The Great Wall Defense System In The Western Han Dynasty

At present,the research on the Great Wall is more concentrated on linear works such as walls,GuanCheng,barbican.While as for the integrity research of the Great Wall defense system,remains to be further.Therefore,in this paper,the study mainly aims to clarify the Great Wall defense system in the Western Han Dynasty.This paper takes the Great Wall defense system in the Western Han Dynasty as a main object.The research explores the historical background,construction phases,border military system,distribution structure,and the characteristics of fortresses of the Great Wall defense system.in Western Han Dynasty,from macroscopic to microcosmic,from abstract to concrete.Firstly,the paper compares the war stages against the northern nomadic people and the phrases of construction of the Great Wall in Han Dynasty.It can be seen that the large-scale construction in Western Han Dynasty was mainly in the expansion period.It means that the purposes of the Great Wall in Han Dynasty was not only to defense,but also to attack.Then,the paper analyses the military system and the elements in the Great Wall defense system,to link the “material objects ” to “military system”,finding that the fortress hierarchy corresponds the military system in border.After,the Great Wall defense system of the Western Han Dynasty in Yinshan-Hetao area is selected to make specific research.Firstly,the ruins of the Great Wall,cities and fortress found in this area are marked on a map,for summarizing the distribution pattern of all defense elements.Secondly,detail data of all cities and fortresses are gathered,to collect statistics of scales,sites,layouts of different fortress level,leading to a general law of the style of military fortresses in border.Finally,from the perspectives of system hierarchy,distribution structure,fortress scale,and the location,the law of the Great Wall defense systems in Han Dynasty is clear.