The Great Wall of China

Sofia Sani
Global Studies 9B
December 8, 2015


The Great Wall of China
By Sofia Sani

The Great Wall of China, or the Chang Cheng in Chinese, is one of the largest and most amazing pieces of architecture in our world. It is located in China. China is the largest country in Asia and is the worlds most populated country. China has created many many great things including gunpowder, paper and printing, porcelain, silk, and the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall of China is made up of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood and many other things to creat a series of fortifications. Fortifications are military constructions or buildings built as defense for the territories in warfare. It is not all one wall but many walls built and compiled over 2,000 years. It is built along the east-to-west line of the border in northern China. The Great Wall started out as many small walls that were then joined together to make a stronger and bigger wall. The wall is there to protect China from raids and invasions from outsiders. It also works as border control and allowing goods to be transported in and out of China along the silk roads. The Great Wall stretches from the east to west, from Dandong to Lop Lake. The watchtowers are 30-40 feet high and the base is 40 feet wide. The watchtowers are connected by a couple miles of wall. The Great Wall stretches around 13,000 miles and was built in 206 BC.
When China became an empire under the rule of Qin Shi Huang, he ordered the construction of the wall to keep the Moguls out. The wall surrounded Beijing, which was thought to be the center of the empire. The wall wasn't as stable as it is now and soon the defenses became weak and China was taken over by the Ming Dynasty. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Jaijing, had sat on the throne of the Ming dynasty since 1522. Back then the Ming Dynasty didn't trade with anyone, they just traded with each other and grew crops in the empire. Jaijing tasked general Weng Wanda with the task of building on the wall and making it greater, taller, longer and stronger. He wanted to protect the empire from the Mongols and their raids. The Mongols were constantly asking to set up trading posts to trade with Jaijing. In 1549 a Mongol peasant led a raid to try to break down the wall. The Great Wall was thought to be impenetrable. Finally, the Mongols found a weak stop on the wall and broke through. For three days they burned, terrorized, and ruined the city. On September 30, 1550, the Mongol raiders got to the center of the city. The Mongols sent a prisoner of war with a message to Jaijing. The message only asks for trading posts to be set up, nothing more. Confused by this meager request, the emperor question the validity of the letter. Soon Jaijing decided that he will not negotiate with murderers so he said no and to send a formal request. Years later they opened up some trading posts in the watchtowers of the Great Wall.
The Great Wall of China follows the mountain lines and travels many ups and downs, from the tops of the mountains to the bottoms of the valleys. The workers who worked on the wall were treated terribly and under very harsh conditions. They were abused physically and verbally and the pay was terrible. The rates they were forced to work at were crazy, three kilometers of the wall was created in 6 days with under 3,000 workers! So many of the workers died and were buried in the wall. Finally, when the wall was finished, they got guards to stay on watch. The guards who stayed on the wall were payed very little, if at all, for the Great Wall bankrupt the Ming Dynasty. Smoke signals were used to tell other guards that invaders were coming and the guards would then gather together and fend off the invaders. Even through the countless deaths and all the bloodshed, an amazing architectural feat was accomplished that is still standing strong today.