The Great Wall of China hoax was a faked story, published in United States newspapers on June 25, 1899, about bids by American businesses to demolish the Great Wall of China and construct a road in its place.
In 1939, an urban legend began when Denver songwriter Harry Lee Wilber claimed in a magazine article that the 1899 hoax had ignited the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. Paul Harvey and Dwight Sands perpetuated the legend. Variations have been incorporated into sermons about "the power of the tongue," a morality tale used by preachers to highlight the consequences of lying.
The fact, however, is that Boxer activity intensified in response to the German invasion in Shandong during March 1899 - before the hoax was invented in Denver. No Chinese history reference relates the hoax to the Boxer Rebellion.
Read more about Great Wall Of China Hoax: Origin, Harry Lee Wilber
Famous quotes containing the words wall and/or china:
“A man whose mind feels that it is captive would prefer to blind himself to the fact. But if he hates falsehood, he will not do so; and in that case he will have to suffer a lot. He will beat his head against the wall until he faints. He will come to again and look with terror at the wall, until one day he begins afresh to beat his head against it; and once again he will faint. And so on endlessly and without hope. One day he will wake up on the other side of the wall.”
—Simone Weil (1909–1943)
“The awakening of the people of China to the possibilities under free government is the most significant, if not the most momentous, event of our generation.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)