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Ming Dynasty Research Paper

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The Great Wall of the Han Dynasty (202BC-220AD) followed characteristics of the Qin Dynasty because they both built their walls based on local conditions, and they both used local materials (Travel Guide). Earth and stones were still popular building tools during this time period; construction type did not really change that much until the Ming Dynasty came along. For example, the area they worked in grew a lot of poplar, dogbane, red willow, and bulrush ("Great wall of China tour"). The branches of the plants were used as the base. The branches were covered with a layer of sun-dried mud bricks mixed with grit, and the layer above was smashed with bulrush ("Great wall of China tour"). The average thickness of the bulrush layer measured 1.6 …show more content…

The Ming received many disturbances from nearby minority tribes such as Dadan, Tufan, and Nuzhen, so the Ming court’s emperors emphasized the continued building of walls. The Ming portion of the Great Wall is the most complete and strongest structure of all of the other dynasties because the Ming dynasty took past experiences from the other dynasties and improved all of the problems they identified. Using bricks for majority of the building purposes were a major contribution to the wall. Bricks were more a convenient material than earth and stone as their small size and light weight made it better for workers to carry and ultimately quickened the speed of construction. Bricks were also the ideal material to bear the weight needed to support the wall. According to a sample experiment experiencing gravity and erosion over a hundred years, the brick’s compressive strength and resistance to freezing and absorbency during that time are similar to today's common bricks. A huge brick from a hundred years ago shows a high level of technological skill for that time period. To continue the ease of construction, different shapes of brick were also burned and made to insert into different places. Besides bricks, other changes were important factors as well, such as adding more military fortifications to the wall, creating big wide moats in the flat areas outside the wall to make intruder approach a lot more difficult, and creating terraces. Terraces are small areas that protrude from the wall, and it allowed soldiers to be active in close combat. Enemy soldiers have even camped right outside the wall, and they waited for their opportunity to strike and invade; however, the creation of the terraces allowed soldiers to stop their enemies’ plan. The terraces are a very useful advantage due to their height and location. Looking down on enemies always gives that side the upper hand in a battle. Soldiers on the wall

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Emperor Qin was the first to order the wall. The next dynasty that continued to expand and add segments to the wall was the Han dynasty who over through the Qin dynasty. During the Han dynasty the Xiongnu became a big problem. Thousands of years later, the Ming dynasty stepped in and built huge stone wall building

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The Great Wall was constructed thousands of years ago. It was built over a span of 2,000 years and measures to be over 5,400 miles long. Over the 2,000 years of its construction, many dynasties would help construct it. Some of them were the Qin and Han dynasties. The wall would act as a barrier to help keep enemy’s out.

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Did you know that over 1 million people died build the great wall? In the great wall the main ingredient was mud, no wonder so many people died. “Soldiers died from sickness, hunger, and weather, that just goes to show how bad of rulers they were. ”(Document E) The Chinese soldiers faced heavy fighting from the Xiongnu and 80% of them died.(Document E)

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Although many people died while building it, The Great Wall provided protection, helped merchants and travelers and contributed to China’s social rank, beauty, and

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When most people think of China they might think about the Great Wall Of China, but what they do not know is all the problems China had to build and protect it. The Xiongnu kept invading the Han in 206 BC so the Han decided to build a wall which is now called The Great Wall Of China. In my essay I will be discussing how the Great Wall was not worth the cost because of the high mortality rate, the time and the harsh working conditions, and the continuous tribute paid to the Xiongnu. The first reason the cost did outweigh the benefits is because of high mortality. Many people died in Ancient China when building the wall.

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They reinforced and expanded the Great Wall of China (video) continuously throughout their dynasty’s reign. Much of the Great Wall as we know it today was built during the Ming dynasty.

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Although the Great Wall was built for protection, it did not do it’s job too well. The Xiongnu and Mongols from the north were able to build tall ladders, group together, and charge over a small section of the wall (Cope 163). However despite that fact, the Great Wall was still an important part of the Chinese because the Chinese Emperor was able to think of a method of a series of signal towers, which alerted from far away to the Chinese that a attack was coming and so they they were ready for it (Waldron 63). By having a pile of flammable black smoke powder, on each tower on the Great Wall, the Chinese Emperor was able to deceive an important strategy to make the Great Wall extremely useful (Waldron 64). When signs of a attack was coming,

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The process of building the Great Wall created problems because it made citizens unhappy, as shown when there was social unrest during the Qin dynasty because of high taxes and forced labor (Langmead and Garnaut 2017). The legacy of literature detailing the suffering caused by the Great Wall also shows the citizens unhappiness and how the Great Wall negatively affected the citizens of ancient China. While the Great Wall was meant to keep dynasties in power longer by controlling the nomads of the steppe (Turnbull 2007, 7), it brought about the ends of the Qin and Han for other reasons. The social unrest caused by the construction of the Qin Great Wall led to the downfall of the Qin dynasty (Langmead and Garnaut 2017), and the cash taxes of the Han dynasty to pay for the Great Wall and the Han’s new form of military to guard the Great Wall and push the Xiongnu back in order to build the wall caused peasants to become indebted to wealthy landlords who would buy the peasants’ grain or give them loans (Lewis 2007, 22). This decentralized the power of the Han and put it in landlords’ hands, which eventually led to the fall of the Han.

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