The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is one of the world's most easily recognized structures. Like the panda bear and the Forbidden City, the Great Wall is a symbol that is exclusively Chinese. Although its construction required great human sacrifice, it now stands as a proud monument, symbolizing power, strength, and will.
Origins
Governments from pre-Han time son engaged in construction of defensive walls. Construction began on walls sometime during the Zhou dynasty, around the 7th century BCE. Later these walls were joined together to make a make bigger, stronger, and unified Great Wall.
Qin dynasty (see map pg 65) 220-210 BC -Wall-building was crime against people.
Qin Shi Huang: -Fought nomadic tribes to the north and was not having a lot of success. -Orders construction of an immense defensive wall -Local resources, rammed earth -Hundreds of thousands of men needed for construction -How many died? Hundreds of thousands? Millions?
-Subsequent dynasties didn’t keep wall in constant repair because the cost outweighed the value, and were not very good at keeping intruders out.
Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty -Rebuilt because they had no other way to defend against the Mongols. During the first part of the Ming rule they tried to use offensive attacks and trade to control the Mongols.
1449- Emperor Yingzong leads an army into Mongol territory, allowing himself to be captured and his followers to be slaughtered. Instead of rescuing Yingzang or paying a ransom, the Ming install a new emperor.
-Then disagreement between officials took place of how the control the Mongols, reject all contact or increase trade. This went on for decades and the Mongols grew stronger.
1542- Altan Khan captures or kills over 200,000 Chinese people in a single month. During the raids he stole over a million head of horse and cattle and burned down several thousand houses.
Because of these events, and one’s like them, the Ming invests heavily in reconstructing the Great Wall (210).
-It wasn't until the European explorers and missionaries arrived that the Chinese realized how magnificent their wall was. “The seven wonders of the world put together are not comparable to this work; and all Fame hath published concerning it among the Europeans, comes far short of what I myself have seen.” -European missionary/scholar Ferdinand Verbiest
Facts about The Great Wall
-Averages twenty-five feet high and wide. -1,500 miles from its westernmost point at Jiayuguan in Gansu to its easternmost point at Shanhaiguan, near Beijing. -Provo to LA= 560 miles -Provo to Vancouver, CAN= 737 miles -Provo to Detroit, MI= 1489 miles -Provo to Columbus, OH= 1512 miles -Provo to Pensacola, FL= 1529 -Provo to Toronto, CAN= 1669 miles -Provo to Boston/New York= @2000 miles
(http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/distance.html?p1=2128)
-The majority of the existing wall was reconstructed during the Ming Dynasty.
-Scientists conclude that the walls stretch over 8,851.8 km (5,500.3 mi). This is figure includes 6,259.6 km (3,889.5 mi) of actual wall, 359.7 km (223.5 mi) of trenches and 2,232.5 km (1,387.2 mi) of natural defense barriers such as mountains and rivers. (Wiki)
-Realizing its value, 20th century Chinese have retransformed the Great Wall into a symbol of China’s indomitable will.
References
Ebrey, Patricia. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. 2nd edition. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 65, 208-212. Print.