The Great Wall - Monument to the Chinese Nation (2)

Esthetic critics say that the Great Wall "looks like a momentousrunning handwritten in one stroke on the vast land of north China with a huge mystical brush". The enemy tower represents the modulation of therunning hand, and the impregnable pass the turning-point of the running hand, forming a complete artistic work. The beauty of the Great Wall comes from its grandeur, a kind of noble beauty characterized by magnificence, firmness, grandeur and boldness. It is an expression of the pioneering spirit of the Chinese who pursue peace and dare to make progress, conveying deep national sentiment.

Therefore, the Great Wall is not only beautiful, but is also a symbol of the character of the Chinese nation. It is clear that the nature of architectural art not only demonstrates the form of a certain beauty, it also demands playing up a certain kind of strong feeling, temperament and interest, countenance and appeal and finally exhibiting a tendency related to a certain thought and concept, such as the outlook of nature, ethics and religion as well as aesthetic interest, so as to influence and stir people's hearts. If stressing esthetic beauty that only pleases the eye is shallow delight, then stressing the artistic beauty that gladdens the heart is all the more a pursuit of artistic conception, and richer and deeper heart-stirring sincerity. Therefore, Auguste Rodin said, "our France as a whole is contained in Our large church, just as the whole of Greece is contained in the BatenongTemple." Contemporary Western artistic historian Jian Sen also said, "When we recall past great civilizations, we have a habit of using visible and commemorative buildings as a unique symbol of each civilization." Victor Hugo defined a building as a monument to human ideology: "Like all rules of religion, people's thoughts have their own monument. No important human thought is not inscribed on rocks by the architectural art." He also said that architecture is an historical record of rock." Then we can say the Great Wall is the monument to the Chinese nation.

Based on the broad and profound Chinese Culture, China's architecture has gained unique and great achievements, giving a profound expression to a culture which is the pride of the Chinese people.

(Source: chinaculture.org)