Eastern-most panels of the ‘Map of the Nine Border Regions’, Object 37
Yang Fuxi demonstrates use of a crossbow in his workshop, Object 17
Making an ink rubbing of a stone-inscribed construction record, Object 35
Close up of a tri-coloured glaze figurine of a camel, Object 19
Close up of a Xianbei nomadic warrior pottery figurine, Object 18
Rock bombs found by the author near his farmhouse close to the Great Wall, Object 33
William, Wu Qi and Wang Xuenong discussing Great Wall objects in his study
Chronology of Dynasties
The Three Dynasties
Xia circa 21st–16th century BC
Shang circa 1600–1045 BC
Zhou 1045–256 BC
Western Zhou 1045–771 BC
Eastern Zhou 770–256 BC
Spring and Autumn Period 770–476 BC
Warring States Period 475–221 BC
The Imperial Dynasties
Qin 221–206 BC
Han 206 BC–AD 220
Western Han 206 BC–AD 23
Xin AD 9–23
Eastern Han AD 25–220
Three Kingdoms Period AD 220–280
Jin AD 265–420
Western Jin AD 265–316
Eastern Jin AD 317–420
Northern and Southern Dynasties AD 420–589
Northern (est. by Xianbei) AD 386–581
Northern Wei (est. by Tuoba Xianbei) AD 386–534
Eastern Wei AD 534–550
Western Wei AD 535–556
Northern Qi AD 550–577
Northern Zhou AD 557–581
Sui AD 581–618
Tang AD 618–907
The Five Dynasties & Ten Kingdoms
Five Dynasties (of North China) AD 907–960
Ten Kingdoms (of South China) AD 902–979
Song
Northern Song AD 960–1127
Southern Song 1127–1279
Liao (established by Qidans) AD 916–1125
Jin (established by Jurchens) 1115–1224
Western Xia (established by Tanguts) 1038–1227
Yuan (established by Mongols) 1279–1368
Ming 1368–1644
Qing (established by Manchus) 1644–1911
Note: At certain times dynasties coexisted.
Chronology of Ming Emperors
Hongwu 1368–1398
Jianwen 1398–1402
Yongle 1402–1424
Hongxi 1424–1425
Xuande 1425–1435
Zhengtong 1435–1449
Jingtai 1449–1457
Tianshun 1457–1464
Chenghua 1464–1487
Hongzhi 1487–1505
Zhengde 1505–1521
Jiajing 1521–1567
Longqing 1567–1572
Wanli 1572–1620
Taichang 1620
Tianqi 1620–1627
Chongzhen 1627–1644
Bibliography
Wall History
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Lindesay, William, The Great Wall Explained, China Intercontinental Press, Beijing, 2012.
Luo Zhewen et al., The Great Wall, Michael Joseph, London, 1981.
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Weatherford, Jack, The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire, Crown, New York, 2010.
Cartography
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Fuchs, Walter, Der Jesuiten Atlas Der Kanghsi Zeit (‘The Jesuit Atlas of Kangxi’s Realm’), Katholischen Universitaet / Monumenta Serica, Beijing, 1941.
Harley, J. B., The History of Cartography, Volume 2, Book 2: Cartography in the Traditional East and Southeast Asian Societies, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1995.
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Nebenzahl, Kenneth, Mapping the Silk Road and Beyond, Phaidon, London, 2004.
Ortelius, Abraham, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (‘Theatre of the Whole World’), Antwerp, 1587.
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Shirley, Rodney W., The Mapping of the Whole World: Early Printed World Maps 1472–1700, Early World Press, Riverside, 2001.
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Military & Weapons
Chase, Kenneth, Firearms: A Global History to 1700, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2003.
Kierman, Frank & Fairbank, John (eds), Chinese Ways in Warfare, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1974.
Loades, Mike, Swords and Swordsmen, Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley, 2010.
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Sawyer, Ralph, Ancient Chinese Warfare, Basic Books, New York, 2011.
Sun Tzu (translated by Ralph Sawyer), The Complete Art of War, Westview Press, Boulder, 1996.
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Exploration & Eyewitness
Barzini, Luigu, Peking to Paris: Prince Borghese’s Journey Across Two Continents in 1907, Library Press, New York, 1973.
Cable, Mildred & French, Francesca, The Gobi Desert, Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1942.
Geil, William Edgar, The Great Wall of China, John Murray, London, 1909.
Lattimore, Owen, The Desert Road in Turkestan, Little, Brown & Co. Ltd., Boston, 1929.
Lindesay, William, Alone on the Great Wall, Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1989.
Newton Hayes, Luther, The Great Wall of China, Kelly & Walsh, Shanghai, 1929.
Nieuhoff, Johan, History of China, John Macock, London, 1669.
Ricci, Matteo, China in the 16th Century: The Journals of Matteo Ricci, Random House, New York, 1942.
Siren, Osvald, The Walls and Gates of Peking, The Bodley Head, London, 1924.
Staunton, George, An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China, Nicol, London, 1797.
Stein, Marc Aurel, Ruins of Desert Cathay, Volumes I & II, Macmillan, London, 1912.
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Walker, Annabel, Aurel Stein, Pioneer of the Silk Road, John Murray, London, 1995.
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Cronin, Vincent, The Wise Man from the West, Harvill, London, 1999.
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Photo Credits
All photographs provided by William Lindesay except where indicated below:
Objects 2, 43: The British Library Board OR 5896, WD 961 158, WD 961 159
Objects 3, 7, 20, 23: Museum of the Great Hunnu Empire, Ulaanbaatar
Object 4: Victoria & Albert Museum
Objects 7, 9, 11, 15, 19, 22, 29, 30, 33, 36, 40, 42, 44: James Lindesay
Objects 10, 26: Chen Xinyu
Objects 14, 46: MS Stein 199 fol. 29; MS Kafka 21, 3v 4r, The Bodleian Library, University of Oxford.
Objects 12, 32: Wang Jin
Object 17: Yang Chang
Objects 24, 38: The National Museum of Mongolia
Objects 27, 36: The National Museum of China
Object 28: Thomas Mueller
Object 31: Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F 1915.16
Object 37: Liaoning Provincial Museum
Object 39: Utrecht University Library
Object 51: Zhen Zhaoguang
Photo inserts are provided by William Lindesay except where indicated below:
Photo 1: James Lindesay
Photo 2 and 3: Museum of the Great Hunnu Empire, Ulaanbaatar
Photo 4: James Lindesay
Photos 6–7: spread top, British Library Board OR 5896, spread bottom, Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., gift of Charles Lang Freer, F 1915.16
Photo 8: Museum of the Great Hunnu Empire, Ulaanbaatar
Photo 9: James Lindesay
Photo 10: National Museum of China
Photo 11: Liaoning Provincial Museum
Photo 12: James Lindesay
Photo 14: James Lindesay
Photos 16 and 17: James Lindesay
Acknowledgements
As I write this thank you letter to all those who gifted me with the opportunities, trust, access, help, answers and photographs that made this Great Wall 50 adventure possible, fun and successful, I face a familiar problem, nice though it is: where to begin?
Appropriately, I have in front of me an assisting object, made in 2012. It’s a thick wedge of papers, clipped together: a kind of project ‘antiquity’. The papers are roughly-cut rectangles, about the size of playing cards. The stack is composed of about thirty-five pieces, and each paper bears a few words, written clearly in thick, black ink.
My youngest son, Tommy, then aged twelve, saw me exasperated as I struggled with a document on my computer screen, cutting and pasting. I was trying to bring some semblance of order and sequence to my draft list of objects. With paper, scissors and pen, he made folds and cuts, and then wrote down the titles of my objects on them. A game began.
The purpose of the game was to make connections. Some pairings related to the objects’ materials – for instance, metal, wood, paper or stone. Another approach was based on functions: weapons, maps, messages, books or paintings. Origins worked too: Chinese, nomadic or international. As well as matching pairs to highlight similarities, opposite pairs also worked in an intriguing way, and I ended up launching with one of them: the contrasting ways in which Europeans and Chinese first learned of the Great Wall’s existence.
Tommy’s system worked well back then for its simplicity; now, the same papers perform a different function. They’re like business cards, remi
nding me of who helped with what object. Some of them, grouped together, show me just how much certain institutions helped.
If I could award a gold medal for accessibility and openness, then without a second thought it is awarded to Mrs Nemekhbayar Nadpurev, owner of the Museum of the Great Hunnu Empire, to whom I am greatly indebted. Just months after the passing of her husband, the founder of the museum, Purevjav Erdenechuluun, whom I had met the year before, she and her staff accorded me every possible help, permitting me to examine bronze ornaments, weapons, armour and ritual articles from the collection. Ultimately, I included six objects from the museum in my final fifty.
Elsewhere in the Mongolian sphere, a number of people offered very special help. Mrs Buuma of the National Museum of Mongolian History assisted me with various objects from the collection, while the curator, Professor Saruulbuyan, was most enlightening as he shared his ideas. Special thanks are also due to Kirk Olson and his wife, Oyuntuya Bayanjargal, for their work in finding various people in Mongolia, in interpreting in the archery workshop of the Batmunkh family, and in organising an outstanding expedition across the Mongols’ ancient homeland, the Great Eastern Steppe. I also offer many thanks to Professor Jack Weatherford for guiding me towards a better understanding of nomadic culture and of the history of the Genghis Khan period.
Although this off-Wall book took me away from the ruins, you will have noticed that I have woven into many of the stories various field experiences, encounters and observations from over the years, ever since my first steps on the Wall in 1986. On all my Wall trips I’ve benefited from the support and friendship of many people. In the early years, my biggest thanks go to those farmers who helped me along the way with food, water and shelter. In the mid-1990s I explored the Wall in the Beijing region with a succession of people who became dear companions. My memories of short adventures with Scott Urban, Tjalling Halbertsma, Yang Xiao, Wang Baoshan and Piao Tiejun are unforgettable and will always be at the heart of my Great Wall experiences: they were the golden years.
Great Wall in 50 Objects Page 29
