For generations, the Chinese people have farmed their fertile land. Ancient China was ruled by emperors* who kept order and maintained harmony as China prospered and Chinese culture flourished.The nomadic tribes, north of China, led a different life style. Because the nomads* lived on the steppe* where there was insufficient rainfall to grow crops, they moved from place to place grazing sheep and trading horses for food and clothing. They were very skilled at hunting and fighting.The nomadic tribes, such as the Mongols, traded horses to their Chinese neighbors for things they could not produce themselves such as grain, silk and iron.The great differences between the two cultures often led to conflict. When the nomads could not get what they wanted by trading, they would steal and plunder from the Chinese to get what they wanted.Different emperors throughout the ages had different ways of dealing with the nomads. Some tried making peace treaties, some sent soldiers to fight the nomads and some tried to encourage rules and regulations for trading between the two cultures. Other emperors built walls to keep the nomadic invaders out of China.Qin Shi Huangdi (chin shi hwong-dee) was the first emperor of China (221 B.C.-206 B.C.). He is credited for creating a unified China by conquering independent states know as the Warring States. In order to defend his new unified country against invading nomads, Qin Shi Huangdi built the first long wall in China. According to Chinese legend, more than 800,000 soldiers, peasants and prisoners worked for 10 years to build it. Over the years, the wall fell into ruins and other walls were built by other emperors to keep out invaders wherever they appeared.The nomads were a disjointed group with insufficient man power to conquer China despite their fierceness until Genghis Khan, a talented and ambitious fighter, impressed other tribes to join with him to plunder China's riches. For many years the fighting went on. Many people and cities were destroyed. In 1279, Genghis Khan's grandson, Khubilai or Kublai Khan (koo-bill-eye-kahn) overthrew the last emperor of China and took the throne for himself and his descendants and named his new dynasty the Yuan Dynasty. Khan ruled from the city that we know today as Beijing. During this time, Marco Polo arrived at Khan's court. Polo traveled to China from his home in Italy and stayed in China for the next 17 years. It was Polo's reports about China, after returning home to Italy, that sparked great interest in China among Europeans.During Khubilai Khan's reign, he taxed the Chinese people so heavily that many people had little food or money causing much suffering and unrest. The Mongols continued their war like ways on neighboring countries and invaded Japan and Java. Mongol war lords even fought among themselves.A peasant farmer named Zhu Yuanzhang (ju yuon-jong) knew many hardships during this life under the Yuan empire. He devoted himself to the downfall of the Yuan empire. He joined a group called the Red Turbans and became their leader. They attracted many followers and drove the Mongols out of China and back onto the steppe.Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor of China and named his dynasty, Ming. He was a firm ruler and under his leadership, China prospered and grew.In 1449, the Mongols attacked China again and kidnapped Zhu Qizhen, Son of Heaven, sixth emperor of the Ming dynasty and ruler of all China. Once again, power had shifted to the Mongol invaders and they threatened to invade the Forbidden City.The Chinese people were so frightened of the Mongols being in power again that they decided to once again build a wall to keep invaders out.There was no master plan for building this wall. Each leader in a given town built a portion of the wall where they thought the Mongols threat of invasion was the greatest. Construction across northern China continued in this way for 200 years. This way the routes through mountain passes that the Mongols used most often to reach China were blocked with walls. Those walls were then connected with other sections of wall, thus creating the Great Wall of China.In the western part of China, the wall was constructed out of pounded earth, in the eastern part of China, then the city of Peking and now called Beijing, workers used bricks and blocks of stone. Many workers were needed to build the wall. Where it was made of pounded earth, peasants and prisoners were used and where it was made of brick and stone, stonemasons and brick makers were needed. Tens of thousands of men were involved in building the Great Wall of China. Great Wall Fiberglass Window Screening Along the wall, they built forts and watch towers. Soldiers patrolled the walls sending up smoke signals and cannon shot as communication signals if Mongols approached.The wall was built to shape and fit the Chinese landscape it passed through. In the hilly areas, it twisted and turned like a dragon and in the desert, it ran straight. At its eastern end, the Great Wall of China ran into the sea.By 1644, the Great Wall of China ran from Jiayuguan in the west, past the Gobi Desert, across the Yellow River, past Peking (Beijing) all the way to Shanhaiguan on the Bohai Sea in the east. Over time, the world outside China was changing. The Manchus, another nomadic tribe, attacked the Forbidden City and seized power by offering to help the leaders of the Ming dynasty. They instead seized the throne and established the Qing (ching) dynasty. The combined forces of the Manchu and Chinese soldiers drove the Mongols to distant parts of the steppe and the Qing dynasty controlled both sides of the Great Wall and the Mongols were no longer a threat. In 1912, a two year old boy named Pu Yi became the last emperor of China when a revolt led by Sun Yat-sen threw the Manchus out of power. China then became a republic headed by a president. The days of emperors and dynasties had come to an end in China.In 1949, the republic of China led by Chiang Kai-shek, was overthrown by communists led by Mao Zedong. Chiang Kai-shek and his followers fled to the island of Taiwan. Mao Zedong made China a communist country and gave it a new name, the People's Republic of China.Restoration work is still being done on the Great Wall of China. Today, the Great Wall of China is a tourist attraction.
Oct 28, 2008
The Great Wall of China
For generations, the Chinese people have farmed their fertile land. Ancient China was ruled by emperors* who kept order and maintained harmony as China prospered and Chinese culture flourished.The nomadic tribes, north of China, led a different life style. Because the nomads* lived on the steppe* where there was insufficient rainfall to grow crops, they moved from place to place grazing sheep and trading horses for food and clothing. They were very skilled at hunting and fighting.The nomadic tribes, such as the Mongols, traded horses to their Chinese neighbors for things they could not produce themselves such as grain, silk and iron.The great differences between the two cultures often led to conflict. When the nomads could not get what they wanted by trading, they would steal and plunder from the Chinese to get what they wanted.Different emperors throughout the ages had different ways of dealing with the nomads. Some tried making peace treaties, some sent soldiers to fight the nomads and some tried to encourage rules and regulations for trading between the two cultures. Other emperors built walls to keep the nomadic invaders out of China.Qin Shi Huangdi (chin shi hwong-dee) was the first emperor of China (221 B.C.-206 B.C.). He is credited for creating a unified China by conquering independent states know as the Warring States. In order to defend his new unified country against invading nomads, Qin Shi Huangdi built the first long wall in China. According to Chinese legend, more than 800,000 soldiers, peasants and prisoners worked for 10 years to build it. Over the years, the wall fell into ruins and other walls were built by other emperors to keep out invaders wherever they appeared.The nomads were a disjointed group with insufficient man power to conquer China despite their fierceness until Genghis Khan, a talented and ambitious fighter, impressed other tribes to join with him to plunder China's riches. For many years the fighting went on. Many people and cities were destroyed. In 1279, Genghis Khan's grandson, Khubilai or Kublai Khan (koo-bill-eye-kahn) overthrew the last emperor of China and took the throne for himself and his descendants and named his new dynasty the Yuan Dynasty. Khan ruled from the city that we know today as Beijing. During this time, Marco Polo arrived at Khan's court. Polo traveled to China from his home in Italy and stayed in China for the next 17 years. It was Polo's reports about China, after returning home to Italy, that sparked great interest in China among Europeans.During Khubilai Khan's reign, he taxed the Chinese people so heavily that many people had little food or money causing much suffering and unrest. The Mongols continued their war like ways on neighboring countries and invaded Japan and Java. Mongol war lords even fought among themselves.A peasant farmer named Zhu Yuanzhang (ju yuon-jong) knew many hardships during this life under the Yuan empire. He devoted himself to the downfall of the Yuan empire. He joined a group called the Red Turbans and became their leader. They attracted many followers and drove the Mongols out of China and back onto the steppe.Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor of China and named his dynasty, Ming. He was a firm ruler and under his leadership, China prospered and grew.In 1449, the Mongols attacked China again and kidnapped Zhu Qizhen, Son of Heaven, sixth emperor of the Ming dynasty and ruler of all China. Once again, power had shifted to the Mongol invaders and they threatened to invade the Forbidden City.The Chinese people were so frightened of the Mongols being in power again that they decided to once again build a wall to keep invaders out.There was no master plan for building this wall. Each leader in a given town built a portion of the wall where they thought the Mongols threat of invasion was the greatest. Construction across northern China continued in this way for 200 years. This way the routes through mountain passes that the Mongols used most often to reach China were blocked with walls. Those walls were then connected with other sections of wall, thus creating the Great Wall of China.In the western part of China, the wall was constructed out of pounded earth, in the eastern part of China, then the city of Peking and now called Beijing, workers used bricks and blocks of stone. Many workers were needed to build the wall. Where it was made of pounded earth, peasants and prisoners were used and where it was made of brick and stone, stonemasons and brick makers were needed. Tens of thousands of men were involved in building the Great Wall of China. Great Wall Fiberglass Window Screening Along the wall, they built forts and watch towers. Soldiers patrolled the walls sending up smoke signals and cannon shot as communication signals if Mongols approached.The wall was built to shape and fit the Chinese landscape it passed through. In the hilly areas, it twisted and turned like a dragon and in the desert, it ran straight. At its eastern end, the Great Wall of China ran into the sea.By 1644, the Great Wall of China ran from Jiayuguan in the west, past the Gobi Desert, across the Yellow River, past Peking (Beijing) all the way to Shanhaiguan on the Bohai Sea in the east. Over time, the world outside China was changing. The Manchus, another nomadic tribe, attacked the Forbidden City and seized power by offering to help the leaders of the Ming dynasty. They instead seized the throne and established the Qing (ching) dynasty. The combined forces of the Manchu and Chinese soldiers drove the Mongols to distant parts of the steppe and the Qing dynasty controlled both sides of the Great Wall and the Mongols were no longer a threat. In 1912, a two year old boy named Pu Yi became the last emperor of China when a revolt led by Sun Yat-sen threw the Manchus out of power. China then became a republic headed by a president. The days of emperors and dynasties had come to an end in China.In 1949, the republic of China led by Chiang Kai-shek, was overthrown by communists led by Mao Zedong. Chiang Kai-shek and his followers fled to the island of Taiwan. Mao Zedong made China a communist country and gave it a new name, the People's Republic of China.Restoration work is still being done on the Great Wall of China. Today, the Great Wall of China is a tourist attraction.
