Great Wall of China History

The Great Wall of China has its origins in the Spring and Autumn Periods, during the 3rd century BC.  As the kingdoms of Zhao, Qin and Yan fought, each built defensive fortifications to keep the others’ armies at bay. The walls belonging to different states reached a length of 4,971 km  (3,107 miles).

Emperor Qin was victorious in 221 BC and created a new kingdom, the start of a unified China. The Emperor destroyed some sections of walls in the defeated kingdoms as well as connecting and reinforcing others. He ordered construction on a new wall to defend against the threat posed by the Huns in the north The Qin Dynasty Great Wall started in Lianing Province and ended in Gansu province.

During the Han Dynasty larger scale construction on the Great Wall of China took place. Still fearing the northern Huns, sections of the wall were built along the Silk Road. The mountainous Yangguan and Yumenguan  Passes was defended by the Great Wall. In Shanxi Province the important mountain passes were walled. Half of the old silk road trade route was near China’s Great Wall.

Large scale wall construction was not the focus of many dynasties. The Northern Wei, Qi, and Zhou Dynasties built and improved small sections of the wall. During the Tang Dynasty there was peace between China and it’s northern neighbors, little was done to build or improve the Great Wall.

Wall building was more prolific during the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644). The Ming had many problems with northern tribes. After the Battle of Tumu in 1449, during which the Ming Emperor was captured by the Mongols, the Ming Court set upon large scale wall construction to keep out the problematic northerners. For almost 300 years all the Ming Emperors engaged in building the Great Wall of China.

Over 7360 kilometers (4600 miles) of the Great Wall were built from Jiuliancheng near the Korean border to the Jiayuguan Pass in Gansu Province in the west. Wall building greatly improved: In the past, earth and stones had been rammed into bricks for the construction of the wall. The Ming used stone and bricks to build the intricate Great of Wall China still visible today. Watchtowers were built along the wall and 11 garrisons manned the frontier.

Some areas of The Ming Wall were more than a single wall. Some areas had three wall as wells as trenches and other fortifications. During the late 1400s The Ming also constructed the Liaodong Wall. This wall was very basic and protected the agricultural areas of Liaodong Province. Calling this a wall is a misnomer: It was a simple earthen dike with a moat on either side.

The Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1912) little work was done to the Great Wall. Some sections were improved and repaired but this work ceased when The Qing extended their Kingdom into the north making the wall less needed.