The Great Wall of China - with References
The Great Wall of China is a monument that has been globally recognised as a symbol of China for years. This essay discusses the Great Wall of China from three aspects. Firstly we’ll discuss the historical aspect including who built The Great Wall of China and the man-power behind the project. Secondly, we’ll look at the political reasons behind why it was built and thirdly we’ll examine the cultural significance in terms of tourism, legends and other topics that have been associated with the wall.
The Great Wall of China is a national symbol which represents the input of millions of people from different periods in Chinese history. This makes its historical significance quite extensive (Great Wall 1998, p. 6). The construction lasted throughout 10 dynasty’s (Rucai n.d., para 9). During this time there have been four major walls built in the following historical periods. The Qin Dynasty (221-206), The Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), the Five dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (1138-1198). Also including The Hongwu Emperor until The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1620) (Great Wall 2012, para 4). The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi is closely associated with this monument, who ordered the incorporation of regional walls that were built by warring sates, into a few connecting walls. Unfortunately there are almost no remains from this period (Steinhardt 2000, p. 214). There were many changes and reformations of the wall during the following years, although considerable construction of the wall was during the Ming Dynasty. In this time emperors were committed to building on a larger scale and with better materials (Rosenberg n.d., para 3). The wall was taken so seriously during the Ming Dynasty that if damage or reasonable problems occurred with the project, the officer who was deemed in charge of that particular area, was prosecuted or punished. China places immense historical value on emperors who ruled throughout the dynasty’s connected with the
The Great Wall of China is a national symbol which represents the input of millions of people from different periods in Chinese history. This makes its historical significance quite extensive (Great Wall 1998, p. 6). The construction lasted throughout 10 dynasty’s (Rucai n.d., para 9). During this time there have been four major walls built in the following historical periods. The Qin Dynasty (221-206), The Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), the Five dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (1138-1198). Also including The Hongwu Emperor until The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1620) (Great Wall 2012, para 4). The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi is closely associated with this monument, who ordered the incorporation of regional walls that were built by warring sates, into a few connecting walls. Unfortunately there are almost no remains from this period (Steinhardt 2000, p. 214). There were many changes and reformations of the wall during the following years, although considerable construction of the wall was during the Ming Dynasty. In this time emperors were committed to building on a larger scale and with better materials (Rosenberg n.d., para 3). The wall was taken so seriously during the Ming Dynasty that if damage or reasonable problems occurred with the project, the officer who was deemed in charge of that particular area, was prosecuted or punished. China places immense historical value on emperors who ruled throughout the dynasty’s connected with the