"If you don't reach the Great Wall, you are not a hero", this sentence has not only been widely circulated in China, but has also almost become a consensus around the world.
The record of the Great Wall lasted for more than 2,000 years, and after the construction of many dynasties, the Great Wall became a behemoth in northern China, became the first military project in ancient China, and also became a representative symbol of the Chinese nation, which has a very strong influence on China and even the world.
Even students in the compulsory education stage, even young people who are not interested in history, and even many foreigners who lack knowledge of Chinese culture are no strangers to the "Great Wall".
However, while almost all previous dynasties had acknowledged the prominence of the Great Wall in military defense, it was difficult for the Manchus in history to understand the role of the Great Wall for the few Manchus who had successfully entered the customs.
Because Huang Taiji had crossed the Great Wall many times to attack the Central Plains, Kangxi later questioned the role of the Great Wall, believing that even if the Great Wall was often repaired, border troubles would always exist, so he openly opposed the repair of the Great Wall, and even put forward the view that "the Great Wall is useless". This also led to the opposite views of later generations on the issue of the Great Wall.
However, in fact, the role of the Great Wall in ancient China was far more profound than people think. It has had an impact not only on China, but also on the world.
Barfield, a professor at Boston University in the United States, once pointed out that the Great Wall of China has harmed Europe. In his opinion, it was the construction of the Great Wall that made the northern nomads abandon their offensive against the Central Plains and instead invade the west.
The role of the Great Wall in deterring the nomads of the north
As early as the 7th and 8th centuries B.C., there were records of nomads in north-central China.
Due to the influence of the topography and the cold climate, these nomads are unable to solve the food problem through farming, and can only implement strict collective nomadic grazing all year round to maintain the survival of the collective.
However, the life of collective nomadic herding also determined the looseness of their regime, after all, in order to achieve better results, these nomads would always divide their territories and divide them into different parts of the steppe, often with multiple leaders in each steppe, each with its own tribe with its own supporters.
In this case, the regime is bound to be loose and easier to replace.
Because with limited resources, competition has become an inevitable development. In order to gain a larger territory and more resources, powerful tribes will gradually swallow up weak tribes, crowding out and depriving them of living space, so as to improve the survival probability and even the quality of life of their own camp.
Therefore, the more brave and good the war, the stronger the tribe, the more likely it is to survive.
However, internal competition was not enough to solve the problem of their survival, and at this time, the Central Plains, which was rich in resources, became their target.
Unanimous enemies can lead to a union within the nomads. After the nomadic tribes were united, the border passes of the Central Plains would be subjected to intermittent attacks from them, and they would be frequently harassed and plundered. This is also the reason why all dynasties have a headache for nomads.
In order to prevent the nomads from being included in the Central Plains and strengthen the defense force, the Great Wall appeared in Chinese history as an important military project.
The northern nomads' attack on the Central Plains also relied largely on well-trained horses. With the Great Wall in check, it was difficult for horses to cross, so the Central Plains was able to deal with the most attacking horses, thus reducing some of the pressure on the nomads.
With the help of the Great Wall, the soldiers of the Central Plains could suppress the actions of the nomads, and at the same time, on the advantage of the terrain, use advanced weapons to resist their invasion.
In addition, the Great Wall also has another special role, that is, to quickly transmit information, when a bonfire is lit on the Great Wall, the nearby army will be the first to get the news of the enemy's attack, so as to quickly assemble and achieve rescue in the fastest time. This is something that the soldiers at the border pass could not do before the Great Wall appeared.
You must know that the northern nomads have always relied on their high mobility and fast moving speed to adopt a quick and decisive combat method, so that they can run away when the Central Plains army has not reacted.
With the Great Wall in hand, the infested border cities were able to seek reinforcements before they were sacked, stopping the retreat of the nomads and recovering their losses as much as possible.
It is precisely because of the construction of the Great Wall that the Central Plains resisted many invasions from nomads, and because of the greater cost of breaking the Great Wall, some nomads later chose to go west to maintain their lives, which also made them appear in Europe.
The Great Wall brought disaster to Europe
While Chinese scholars are studying Chinese history, many Western scholars have also been studying Chinese history. A professor named "Barfield" at Boston University in the United States is a scholar who specializes in the study of Chinese history.
Among them, he said that "the Great Wall brought disaster to Europe" as a part of the history of some northern nomads who gave up attacking the Central Plains and invaded Europe because it was difficult to break through the Great Wall.
In the history of Europe, there was a group of brave and warlike cavalry from the east, and it is not difficult to guess that they were the part of the nomads who had to flee west because they could not conquer the Central Plains.
Among these nomadic peoples, the three major ethnic groups of the Xiongnu, Turkic, and Mongol have had the greatest impact on Europe and even the world.
First of all, the descendants of the Huns, after hundreds of years of migration, increased their combat effectiveness because they mixed with various ethnic groups along the way, and after arriving in Europe, they achieved an invincible victory, posing a great threat to the native Europeans.
For example, at that time, the Germanic Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Western Roman Empire in Europe were defeated by it and finally went to extinction.
Secondly, the Turks, who had been heavily damaged by the Tang Dynasty and had gone westward, suddenly rose to prominence in the Arab region after 300 years of silence. They had obvious redhead and blue eyes, and they also had a powerful fighting power that shocked the world, and later even formed the Ottoman Empire that spanned three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe.
It wasn't until World War I and the Ottoman Empire was forced to break up that the Arabs were able to reclaim their lands.
Finally, the Mongol Empire, established by the Mongols, can be called the "conqueror of the world". Under the leadership of Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire made three expeditions to the west, quickly expanded its territory to Europe, established the four khanates, and had a huge impact on Europe.
However, because the Mongols were good at fighting and did not have the ability to manage, they later fell faster as they conquered more territories.
This is also the reason why later Europeans were able to free themselves from the rule of the Mongol Empire.
Overturning the "Theory of the Uselessness of the Great Wall"
In his essay "The Perilous Frontier: Nomadic Empires and China," Barfield argues that these powerful Eastern cavalry, which suddenly appeared in Europe, were likely descendants of the nomadic peoples of northern China.
It was precisely because they were blocked by the Great Wall that they were forced to move west in order to survive, and later in the process of continuous integration, they produced great destructive power, broke the peace of Europe, and brought disaster to Europe.
And this point of view put forward by him also verifies the significance of the Great Wall to the Central Plains against the northern nomads, and highlights the importance and powerful role of the Great Wall.
In fact, the contribution of the Great Wall to military defense is obvious to all, which is why the Han, Tang, and Ming dynasties took over the construction of the Great Wall one after another. However, after the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, the last feudal dynasty in China, the theory of the uselessness of the Great Wall gradually took shape.
Therefore, people's attitudes towards the Great Wall became polarized, and there were doubts about whether the Great Wall really played a role. But Barfield's bold speculation based on European and Chinese history proves the importance and necessity of the Great Wall.
Brief summary:
Since the Warring States Period, the Great Wall has been built by many dynasties and gradually became the largest military project in ancient China. In resisting the invasion of nomads, the Great Wall made outstanding contributions to the Central Plains. American scholar Barfield pointed out from another perspective that while the Great Wall guarded the safety of the Central Plains, it also forced the nomads to move westward, bringing disaster to Europe.
This is a side evidence of the role of the Great Wall, and it also overturns the theory that the Great Wall is useless.