The Great Wall Of China

The Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China was not built in any short space of time and was actually the product of over a thousand years worth of war, building, re-building and modifying. The Chinese were accomplished fortification builders even as far back as the 8th century BC, however, these walls were built mainly to repel small arms such as the sword and spear therefore made of hard packed earth or gravel held up by wooden boards. During the Warring states period of the 5th century to 221 BC Qin Shi Huang conquered and then unified all the states under the Qin Dynasty and ordered the construction of a new wall to protect from the Xiongnu people of the north. The later Dynasties of Han, Sui, Northern and Jin all rebuilt and expanded the wall. Much of this wall has eroded away with the passage of time and little remains. Much later, in the year 1449 AD, the Ming dynasty revived the idea of the wall. This was brought about after successive defeats to the Nomadic tribes of the North taking a toll on the Empire. A new strategy had to be employed. Walls were built along the Northern border of China but did not encompass the Ordos Desert and acknowledged Mongolian control of the area. These walls were far superior to earlier vallations due to the use of bricks and stone instead of rammed earth. Over the years and the Ming devoted time and resources to repair and reinforce the walls. The Great wall was finally crossed by the Manchu army of Yuan Chonghuan because a Ming border general, unhappy with the New Shun dynasties activities opened the gate at the Shanhaiguan pass. The Manchus quickly seized Beijing and began the rule of the new Qing dynasty. With the ruling of the Manchus there was now no need for the Ming’s wall so repair and reinforcing was discontinued and China’s boundaries extended far beyond the wall, annexing Mongolia into the Empire.