Library > Geography & Travel > Asia

Flaming Dragon of the North --- Literary Perceptions of the Great Wall

1999
This website contains information about the Great Wall of China, one of the seven wonders of the world. It mainly includes a brief history of the Great Wall, masterpieces of poems and prose written by famous writers spreading over a wide span of time, and last but not the least, folklore associated with this magnificent fortress built over 2,000 years ago. The brief history of the Great Wall introduces to people historical knowledge of this ancient structure of human wisdom and therefore allow them to relive, the experience of building the Great Wall. Though the designers of the Great Wall had it to serve as a military structure, it actually achieves much more. For example, it inspires writers of all times to produce the masterpieces. It greatly enriches human culture and has long become a milestone in the development of Chinese civilization. It is no longer a fortress of defence today but it has not stopped, and it will never stop, the inspiration it planted in the hearts of men of letters. The Great Wall has therefore become a birthplace of the worlds greatest literatures. The folklore provides people with the popular understanding of the Great Wall and are thus another source of information. Together with the poems and articles, the folklore allows users to know more of how people feel about the wall, ranging from enthusiasm to hatred, from fondness to complaints, from joys to nostalgia. This website offers people an opportunity to know the Great Wall of China and to understand the thoughts and feelings of the people from the past and present and also to enjoy the great masterpieces. Hence, it gives an overall detailed information of both facts and feelings.