Historical Significance of the Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China was constructed over a period of 2,000 years from brick, earth, stone and wood, depending on the technology of the time of construction. The Great Wall is over 5,500 miles long, located between Shanhaiguan in the east and Lop Nur in the West. It borders Inner Mongolia in the north of China. It is significant enough in size to be seen from earth's orbit.

Origin and Pre-Qin Period

The Great Wall originated in 221 B.C. as a series of small walls constructed by "the Seven Powers." Built in order to maintain boundaries between kingdoms and protect against soldiers, swords and spears, these walls were built out of wood, dirt and pre-existing natural borders, such as mountains.

Qin Dynasty

In 221 A.D., Qin overthrew the Seven Kingdoms. In order to protect his kingdom, he repaired, consolidated and built new walls, such as a western wall that runs from what is now Yongdeng to Jiuquan.

Han Dynasty

In 202 B.C. the Qin was overthrown by the Han who, despite the economic and political turmoil of the time, continued to alter and add to the wall to protect his lands from invasion. Mostly notable is the Hexi-Region Wall of Han Dynasty, which originated as three smaller walls that Han eventually had joined as one.

Northern Dynasties

The Han Dynasty was overthrown in 208 B.C.; little work was done on the walls between this time and the beginning of the Northern and Southern Dynasties in 420 A.D. The Northern Qi and the Northern Zhou Dynasty later did massive reconstruction work on pre-existing portions of the Great Wall.

Sui Dynasties

In 589, after obtaining the throne from Zhou, Sui commenced massive construction and repair work on the wall, involving over 1,500,000 laborers.

Ming Dynasty

During the Ming period, more elaborate walls and towers were built under intense deadlines and pre-existing walls were repaired in order to protect the lands against invaders and nomads.

References

• Great Wall
• All About the Great Wall of China