The Great Wall of China is known as one of the greatest legacies of world-renowned civilization. The fortress-built wall is the largest building ever made in human history. This is evidenced by the size of this building which has a length of 6,350 km across from the Shanhaigun Pass near the bay of Bo Hai in the northeast to Jisayuguan Pass in the northern central part of China. The height reaches 8 meters, then the width of the top 5 meters and the width of the bottom 8 meters. Every 180-270 meters there is a watch tower that is about 12 meters high. The great Chinese wall that stands firmly is a symbol of the harsh perseverance and determination of the Chinese in the past.
A Brief History of the Great Wall Construction of China
The early establishment of the Great Wall aims to defend the territory of the Chung Kuo (the ancient Chinese) from the Nomad tribal invasion of the north. At the time of the Qin Dynasty, the ruling Emperor Shih Huang Ti, a great emperor who managed to unite the whole of China, intends to continue the construction of the abandoned wall for some time due to the conditions of inter-royal war. In 221 BC, Shih Huang Ti gave orders to connect the unfinished walls and continue the construction route as far as 5,000 km.
The construction of the Great Wall is very appropriate given its very important function to withstand the threat from Nomad tribe who want to seize the territory. The Great Wall is built on high and dangerous mountain peaks, where giant walls made using stone, brick, wood and cement make it resilient and resistant to weather for centuries. After the Shih Huang Ti era and replaced by the Han Dynasty in 206-220 AD Development in the Han Dynasty era resulted in the extension of large wall buildings as far as 10,000 km. Not only stopped there, the Great Wall rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty in 1368-1644. At this time the great wall was strengthened by adding granite and long coal and coated with lime. Over the centuries the Great Wall became a valuable fortress besides its function as a barrier from the outside world and protecting well-known agricultural produce.
The Secret Behind The Great Wall of China
It is often a common question of what the real secret is behind the Great Wall of China over the centuries. One study concluded that one of the most brilliant technical innovations found at that time was the use of sticky rice as a mixture of cement used to build the Great Wall.
The glutinous rice that is used as a mandatory material of cement mixture has an arrangement of substances that allow the lime cement materials used to be many times more adhesive. The mixture of glutinous rice and lime cement is composed of organic and inorganic adhesive material, it is able to bind bricks very closely even weeds can not grow on it. The organic composition contained is amylopectin derived from glutinous and inorganic composition ie calcium carbonate from lime creating a solid micro structure that makes the Great Wall become more stable and has greater mechanical strength.
So what else is the uniqueness of this legendary building? There are things that may not be considered carefully about the area around the founding of the Great Wall is the vegetation / plant life that grows between the Great Wall. The existence of a gigantic wall that divides the outer and inner sides of the forest beyond the allegedly capable of altering plant genetics that were previously the same genetically grown plants gradually over a long period turned into different genetic plants.
The World's Longest Grave
The Great Wall with its legendary glory to the rest of the world does not mean not leaving a history of sacrifice. The Great Wall was built using human labor drawn from slaves who were forcibly employed. The slaves did the work of removing the stones and composing them into giant wall-building noon at no pay. This tough work has cost thousands of lives. Thus came the Great Wall of China as the Longest Grave in the World.
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