The words "Great" and "Wall" currently bring to mind President Donald Trump, who famously won the highest office in the world with the catch phrases "Make America Great Again" and "Build the Wall."
The original Great Wall, however, began as fragmented fortifications almost 2,900 years ago in what is present day China. The Chinese states of Qin, Wei, Zhao, Qi, Yan and Zhongshan fought among themselves and also against Asians from the north.
Beyond the unifying metaphor of the Great Wall that solidified the northern border, Emperor Qin united his empire with a standardized common language and a system of government based on Legalism, replacing feudalism with bureaucratic rule.
On the one hand, Legalism assumes people need laws to act properly, so we might infer that an underlying premise is that people by nature are evil, but it also means equal treatment under the law for all people, regardless of social status.
This populist concept of legal equality for aristocrats and peasants might not sound like a radical breakthrough to Americans ingrained with the phrase "with liberty and justice for all," but even in our enlightened country, we know government leaders often can be "above the law," from "fixing tickets" to leveraging influence to become super wealthy as "public servants" to literally getting away with murder.
Generations before China united, Qin Shi Huang's ancestors understood that the underlying strength of their smaller kingdom in general and the military in particular came from the strong backs of peasants, not privileged aristocrats wielding arbitrary power. That early test of meritocracy on the smaller state scale proved successful in not only winning battles but also increasing tax revenues, laying the groundwork for the first Empire.
It wouldn't be a large stretch to believe that peasant troops fighting under such a system would respond with greater loyalty, providing the margin of victory that allowed Emperor Qin to unite China under his rule.
In some ways, that was the story of our American Revolution.
It's no wonder the Qin Empire is revered as one of China's greatest. In fact, the name Qin is pronounced "Chin" and is the root of the country's name, China.
His unprecedented power would not enable Qin to live forever. Ironically, he ruled as Emperor for only 11 years before he died from ingesting an Elixer of Life containing toxic mercury, which his physicians said would make him immortal.
His successors abused the power Qin had amassed, and the Empire devolved into four years of revolution until the Han Dynasty "claimed the Mandate of Heaven" to rule China.
The Han reinstituted order with Legalism, but they also embraced kinder Confucianism for education.
Under the Han Dynasty, China became an international economic powerhouse by opening trade with the world.
Gold, silver, ivory, cotton, wool and other goods flowed into China from the Middle East, other parts of Asia, Europe and Africa. In return, China exported what it produced best, including salt, sugar, tea, spices, porcelain and silk.
"The Silk Road" was a phrase coined by 19th Century Europeans to describe the routes of this free trade that benefited all, but none benefitted as much as the city successively known as Byzantium, Constantinople and Istanbul, in modern day Turkey. This capital of the Eastern Roman/Byzantine and then Ottoman Empires was at the hub of trade, enabling it to take a small piece of all the action to become incredibly wealthy. The Silk Road came to represent free trade.
In many ways, the United States has been at the center of a new Silk Road for decades, with US companies and consumers reaping the rewards of specialization of labor and resources.
This globalization also has benefited formerly impoverished countries, including China, where wages still lag far behind those of the United States and environmental regulations remain lax.
International companies based in the United States outsourced so much of their manufacturing to China that tens of millions of working-class families lost their livelihoods when factories in the heartland of America were shuttered.
One of the major issues Donald Trump rode to the Presidency was the populist belief that China and other countries were "ripping us off," a claim establishment politicians, business leaders and economists poo-pooed.
Former steel workers, coal miners and factory workers, however, knew exactly what Trump meant. It wasn't some secret whisper to racists who hated foreigners, but rather a shout out to blue-collar workers wanting to regain their self-respect.
Looked at in a non-establishment way, Trump and his followers are right. China flaunts environmental and worker safety norms we take for granted in the US, which in conjunction with very low wages would be enough to undercut American factories.
In addition, China and the European Union enforce stiff tariffs to restrict their consumers' access to certain US products in order to protect their domestic industries while at the same time exporting to us almost barrier-free.
The Dawn of the Trump Era could reverse these trends, though powerful forces do not want this to happen. The establishment has launched counterattacks on other fronts to stop President Trump's policy implementations. Only the future will tell who wins.
Back to the Great Wall, it took on increased significance under the Han Dynasty by protecting their essential trade routes.
For a quick history of Chinese dynasties, I highly recommend the video below.
After centuries of neglect in some regions and building entirely new fortification north of the wall in others, the Ming Dynasty, known throughout the world for elegant vases, rebuilt the wall stronger than ever beginning in the 14th Century A.D. The Ming Dynasty used modern construction techniques with bricks and stones instead of simply rammed earth. They added 25,000 watch towers along the 4,000-mile Wall that divided China from the Ordos Desert, which they had rationally conceded to the fierce, nomadic Mongolians who had defeated them in key battles.
The section of the Great Wall near Beijing has become a major tourist attraction and is maintained in good repair. In other areas, it is reportedly no longer recognizable, with building materials often having been pillaged by villagers for other purposes over the decades, particularly after Communists, who have little regard for historical monuments, came to power.
Our bus driver was not allowed to drop us at the intended parking lot due to construction, so we had to go to the busier section at Juyongguan Pass.
In retrospect,
perhaps we should have backtracked to the other side where we were supposed to hike, but instead we walked the wall among throngs of other tourists.
Don't let anyone tell you that this is anything short of a grueling climb, especially on a somewhat hot, smoggy day with the steps clogged by people going up, down or sitting to rest, but it is something you would definitely want to do if you visit China. Its vast scale from an era before motorized heavy equipment is truly impressive.
Many souvenirs were sold that day, my friend.
I was tempted to buy a Great Wall hat, but Julie and I only bought a Chinese knock-off of a Dove Bar. That dark chocolate-coated vanilla ice cream tasted particularly great after the long climb up and down the Great Wall.
On the bus ride back, we were supposed to stop for photos at the Olympic Village, but we apparently had used up time intended for that with a long bathroom break when we were supposed to be leaving the zoo, extended shopping time at the jade store and a rather leisurely lunch.
We did drive past the Bird's Nest National Stadium and other Olympic sites on the freeway, or so Julie tells me and has a photo to prove, but I had fallen fast asleep in the traffic jam.
That evening, we had another big event, the Beijing Duck Dinner.
Neither Julie nor I thought we liked duck, but the meal proved to be quite excellent, and it turns out I love Beijing Duck.
In America, we usually call this dish Peking Duck.
Peking is close to the Cantonese pronunciation of Beijing, which is apparently why Europeans and subsequently Americans used Pékin, Pequin or Peking, but Beijing means "North Capital."
When the Communists took over, they did away with the European misinterpretation of the name, reclaiming the traditional "Beijing," which is how most Chinese thought of it all along.
Once again, there were lots of other dishes, so even people who didn't want duck were well-fed.
I nodded off on the bus again on the ride back to the hotel.
Needless to say, I was happy to climb into my comfy bed once back at the Mercure after our very full first day in China.
"Better service leads to better trips!"
On the one hand, Legalism assumes people need laws to act properly, so we might infer that an underlying premise is that people by nature are evil, but it also means equal treatment under the law for all people, regardless of social status.
Generations before China united, Qin Shi Huang's ancestors understood that the underlying strength of their smaller kingdom in general and the military in particular came from the strong backs of peasants, not privileged aristocrats wielding arbitrary power. That early test of meritocracy on the smaller state scale proved successful in not only winning battles but also increasing tax revenues, laying the groundwork for the first Empire.
It wouldn't be a large stretch to believe that peasant troops fighting under such a system would respond with greater loyalty, providing the margin of victory that allowed Emperor Qin to unite China under his rule.
It's no wonder the Qin Empire is revered as one of China's greatest. In fact, the name Qin is pronounced "Chin" and is the root of the country's name, China.
His unprecedented power would not enable Qin to live forever. Ironically, he ruled as Emperor for only 11 years before he died from ingesting an Elixer of Life containing toxic mercury, which his physicians said would make him immortal.
His successors abused the power Qin had amassed, and the Empire devolved into four years of revolution until the Han Dynasty "claimed the Mandate of Heaven" to rule China.The Han reinstituted order with Legalism, but they also embraced kinder Confucianism for education.
Under the Han Dynasty, China became an international economic powerhouse by opening trade with the world.
Gold, silver, ivory, cotton, wool and other goods flowed into China from the Middle East, other parts of Asia, Europe and Africa. In return, China exported what it produced best, including salt, sugar, tea, spices, porcelain and silk.
"The Silk Road" was a phrase coined by 19th Century Europeans to describe the routes of this free trade that benefited all, but none benefitted as much as the city successively known as Byzantium, Constantinople and Istanbul, in modern day Turkey. This capital of the Eastern Roman/Byzantine and then Ottoman Empires was at the hub of trade, enabling it to take a small piece of all the action to become incredibly wealthy. The Silk Road came to represent free trade.In many ways, the United States has been at the center of a new Silk Road for decades, with US companies and consumers reaping the rewards of specialization of labor and resources.
This globalization also has benefited formerly impoverished countries, including China, where wages still lag far behind those of the United States and environmental regulations remain lax.International companies based in the United States outsourced so much of their manufacturing to China that tens of millions of working-class families lost their livelihoods when factories in the heartland of America were shuttered.
One of the major issues Donald Trump rode to the Presidency was the populist belief that China and other countries were "ripping us off," a claim establishment politicians, business leaders and economists poo-pooed.
Former steel workers, coal miners and factory workers, however, knew exactly what Trump meant. It wasn't some secret whisper to racists who hated foreigners, but rather a shout out to blue-collar workers wanting to regain their self-respect.Looked at in a non-establishment way, Trump and his followers are right. China flaunts environmental and worker safety norms we take for granted in the US, which in conjunction with very low wages would be enough to undercut American factories.
In addition, China and the European Union enforce stiff tariffs to restrict their consumers' access to certain US products in order to protect their domestic industries while at the same time exporting to us almost barrier-free.The Dawn of the Trump Era could reverse these trends, though powerful forces do not want this to happen. The establishment has launched counterattacks on other fronts to stop President Trump's policy implementations. Only the future will tell who wins.
Back to the Great Wall, it took on increased significance under the Han Dynasty by protecting their essential trade routes.
For a quick history of Chinese dynasties, I highly recommend the video below.
Our bus driver was not allowed to drop us at the intended parking lot due to construction, so we had to go to the busier section at Juyongguan Pass.
perhaps we should have backtracked to the other side where we were supposed to hike, but instead we walked the wall among throngs of other tourists.Don't let anyone tell you that this is anything short of a grueling climb, especially on a somewhat hot, smoggy day with the steps clogged by people going up, down or sitting to rest, but it is something you would definitely want to do if you visit China. Its vast scale from an era before motorized heavy equipment is truly impressive.
I was tempted to buy a Great Wall hat, but Julie and I only bought a Chinese knock-off of a Dove Bar. That dark chocolate-coated vanilla ice cream tasted particularly great after the long climb up and down the Great Wall.
On the bus ride back, we were supposed to stop for photos at the Olympic Village, but we apparently had used up time intended for that with a long bathroom break when we were supposed to be leaving the zoo, extended shopping time at the jade store and a rather leisurely lunch.
We did drive past the Bird's Nest National Stadium and other Olympic sites on the freeway, or so Julie tells me and has a photo to prove, but I had fallen fast asleep in the traffic jam.
That evening, we had another big event, the Beijing Duck Dinner.
Neither Julie nor I thought we liked duck, but the meal proved to be quite excellent, and it turns out I love Beijing Duck.
In America, we usually call this dish Peking Duck.
Peking is close to the Cantonese pronunciation of Beijing, which is apparently why Europeans and subsequently Americans used Pékin, Pequin or Peking, but Beijing means "North Capital."When the Communists took over, they did away with the European misinterpretation of the name, reclaiming the traditional "Beijing," which is how most Chinese thought of it all along.
I nodded off on the bus again on the ride back to the hotel.
Needless to say, I was happy to climb into my comfy bed once back at the Mercure after our very full first day in China.
"Better service leads to better trips!"
No comments:
Post a Comment