According
to records and legends there are three kinds of methods for transporting
building materials:
1. Transport
by manual labor
Bricks, mortars and stones were carried on the back of man, by means
of baskets, on a piece of long Pole, etc. Men stood in a line to pass
the material from hand to hand. This was done in narrow pathway to avoid
people bumping into each other and to raise efficiency.
2. Transport
by simple mechanical means
Handcarts, rolling logs, prizing, etc. were used even in those days.
On mountain tops windlasses were installed, hoisting huge stones up from
below. Cableways were another device, through which bricks, mortars,
etc. were sent in basket. The cableway was made by 'fixing cables on
two sides of the valley or gully.
3. Draft
animals
Sheep and donkeys, which are good mountain climbers, were used to transport
goods. Bricks and mortars were carried in baskets by donkeys. Bricks
were sometimes tied to horns of sheep, which were driven up the mountains.
The techniques of building bricks, stones, arched doorways, mortars,
using a string with a brass knob on end to find level line -- these
proved to be excellent devices. Judging from the fact the Great Wall
still stands today-- 500 years after the Ming Dynasty, as a massive and
magnificent structure it is a reflection of the excellent work of earlier
builders, who commands our admiration.
We may
therefore say that every brick, every tile, every piece of earth, every
stone had been built with the labor of the people. The massive construction
project represents the ingenuity, wisdom and perseverance of the Chinese
people in conquering difficulties. |