The New International Encyclopædia/Chinese Wall

CHINESE WALL. A wall once 1250 miles long, extending between Mongolia and China proper from Suchau, in Kiang-su, eastward to the Gulf of Pe-chi-li, with an extension northeastward to the Sungari River. It is called in Mongolian the White Wall, in Chinese the wall of 10,000 Li, and is the most gigantic defensive work in the world. In the Third Century B.C. an earthwork against the incursions of the Tatars was thrown up which in parts corresponds with the present wall. The latter, however, as recent researches indicate, dates only from the latter part of the Fourteenth Century. Since the accession of the Manchu Dynasty in 1644, the wall has been allowed to fall into decay, except at a few points where it is maintained for customs purposes. The wall is 35 feet high, 21 feet thick, and is faced with granite blocks, with towers at frequent intervals. Its course is irregular, but chosen without regard to natural obstacles.