China News Service Shenyang, October 10 (Xinhua) -- How much do you know about the Great Wall of Liaoning?

——Interview with Zhao Chen, President of China Great Wall Research Institute and Professor of Northeastern University

China News Service reporter Han Hong

The Great Wall is the largest and most widely distributed world cultural heritage site in China. Is there a Great Wall in Liaoning Province? Where was the term "Great Wall of Flesh" born? Zhao Chen, president of the China Great Wall Research Institute and professor of Northeastern University, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service's "East and West Question" to interpret.

The transcript of the interview is summarized below:

China News Service: Some people ask, "Is there a Great Wall in Liaoning?" "For this reason, could you please introduce the Great Wall of Liaoning?

Zhao Chen: Is there a Great Wall in Liaoning? This question is often raised. It is generally believed that the Great Wall extends westward from the old dragon head of Shanhaiguan to Jiayuguan. What is less known is that the Great Wall was built along the old dragon's head to the north, passing through Jiaoshan and Jiumenmen to Awl Mountain. The Great Wall on Awl Mountain in Liaoning Province is "three dragons gathering", showing a "T-shaped" trend, extending to the west to the Great Wall of Hebei and Beijing, extending to the east of the Great Wall of Hushan in Dandong, Liaoning, and extending to the Great Wall of Shanhaiguan to the south. At the same time, walking through the western Liaoning corridor, Shenyang, Fushun, Liaoyang, Fengcheng, Kuandian and other towns are built because of the construction of the Great Wall, among which the original site of the Shenyang Imperial Palace is the site of the waiting city of Qin Kai to repair the Yan Great Wall, and the Great Wall of Han Wanli expanded the fort for the city.

Liaoning has the remains of the Warring States (Yan), Qin, Han, Liao, Ming, Qing and other eras, and is an important part of the Great Wall of China in the past dynasties. From the perspective of historical evolution, during the Warring States Period, Yan State has built the Great Wall to the east of Hushan in Dandong in Liaoning, "Historical Records of the Huns" contains: "Yan also built the Great Wall, from Yang to Xiangping, placed Shanggu, Yuyang, Youbeiping, Liaoxi, Liaodong County to reject Hu. "After Qin unified China, the Great Wall of Wei, the Great Wall of Southern Zhao, the Great Wall of Chu and the Great Wall of Qi were abandoned, and on the basis of the Great Wall of Qin, Zhao and Yan during the Warring States Period, the Great Wall of Northern Zhao and the Great Wall of Yan were connected. Since then, China has the concept of the "Great Wall" for the first time, and the Great Wall of Liaoning is an important part of the Great Wall.

The Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty extends east to the east of Hushan in Dandong and west to Jiayuguan, and based on the Great Wall of Qin, Han, Northern Wei, Northern Qi and Sui dynasties, the part from the eastern foot of Qilian Mountain to Jiayuguan was built. The Great Wall of the Qing Dynasty followed the foundation of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty, and demolished part of the Great Wall in Liaoning, so that the military form of Shanhaiguan changed from the east of the Ming Dynasty to the west of the Qing Dynasty.

The Great Wall is a complete military system, and the beacon and fort systems are also an important part. For example, the "Santaizi" station of Shenyang Metro Line 2 originally referred to the beacon tower of the Great Wall.

Zhao Chen inspected the Great Wall of Aiyangbao in Fengcheng. Photo courtesy of Zhao Chen

China News Service: What is the value and significance of studying the Great Wall of Liaoning? What role does the Great Wall of Liaoning play in promoting ethnic integration?

Zhao Chen: The Great Wall of Liaoning is related to the exploration of the source of the eastern starting point of the Great Wall, and the latest research has found that there is a Great Wall east of the Great Wall of Hushan in Dandong, where there are also independent beacons and passes, and there are long walls.

The Great Wall of Hushan in Dandong. Photo by Zhao Chen

The Great Wall is a testimony to the migration and integration of ethnic groups. After the Ming Dynasty, the large-scale migration phenomenon related to the Great Wall included going to the west and breaking into the east, which also gave rise to a term in the northeast - Guanlijia. In the Qing Dynasty, the Kangxi Emperor allowed the former border soldiers and military households to move to the north of the Great Wall to settle down. For thousands of years, many ethnic groups have continuously integrated and exchanged and learned from each other in the land of Liaoning and inside and outside the Great Wall, forming a unique local ethnic culture.

From the Great Wall of the Warring States Period to the Great Wall of the Qin, Han and Ming Dynasties; From the first city outside Shanhaiguan to the "Three Dragons Gathering" Awl Mountain; From the six forts of Kuandian to the western Liaoning corridor where various ethnic groups exchange and integrate... The Great Wall of Liaoning has become an important part of the Great Wall of China with its unique landforms of mountains, seas, cities and islands.

The Great Wall of Awl Mountain. Photo by Zhao Chen

China News Service: What is the relationship between the Great Wall of Liaoning and the Western Liaoning Corridor?

Zhao Chen: The West Liaoning Corridor is one of the important cultural, economic and trade corridors of the Chinese nation, and the Great Wall defense system of the past dynasties, represented by the Suizhong Great Wall, the Xingcheng Great Wall, the Beizhen Great Wall, and the Chaoyang Great Wall, is the landmark building of the West Liaoning Corridor, which embodies the construction achievements of the ancient land-sea integrated military defense system, and shows the cultural landscape of the integration and symbiosis interaction between the Great Wall and the mountain and sea environment.

On the ancient Silk Road, the Great Wall of the Liaoning West Corridor, as a part of the Great Wall of the Silk Road, played a pivotal role in promoting cultural exchanges, economic and trade exchanges between the Central Plains and Korea, Japan, the Far East and other countries and regions. The Hexi Corridor connects trade and cultural exchanges between Asia, Africa and Europe, while the Liaoning West Corridor plays a role as a bridge and link in Northeast Asia.

The West Liaoning Corridor is a passage from Shanhaiguan to Liaoning by the Bohai Sea and the Yanshan Great Wall, and this part of the Great Wall was mainly used to facilitate the entry and exit of envoys from Japan, Korea and other countries in addition to defending against external disasters at that time. In a sense, the Great Wall was a manifestation of the state order, allowing peoples to trade within their borders, rather than plundering each other through war. The construction of the Great Wall plays an important role in the reproduction of the Chinese nation and the prosperity of Chinese culture.

The Great Wall at the Nine Gates. Photo by Zhao Chen

China News Service: How is the spirit of the Great Wall reflected in Liaoning, and what are the unique features?

Zhao Chen: At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Great Wall of Hushan in Liaoning Province was occupied by the Japanese Emperor, and the Qing court was repeatedly defeated in the Sino-Japanese War, but won a battle on the Kuandian Great Wall in Liaoning. At that time, it was found that the Great Wall was difficult to defend against enemy attacks, and a new Great Wall could only be built by uniting the army and the people with one heart and blood.

The city of Kuandian Hedian. Photo by Zhao Chen

Liaoning is the birthplace of the Great Wall of Flesh and Blood. The term "Great Wall of Flesh and Blood" was born in Shenyang, and Huang Xiansheng, the "first person of the Great Wall of Flesh and Blood", was one of the founders of the Northeast Volunteer Army and commanded a series of battles such as the "Battle of Jinzhou". Yang Jingyu, an anti-Japanese martyr, led the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Army to maneuver between the white mountains and black waters with a weak force, and held on to the Japanese Kwantung Army for several years, leaving a solemn oath of "the Anti-Japanese Federation will pass from now on, and the descendants will continue to be".

Liaoning Huanren is the original source of the national anthem, and the lyrics in the "March of the Volunteers" "Build our new Great Wall" are the embodiment of the "Great Wall of Flesh and Blood". Along the Great Wall of Liaoning, from the "918" campaign, the Northeast Anti-Japanese Alliance, the Liaoshen Campaign, to the millions of Chinese volunteers rushing to Korea to resist US aggression and aid Korea, countless heroes have built an indestructible "Great Wall of flesh and blood" with blood to defend their homes and defend the country. (ENDS)

Interviewee Profile:

Zhao Chen, President of China Great Wall Research Institute, doctoral supervisor, professor of Northeastern University, distinguished professor of China-ASEAN Academy of Arts, director of the Research Committee of China's Ancient Architectural Cultural Heritage, director of the Ancient Village Research Committee of the Chinese Ethnology Research Association, head of the national excellent course and national fine resource sharing course, deputy editor of the Great Wall volume of the Encyclopedia of China. He is committed to the study of the Great Wall, ancient architecture, and ancient villages, and his main works include the "Digital Great Wall", a national key book publishing planning project of the 13th Five-Year Plan, and "Damei Village-Fenggang", "Fuling", "Zhaoling", "Baishoufang", "Baishifang", "Wenchang Ancestral Garden", etc.