Seems like there are lots of subjects I\u2019m tired of hearing about lately. One is \u201cthe wall.\u201d I\u2019m tired of hearing about the wall, the big beautiful wall that the President wants to build along the US\/Mexican border.<\/p>\n
He obviously doesn\u2019t believe it, but he\u2019s not the first to come up with the idea of a wall for protection. Athens, the Roman Empire, Denmark and Korea have all built walls in the past. But if the President is really serious about the wall, he\u2019d do well not to antagonize China and talk to them about a wall. The Chinese know some stuff about walls.<\/p>\n
Of course, I\u2019m referring to The Great Wall of China\u2026 it was built to protect China from its enemies and invaders from the North \u2014 primarily the Mongols, a tribal group that would regularly conduct raids into China. Despite the wall (President take note) the Mongols eventually conquered China. It should be noted that the Wall also kept Chinese citizens from leaving<\/em> China. The Great Wall of China is an awe-inspiring feat of ancient defensive architecture. It is the world\u2019s longest wall (President take note.) The Great Wall winds its way from west to east: across deserts, over mountain peaks, deep into ravines until it reaches the sea.<\/p>\n The Great Wall of China was not built all at one time (President take note.) In the 7th and 8th century BC, battles were frequently fought among the various Chinese states and in order to defend themselves they began to build walls and towers on the borders. It was the state Chu that built the first wall. The Qin Dynasty united the different states into one empire and to defend against the incursions from northern invaders, Emperor Qin Shi Huang ordered all the walls joined up\u2026 thus the Great Wall came into being.<\/p>\n Since the time the walls were joined, the Great Wall has been rebuilt, modified and extended throughout Chinese history for over 2,000 years by millions of Chinese people drafted for the task. Most of the Great Wall that we usually see in photos today was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644.) The \u201cofficial\u201d length of the Great wall is listed as 5500 miles, but the length of all all the pieces of the the Wall built over thousands of years is estimated to be about 13,170 miles.<\/p>\n Contrary to popular belief, the Great Wall of China cannot be seen from space (with the naked eye.) It has also been called the longest cemetery on Earth \u2014 over a million people died building the Wall and archaeologists have found human remains buried under parts of the Wall. One of the best known of all the legends about the Great Wall is the story of \u201cMen Jiangsu\u2019s Bitter Weeping\u201d whose husband died building the Wall. Her weeping was so bitter that a section of the Wall collapsed, revealing her husband\u2019s bones so she could provide him with a proper burial.<\/p>\n Today, over 10 million people visit the Great Wall of China every year. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Seems like there are lots of subjects I\u2019m tired of hearing about lately. One is \u201cthe wall.\u201d I\u2019m tired of hearing about the wall, the big beautiful wall that the President wants to build along the US\/Mexican border. He obviously … Continue reading
\nIn 1972 I visited The Great Wall of China\u2026 at that time only a small portion of the Wall was open to visitors and I was \u201cescorted\u201d by a member of the Chinese Diplomatic Service Bureau. The Chinese have a lot of \u201csayings,\u201d and while we were traveling out to the Wall site, my \u201cescort\u201d told me that the Chinese have a famous saying, \u201cHe who does not reach the Great Wall is not a true man.\u201d
\nI guess you know what that makes me\u2026\u2026
\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n