What makes the Great Wall of China so extraordinary - Megan Campisi and Pen-Pen Chen

Translator: Mehmet Sıddık Dilek Reviewer: ronya bewran

A 13,000 mile dragon of earth and stone

Ejderhayekî ji kevir û 20 hezar km dirêj

winds its way through the countryside of China

di seranserê Çînê re

with a history almost as long and serpentine as the structure.

bi awayê fetlonekî digere.

The Great Wall began as multiple walls of rammed earth

Bedenên Çînê di serdema Chunqiu de ji aliyê mîrekîyên cuda ve

built by individual feudal states during the Chunqiu period

bi dîwarên, ji bo parastina

li hemberî êrişên eşirên koçber hat avakirin.

to protect against nomadic raiders north of China and each other.

Dema Qin Shi Huang B.Z. di sala 221î de Yekîtiya Çînê pek anî,

When Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified the states in 221 BCE,

the Tibetan Plateau and Pacific Ocean became natural barriers,

ji bo parastinê, zozanên Tîbetê û Okyanûsa Pasîfîk

but the mountains in the north remained vulnerable

ev dîwar bûn bariyerên xwezayî

to Mongol, Turkish, and Xiongnu invasions.

lê bakur ji bo êrîşên Moxol-Tirkan vekirî bû.

To defend against them,

Ji bo parastina li dijî van êrîşan, Împaratorî

the Emperor expanded the small walls built by his predecessors,

dîwar, kevin, mezintir û qewîntir kirin

connecting some and fortifying others.

û bi hev ve girêdan.

As the structures grew from Lintao in the west

Dîwar ji rojavayê Lintaoyê

to Liaodong in the east,

heta rojhilatê Liaodongê dirêj bûn,

they collectively became known as The Long Wall.

bi navê Dîwarê Dirêj, deng veda.

To accomplish this task,

Ji bo avakirina dîwêr,

the Emperor enlisted soldiers and commoners,

Împaratorî leşker û peywirdar

tayîn kirin.

not always voluntarily.

Di desthilatiya Qin de bi hezeran karkerên wî dîwarî hebûn û

Of the hundreds of thousands of builders recorded during the Qin Dynasty,

gellek ji wan gundiyên ku bi zorê dişixulîn

many were forcibly conscripted peasants

and others were criminals serving out sentences.

an girtiyên hepsê bûn.

Under the Han Dynasty, the wall grew longer still,

Dema desthilatiya Han de dirêjahiya dîwêr

reaching 3700 miles,

giha 6000 kmyê û

and spanning from Dunhuang to the Bohai Sea.

ji Dunhuang heta Deryaya Bohai ve dewam dikir.

Forced labor continued under the Han Emperor Han-Wudi ,

Şixulandina karkeran a bi zorê, di dema Împarator Xuandi de jî dewam kir

and the walls reputation grew into a notorious place of suffering.

û dîwar bû wek cihê şkenceyê.

Poems and legends of the time told of laborers buried

Helbest û efsane qala goristanên mezin yên karkeran dikin

in nearby mass graves,

heta dibêjin karker

or even within the wall itself.

di nav dîwêr de jî hatine weşartin.

And while no human remains have been found inside,

Tu bermayiyên mirovan neyên dîtin jî

grave pits do indicate that many workers died

kortalên goran nîşan didin ku

from accidents, hunger and exhaustion.

gellek karker ji ber qeza, birçîbûn û westandinê mirine.

The wall was formidable but not invincible.

Dîwar pirr qewîn e lê hatiya derbaskirin.

Both Genghis and his son Khublai Khan managed to surmount the wall

Cengîz Xan û kurê wî Khublai Xan di Sedsala 13an de

during the Mongol invasion of the 13th Century.

di dema dagirkirina Moxolan de dîwar derbas kirin.

After the Ming dynasty gained control in 1368,

Dema malbata Ming di sala 1368an de bûn serdest,

they began to refortify and further consolidate the wall

bi kevir û bi tuxlayên ku ji derdorê peyda kirin,

using bricks and stones from local kilns.

dîwar hê bêhtir qewîn kirin.

Averaging 23 feet high and 21 feet wide,

Bilindahiya vî dîwarî 7 metre, firehiya wî 6,5 m,

the walls 5500 miles were punctuated by watchtowers.

dirêjiya wî 9 km bû û nobedarên vî dîwarî jî hebûn.

When raiders were sighted,

Dema ku êrîşkar xuya dikirin

fire and smoke signals traveled between towers

ji bo ku hêzên din werin alîkariyê

until reinforcements arrived.

di navbera kelehan de bi agir û dû, peyam belav dikirin.

Small openings along the wall let archers fire on invaders,

Di qulên biçûk re tîr

while larger ones were used to drop stones and more.

di yên mezin re kevir diavetin êrîşkaran.

But even this new and improved wall was not enough.

Lê dîsa ev têr nekir.

In 1644, northern Manchu clans overthrew the Ming

Di sala 1644an de, eşîra Manchu

ji bo desthilatiya malbata Qing ava bikin,

to establish the Qing dynasty,

incorporating Mongolia as well,

bi Moxolan re hevkarî kirin.

Thus, for the second time,

Ev cara duyem e ku Çîn ji aliyê wan kesan ve tê birêvebirin

China was ruled by the very people the wall had tried to keep out.

ku pêşiyê, dîwar li dijî wan hatibû avakirin.

With the empire's borders now extending beyond the Great Wall,

Piştî ku tixubên împaratoriyê dîwar derbas kirin,

the fortifications lost their purpose.

dîwêr armanca xwe wenda kir.

And without regular reinforcement, the wall fell into disrepair,

Dûre ji bo ku nehat kutakirin dîwar hilweşiya,

rammed earth eroded,

binax bû û

while brick and stone were plundered for building materials.

tuxla û kevirê wî hatin talankirin.

But its job wasn't finished.

Lê hê jî dîwar bikêr bû.

During World War II,

Di şerê cîhanê yê duyem de dîwar

China used sections for defense against Japanese invasion,

ji bo parastina li dijî Japonyayê hat bikaranîn û

and some parts are still rumored to be used for military training.

beşek ji dîwêr hê jî ji bo leşkeriyê li kar e.

But the Wall's main purpose today is cultural.

Lê niha armanca sereke ya dîwêr kulturî ye.

As one of the largest man-made structures on Earth,

Dîwarê herî mezin li ser rûyê erdê ye,

it was granted UNESCO World Heritage Status in 1987.

di lîsteya UNESCOyê ya mîrateyên cîhanê de ye. [1987]

Originally built to keep people out of China,

Ji bo parastina Çînê hatiye lêkirin,

the Great Wall now welcomes millions of visitors each year.

niha pêşbaziyê ji mîlyonan turîstan re dike.

In fact, the influx of tourists has caused the wall to deteriorate,

Bi hatina evqas turista dîwar tê hilweşandin,

leading the Chinese government to launch preservation initiatives.

lewre Dewleta Çînê ji bo parastina dîwêr hin tedbîr stendin.

It's also often acclaimed as the only man-made structure visible from space.

Carinan tê gotin ku ev dîwar, avahiya yekem e ku ji fezayê tê xuyakirin.

Unfortunately, that's not at all true.

Mixabin, ev bi tevahî ne rast e..

In low Earth orbit, all sorts of structures,

Ji nêzîkî erdê hemî avahiyên mezin

like bridges, highways and airports are visible,

wek pir, wek balafirgeh xuya dikin,

and the Great Wall is only barely discernible.

dîwar jî bi dijwarî xuya dike.

From the moon, it doesn't stand a chance.

Ji ser heyvê ji binî xuya nake.

But regardless, it's the Earth we should be studying it from

Lê ev ne xem e, divê li ser rûyê erdê em li ser dîwêr bixebitin,

because new sections are still discovered every few years,

ji ber ku hin parçeyên dîwêr ji nû ve tên kifşkirin.

branching off from the main body

Her parçeyekî dîwêr ku tê dîtin,

and expanding this remarkable monument to human achievement.

nirxên vê abîdeyê bêhtir tê zanîn.