Of all the objects created by human hands, none is quite so spectacular as the Great Wall of China. For one thing, it is quite simply the largest man-made object on Earth, the only human creation visible from the Moon. It is a monumental achievement, perhaps the best-known symbol of China throughout the world.
Begun under the reign of the emperor Ch'in Shih-huang-ti in 221 b. c., the Wall was built to repel invaders threatening China from the north. Originally it stretched some 1,500 miles (2,414 kilometers), but it was later extended by the Han Dynasty after 200 B. C. Still later, under the Ming Dynasty,
Which ruled from a. d. 1 368 to 1644, further improvements were made.
Because parts of it were later torn down, the Great Wall is not one continuous structure. Nonetheless, it stretches some 2,150 miles (3,460 kilometers) across northern China. Nor is it just a humble stone fence: its height ranges from 20 to 30 feet (6 to 9 meters). It is 12 feet (3.7 meters) across, broad enough for two mounted warriors to pass one another without either having to move to the side. It is made of earth and stone, with a brick exterior, and is dotted with hundreds and hundreds of guard towers.
The north, the Hsiung Nu (shung NOO), relatives of the Huns who would later threaten the Roman Empire. Its location in the cold mountains and deserts of northern China was an inhospitable one. Some 300,000 people worked on the Great Wall, and thousands of them—the exact death toll will probably never be known—died building it.
For all their labors, the Great Wall, built for the purpose of keeping out the “barbarians” from the north, failed to do so; the invaders simply kept coming around it. On the other hand, many of these nomadic tribes—most notably the Huns—kept moving westward, where they would influence the histories of Persia and India as well as Europe. In this way, the building of the Great Wall had an enormous impact not only on Chinese history, but on world history.
Ch'in Shih-huang-ti died in 210 b. c. and was buried in a style as lavish as that of any Egyptian pharaoh. His tomb con-
Tained some 6,000 life-size soldiers made of terra-cotta (TARE-uh KAH-tuh), a type of clay. It was as though the soldiers, many of which sat on terra-cotta horses, were ready to go into battle. A vast array of other treasures have been discovered in the tomb, including chariots, weapons, and even items of linen and silk. Discovered in 1974, the tomb is one of the greatest archaeological sites in the world.
During his lifetime, the people had been unhappy with the iron rule of Ch'in Shih-huang-ti, but because of his enormous power, no one had dared to revolt. After his death, however, a power struggle ensued. Finally in 202 b. c., a new leader named Liu Pang (lee-YOO BAHNG) emerged to establish the Han (HAHN) Dynasty.
World History
