DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.70302#0348
310
DESCRIPTION OF THE CHINESE WALL.
materials were conveyed thither ; this was not done
without a vast expence, and the loss of more men than
could have perished by the utmost fury of their enemies.”
During sixteen centuries, this wall proved sufficient to
keep out the Tartars, till Jenghis Khan overcame every
obstacle, and made himself master of China. In less than
a century, the invaders were driven out, and the Chinese
remained unmolested till about the middle of the 17th
century, when, in consequence of a civil war, the Tartar
princes were invited back, and have maintained them-
selves on the throne of China ever since. From that
period the importance of the wall has been greatly dimi-
nished, and the Chinese themselves now view it with in-
difference.
The work had, however, other uses besides the de-
fence which it afforded in war. In time of peace it pre-
vented too free an intercourse between the Chinese and
Tartars; it kept out the wild beasts that abound in the
country of the latter, and it was a boundary line between
the two nations, besides preventing the escape of criminals
or disaffected persons.
The following description of the construction of this
stupendous fabric, is given by Captain Parish, one of
the officers who accompanied Lord Macartney on his
embassy to the court of China.—The body of the wall is
an elevation of earth, kept in on each side by a wall of
masonry, and terraced by a brick platform. These pa-
rapets are formed by walls continued above the platform.
The total height of the brickwork is 25 feet ; the basis
of it is of stone, projecting about two feet beyond the
brickwork, the height of which is irregular. The thick-
ness of each retaining wall is five feet, and the entire
thickness of the whole work is twenty-five feet. In many
places there is a small ditch beyond the foundation.
The towers are about one hundred yards distant from
each
DESCRIPTION OF THE CHINESE WALL.
materials were conveyed thither ; this was not done
without a vast expence, and the loss of more men than
could have perished by the utmost fury of their enemies.”
During sixteen centuries, this wall proved sufficient to
keep out the Tartars, till Jenghis Khan overcame every
obstacle, and made himself master of China. In less than
a century, the invaders were driven out, and the Chinese
remained unmolested till about the middle of the 17th
century, when, in consequence of a civil war, the Tartar
princes were invited back, and have maintained them-
selves on the throne of China ever since. From that
period the importance of the wall has been greatly dimi-
nished, and the Chinese themselves now view it with in-
difference.
The work had, however, other uses besides the de-
fence which it afforded in war. In time of peace it pre-
vented too free an intercourse between the Chinese and
Tartars; it kept out the wild beasts that abound in the
country of the latter, and it was a boundary line between
the two nations, besides preventing the escape of criminals
or disaffected persons.
The following description of the construction of this
stupendous fabric, is given by Captain Parish, one of
the officers who accompanied Lord Macartney on his
embassy to the court of China.—The body of the wall is
an elevation of earth, kept in on each side by a wall of
masonry, and terraced by a brick platform. These pa-
rapets are formed by walls continued above the platform.
The total height of the brickwork is 25 feet ; the basis
of it is of stone, projecting about two feet beyond the
brickwork, the height of which is irregular. The thick-
ness of each retaining wall is five feet, and the entire
thickness of the whole work is twenty-five feet. In many
places there is a small ditch beyond the foundation.
The towers are about one hundred yards distant from
each