Spotlight On China: China's Great Wall: Mongol Invaders



After years of falling victim to murderous raids from the nomadic Xiongnu from the endless steppes of today's Mongolia, Chinese Emperor Wudi orchestrates a series of attacks on the Xiongnu in 133 B.C. He soon conquers the Hexi Corridor and gains access to the legendary Silk Road. To secure his vast new empire, Emperor Wudi decides to build a long wall. The result - two million people are sent to the ends of the empire to build the wall and populate the territory.

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Archaeologists have found wooden strips - written records containing orders, letters and instructions, some dating as early as the first century B.C - that tell the reality of the wall. Faced with danger of raids, terrible weather conditions, and poor food, letters of despair are left from men condemned to fritter their lives away. More and more villagers defect to the Xiongnu, while blazing summer heat and freezing winter storms take their toll on the wall. By 99 B.C., Emperor Wudi's armies are suffering staggering defeats at the hands of the Xiongnu. The wall of the Han Dynasty crumbles into dust - relics of these old ramparts now seem to merge with the natural landscape.





美国国家地理的新专题：聚焦中国。觉得很不错