The Great Wall of China – Origins

Many historians agree that the Great Wall of China, first completed during the Qin Dynasty, served as a military defense line for China to defend against foreign invasions and that its role as a strategic landmark soon evolved to becoming China’s most important cultural heritage and a significant part of China’s historiography. Other historians, however, believe that the Wall was built for a different purpose in mind. Nicola di Cosmo, the Luce Foundation Professor in East Asian Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, asserts that the Wall was built as an “expansionist strategy by Chinese northern states meant to support and protect their political and economic penetration into [foreign] areas” (di Cosmo, 155). This would not only provide commercial development, but it would also help lower the massive investment. He provides evidence that the Wall was built according to the topography surrounding it. He exclaims that it was erected, not for a political agenda but rather, with a tactical goal in mind, adding that “the walls were built ‘to repel’ or ‘to contain’ the nomads after a substantial drive into foreign lands” (di Cosmo, 143). It wasn’t, as historians thought, designed to fend off foreign invasions completely. He concludes that the main goals of the Wall was “to establish lines of communication and facilitate the movements of troops as they patrolled this territory” (di Cosmo, 149), which made it easier for the expansionist movement to continue and help preserve the policy of colonization and militarization of the north.

On the other hand, the Great Wall of China doesn’t only have architectural documentation to recount its tale. Many of the things people know about the Great Wall come from countless stories told during and after its construction, recounting both its greatness and, unfortunately, many atrocities. In an article called The Rehabilitation–and Appropriation–of Great Wall Mythology, Bruce G. Doar talks about the many interpretations of the legend of Meng Jiangnü, “the loyal widow of unparalleled beauty whose sorrow destroys the works of the tyrant Qin Shihuang, whose cruelty had caused her husband’s death” (Bruce G. Doar). This story, although known very all throughout China, has been warped and changed to the point where no one knows how the original myth went. He believes that these changes were made to adjust to the different customs of regions around China, a way to help them familiarize and have an idea of what is being told in the story. But, while the story has many alternate versions, “the salient ‘modern’ image of Meng Jiangnü” as a distraught widow who destroys most of the Wall remains the same. But why is that? Why is the message still the same? Bruce G. Doar believes that the story developed as both “a folk tale and as a scholar’s tale” (Bruce G. Doar). It is one of many accounts of tragedy that occurred during this era, a tale that helps people remember the sacrifices made, and a story to never forget. As Bruce interprets it, it is a reminder of “power of passionate mourning to subvert or destroy the man-made order; the tyranny of Qin Shihuang; the Great Wall; the agony of separation; virtuous chastity; unrequited love; and, unparalleled beauty that has the power to devastate” (Bruce G. Doar).

Bibliography