The great Wall of China. History and legends

The Chinese Wall is an amazing structure that took almost 2000 years to build and is 4 thousand kilometers long! Such long-term construction is not bad... Traditionally it is believed that the Great Wall of China began to be built in the 3rd century BC. For protection from northern nomads. On this occasion N.A. Morozov wrote:

“One thought is that the famous Chinese Wall, from 6 to 7 meters high, and up to three thick, stretching for THREE THOUSAND KILOMETERS, began construction back in 246 BC by Emperor Chi Hoang Ti and WAS COMPLETED ONLY AFTER 1866 YEARS, BY 1620 AD, is so absurd that it can only cause annoyance to a serious historian-thinker.

After all, every large construction has a predetermined practical purpose... Who would have the idea of starting a huge construction that can only be completed in 2000 years, and until then will only be a useless burden for the population...

They will tell us that the wall has been repaired for two thousand years. Doubtful. It only makes sense to repair a building that is not very old, otherwise it will become hopelessly outdated and simply fall apart. This is what we are seeing, by the way, in Europe.

Old defensive walls were dismantled and new, more powerful ones were built in their place. For example, many military fortifications in Rus' were rebuilt in the 16th century.

But we are told that the Chinese Wall, as it was built, stood for TWO THOUSAND YEARS. They don’t say that “ modern wall recently built on the site of an ancient one.”

No, they say that we see exactly the wall that was built two thousand years ago. In our opinion this is extremely strange, to say the least.

When and against whom was the wall built? We cannot answer for sure. This requires additional research. However, let us express the following thought.

The Great Wall of China was built primarily as a structure marking the BORDER between two countries: China and Russia.

It is doubtful that it was built as a military defensive structure. And it is unlikely that it has ever been used in this capacity. Defending a 4,000-kilometer wall from enemy attack is SPOILESS.

L.N. Gumilyov quite rightly wrote: “The wall stretched for 4 thousand km. Its height reached 10 meters, and watchtowers rose every 60-100 meters.

But 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

How does our point of view differ from the traditional one? We are told that the Wall separated China from the nomads in order to secure the country from their raids. But as Gumilev correctly noted, such an explanation does not stand up to criticism.

If the nomads wanted to cross the Wall, they could easily do so. And more than once. And anywhere. We offer a completely different explanation.

We believe that the Wall was built primarily to MARK THE BORDER BETWEEN TWO STATES. And it was built when an agreement was reached on this border. Apparently in order to eliminate border disputes in the future.

And there probably were such disputes. Today, the parties to the agreement draw the border ON THE MAP (that is, on paper). And they think that this is enough.

And in the case of Russia and China, the Chinese, apparently, attached such importance to the agreement that they decided to immortalize it not only on paper, but also “on the ground,” by drawing the Wall along the agreed border.

This was more reliable and, as the Chinese thought, would eliminate border disputes for a long time. The length of the Wall itself speaks in favor of this assumption. Four, or one or two thousand kilometers is normal for the border between two states. But for a purely military structure it makes no sense. But the political border

China has changed many times over its supposedly more than two thousand-year history. This is what the historians themselves tell us. China united, then fell apart into separate regions, lost and gained some lands, etc.

On the one hand, this seems to make it difficult to verify our reconstruction. But on the other hand, on the contrary, we are given the opportunity not only to check it, but also to DATE the construction of the Wall.

If we manage to find a political-geographical map on which the BORDER OF CHINA WILL GO EXACTLY ALONG THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA, this will mean that EXACTLY AT THIS TIME THE WALL WAS BUILT.

Today the Chinese Wall is INSIDE China. Was there a time when it marked the BORDER OF THE COUNTRY? And when did this happen? It is clear that if it was being built as a BORDER WALL, then IT WOULD HAVE BEEN EXACTLY ALONG THE POLITICAL BORDER OF CHINA at that time.

This will allow us to date the construction of the Wall. Let's try to find a GEOGRAPHICAL MAP on which the Chinese Wall runs EXACTLY ALONG THE POLITICAL BORDER OF CHINA. It is important that SUCH CARDS EXIST. And there are many of them. These are maps of the 17th-18th centuries.

Let's take a map of Asia from the 18th century made by the Royal Academy in Amsterdam: . We took this map from a rare atlas of the 18th century.

On this map we find two states: Tartary - Tartarie and China - Chine. China's northern border runs approximately along the 40th parallel. THE CHINA WALL GOES EXACTLY ALONG THIS BORDER.

Moreover, on the map this Wall is MARKED as a thick line with the inscription Muraille de la Chine, that is, “the high wall of China” translated from French.

We see the same Chinese Wall, and with the same inscription on it, on another map of 1754 - Carte de l’Asie, which we took from a rare atlas of the 18th century. Here the Chinese Wall also roughly follows the border between China and Great Tartary, that is, Mongol-Tatary = Russia.

We see the same thing on another map of Asia in the 17th century, in the famous Blau atlas. The Chinese Wall runs exactly along the border of China, and only a small western section of the Wall is inside China.

Our idea is also supported by the fact that cartographers of the 18th century PLACED THE CHINESE WALL ON THE POLITICAL MAP OF THE WORLD.

Therefore, this Wall HAD THE MEANING OF A POLITICAL BORDER. After all, cartographers did not depict other “wonders of the world” on this map, for example, the Egyptian pyramids.

And they painted the Chinese Wall. The same Wall is depicted on the color map of the Qing Empire of the second half of the 17th-18th centuries in the academic 10-volume World History

On this map Great Wall depicted in detail, with all its small curves in the terrain. Almost along its entire length it runs EXACTLY ALONG THE BORDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE, with the exception of a small western section The walls are no more than 200 kilometers long. Apparently

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA WAS BUILT IN THE 16th-17th CENTURIES AS A POLITICAL BORDER BETWEEN CHINA AND RUSSIA = “MONGOL-TATARIA”.

It is impossible to admit that the “ancient” Chinese had such an amazing gift of foresight that they accurately predicted exactly how the border between China and Russia would go in the 17th-18th centuries of the NEW ERA, that is, in two thousand years.

We may be objected: on the contrary, the border between Russia and China in the 17th century was drawn along ancient Wall. However, in this case, the Wall would have to be mentioned in a written Russian-Chinese treaty. We found no such references.

When was the Wall = Border between Russia = “Mongol-Tataria” and China built? Apparently, it was in the 17th century. No wonder it is believed that its construction was “completed” only in 1620. And maybe even later. See below about this.

In this regard, we immediately remember that EXACTLY at this time there were BORDER WARS between Russia and China. Probably, only at the end of the 17th century they agreed on the border. And then they built a wall to FIX THE AGREEMENT.

Was this Wall before the 17th century? Apparently not. Scaligerian history tells us that China was conquered by the “MONGOLS” in the 13th century AD. e. More precisely, in 1279. And became part of the huge “Mongolian” = Great Empire.

According to the new chronology, the correct dating of this conquest is the end of the 14th century, that is, a hundred years later. In the Scaligerian history of China, this event was noted in the 14th century as the coming to power of the MING dynasty in 1368, that is, the SAME MONGOLS.

As we now understand, in the XIV-XVI centuries Rus' AND CHINA STILL CONSTITUTED ONE EMPIRE. Therefore, there was no need to build a Wall = Border.

Most likely, such a need arose after the unrest in Rus', the defeat of the Russian Horde dynasty and the seizure of power by the Romanovs. As you know, the Romanovs abruptly changed Russia’s political course, trying to subordinate the country to Western influence.

This pro-Western orientation of the new dynasty led to the collapse of the Empire. Türkiye separated, and heavy wars began with it. China also separated. And, in fact, control over a large part of America was lost. Relations between China and the Romanovs became tense, and border conflicts began. It was necessary to build a Wall, which was done.

Apparently, it is possible to even more accurately indicate the time of construction of the Great Wall of China. As we have already said, the Wall was apparently built as a border between China and Russia during the border disputes of the 17th century. ARMED COLLISIONS flared up with mid-17th century century. Wars have been going on since with varying success Descriptions of these wars are preserved in Khabarov's notes.

The treaty FIXING THE NORTHERN BORDER OF CHINA WITH RUSSIA was concluded in 1689 in Nerchinsk. Perhaps there were earlier attempts to conclude a Russian-Chinese treaty.

It should be expected that the Chinese Wall was built between 1650 and 1689. This expectation is justified. It is known that the Emperor = Bogdykhan Kangxi “began the implementation of his plan to oust the RUSSIANS FROM AMUR.

HAVING BUILT A CHAIN OF FORTIFICATIONS IN MANZHURIA, Bogdykhan sent the Manzhur army to the Amur in 1684.” What kind of CHAIN OF FORTENTS did Bogdykhan build by 1684? He most likely built the Great Wall of China. That is, a CHAIN OF FORTIFIED TOWERS CONNECTED BY A WALL

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 has been freely exposed in our age of technological progress. 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

Interesting geographical position walls. 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 impose 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

Original taken from nordsky V

Original taken from blogmaster The Great Wall of China was not built by the Chinese

The Great Wall of China is the largest architectural monument of mankind. The Great Wall runs across China for 8.8 thousand km (including branches). According to official version, the construction of a large-scale fortification began in the 3rd century BC. e. during the Qin Dynasty, during the reign of the emperor of the first centralized Chinese state, Qin Shi Huang. The fortifications were supposed to protect the emperor’s subjects from the invasion of “northern barbarians” and serve as a base for the expansion of the Chinese themselves. Most of the sections of the Great Wall that have survived to this day were built mainly during the Ming Dynasty in 1368-1644. In addition, recent research has revealed the fact that the earliest sites date back to the 5th century BC. e.

Almost six years ago, on November 7, 2006, an article by V.I. was published in the journal Organizmica. Semeyko “The Great Wall of China was built... not by 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 you know, to the north of the territory of modern China there was another, much more ancient civilization. This has been repeatedly confirmed by archaeological discoveries made, in particular, in 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 drawing.

It was also suggested that in fact the “Chinese” wall was built for defense against the Chinese, who subsequently 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.

The “Chinese” wall is made similarly to European and Russian ones 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

An 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. The academic 10-volume World History presents a map of the Qing Empire of the second half of the 17th - 18th centuries, on which The “Chinese” wall is depicted in detail, 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.

Rice. Sections of the "Chinese" wall built in different time(data from Chinese researchers).

L.N. Gumilyov wrote: “ The wall stretches 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.

Rice. 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.

Rice. Sections of the “Chinese” wall in the first five years of the Qin state (221 - 206 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.

Rice. 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, the next part of the wall was erected (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.

Rice. 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 modern province Shaanxi, the entire territory of modern Gansu Province and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region).

Rice. 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, southernmost and the most deeply penetrating into Chinese territory.

Rice. 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

From the above we can formulate the following 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-Gorod” was given in a similar way back in the 16th century (that is, before the official knowledge of China), the building itself consisted of 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 “Pre-Cyrillic Slavic Literature and Pre-Christian Slavic Culture” in Leningrad state university named after A.S. Pushkin (St. Petersburg) a report was made “China - the younger brother of Rus'”, in which fragments of Neolithic ceramics from the territory of the eastern part of Northern China were presented. 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 ancient Russian runic - up to 80% [ Tyunyaev, 2008].

In 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 east direction 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 west [ Tyunyaev, 2010b].

In the work “The Chinese Wall - the great barrier 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 at the construction sites of the wall 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 he represented official border between Russia and China under 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.

Rice. 1. Sections of the “Chinese” wall, built during the reign of the Ming dynasty.

In 1644, the Manchu army captured Beijing, beginning the period of dominance of the Qing dynasty. In the 17th century, the border of the Qing Empire was located just north of the Liaodong Peninsula, that is, exactly along the section of the “Chinese” wall created in the 14-17 centuries. The Qing Empire came into conflict with Russia and tried to seize Russian possessions in the Amur River basin by military force. The Chinese demanded that not only the lands of the entire Amur region be transferred to them, but also the territories east of the Lena River. The Qing Empire was able to capture part of the Russian possessions in the Amur basin. As a result of the Chinese expansion of the so-called. The “Chinese” wall ended up inside the territory of modern China. Thus, it is clear that the Great Wall (often just a rampart) was not created by the Chinese, but by their northern opponents from the late Iron Age (5-3 centuries BC) until the time of the Qin Empire and Russia in the mid-17th century. It is clear that further large-scale studies are needed to confirm this fact. But it is already becoming more and more obvious that the modern historical myth, which has been drummed into our heads almost from the time of the cradle, has little in common with true history Russia and humanity. Since ancient times, the ancestors of the Russian people inhabited vast territories from Central Europe to the vast expanses of Siberia and the lands of modern Northern China.

In the article " Old Russian style in the architecture of the Chinese Wall" Andrei Tyunyaev made several more noteworthy conclusions. Firstly, the towers of ancient Russian fortresses-kremlins and fortress walls, on the one hand, and the towers of the Great Wall (the last section of the wall, built during the Ming Empire) on the other, were created, if not in a single, then in a very similar architectural style. For example, the towers of European castles and fortress walls on the one hand and the fortifications of Rus' and the “Chinese” wall on the other are completely different. Secondly, on the territory of modern China two types of fortifications can be distinguished: “northern” and “southern”. Northern type The fortifications are designed for long-term defense; the towers provide maximum opportunities for combat. It can be concluded that the battles on this line of fortifications were of a strategic nature and were fought between completely alien cultures. For example, it is known that the early Chinese kingdoms practiced mass sacrifice of captives. For the “northern barbarians,” surrender was an unacceptable step. The southern type of fortifications was of a tactical nature and, apparently, was built in lands long ago developed by Chinese civilization. Often, during conquests, only the ruling dynasty was replaced, the bulk of the population did not suffer. Therefore, fortifications can actually be decorative in nature, or designed for a short-term siege. Towers and walls of fortresses do not have a developed defensive combat system. Thus, the architecture of defensive structures confirms the presence of two powerful cultures on the territory of modern China: southern and northern. Northern civilization for a long time led, gave the south ruling dynasties, a military elite, advanced achievements of spiritual and material culture. But in the end the South prevailed.

1. Features of medieval defensive towers

Hence architectural style The Chinese Wall, which imprinted with its bright features the handprints of its true builders. In the Middle Ages, we find elements of walls and towers similar to fragments of the Chinese Wall only in the architecture of ancient Russian defensive structures in the central regions of Russia.

In Fig. 1.1 shows two towers - from the Chinese Wall and from the Novgorod Kremlin. As can be seen from the comparison, the shape of the towers is the same: a rectangle, slightly narrowed at the top. There is an entrance leading into both towers from the wall, which is blocked round arch, made of the same brick as the wall with the tower. Each of the towers has two upper “working” floors. On the first floor of both towers there are round-arched windows. In the presented “Chinese” tower, the first floor is located on the same level as the entrance, so the place of one of the windows is occupied by the entrance opening. The number of windows on the first floor of both towers is 3 on one side and 4 on the other. The height of the windows is approximately the same - about 130 - 160 cm.

On the top, second floor there are loopholes . They are made in the form of rectangular narrow grooves, approximately 35 - 45 cm wide (judging by the photo). The number of such loopholes in the “Chinese” tower is 3 deep and 4 wide, and in the Novgorod one - 4 deep and 5 wide.

On top floor"Chinese" tower, along its very edge they walk square holes. There are the same holes in the Novgorod tower, and the ends stick out of them rafters on which it rests wooden roof. This type of roof and rafter design is still common today.

In Fig. 1.2 shows the same “Chinese” tower. But there is another tower of the Novgorod Kremlin, which on the top floor has 3 loopholes in depth, like the “Chinese” one, but 5 loopholes in width (the “Chinese” one has 4). The arched openings of the lower floors are almost identical.

In Fig. 1.3 on the left is the same “Chinese” tower, and on the right is the tower of the Tula Kremlin. Now at the “Chinese” and Tula towers same number there are 4 loopholes in width - there are 4 of them each. And the same number of arched openings - 4 each. On the top floor between the large loopholes there are small ones - both at the “Chinese” and at the Tula towers. The shape of the towers is still the same. In the Tula tower, as in the “Chinese” one, white stone was used. The vaults are made in the same way: at the Tula one there are gates, at the “Chinese” one there are entrances.

In Fig. 1.4 shows two more towers - on the left is the “Chinese” one (photo from 1907) and on the right is the Novgorod Kremlin. The design features are the same as above. At the “Chinese” tower, two fragments protrude from the wall between floors; perhaps these are logs on which the ceiling between floors is built (similar to the rafters that we mentioned above). The tower of the Novgorod Kremlin, among other things, has a protruding brick belt. It is similar to the same belt in the “Chinese” towers, but is located one floor lower.

The same photograph from 1907 shows another tower (see Fig. 1.5). It has only a floor with arched openings - 3 openings on each side. The tower of the Zaraisk Kremlin also has only a floor with arched openings (4 on each side). In Fig. 1.6 shows “Chinese” towers with different features, in Fig. 1.7 presents Russian analogues.

Rice. 1.7. Russian towers: on the left - Nikolsky Gate (Smolensk, photo Pogudin-Gorsky); in the center - the northern fortress wall of the Nikitsky Monastery (Pereslavl-Zalessky, 16th century); on the right is a tower in Suzdal (mid-17th century).

As can be seen from the presented materials, design features The towers of the Chinese Wall reveal almost exact analogies among the towers of Russian Kremlins.

2. Comparison of architectural features of medieval towers in Europe, Asia and the Chinese Wall

Some researchers argue that, in terms of their architectural features, the towers of the Chinese Wall are more similar to the towers of European defensive structures. For comparison, here are a few photographs of towers from different countries Europe and Asia.

In Fig. Figure 2.1 shows two fortress walls - the Spanish city of Avila and the Chinese city of Beijing. As you can see, they are similar to each other. Especially in the fact that the towers are located very often and have practically no architectural adaptations for military needs. The Beijing towers are especially primitive. They only have an upper deck with loopholes. Moreover, the Beijing towers are laid out at the same height as the rest of the wall. Neither the Spanish nor the Beijing towers show such a high similarity with the towers of the Chinese Wall, as do the towers of Russian kremlins and fortress walls.

Shown in Fig. 2.2 variants of the towers of European fortress walls clearly show that the architectural tradition of defensive structures in Europe was very different from the tradition of construction of both ancient Russian fortifications (kremlins) and the Chinese Wall. European towers and walls are much thinner, the towers are practically blank and are not suitable for large numbers of armed people to fire actively from their territory.

Rice. 2.3. Asian towers (from left to right): Liaoyang Tower (China); Ark fortress wall; fortress wall and tower (Baku); tower and fortification wall of the Red Fort (Delhi).

In Fig. 2.3 presents options for Asian towers. None of them have anything in common with the towers of the Chinese Wall, not even the Chinese one - the Liaoyang Tower.

All presented options for fortress towers can be divided into two large streams and the following conclusions can be drawn:

The first stream is the towers of ancient Russian kremlins and fortress walls on one side and the towers of the Chinese Wall on the other. The towers of this stream are made, if not in a single, then in an almost identical architectural tradition.
The second stream is the towers of European castles and fortress walls on one side and the towers of eastern defensive structures. The towers of this stream also show some similarities with each other, but are absolutely different from both the ancient Russian fortress towers and the towers of the Chinese Wall.
The differences between the architectural features of the towers of these two streams are so distinct that they allow us to speak about the existence of two traditions: let’s call them conventionally “northern” and “southern”.
The northern tradition of building fortress towers indicates that these towers, like structures in general, were built with the expectation of waging long defensive battles, in which architectural features towers provided the defenders with maximum opportunities for combat. The structure of these structures also suggests that the clashes at this barrier were of a strategic nature and took place between two populations of purely unrelated human species, when the conclusion of a tactical peace was impossible due to the subsequent complete extermination of the defenders by the attackers.
Southern tradition says more that southern defensive structures were of tactical importance and were located inside territories inhabited by the same type of person, and only separated the possessions of one nobleman from the possessions of another. When captured, the civilian population did not always suffer at the hands of the conquerors, therefore, as we know from history, there were frequent surrenders of fortresses without a fight and without serious consequences. Therefore, most of the southern towers and walls have a tactical purpose or even a semi-decorative one (such as a fence). The towers and walls of such fortresses do not have a developed structure for conducting defensive battles. Even with large thickness and the height of the walls, such as the Beijing city wall, its purpose in defensive terms is rather more passive.
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.

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 Great Wall of China is one of the oldest structures that has survived to this day. Its construction lasted for many centuries, accompanied by exorbitant human losses and gigantic material costs. Today this legendary architectural monument, which some even call the eighth wonder of the world, attracts travelers from all over the planet.

Which Chinese ruler was the first to build the Wall?

The beginning of the construction of the Wall is associated with the name of the legendary emperor Qin Shi Huang. He did many important things for the development of Chinese civilization. In the 3rd century BC. e. Qin Shi Huang was able to unite several kingdoms that were warring among themselves into unified education. After unification, he ordered the construction of a high Wall on the northern borders of the empire (more specifically, this happened in 215 BC). In this case, the direct management of the construction process was to be carried out by the commander Meng Tian.

Construction lasted about ten years and was fraught with many difficulties. A serious problem was the lack of any infrastructure: there were no roads for transporting construction materials, and there was also not enough water and food for the people involved in the work. The number of those who were involved in construction during the time of Qin Shi Huang reached, according to researchers, two million. Soldiers, slaves, and then peasants were transported en masse for this construction.

The working conditions (and it was mostly forced labor) were extremely cruel, so many builders died right here. We have reached legends about embedded corpses, that supposedly powder from the bones of the dead was used to strengthen the structure, but this is not confirmed by facts and research.

The construction of the Wall, despite the difficulties, was carried out at a high pace

A popular version is that the Wall was intended to prevent raids by tribes that lived in the lands to the north. There is some truth in this. Indeed, at this time the Chinese principalities were attacked by aggressive Xiongnu tribes and other nomads. But they did not pose a serious threat and could not cope with the militarily and culturally advanced Chinese. And further historical events showed that the Wall is, in principle, not very good way stop the nomads. Many centuries after the death of Qin Shi Huang, when the Mongols came to China, it did not become an insurmountable obstacle for them. The Mongols found (or made themselves) several gaps in the Wall and simply walked through them.

The main purpose of the Wall was probably to limit further expansion of the empire. This seems not entirely logical, but only at first glance. The new emperor needed to preserve his territory and at the same time prevent a mass exodus of his subjects to the north. There the Chinese could mix with the nomads and adopt their nomadic way of life. And this could ultimately lead to a new fragmentation of the country. That is, the Wall was intended to consolidate the empire within its existing borders and contribute to its consolidation.

Of course, the Wall could be used at any time to move troops and cargo. And the system of signal towers on and near the Wall ensured fast communication. Advancing enemies could be seen in advance from afar and quickly, by lighting a fire, notifying others about this.

The wall during other dynasties

During the reign of the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), the Wall was extended westward to the oasis city of Dunhuang. Additionally, a special network of watchtowers was created, stretching even deeper into the Gobi Desert. These towers were designed to protect traders from nomadic robbers. During the Han Empire, about 10,000 kilometers of the Wall were restored and built from scratch - this is twice as much as was built under Qin Shi Huangji.

During the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD), women, rather than men, began to be used as sentries on the Wall, whose duties included monitoring the surrounding area and, if necessary, sounding the alarm. It was believed that women are more attentive and take the responsibilities assigned to them more responsibly.

Representatives of the ruling Jin dynasty (1115–1234 AD) made a lot of efforts to improve the Wall in the 12th century - they periodically mobilized for construction work tens and hundreds of thousands of people.

Sections of the Great Wall of China that have survived to this day in acceptable condition were built primarily during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). In this era, blocks of stone and bricks were used for construction, which made the structure even stronger than before. A building mixture, as research shows, ancient masters cooked from limestone with the addition of rice flour. Largely thanks to this unusual composition, many sections of the Wall have not collapsed to this day.

During the Ming Dynasty, the Wall was seriously updated and modernized - this helped many of its sections survive to this day.

Changed and appearance Walls: its upper part was equipped with a parapet with battlements. In those areas where the foundation was already flimsy, it was reinforced with stone blocks. It is interesting that at the beginning of the twentieth century, the people of China considered Wan-Li to be the main creator of the Wall.

Over the centuries of the Ming dynasty, the structure stretched from the Shanhaiguan outpost on the coast of the Bohai Bay (here one section of the fortifications even goes a little into the water) to the Yumenguan outpost, located on the border of the modern Xinjiang region.

After the accession of the Manchu Qing dynasty in 1644, which managed to unite the North and South of China under its control, the issue of the safety of the wall faded into the background. It lost its significance as a defensive structure and seemed useless to the new rulers and many of their subjects. Representatives of the Qing dynasty treated the Wall with some disdain, in particular due to the fact that they themselves easily overcame it in 1644 and entered Beijing, thanks to the betrayal of General Wu Sangai. In general, none of them had plans to build the Wall further or restore any sections.

During the reign of the Qing dynasty, the Great Wall practically collapsed, as it was not properly cared for. Only a small section of it near Beijing - Badaling - was preserved in decent condition. This section was used as a kind of front “metropolitan gate”.

The wall in the 20th century

It was only under Mao Zedong that serious attention was again paid to the Wall. Once, back in the thirties of the 20th century, Mao Zedong said that anyone who has not been to the Wall cannot consider himself a good fellow (or, in another translation, a good Chinese). These words subsequently became a very popular saying among the people.

But large-scale work to restore the Wall began only after 1949. True, during the years of the “cultural revolution” these works were interrupted - on the contrary, the so-called Red Guards (members of school and student communist detachments) dismantled some sections of the Wall and made pigsties and other “more useful” ones, in their opinion, from the building materials thus obtained. objects.

In the seventies, the Cultural Revolution ended, and soon Deng Xiaoping became the next leader of the PRC. With his support, a program to restore the Wall was launched in 1984 - it was financed by large companies and ordinary people. And three years later, the Great Wall of China was included in the UNESCO list as a world heritage site.

Not so long ago, there was a widespread myth that the Wall could actually be seen from low-Earth orbit. However, real evidence from astronauts refutes this. For example, the famous American astronaut Neil Armstrong said in one of his interviews that, in principle, he does not believe that it is possible to see at least any artificial structure from orbit. And he added that he doesn’t know a single guy who would admit that he could see with his own eyes, without special devices, The Great Wall of China.

Features and dimensions of the Wall

If we count together with the branches created in different periods Chinese history, then the length of the Wall will be more than 21,000 kilometers. Initially, this object resembled a network or a complex of walls, which often did not even have a connection with each other. Later they were united, strengthened, demolished and rebuilt if there was such a need. As for the height of this grandiose structure, it varies from 6 to 10 meters.

On outside On the walls you can see simple rectangular battlements - this is another feature of this design.

It is worth saying a few words about the towers of this magnificent Wall. There are several types of them, they differ in architectural parameters. The most common are rectangular two-story towers. And at the top of such towers there are necessarily loopholes.

Interestingly, some towers were erected by Chinese craftsmen even before the construction of the Wall itself. Such towers are often smaller in width than the main structure, and their locations appear to be chosen at random. The towers that were erected along with the Wall are almost always located two hundred meters from each other (this is a distance that an arrow fired from a bow cannot overcome).

As for signal towers, they were installed approximately every ten kilometers. This allowed a person on one tower to see a fire lit on another, neighboring tower.

In addition, 12 large gates were created for entry or entry into the Wall - over time, full-fledged outposts grew up around them.

Of course, the existing landscape did not always facilitate easy and rapid construction Walls: in certain places it goes along the mountain range, skirting ridges and spurs, rising to heights and descending into deep gorges. This, by the way, demonstrates the uniqueness and originality of the structure being described - the Wall is very harmoniously integrated into the environment.

The wall today

Now the most popular section of the Wall among tourists is the already mentioned Badaling, located not far (about seventy kilometers) from Beijing. It is better preserved than other areas. It became accessible to tourists in 1957, and since then excursions have been constantly held here. Today you can get to Badaling directly from Beijing by bus or express train - it won't take much time.

At the 2008 Olympics, the Badaling Gate served as the finish line for cyclists. And every year in China a marathon is organized for runners, the route of which passes through one of the sections of the legendary Wall.

For long history During the construction of the Wall, all sorts of things happened. For example, builders sometimes rioted because they did not want or did not want to work anymore. In addition, often the guards themselves let the enemy pass the Wall - out of fear for their lives or for a bribe. That is, in many cases it was indeed an ineffective protective barrier.

Today in China, the Wall, despite all the failures, difficulties and failures that arose during its construction, is considered a symbol of the perseverance and hard work of its ancestors. Although among ordinary modern Chinese there are those who treat this building with genuine respect, and those who, without hesitation, will throw garbage next to this landmark. It was noted that Chinese residents go on excursions to the Wall just as willingly as foreigners.

Unfortunately, time and the vagaries of nature work against this architectural structure. For example, in 2012 the media reported that heavy rains in Hebei, a 36-meter section of the Wall was completely washed away.

Experts estimate that a significant segment of the Great Wall of China (literally thousands of kilometers) will be destroyed before 2040. First of all, this threatens sections of the Wall in Gansu Province - their condition is very dilapidated.

Discovery Channel documentary “Breaking History. The great Wall of China"

The Chinese Wall is an amazing structure that took almost 2000 years to build and is 4 thousand kilometers long! Such long-term construction is not bad... Traditionally it is believed that the Great Wall of China began to be built in the 3rd century BC. For protection from northern nomads. On this occasion N.A. Morozov wrote:

Old defensive walls were dismantled and new, more powerful ones were built in their place. For example, many military fortifications in Rus' were rebuilt in the 16th century.

But we are told that the Chinese Wall, as it was built, stood for TWO THOUSAND YEARS. They don’t say that “a modern wall was recently built on the site of an ancient one.”

No, they say that we see exactly the wall that was built two thousand years ago. In our opinion this is extremely strange, to say the least.

When and against whom was the wall built? We cannot answer for sure. This requires additional research. However, let us express the following thought.

The Great Wall of China was built primarily as a structure marking the BORDER between two countries: China and Russia.

It is doubtful that it was built as a military defensive structure. And it is unlikely that it has ever been used in this capacity. Defending a 4,000-kilometer wall from enemy attack is SPOILESS.

L.N. Gumilyov quite rightly wrote: “The wall stretched for 4 thousand km. Its height reached 10 meters, and watchtowers rose every 60-100 meters.

But 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

If the nomads wanted to cross the Wall, they could easily do so. And more than once. And anywhere. We offer a completely different explanation.

And there probably were such disputes. Today, the parties to the agreement draw the border ON THE MAP (that is, on paper). And they think that this is enough.

If we manage to find a political-geographical map on which the BORDER OF CHINA WILL GO EXACTLY ALONG THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA, this will mean that EXACTLY AT THIS TIME THE WALL WAS BUILT.

Let's take a map of Asia from the 18th century made by the Royal Academy in Amsterdam: . We took this map from a rare atlas of the 18th century.

On this map we find two states: Tartary - Tartarie and China - Chine. China's northern border runs approximately along the 40th parallel. THE CHINA WALL GOES EXACTLY ALONG THIS BORDER.

Moreover, on the map this Wall is MARKED as a thick line with the inscription Muraille de la Chine, that is, “the high wall of China” translated from French.

Our idea is also supported by the fact that cartographers of the 18th century PLACED THE CHINESE WALL ON THE POLITICAL MAP OF THE WORLD.

Therefore, this Wall HAD THE MEANING OF A POLITICAL BORDER. After all, cartographers did not depict other “wonders of the world” on this map, for example, the Egyptian pyramids.

And the Chinese Wall was painted. The same Wall is depicted on the color map of the Qing Empire of the second half of the 17th-18th centuries in the academic 10-volume World History

This map shows the Great Wall in detail, with all its small curves in the terrain. Almost along its entire length it runs EXACTLY ALONG THE BORDER OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE, with the exception of the small westernmost section of the Wall, no more than 200 kilometers long. Apparently

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA WAS BUILT IN THE 16th-17th CENTURIES AS A POLITICAL BORDER BETWEEN CHINA AND RUSSIA = “MONGOL-TATARIA”.

They may object to us: on the contrary, the border between Russia and China in the 17th century was drawn along the ancient Wall. However, in this case, the Wall would have to be mentioned in a written Russian-Chinese treaty. We found no such references.

As we now understand, in the XIV-XVI centuries Rus' AND CHINA STILL CONSTITUTED ONE EMPIRE. Therefore, there was no need to build a Wall = Border.

Apparently, it is possible to even more accurately indicate the time of construction of the Great Wall of China. As we have already said, the Wall was apparently built as a border between China and Russia during the border disputes of the 17th century. ARMED COLLISIONS flared up from the middle of the 17th century. The wars went on with varying degrees of success. Descriptions of these wars were preserved in Khabarov’s notes.

The treaty FIXING THE NORTHERN BORDER OF CHINA WITH RUSSIA was concluded in 1689 in Nerchinsk. Perhaps there were earlier attempts to conclude a Russian-Chinese treaty.