Important
person related with the Great Wall
Tan Lun, President of the Board of War and Qi Jiguang,
commander of Jizhen fortressed town (during the reigning
years of Long Qing and Wan Li in the Ming Dynasty) contributed a great
deal in the construction of the Great Wall.
The high "fence" watchtowers are a new addition to the Great
Wall, previously unknown. They were built by patriotic generals Tan
Lun and Oi Jiguang. During the JiaJing reigning years, Tan Lun, then
prefecture magistrate of Taizhou, Zhejiang province and later governor
of Fujiang, successfully defended China's coastal areas against invading
Japanese forces with the help of Qi Jiguang, his chief officer.
The book
"Ming Shi" or History of the Ming Dynasty gives an account
of one Wu Shilai, petitioning the emperor to appoint Tan Lun and Qi
Jiguang to train Chinese soldiers. Tan Lun was given the post of commander
of Jizhen. Liaodong and Baoding forces, where as Qi Jiguang headed the
training corps of 30,000 soldiers from Jizhen, Zhending, Daming,Jingxing
and elsewhere.
The same books says that Emperor Mu Zong entrusted all military affairs
to Tan Lun,who inspected the Great Wall. Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang outlined
a plan to build 3,000 watchtowers from Juyongguan Pass to Shanhaiguan
Pass in order to gain control over vital points along the defence line.
When the watch towers had been completed, 9,000 soldiers from Zhejiang
province were dispatched to station on the Great Wall. The border defence
having thus been greatly strengthened, the enemy was no longer able
to harass the border region.
Qi Jiguang
describes more detail in a book on military training about the building
and use of watch towers. Previously, said Qi, the Great Wall had been
built rather thin and low and had become dilapidated. Small stone and
brick terraces were unconnected with the wall. Soldiers had to stand
under glaring sunshine or in frost and rain and were given no shelters.
It was difficult to send military supplies during an emergency. The
supplies could not be stored in the wall, as no such facilities existed.
When enemy came in great number, they could hardly shoot arrows at the
enemy on a higher position. In view of this, it was imperative that
watch towers with spacious rooms had to be built to block enemy from
further advance. The watch towers were three or four zhang in height.
The width was 12-18 zhang. The watch towers were connected with each
other and could send reinforcement to neighbors. Watch towers were like
fences standing on the Great Wall.
According
to Qi Jiguang the method of building watch towers was like this: There
was to be a base, which was level with the edge, stretching out one
zhang and five chi outside and five chi inside the wall. The middle
layer was empty with windows for discharging arrows. The upper floor
was a lockout turret, surrounded by battlements. The soldiers were to
be hidden inside. The lower layer was the place where cannons were to
be fired on approaching enemy. The enemy were now held at bay: their
arrows could not reach the soldiers on top of the wall. Their cavalry
dare not approach the Great Wall.
Each tower
was headed by an officer, who coordinated defence. The tower itself
had a head officer and an assistant, in charge of logistics. On both
sides were 30-50 soldiers. For every five watch towers there was a higher
ranking officer. A still higher officer was in charge of ten watch towers.
The military was well organized.
"Ming
Shi" has a chapter on the biography of Qin Jiguang which says that
since JiaJing's reign there were no towers even though the Great Wall
had been built. Qi Jiguang suggested to the emperor that towers should
be built on the wall, with battlements all around. Each tower was to
be five zhang in height. It was empty inside. One hundred soldiers could
sleep in it, with provisions of food and supply of weaponry. Qi Jiguang
said that plan for the construction of 1,200 towers should be drawn
up by engineering corps.
A recent
study of actual sites reveals that over 1,000 km-Great Wall from Shanhaiguan
Pass to Juyongguan Pass the structures of thousands of fence watch towers
coincide with the description given in literature. In watch towers tablets
have been found with writing of Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang. Similar towers
are found in the section between Changzhen and Zhenbaozhen, built according
to plans conceived by Qi Jiguang.
Important
person related with Great Wall of Ming dynasty
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