The Great Wall of China

Although from ancient Chinese emperors had built barriers to defend against the "barbarians" were the Ming, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, who erected a continuous wall of at least 7,000 kilometers

The autumn wind raises groans, / while far left thousands of miles. / Marching thousands of miles for what purpose? / Through the desert we rebuild the Great Wall. / But this was no idea Nuestra, / it was built by emperors sages of the past: / They established here a policy that will last many centuries, / to ensure the lives of millions of subjects. / How could thus evade these concerns, / And rest in peace, carefree, in the capital? ". This poem composed by Emperor Yangdi early seventh century AD reminds us of what was one of the major concerns of the Chinese emperors: the defense of the northern border of the country through a "Great Wall" that would last "thousands of years". However, this type of defensive strategy was just one of those used in the Middle Kingdom the changing relationship he had with the people of the steppes.

From the fourth century BC, the steppes north of China were occupied by pastoralists. They relied on their southern neighbors sedentary for anything not provided them the steppe, especially agricultural products that complete a diet based on meat and dairy. Its population was much lower than that of China, but constituted a serious threat. Armed with powerful composite bows and backs of their small steppe, fast and very hardy ponies, nomadic warriors were quick to launch attacks on the United northern China.

Emperors tested different strategies to defend against the threat of these nomads. One was the defensive wall. The first emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di (221-210 BC) built a line of fortifications built by linking the above States and covering the entire border. Then, the Han tried to control the barbarians through bribery (disguised as grants) and campaigns of conquest in the desert, while building a new Great Wall. The nomads, meanwhile, soon learned that they could use their raids not only for plunder, but as a method of pressure to increase the volume of subsidies, as luxury items, especially silk.

For the next thousand years remained a balance between Chinese and barbarians, until the early thirteenth century, a Mongol chieftain named Temujin succeeded in unifying the steppe and resumed the cycle of attacks in northern China to force the Chinese to send subsidies and trade. The resistance encountered took Temujin, become emperor of the Mongols under the name of Genghis Khan, to embark on the conquest of China. This unprecedented undertaking for a nomad would be completed by his grandson Kublai Khan, who besides being a Khan of the Mongols founded a new dynasty, the Yuan.

The Ming in power

The Yuan was overthrown by a peasant revolt, and in 1368 the Mongol court evacuated the capital and took refuge in the desert. The new ruling dynasty in China, Ming, conducted an aggressive campaign of attacks on the steppe in order, first, to prevent any attempt by Yuan refugees to regain his lost throne, and then to keep the nomads stripe. But Ming soon found that their military power was not enough to subdue the nomads: in 1449 they suffered a terrible defeat at the Battle of Tumu, and the emperor himself, Zhengtong, was taken prisoner by the enemy.

From the mid-fifteenth century, the Ming gradually became defensive. The government repeatedly considered the option of sending subsidies to contain the nomads in their domains, but this was an unpopular measure to different emperors both to civil servants, for the damage caused to the treasure. The result was that the Mongols stepped up their attacks on the border to force the Chinese to trade. As stated in 1459 the Grand Secretary Li Xien, the Mongols "are a calamity to China just because they desperately need food and clothing." It is no exaggeration to say that the Ming Dynasty were all of Chinese history who suffered more attacks by nomads. It was not until 1571 when a courtier, Minister Wang Chung Ku, who had amassed great power, convinced the Emperor Longqing to change policy. Subsidies Mongolian aristocracy were sent and markets were established on the border, which was able to reduce the number of Mongolian attacks and Chinese military spending at the border device.

A new wall

In fact, since decades ago the defense strategy of the Ming against the nomads had passed through one of the classical solutions of the Chinese Empire: the defensive barrier. The Ming Great Wall built a new, even more advanced features than before. While in the past the fortifications were built using the earth as a raw material, compacting it into a kind of mud, now it is used in most sections a combination of stone plinth and brick elevation. This system was much more expensive than previous -has been said a hundred times more-but also resisted much better inclement weather.

However, the military effectiveness of this barrier was always relative. China's northern border

suffered a high number of attacks, sometimes by large bands of warriors, real armies that could reach 100,000 troops, but also by small groups of nomads. An example of the latter occurred in Yan Wo in 1555. Twenty Mongol warriors stormed a tower at night, climbing hooks, but just when the first of them crowned the neighing of horses alerted Chinese soldiers They were able to repulse the attack. It would, however, a mistake to present the nomads always as aggressors. In 1563, in the course of a corruption investigation, it was discovered that soldiers had killed a group of Mongols after accepting his surrender to pretend a victory in battle and be rewarded accordingly.

Keep in mind that the Chinese soldiers stationed on the Great Wall in harsh living conditions. A document from the Ministry of the Army itself acknowledged in 1443 that "the soldiers in the northwestern border are exposed to wind and cold. And serve as lookouts in the towers of signals or guards on the steps [...] may be out for months or years without returning to their base, and their families and children, lacking food and clothing, are in dire straits. Certainly, they receive a monthly salary, but very often have to spend on weapons and horses and their suffering from hunger and cold are indescribable. "

Collusion with the enemy

The Chinese troops stationed on the Great Wall kept many contacts with the nomads, despite the opposition of his superiors. Chinese soldiers often traded with their enemies, activity which, as we saw, was especially important for the nomads, and in extreme situations even the soldiers could come to defect. In 1550, the military commander of Datong, west of Beijing, wrote indignantly: "Our troops and scouts often go into Mongolian territory to trade with them and have made friends. The four leaders Altan, Toyto, Senge and Usin observation towers have built our great frontier to their camps. The Mongols replace our crews and our soldiers as lookouts replace its troops as pastors, with the result that any strategic information of our defenses go unnoticed by the Mongols. "

On numerous occasions government officials showed great distrust of the conduct of its own soldiers. In 1554, one of them accused the border troops have so afraid of the Mongols who, whenever they crossed the Great Wall, fled without even fighting. Another claimed in 1609 that the guards of the towers, unable to defend themselves, the Mongols discover nearby did not dare to sound the alarm and preferred to pretend they had not seen. Soldiers were also accused of bribing nomads would attack them not to, which is no less shocking considering the radical opposition of the government to this resource. The collaboration between nomads and some soldiers came to the point that in 1533 a government official said endowments observation towers served as guides to the Mongolian war games during his forays into China.

The Manchu invasion

The Ming dynasty was weakened as a result of two centuries of confrontation with the nomads. Furthermore, in its obsession with the Mongols, they neglected to protect other enemies, such as the Manchus, who took advantage of this flaw to become a power to be reckoned with and, when a rebellion broke out in China, crossed the Great Wall, whose garrison it crossed their path, and overthrew the Ming in 1644.

Over time, the Great Wall, and lost its original function, it has become a symbol of the collective pride of the Chinese people and the country's most famous icon, which is no less ironic given the few fruits that resulted in the long China struggle to defend their northern nomadic neighbors.