Great Wall Of China Research Paper

Looking back over the course of history and all of the past engineering achievements, the Great Wall of China is one engineering achievement I would have loved to have been a part of. I chose this specific innovation because I believe people have just as much power, if not more, than a machine. Teamwork is very important when it comes to engineering and finishing a product. In Chinese history, over 20 states and dynasties have built the wall, and the sections built in Qin, Han, and the Ming dynasties exceed over 5,000 miles (Travel Guide). In 2009, China's State Administration announced that the length of the wall of Ming Dynasty is 5,500.3 miles (Travel Guide). An archaeological survey in 2012 revealed the formal total measurement of the Great

Large amounts of stones, bricks, earth, and pieces of wood and lime were frequently carried by labors on their shoulders or backs (Education). The labors were three groups of people, soldiers, common people, and criminals. There were 300,000 soldiers that were the main group of constructors (Travel Guide). Millions of common people were put to use, and they consistently worked on building different sections of the wall. Criminals were forced to work on the wall as a form of punishment. While the sun was up, they were ordered to patrol the wall; when the sun was not up, they were ordered to build and keep extending the wall. Laws at that time states that criminals were forced to participate in this process for at least four years. The second component that was used were simple tools; for example, the workers used crow bars, rolling logs, and winding gears to help carry some of the materials used to build to the mountains. In valleys, stones were put into baskets, then they tied the baskets to the rope and set it down along the rope to the opposite valleys (Education). This process greatly reduced manpower and made the materials slightly easier to transport. Thirdly, animals were even used to help transport goods and help laborers get from place to place. Certain animals that were good at climbing mountains like goats and donkeys were weighted down with bricks, stones, and other building materials; the animals were

The Period of the Warring States which dates from 476 BC - 221 BC, was an era when the seven states Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei, and Qin were busy engaging in many wall constructions for self-defense (Rosenberg). In the year 221 BC, Emperor Qin Shihuang defeated all his enemies and unified China for the first time in its history (Travel Guide). During his reign, the Huns from the north were a constant threat, often coming down to the Yellow River Basin and taking land from people in the Hetao Area, located at the top of the Great Bend of the Yellow River in Ningxia and Inner Mongolia. To protect his people and safeguard his political power, the Emperor ordered General Meng Tian, who commanded 300,000 soldiers, to do whatever it took to defend their land (Travel Guide). The Great wall actually started out as separate walls built from each dynasty to protect themselves from invader attacks and for border purposes; however, they were a failure to each dynasty. Emperor Qin Shihuang wanted to prevent further attacks from the Huns, so he decided to consolidate with the dynasties and emphasize his ideas. His ideas were to extend each of the different walls together to form the Great Wall of China. He also wanted to form new sections as well to make the wall even longer. With some support, the Emperor then started the process and ordered laborers to work full