介绍:
What is the Great Wall?
A series of fortresses and watchtowers stretching so long that allegedly could be observed in outer space?
Or, an extravagant architectural celebration that greets tourists around the globe?
But British geographer, writer and preservationist William Lindesay thinks otherwise. Studying the Great Wall for more than two decades, he believes that the wall's story should not be confined to the structure itself.
"Many people think that in studying the Great Wall, we just study the wall, you know, brick, stone, earth, wall. But no, the Great Wall story is the story of relationship between China and its northern nomadic neighbours. So this relationship is a very broad field to study. "
Partially inspired by Neil MacGregor's A History of the World in 100 Objects, this Great Wall devotee spent two years in touring museums, archives and fields throughout the world in hunt for signpost and iconic items. After careful selection, he picked out 50 representative artifacts and composed them in his essay-alike collection, The Great Wall in 50 Objects.
"I really like the idea of being limited in choice and telling a very detailed story about that one thing. So each object has a significant point, a key point, in a way each object is a kind of milestone. "
Instead of narrating his story in a chronological fashion, William Lindesay starts his journey with eight key objects. Each of them answers some common questions, such as: how did we learn about the Great Wall? Who was it built for and what was it built with?
"I was sitting here in the study and I saw the Ortelius map on the wall. And I thought that is the way the first Europeans saw there was a Great Wall in China. I thought this is a perfect start. To counter balance of that or to match that, how did the Chinese people hear about the Great Wall? "
Since the Great Wall mainly served as a military defence system in ancient times, the author deliberately demonstrates both sides of the story, following a historical arc from one perspective to another. Here, you can see a bronze ornament of a Xiongnu warrior, which shows us how the earliest nomadic enemy of ancient China looked like and why the wall was built in the first place. Then traversing through a journey of 1700 years, we come across a silk painting of the Forbidden City, which indicates the reason why, in the 15th century, the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty moved his capital to Beijing, a peripheral city under the threat of the looming nomadic invasion.
But unlike Neil MacGregor, whose book solely focuses on physical objects, Lindesay's sprawling collection reaches out to something less tangible and more intriguing.
"Wolf smoke was something I had heard about for many years. If you go to a valley and stay in a village below the Great Wall in the Beijing area, you ask the local farmers about the history and the signalling the troops used upon the Wall in the 1500s, 1600s, everyone knows the term, Lang Yan. There is apparently a phrase in the Chinese language today, Lang Yan Si Qi, big camp fire burning, meaning dangerous situation. So I was really intrigued by this phrase and I fully believe the wolf smoke was called wolf smoke because the guards burnt the dried wolf dung."
Although all the objects Lindesay picks are related to the Great Wall, readers could still be lured down to the side roads. In one of the chapters, the writer even brings up a short story written by Franz Kafka, which is narrated by a Great Wall builder who questions the meaning of this daring enterprise.
"For me, it was very interesting. Because you know, living in Beijing for such a long time, I saw so many roads, bridges, stadiums, airports and housing being built. So I introduced Kafka's book and alternated the images (of) Kafka's Great Wall builders and migrant workers building mag-structures in Beijing. You know, I think readers can decide for themselves, but it seems to be quite a number (of) mirror images, even though the stories are five hundred years apart. "
Combing personal experiences, clean factual elucidations, and rich illustrations, The Great Wall in 50 Objects is no doubt an interesting read.
Lindesay says, he hopes that his book may help people recognize and appreciate the greatness of this majestic cultural heritage.
"The scale is absolutely fascinating. The thing of the Great Wall is (that) it has geographic presence and very few things man had built in ancient times have that. Another thing is that the Great Wall is made of natural materials. The Great Wall, even though it stood in ruins for four centuries, it seems to look more and more beautiful. Another thing about the Great Wall of China is that a lot of it exists at very high level and never before was so much building done in such position. So for all these reasons, the Great Wall is fascinating. And ultimately because nothing like the construction of the Great Wall, nothing so immense will ever happen again."
The Great Wall in 50 Objects was published by Penguin in 2015.
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