Research Article

Characteristics of the site selection and the layout of the Great Wall of the Ming dynasty from a military perspective: Xiaohekou section as an example

  • Yang Shen , 1,2 ,
  • Qingshang Su 1 ,
  • Tingli Jia 1 ,
  • Xiaodi Zhou 3
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  • 1. School of Architecture, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
  • 2. Key Scientific Research Base of Traditional Wooden Architecture (Southeast University), State Administration for Cultural Heritage, Nanjing, China
  • 3. Architecture & Engineers Co., Ltd. of Southeast University, Nanjing, China

Received date: 24 Oct 2019

Accepted date: 06 Feb 2020

Published date: 15 Sep 2020

Copyright

2020 2020 Higher Education Press Limited Company. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of KeAi. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Abstract

As a great engineering work for the purpose of military defense in the time of Cold Weapon, the Great Wall’s military function is of the most importance. This study takes the Xiaohekou section of the Great Wall in Mount. Zhuizi constructed in the Ming Dynasty in Liaoning Province as the research object. In addition, this study discusses the relationship between the terrain and its site selection and layout from the military perspective. This research analyzes the trend and the grade of the terrain, the distance, the view range, and the effective firing range between the main body and the subsidiary establishments through GIS software. The GPS data collected in the on-site investigation were used, applying the theories of military geomorphology. Furthermore, this study concludes the characteristics of the site selection and the layouts of the city walls, the hollow watchtowers, the Ma’mians, and the signal towers on different terrains and the reasons behind.

Cite this article

Yang Shen , Qingshang Su , Tingli Jia , Xiaodi Zhou . Characteristics of the site selection and the layout of the Great Wall of the Ming dynasty from a military perspective: Xiaohekou section as an example[J]. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 2020 , 9(3) : 541 -555 . DOI: 10.1016/j.foar.2020.02.001

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