Great Wall - Military Leaders

Whilst Emperors dictated the building of the Great Wall, it was a handful of exceptional military leaders that made it happen. During the Ming Dynasty two names pop up again and again as the commanders in charge of the various constructions.

General Qi Jiguang – 16th century

Qi Jiguang was raised in a military family. He began his military career at 17 and was relieved of duty after 38 years of service. Spending most of his career fighting the Mongols in the north or the pirates in the east, Qi was instrumental in developing new combat tactics that helped defeat China's enemies. As such, he was put in charge of training the imperial guards and was promoted to the highest military rank of Commissioner-in-Chief.

During his time on the Wall, he undertook a massive expansion project, repairing and reinforcing the Wall’s defences, installing as many as 1,000 watchtowers over a 380mi (608km) stretch. These works helped fend off the northern enemies for more than a decade until the Ming Dynasty was replaced. Qi was also known for documenting his thoughts on military strategy into two books and wrote many poems and works of prose.

General Xu Da – 14th century

Young Xu Da grew up at the tail end of the Yuan Dynasty, led by the Mongol empire. Playing warlike games with Zhu Yuanzhang, he was unaware of the fate that awaited both of them in later years. Zhu became a prominent rebel leader with Xu serving as a general. In 1368, together, they led an attack on the capital city and forced the Yuan ruler out, becoming the founders of the newly formed Ming Dynasty, with Zhu as its first emperor and Xu as a general and later a politician. Xu’s first task in relation to the Great Wall was to build the Shanhai Pass near the sea, which he completed in less than two years. He went on to build many sections of the Wall that were reinforced two centuries later by Qi Jiguang. Xu remained in the emperor’s service for 32 years until his passing.



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