Good-neighbor
policy towards the Mongolian and Tibetan nobles
In the
wake of the development in politics and in military situation during
early-Qing Dynasty, especially during the reign of Emperor Kang Xi,
Qianlong , a policy of control through conciliation was adopted by
emperors, whereby Mongolian and Xinjiang princes and nobles were brought
under control by a show of conciliation. Then, emperors didn't continue
the building of the Great Wall. That's also the reason why the mountain
Resort and the Eight Outer Temples were built in Chengde, Hebei Province.
Evidence
The changed policy of the Qing rulers was testified
by many historic accounts at the beginning of the dynasty:
- First
is the building of a huge summer resort for the emperor in Chengde.
It is just this policy that saved tremendous amount of expenditure
which would otherwise have to be used to build the Great Wall.
- When
Emperor Kang Xi inspected the eastern sea, he wrote a poem, criticizing
Qin ShiHuang for building the Great Wall. In the Poem he explained
the reason for his own policy not to rebuild the Great Wall:
"so many laborers were conscripted in pursuit of an exaggerated
aim--to no purpose. The wealth of the people was exhausted. Yet the
empire, meant to last for ten thousand years, did not last long."
"only great pass survives in the old site and only the surviving
form makes the territory grand and imposing."
Repair
the Great Wall
It was decided not to repair or rebuild the Great Wall, except to repair
certain city wall within pass as well as mountain pass along the unified
wall for purposes of inspection of the whole defence work.
The royal
house of the Qing built a border wall called Liu Tiao Bian or
Willow Wall to confine activities of the nomads in certain part of the
territory. It repaired some parts of the Great Wall to put down insurrection
by people. These, however, are in no sense the same as the original
Great Wall.
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