Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Great Wall of China

Satisfactory Essays
507 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China served its purpose as a great defensive wall. It was constructed over many dynasties; however, the main structure was built between 221 and 201 B.C. The wall was built to stop tribes from invading from the north. It was cleverly built with simple materials. During the Qin dynasty it especially achieved its purpose by defending the Chinese people from the Mongols.

The Great Wall of China was built to protect the Chinese people from invasion. The Xiongnu tribes from the north invaded the Chinese and stole their crops and farm animals. The enemies had horses and found it easy to invade China. A reliable source states that “ The Qin dynasty was a turning point in the history of the Great Wall of China”. Emperor Shi Huangdi united the warring states and created a single imperial dynasty. He ordered for the walls to be united so they would be protested from the north. It certainly served as a defensive wall.

The Great Wall of China was a success because it was cleverly designed and built. It is the longest wall in the world, extending over 5000 kilometers. On average, the wall is seven meters high and five meters wide. They used a great deal of different materials, depending on the region e.g. granite, stone, wood and piles of rubble. Methods used in the construction of the wall included: labours carrying materials on their shoulder or backs and in winter water was splashed on the icy road and the stones were pushed or pulled along. Simple machinery was used, for example rolling logs, crowbars and winding gear. Hundreds of thousands of peasants, prisoners and political foes were forced to work on the Great Wall of China. It is said for every stone block used, every person died and it is also called the longest graveyard in the world. Chinese people were very creative when they built the Great Wall.

There are many reasons why the Great Wall of China was a great defensive wall. Firstly, the wall served as a key role in military communications. One of the clever ideas was to send a smoke signal, so this gave the Chinese advantage during wars as they knew when the enemy was approaching. Forts, passes garrisons and beacon towers were built along the wall to house soldiers and store weapons. This provided great protection from the enemy because they were ready to fight. Secondly, Shi Huangdi built one continuous wall. This meant no one could get through from the north. The wall severed its role as a defensive force to protect the Chinese people from wars. It meant they could have peaceful and stable society.

I strongly believe that the Great Wall of China served its purpose as a great defensive wall. A reliable source states that “It is considered as one of the marvels of the ancient world “. It was cleverly built and stopped the Xiongnu tribes and other enemies from invading their territory. This is why the Great Wall of China is so great.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In order to control their populace and prevent invasions by nomadic people, the roman and Han empires developed powerful militaries and elaborate infrastructures. The roman army was known for its power and strength throughout the Mediterranean world due to their organization, training, and advanced weaponry. Roman roads, which were paved with stone, were at the heart of the roman infracstructure and allowed the roman army to quickly put down and rebellion and stop the invasions from the Germanic barbarians. The Han dynasty developed a powerful military to enforce the Mandate of Heaven and stop the constant nomadic invasions from the Huns in the north. Infrastructure in China was extensive and the size of the Great Wall demonstrated the strength of the Chinese military, intimidated the Chinese peasants, and slowed the invasions from the north. Both imperial rome and the Han dynasty spent a tremendous amount of their tax revenue on developing an extensive infrastructure to control their empire and fend off nomadic invasions. In the same way that the roman roads were used to enforce the political control of the roman emperor, the Great Wall of china was used to remind the peasants of the strength of the Chinese emperor and his connection to the heavens. Political control was accomplished in imperial roman and the Han dynasty through militaries that could control the peasants and protect the…

    • 318 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Great Wall Dbq Analysis

    • 101 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Great Wall was first built by the Qin Dynasty and Han dynasty for protection but however the benefits do not outweigh the cost. For example ,in Document C it state that they lost many citizens so. This shows that how it supports my claim because it talks about how this was worse than the benefit.To add on in Document B it stated how they still have to pay the mongols even though they had the Great Wall.This also shows how the cost did not outweigh the costs because they still were insecure even though they had a Wall for…

    • 101 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Great Wall of China was originally built by the Qin & Han Dynasty , their reasoning for building the Great Wall were they needed protection from the Xiongnu Mongols . However the Benefits did not outweigh the Cost. According to Document C , it shows that building the wall had a lot of cost instead of benefits some of the cost were soldiers had to work on it for years 300,000 men had to leave there homes and that thousands of soldiers died from hunger , sickness, and extreme heat or cold . This shows that if the Great Wall was not built then all of those men would not have died .…

    • 114 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    How Did Emperor Qin Rule

    • 416 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The article “Who was Shi Huangdi and what area did he rule?”, stated Qin improved China by creating a wall known as The Great Wall of China to protect the civilization. “Shi Huangdi ordered the joining of several earlier walls on China’s northern border to be unified and to be into a single system of walls to protect the empire from attacks from the north.” When he built the Great Wall of China, this made China much safer than it was before because the wall surrounded…

    • 416 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    DBQ

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages

    (Doc A) used at the northern border (Doc B) slaves, willing peasants and convicts were selected to settle near the wall as a barrier. (Doc C) the Xiongnu tribute was were they gave silks and other thing to the Xiongnu witch helped the Xiongnu calm down and made them not want to attack the wall or the people as much.The Wall also provide protection on the northern border from the Xiongnu. Without the wall on the northern border many more people could of died from invasions from the Xiongnu. The people that were forced to settle near the wall was a smart decision because they were not very important already but when they settled near the border it helped as a second barrier against the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu tribute helped a lot because it made the Xiongnu calm down and make them not attack the wall or the people that is why it…

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Great Wall of Ancient China was built by the two dynasties, the Qin first started to building the Great Wall, then the Han continued to build the wall, but the reason why the two dynasties wanted to build the wall was to protect from the Xiongnu and other invaders invading, but all the benefits of the wall didn't outweigh the cost of building wall. The wall was constructed be thousands of soldiers, slaves, peasants, etc. Many died due to to hunger, dehydration, and extreme whether. In Document C, it states, " ... tens of thousands of soldiers died from hunger, sickness, and extreme heat or cold. No exact numbers of deaths are available. "…

    • 156 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Han China and Athens had a great deal of differences just on their physical features. The country of Greece was broken into city-states. The main most important city-state is Athens. Each city-state had mostly mountains and water separating them. The rocky farmland and hills made it good to grow olives and grapes. Other than that, Athens did not have many great aspects in natural resources or size. Although China was larger, it did not split apart into cities. Instead, China stayed a whole Country. To have protection from the north, China built The Great Wall of China. It stretched about 3,000 miles across the northern part of China. The Chinese invented the first paper, pulley, the first large silk industry, and the first studies of the planets and sun spots. Han China was approximately six thousand miles away from Greece. It also had quite a lead over Greece in population. Also the…

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nebuchadnezzar was also one of the most renowned builders in the Near East. He made Babylon the most beautiful city in the region. Around the city, he built walls, which formed a square. The walls were 9 miles long, and further after the walls there was a moat to keep invaders out. Herodotus said that the wall was 320 feet high, with 250 watchtowers, 80 feet thick, and had 100 bronze gates. He also built the magnificent Ishtar Gate, which was a double gate at the south end of the processional way. It was covered with animal structures and blue glazed bricks. Not only did he build Ishtar 's Gate, which made visitors stop in awe, but he also built himself a great palace. He paved the street sidewalks with small red stone slabs, and added a personal message on the edge of each one.…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Great Wall was built by the Qin & the Han Dynasty. They built the wall to keep out the Mongols. However, the benefits did not outweigh the cost. According to Document C, soldiers were forced to leave their families. And many of them died from starvation. The cause of the soldiers dying was from the building of the Great Wall and not having enough resources. With the soldiers dying there will be a lower population & less soldiers to defend the people of there village. Next, according to Document B, the Han Dynasty still had to pay tribute to the Mongols even after the wall was built. This shows the benefits did not outweigh the cost because the Han Dynasty was still losing resources and soldiers. In the end the benefits did not…

    • 154 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Around 200 BC, the Qin emperor, Shi Huangdi, wanted to protect his dynasty so he built the Great Wall of China for protection from invaders. The wall helped Shi Huangdi keep his government strong which brought many costs but many benefits as well. It is important to know the reasons for which the wall was built so we can determine if the benefits how weighed the costs. The benefits in building the wall outweighed the costs because it protected China, it created a better safety system, and it allowed China to grow.…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    13. Daoism- is the belief of finding the “way” or the dao of the Universe.…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tang and Ming Dynasties

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The technological advancements made by the Tang Dynasty were often repaired and restored by the Ming Dynasty later on. However, certain advancements made by the Tang were not adopted by the Ming. The Tang constructed the Great Wall of China and the Ming took part in the repairing and completion of the structure. Woodblock printing was invented during the time of the Tang Dynasty used to make the written word available to vastly greater audiences. Among the earliest of their documents to be printed was the Chinese calendar.…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall are two of the greatest building achievements completed by the Romans. There are many differences between these two walls most notably the materials used in there construction. Hadrian’s wall was made a both stone and turf while the main material used on the Antonine Wall was turf. They also differ in the structures that can be found along the wall and the dimensions of the walls. There was a different level of planning that went into each wall and the number for soldiers stationed on each there also varies. The reason each wall was constructed is also different. Hadrian believed that at that time the best foreign policy was one of consolidation rather than expansion. The wall also restricted the communication capabilities of the Brigantes with those in southern Scotland, which was responsible for some local…

    • 2325 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Great Wall of China had its positive and negatives effects. The costs for the Wall outweighed the benefits. Many soldiers and people died, China lost silk fabric and silk floss over the years, and it took over 100 years to build the Great Wall.…

    • 249 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Great Wall Of China

    • 159 Words
    • 1 Page

    The most recognizable symbol of China is the Great wall of china.The wall was built in 259-210 BC because all China’s seven kingdoms were at war and they built them for protection.The wall was the most largest construction projects ever completed.The wall never succeeded to keep out the barbarians.The wall had beacons and watch towers and they were all linked together by the wall.When the workers had to send a message the workers would send a smoke signal,lanterns,and beacon fires.…

    • 159 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays