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There is a pseudoscientific theory popularized by Russian authors Fomenko and Nosovsky which, among other things, claims that the Great Wall of China had been built by peoples living to the north of it who were more advanced than the Chinese at the time, and, therefore, its goal was to protect the North from the Southern barbarians (the Chinese), not the other way around.

As a proof of that claim they mention that the loopholes on the Great Wall face the Chinese side.

I don't in any way support that theory but is that very fact (loopholes facing the Chinese side) true? And if yes, as a side question, why is it so?

Avery
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Quassnoi
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    Related: [Why some sections of Great Wall of China seem to be bidirectional?](http://history.stackexchange.com/questions/27023/why-some-sections-of-great-wall-of-china-seem-to-be-bidirectional) – Be Brave Be Like Ukraine Jan 16 '16 at 23:32
  • The link you provide doesn't mention the Great Wall of China. Can you please link to where they make this claim? I'd like to see what they mean by "loopholes" – Oddthinking Jan 17 '16 at 13:04
  • @oddthinking: http://ruspravda.info/A-takaya-li-uzh-kitayskaya-Velikaya-Kitayskaya-stena-3052.html if you can read Russian. Loopholes is my translation, I meant slits in the walls you can shoot through. – Quassnoi Jan 17 '16 at 14:50
  • I did not realize that "loopholes" are part of a battlement. You can see them here: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china_great_wall/construction/ – Avery Jan 17 '16 at 16:21
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    Seems like common sense that any such wall would have some basic defenses facing into its own lands. If it didn't, the troops and their valuable provisions would be sitting ducks easily raided by bandits, criminals or outlaws. Pretty sure I've seen this on regular medieval city walls... Trying to remember specific examples – user56reinstatemonica8 Jan 17 '16 at 21:35
  • It is so interesting to read the hubris of the status quo, with the easy insults cast without (assumed) any unbaised research to actually refute conflicting theories. The adage is well known "History is written by the victors" but seldom is any actual thought given to the extent of the rewrite. You may be surprised once you seek actual validation to so many inconsistencies. – drew.. Dec 13 '19 at 12:21
  • @drew.. what exactly are you talking about? – Quassnoi Dec 13 '19 at 18:42
  • @Quassnoi: so very much of history, as recorded and laid out for us, is based on supposition and theory, and very questionable dating circumstances. To this end, in relation to this thread in particular, the mere suggestion that the wall is not exactly as Wikipedia suggests it is, is cause for immediate and unexamined dismissal. – drew.. Dec 14 '19 at 19:42

1 Answers1

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The Ming period Great Wall, which is the impressive one that tourists visit, generally has battlements on the north side, and parapets on the other so that the guards don't fall off. At Mutianyu, indeed, there are loopholes on both sides. However, even at Mutianyu, the crenels are often only on the north side, as you can see in this photo:

Photo from http://www.china-mike.com/china-tourist-attractions/great-wall-china/defending-the-wall/

Tourist websites seem to assume that this is just in case the enemy got to the other side. There are also west-facing loopholes, in case the invader got on top of the wall.

Why would the north build crenels on its own side? Also, for this to work as "defending the north from the south", you'd have to fake quite a lot of history -- like, most pre-modern Chinese texts. That would have been a lot of work for the fabrication industry!

Avery
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    thanks for your answer! as I said, I don't support any of that, just wanted to know if the fact they are presenting as a proof is the way the say (not that it proves anything). Do I get it right that the loopholes face either both directions or outside Chinese side only, but never inside the Chinese side? – Quassnoi Jan 17 '16 at 18:16
  • Yes, I did not see any descriptions of loopholes that are only on the Chinese side. Visitors might confuse them with the drainage system, which is on the Chinese side so that moss doesn't grow on the north side. – Avery Jan 18 '16 at 02:21
  • Just to get it in context about where this claim comes from... It's widely spread across and from Russian pseudoscientific webpages trying to prove that Rus' occupied the territory from Pacific to Atlantic Oceans and that the "Great Rus'" built the wall to defend from Chinese ;) – sashkello Jan 18 '16 at 04:13