Research On Defensiveness Of Military Fortresses At Ming Great Wall Juyongguan Defense Area

Based on the feature of“defensiveness”, the paper systematically examines Juyongguan defense area, i.e., firstly, extracting the basic information valuable in research from historical records and annals, monographs and papers as well as site investigation and research thus to find the origin and historical developing context of Juyongguan Great Wall and its military fortresses from the position of history, and to understand the main features of different historical periods and lay the foundation for further analysis. In addition, the integral defense system frame of Juyongguan defense area is analyzed level by level from three parts: organization system of defense system?physical carrier of organization system?defensiveness space of physical carrier. The study on organization system of Juyongguan defense area tries to macroscopically research on integral defense system of Juyongguan defense area from the standpoint of military rules or mechanisms in Ming Dynasty, and concludes its structural levels of defense system. Taking all the military fortresses in Juyongguan defense area, which are the physical carriers of organization system, as the object of study, the paper also analyzes the construction process of military fortresses in Juyongguan defense area by the way of combining historical evolution (time) and geographical distribution (space), together with mapping the corresponding spatial distribution of military fortresses. At last, the paper focuses on and analyzes the defensiveness space of fortresses, then summarizes the feature of defensive space of military fortresses in Juyongguan defense area and finally obtains general description for defensiveness space of Great Wall pass-type military fortresses.As the vital pass along the Great Wall, Juyongguan has been called as the“No.1 Impregnable Pass in the World”since the ancient times, which was particularly the northwest portal guarding the capital since Ming Dynasty, in-comparatively showing its important strategic position; nowadays, as the historic treasure containing very rich historical and cultural connotation, it left us the unique Great Wall cultural relics and desolate and heavy realistic panorama, which is worthy as the world cultural heritage and national-grade protected historic site. However, Juyongguan in peak period of Ming Dynasty was beyond itself, even beyond 5 defense lines of Juyongguan Ditch, which placed troops integrally through Juyongguan defense area. The vivid hierarchical defense system and spatial layout in Juyongguan defense area can be called as the demonstration of Pass-type Military Fortresses of Great Wall, and it's just a kind of unique traditional defensive settlement, which is a dwelling environment centered as military functions and characterized with obvious defensiveness.