Great Wall of China

Great Wall of China

Thesis Statement

One of the greatest wonders of the world is the Great Wall. It is the world's largest military structure. It's very important due to its incredible history.

Introduction

The Great Wall is more than 2,000 years old. Stretching 4,500 miles from the mountains of Korea to the Gobi desert, it was first built to protect the ancient Chinese empire from raiding tribes from the north. Eventually, it evolved into something much greater. It took the efforts of 3 dynasties to complete the masterpiece that stands today. The Qin, Han, and Ming dynasties all contributed to the construction of the Great Wall.

Great Wall of China: The Cost in Life and Treasure in the Building

The Great Wall is a series of walls built and rebuilt by different dynasties over 1,000 years. The Great Wall had 3 major components: passes, signal towers, and walls. Passes were major strongholds along the wall. The passes were usually positioned as the key point of a trade route. Also, passes were used as a passageway for soldiers and patrols. Signal towers (beacon towers) were used to send military communications by fires or lanterns during the night, or by smoke signals in the daytime. Additional methods were raising banners, beating clappers, and firing guns. Signal towers were often built on hilltops for great visibility. At lower levels, there were rooms for soldiers, stables, sheepfolds, and storage areas. The body of the wall was the key part of the defense system. It usually stood 21.3 feet wide at the base and 19 feet at the top, with an average height of 23-26 feet. The structure of the wall varied depending where the walls were being built, and who was building them.

The oldest section of the wall began in 221 B.C, the Qin dynasty. This was short after China was unified into an empire. The first Chinese emperor was Qin Shi Huang. He restored the ruins of older walls and liked them together to start the formation of the Great Wall. This was started to protect China from intruders. Qin was a harsh ruler who basically had thought control over the people. People were not allowed to speak out against the emperor. Many books were burned if the book was not about the Qin family. (www.greatwall-of-china.com) This was done to prevent free thinking. If someone spoke bad about the empire or was an intellectual, they were sentenced to forced labor on the Great Wall. Many people feared labor at the Wall because it was a death sentence. Everyone died while working at the Great Wall. Qin's harsh ruling resulted in a 3,000 mile Wall.

Much of the Qin Wall was built with dryland native stone. But where stone was scarce, engineers built the Wall from layers of compacted earth. (www.travelchinaguide.com) The compacted earth process began with a simple wooden frame. Workers filled the frame with loose earth, which was then reduced into a compact layer 4 inches thick. The process was repeated layer upon layer, and ...