A Study On The Great Wall Of Shanxi Town In Ming Dynasty

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty,the remaining Mongolian tribes of the Yuan Dynasty fled north into the grassland area and occupied the area north of the Great Wall for a long time,posing a threat to the rule of the Central Plains;later on,the northeastern Jurchen gradually began to defy the Ming court,and the long northern border of the empire was under enormous pressure.In order to defend against the northern enemy and ensure the stability of the regime,as well as to strengthen the defence of the Great Wall and command the troops along it,the Ming court followed Zhu Yuanzhang’s idea of ’securing the frontier’ and set up military towns on the northern frontier of the empire.In this historical context,the ’Nine Fort Towns’ came into being.The development of the system of "Nine Fort Towns" was accompanied by the construction of the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty.The Ming Dynasty was a period of great prosperity for the construction of the Great Wall in China,which greatly exceeded all previous dynasties in terms of engineering scale,construction level,garrison equipment and time span.Shanxi Town,as a strategic area with three passes,namely Piantou Pass,Ningwu Pass and Yanmen Pass,was gradually developed in the mid and late Ming Dynasty.At the same time,the construction of the Great Wall of Shanxi Town in the Ming Dynasty,together with the defense system like a strong fortress,provided a solid military guarantee for the Central Plains against the invasion of foreign enemies in the north.This paper focuses on the Great Wall of Shanxi Town in the Ming Dynasty,analyzes the surviving Great Wall walls and related remains based on the survey data,and discusses the characteristics of the form and function of the Great Wall under the jurisdiction of Shanxi Town in the Ming Dynasty in conjunction with relevant historical documents.This paper consists of three parts: preface,text and conclusion.The preface provides a brief review of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall and the system of "Nine Fort Towns" of the Ming Dynasty,introduces the source of the selected topic,and briefly explains the research methodology and data.The first part introduces the system of "Nine Fort Towns" of the Ming Dynasty and the history of the establishment of Shanxi Town in the Ming Dynasty,and traces the reasons for the construction of the Great Wall of Shanxi Town;the second part briefly introduces the survey of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall of Shanxi Town,and then starts a series of analyses on the geographical environment of the Great Wall of Shanxi Town and the distribution,direction,and composition of the defense system of the Great Wall of Shanxi Town;the third part,through the integration and analysis of existing research reports,summarizes the material,form,preservation status and function of the Great Wall walls of Shanxi Town in the Ming Dynasty and its related remains,such as the fortresses and beacon towers;the fourth part provides an overall summary and conclusion of the defense system of the Great Wall of Shanxi Town in the Ming Dynasty;the fifth part explores the historical and practical significance of the Great Wall of Shanxi Town.This paper summarizes the study of the Great Wall of Shanxi Town in the Ming Dynasty,from the background of its construction to its distribution,direction,existing remains and architectural features,and further clarifies the important historical value of the Great Wall of Shanxi Town as a defense system.