Another first for China: The industrial revolution

Until I arrived in Banchangyu, 50 km west of Shanhaiguan, I believed the industrial revolution had begun in the middle of the 19th century.

As I surveyed the valley before me, however, I was having second thoughts.

I knew there were 61 brick kilns under the cornfields, as well as the two excavated ones in front of me.

Each kiln was capable of making about 3,000 bricks per firing, over several days.

I did some quick calculations and worked out that at full production the Banchangyu valley was turning out around 1 million bricks every two months.Production at this level went on for decades between 1560 and the early 1600s.

I envisaged a medieval industrial landscape before me. The smoke from so many kilns must have created an acrid gaseous layer that hung over the valley. The nearby forest would have been cut down as a source for fuel.

The industrial revolution took place here, at the foot of the Great Wall, 400 years ago, I thought to myself. Not in Great Britain, in the mid 1800s.

During the first six days of my jeep trip along the Wall, the name of Qi Jiguang, a hero in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) often came up.

As commander of the Jizhou military region (occupying most of today's Hebei Province), he advocated higher walls and the use of bricks to make the ramparts more effective as defensive positions.

Simply put, he turned the Great Wall into an active defense system, manned by well-trained soldiers, with watchtowers along its length. It has been said that bricks and mortar cannot defend an empire, but determination can.

Qi knew this and organized military shows to boost the morale of his troops who would defend China from atop the Great Wall. He also made many inspection tours and I plan to retrace his steps.

(China Daily 11/01/2007 page6)