Question of this issue: Are the Great Walls connected end to end and continuous?
On this issue, from the perspective of the concept and strategic intent of the Great Wall, the Great Wall should be connected end to end and continuous. Otherwise, how can it stop the perpetrators from advancing and effectively defend homeland security? Therefore, regardless of the dynasty, as long as the Great Wall was built, the Great Wall was designed to have a beginning and an end, continuous, and a complete system, leaving no gaps for incoming enemies and smooth entry and exit. From this point of view, the Great Walls of the past are connected end to end and continuous. But from a practical point of view, the Great Wall built in the past dynasties of China, even the 明代长城 with the most complete system, cannot be connected from beginning to end. This reality is actually determined by the construction philosophy and actual conditions of the Great Wall. In the early stage of building the Great Wall in Chinese history, a basic principle was established for the construction of the Great Wall, that is, "Due to the terrain, use danger to stop the wall." Following the principle of execution is entirely based on the function and construction of the Great Wall. But this concept also determines that this long wall of the Great Wall cannot be absolutely connected end to end, and there is absolutely no disconnection in the middle.
"Due to topography, use danger to control plugs" is to make reasonable use of the geographical situation of the passing area, control the dangerous areas, make good use of natural dangers, and implement twice the result with less effort. Effective fortification. Starting from this concept, the Great Wall and its ancillary facilities are usually built in places and areas where the enemy is easy to attack and frequent. The insurmountable mountains and ridges and rivers, except for the Ming Dynasty, where the Great Wall was built with the most complete and most effort, generally used its insurmountable characteristics as an integral part of the Great Wall system and implemented the Great Wall together to deter the enemy. Fortification function, but it is not necessary to build the Great Wall in such a lot. It is only necessary to use the Great Wall to connect it organically to form an effective line of defense against incoming enemies.
From the perspective of this strict sense, the artificial long walls of the Great Walls of the past are not connected end to end, but they are continuous. This is a unique feature of the Great Wall of China.
-This issue is an excerpt from Wang Xuenong and William Lindsay [English] "The Great Wall: Questions and Answers"
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