The Great Wall of China is one of the most spectacular architecture in the world. And what is even more intriguing is that its history can be traced back thousands of years. So which dynasty started it in the first place?
According to historical records, as early as the 7th century B.C., the principalities of Western Zhou (1045 B.C. – 771 B.C.) had started to build castles connected by walls to guard them against each other and the invasion of nomads from the north. But these buildings were distinct from what we know as the Great Wall today since most were built from mud and stretched only hundreds of kilometers.
Then, when Qin finally defeated all its opponents and united China after hundreds of years of wars in 221 B.C., it immediately shifted its attention to the enemies to the north – the Huns. In 215 B.C. Qin Shi Huang (the first emperor of China) dispatched 300,000 soldiers led by general Meng Tian to fight the nomads.
After dispelling them out of the south of the Yellow River, Qin Shi Huang recruited nearly 1,000,000 laborers (about 5% of the country’s population) to renovate the existing walls, connect them, and build new ones to prevent the nomads from coming back again. The project did not even finish at the demise of Qin. But the embryo of the Great Wall had surfaced. Back then, it stretched over 50,000 kilometers and guarded most of the northern border.
In general, there were walls in China in about the 7th century B.C. in the Western Zhou dynasty. But the Great Wall we see now was initially built in the Qin dynasty.
Other facts about the Great Wall
- When was the Great Wall of China built?
- How long is the Great Wall of China?
- How long did it take to build the Great Wall of China?
- Who built the Great Wall of China?
- Why was the Great Wall of China built
- How many workers did it take to build the Great Wall of China?
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- Where is the Great Wall of China
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- How tall and wide is the Great Wall of China?
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