all aspects of fortifications and their armaments, especially works constructed to mount or resist artillery. The FSG holds an annual conference in September over a long weekend with visits and evening lectures, an annual tour abroad lasting about eight days, and an annual Members’ Day.

The FSG journal FORT is published annually, and its newsletter Casemate is published three times a year. Membership is international. For further details, please contact:

The Secretary, c/o 6 Lanark Place, London W9 1BS, UK

Author’s dedication

To Jo Brayshaw.

Preface

Out of all the monuments of military architecture in world history, the Great Wall of China is the best known but the least well understood. To stand high on one of its remote sections and see this great stone dragon twisting along the ridges both to the horizon behind and – so excitingly – to the distant horizon in front, is to experience a thrill that no other fortified structure on earth can provide. The Great Wall of China has been recognized for centuries as the largest fortified entity ever built, yet has remained poorly studied until comparatively recent times. It is therefore both impressive and elusive; presenting an appearance that can sometimes seem to be very simple and repetitive, yet at other times complex and baffling.

Even though its construction is well recorded, the mythology and political propaganda that has grown up around the Great Wall often tends to obscure any straightforward examination of either its historical record or the attendant archaeological evidence. From the myths of its unbroken construction history and unbroken length, and from the tales of human bodies being used to build it, to the notorious nonsense about it being visible from the Moon, the Great Wall of China is far more than just a defensive structure: it is a national icon. Once despised as a symbol of all that was wrong with China, the Great Wall now acts as a symbol of all that is right with it. Built from the dust of China and, in many places sadly, returning to it, the Great Wall has often been more pillaged than preserved and now faces greater threats to its continued existence than ever before. In today’s commercial world, where the Great Wall’s role has become one of attracting visitors to China instead of persuading them to stay away, a journey along its diverse ramparts easily reveals its vulnerability, but it also provokes more questions than it provides answers.

It is the purpose of this book to give a concise account of this magnificent yet daunting edifice based on the best and most reliable evidence available for its history, construction and usage. In this context I would like to thank Travelsphere Ltd, whose excellent tour of the Ming Great Wall provided my personal introduction to the subject. Professor Richard Merriman, with whom I walked several sections of the Great Wall, provided valuable insights into the geology of the Wall and its environment. I am also greatly indebted to William Lindesay, who probably knows more about this surprisingly fragile monument than almost anyone else on earth, and is doing so much to help preserve it so that future generations may be able to experience the greatest military wonder of the world.