|
Navigation
 This wiki This page |
Since the return of Marco Polo from its journey, the West has been fascinated by the many wonders of the Orient, among which figures in good position the famous Great Wall of China. What is known nowadays in the West about it is a patchwork of popular myths, the writings of historians and chinese propaganda of the recent centuries. Nonetheless, it is difficult not to draw comparisons between this great artifact from the past and the modern days set of mechanisms and countermeasures used for the censorship of the internet in China and which has come to be labelled, not without reasons, the Great Firewall of China. At first sight, the similitude between the historical Great Wall and the so-called Great Firewall are striking. Firstly both of them attempt to protect the chinese people and cultures from assault from the outside. Of Barbarians coming from Mongolia in the case of the Great Stone Wall and of subversive informations and ideas available on the Internet in the case of the Great Electronic Wall. Secondly, they are both surrounded by an aura of myths and legends. However the reactions they produce on western people are very different. Admiration and wonder for a glorious past in the first case, indignation and outrage in the second. The aim of this essay is to try to debunk the myths about the two walls and make a clear comparison, free of preconceptions. This comparison will then be used to try to analyze both the reactions in the West and in China. |
Share |