The Great Wall of China
The History of China's Most Famous Landmark
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The Great Wall of China
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Narrated by:
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Violet Meadow
About this listen
The Great Wall of China is perhaps the wonder of the world that has most captured the human imagination, and as the quotes about it indicate, the wall has acquired special significance even outside of China. The places and ways in which it has taken hold vary greatly, but one thing is certain: The Great Wall of China is as amazing as it is mysterious, and it's as mundane as it is magical.
Naturally the Wall has become the most recognizable symbol of China, used for both aggrandizement and criticism. Nationalists see it as a symbol of China's peaceful nature, engineering capability, and historic longevity while detractors see the wall as the embodiment of China's backwardness, closed-mindedness, and hubris. While history allots arguments for the claims of each side, both of them are colored by Great Wall mythology and current geopolitical concerns. Though the wall can symbolize all of these things about China, it is important to remember that the many long walls, upon some of which the current landmark was constructed, were put up by specific people for specific purposes.
The first step to a more accurate conception of the wall is getting a better understanding of its name because "The Great Wall of China" is a misleading label. More accurately it may be called the "Great Walls of China," for several dynasties beginning early in Chinese history built fortifications of some kind, usually to the north. These constructions were alternately expanded, connected, dismantled, or neglected depending on the circumstances and preferences of those in charge.
©2012 Charles River Editors (P)2015 Charles River EditorsListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about The Great Wall of China
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- C. E. Pearson
- 27-03-18
An Hour of My Life Lost Forever!
Firstly, I am not criticising the actual book. I think it was quite a decent book on The Great Wall and on Chinese history in general. It was the narration that completely ruined it for me, and stopped me from absorbing the valuable information. She would splutter out a few words, then there would be a significant pause, followed by a few more words. Sometimes the pauses seemed to be when she encountered an unfamiliar word and she took time to sound it out, generally mispronouncing it in the process. More often the pauses seemed to come at random, and bore no relation to the structure or meaning of the sentence. Consequently it was very difficult to understand, and very unpleasant to listen to. My advice would be to buy the book and steer well clear of the audible version.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Unique Pseudonym
- 19-09-16
I'd probably prefer the text,
Realising I didn't know all that much about the Great Wall on the morning I was due to visit, I found this short book, just the right length to listen to on the bus journey from central Beijing to the wall.
The content was interesting and seemed to be well researched. However the narration was a bit of a let down. While there's nothing wrong with Violet Meadow's voice her pronunciation, even of quite a few English words, was often off and her spoken rhythm made it sound like she recorded the first half of sentences separately from the second half. I don't know whether those are faults or the narrator or the editor but they distract from the content. In hindsight I'd have preferred to have read the text myself.
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1 person found this helpful