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119-694: The site of Mei Pass has been significant since the Qin dynasty (221BCE – 206CE) and its name probably dates from this early period. It was part of one of the five transport routes from the Yangtze valley to Nanhai in present-day Guangzhou. During the Tang (618–907), the site was variously called Qin Pass ( 秦关 ) and Hengpu Pass ( 横浦关 ). In 716, the Chancellor Zhang Jiuling constructed

238-455: A 5 metres (16 ft) wide road through the pass as part of the trade route along the Gan River . Of the old gallery road, Zhang wrote: Formerly, an abandoned road in the east of the pass, Forbidding in the extreme, a hardship for men. An unswerving course: you clambered aloft On the outskirts of several miles of heavy forest, With flying bridges, clinging to the brink Halfway up

357-525: A canal to the south, which they used heavily for supplying and reinforcing their troops during their second attack to the south. Building on these gains, the Qin armies conquered the coastal lands surrounding Guangzhou , and took the provinces of Fuzhou and Guilin . They may have struck as far south as Hanoi . After these victories in the south, Qin Shi Huang moved over 100,000 prisoners and exiles to colonise

476-518: A future sage of "benevolence and righteous", which the First Emperor declares himself to be. Regardless, in the Qin and early Han, criminals may be given amnesties, and then only punished if they did it again. While Dong Zhongshu claimed that Qin officials and taxes were harsh, he did't specifically claim that punishments were harsh for their time: in fact he claimed that the Qin failed to punish criminals. Penal law actually develops more in

595-417: A hierarchy of officials, all serving the First Emperor. The Qin put into practice the teachings of Han Fei , allowing the First Emperor to control all of his territories, including those recently conquered. All aspects of life were standardised, from measurements and language to more practical details, such as the length of chariot axles. The states made by the emperor were assigned to officials dedicated to

714-442: A permanent system of ranks and rewards, consisting of twenty ranks based on the number of enemies killed in battle or commanding victorious units. Ranks were not hereditary unless a soldier died heroically in battle, whereby the soldier's rank will be inherited by his family. Each rank was assigned a specified number of dwellings, slaves and land, and ranks could be used to remit judicial punishments. The form of government created by

833-517: A protracted guerilla war against Kuomintang encirclement. Mei Pass has been designated as a Cultural Relic Protection Unit by the provincial authorities and draws small numbers of domestic tourists. Around 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) of the Tang road and most of the Song fortifications are still extant. Most tourists visit in winter, when the plum blossoms are in full bloom. Qin dynasty This

952-399: A result of their art – Luan Da , a Han dynasty medium, was granted rule over 2,000 households. Han historian Sima Qian was scornful of such practices, dismissing them as foolish trickery. Divinations to predict or influence the future were another form of religious practice during the Qin, including the ancient practice of cracking bones or turtle shells to gain knowledge of

1071-485: A result, men from all over China revolted, attacking officials, raising armies, and declaring themselves kings of seized territories. During this time, Li Si and Zhao Gao fell out, and Li Si was executed. Zhao Gao decided to force Qin Er Shi to commit suicide due to Qin Er Shi's incompetence. Upon this, Ziying , a nephew of Qin Er Shi, ascended the throne, and immediately executed Zhao Gao. Increasing unrest spread amongst

1190-450: A revulsion against the Qin developed over the course of the Han dynasty, centring on Shang Yang and Han Fei as espousing rigorous law and punishment. While Shang Yang, and maybe Han Fei , may have been influential for Qin administration, the Qin otherwise abandoned the harsh penal policy of Shang Yang before its founding. The Qin government was highly bureaucratic , and was administered by

1309-412: A sacrifice to further blur his senses and increase the likelihood of perceiving otherworldly phenomena. Other participants were similarly prepared, though not as rigorously. Such blurring of the senses was also a factor in the practice of spirit intermediaries, or mediumship . Practitioners of the art would fall into trances or dance to perform supernatural tasks. These people would often rise to power as

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1428-586: A state in such turmoil could not hold for long. Ziying was defeated near the Wei River in 207, and surrendered shortly after; he was executed by the Chu leader Xiang Yu . The Qin capital was destroyed the next year, and this is considered by historians to be the end of the Qin Empire. Liu Bang then betrayed and defeated Xiang Yu, and on 28 February 202 BC declared himself Emperor Gaozu ("High Progenitor") of

1547-545: A strong leadership from long-lived rulers, openness to employ talented men from other states, and little internal opposition gave the Qin a strong political base. Another advantage of the Qin was that they had a large, efficient army and capable generals. They used the newest developments in weaponry and transportation as well, which many of their enemies lacked. These latter developments allowed greater mobility over several different terrain types which were most common in many regions of China. Thus, in both ideology and practice,

1666-465: A thousand fathoms [900 metres (3,000 ft)] of layered cliffs? During the Song dynasty (960–1279), fortifications were constructed on the pass and the characters representing Mei Pass were carved on it. The Tang road was improved with brick paving. The surviving fortifications have the words "Majestic pass of Nanyue" ( 南粤雄关 ) carved on the northern side and "First pass of Lingnan " ( 岭南第一关 ) carved on

1785-535: A total length of more than 10 km (6 mi), believed to be part of the Great Wall, were discovered along the border of Ningxia autonomous region and Gansu province. Before the use of bricks, the Great Wall was mainly built from rammed earth, stones, and wood. During the Ming, however, bricks were heavily used in many areas of the wall, as were materials such as tiles, lime , and stone. The size and weight of

1904-437: A trip to the eastern frontiers in 210 BC, Qin Shi Huang died in an attempt to procure an elixir of immortality from Taoist magicians, who claimed the elixir was stuck on an island guarded by a sea monster. The chief eunuch , Zhao Gao , and the prime minister, Li Si , hid the news of his death upon their return until they were able to alter his will to place on the throne the dead emperor's most pliable son, Huhai, who took

2023-402: A working crossbow. The Qin also used improved methods of transportation and tactics. The state of Zhao had first replaced chariots with cavalry in 307 BC, but the change was swiftly adopted by the other states because cavalry had greater mobility over the terrain of China. The First Emperor developed plans to fortify his northern border, to protect against nomadic invasions. The result

2142-754: Is figurative in a similar manner to the Greek and English myriad and simply means "innumerable" or "immeasurable". Because of the wall's association with the First Emperor's supposed tyranny , the Chinese dynasties after Qin usually avoided referring to their own additions to the wall by the name "Long Wall". Instead, various terms were used in medieval records, including "frontier(s)" ( 塞 , Sài ), "rampart(s)" ( 垣 , Yuán ), "barrier(s)" ( 障 , Zhàng ), "the outer fortresses" ( 外 堡 , Wàibǎo ), and "the border wall(s)" ( t 邊 牆 , s 边 墙 , Biānqiáng ). Poetic and informal names for

2261-772: Is "sixty days' travel" from Zeitun (modern Quanzhou ) in his travelogue Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling . He associated it with the legend of the wall mentioned in the Qur'an , which Dhul-Qarnayn (commonly associated with Alexander the Great ) was said to have erected to protect people near the land of the rising sun from the savages of Gog and Magog . However, Ibn Battuta could find no one who had either seen it or knew of anyone who had seen it, suggesting that although there were remnants of

2380-563: Is 7.8 m (25 ft 7 in) high and 5 m (16 ft 5 in) wide. One of the most striking sections of the Ming Great Wall is where it climbs extremely steep slopes in Jinshanling . There it runs 11 km (7 mi) long, ranges from 5 to 8 m (16 ft 5 in to 26 ft 3 in) in height, and 6 m (19 ft 8 in) across the bottom, narrowing up to 5 m (16 ft 5 in) across

2499-601: Is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic groups from the Eurasian Steppe . Several walls were built from as early as the 7th century BC, with selective stretches later joined by Qin Shi Huang (220–206 BC), the first emperor of China . Little of the Qin wall remains. Later on, many successive dynasties built and maintained multiple stretches of border walls. The best-known sections of

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2618-443: Is an accepted version of this page The Qin dynasty ( / tʃ ɪ n / ; CHIN ) was the first dynasty of Imperial China . It is named for its progenitor state of Qin , which was a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty that had endured for over five centuries. Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng engaged in a series of wars conquering each of the rival states that had previously pledged fealty to

2737-567: Is in Sima Qian 's Shiji ( c.  91 BC ), and some modern scholars dispute its veracity. According to the Shiji ( c.  91 BC ), during the 9th century BC, Feizi , a supposed descendant of the ancient political advisor Gao Yao , was granted rule over the settlement of Qin ( 秦邑 ) (present-day Qingshui County in Shaanxi ). During the rule of King Xiao of Zhou ,

2856-582: Is no more conspicuous than many other human-made objects. Veteran US astronaut Gene Cernan has stated: "At Earth orbit of 100 to 200 miles [160 to 320 km] high, the Great Wall of China is, indeed, visible to the naked eye." Ed Lu , Expedition 7 Science Officer aboard the International Space Station , adds that, "It's less visible than a lot of other objects. And you have to know where to look." In October 2003, Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei stated that he had not been able to see

2975-529: Is only exceeded by the Chinese Wall, which makes a considerable figure upon the terrestrial globe , and may be discerned at the Moon." The claim was also mentioned by Henry Norman in 1895 where he states "besides its age it enjoys the reputation of being the only work of human hands on the globe visible from the Moon." The issue of "canals" on Mars was prominent in the late 19th century and may have led to

3094-720: Is the western terminus of the Ming Great Wall. From Jiayu Pass the wall travels discontinuously down the Hexi Corridor and into the deserts of Ningxia , where it enters the western edge of the Yellow River loop at Yinchuan . Here the first major walls erected during the Ming dynasty cut through the Ordos Desert to the eastern edge of the Yellow River loop. There at Piantou Pass ( t 偏 頭 關 , s 偏 头 关 , Piāntóuguān ) in Xinzhou , Shanxi province,

3213-673: The Liaodong province, protecting it against potential incursions by Jurchen-Mongol Oriyanghan from the northwest and the Jianzhou Jurchens from the north. While stones and tiles were used in some parts of the Liaodong Wall, most of it was in fact simply an earth dike with moats on both sides. Towards the end of the Ming, the Great Wall helped defend the empire against the Manchu invasions that began around 1600. Even after

3332-566: The Mandate of Heaven , as the Zhou kings had claimed, nor that he had the right to offer sacrifices; they left this to the Zhou rulers. Before their conquest in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, the Qin suffered several setbacks. Shang Yang was executed in 338 BC by King Huiwen due to a personal grudge harboured from his youth. There was also internal strife over the Qin succession in 307 BC, which decentralised Qin authority somewhat. Qin

3451-630: The Moon . Even though the myth is thoroughly debunked, it is still ingrained in popular culture. The apparent width of the Great Wall from the Moon would be the same as that of a human hair viewed from 3 km (2 mi) away. One of the earliest known references to the myth that the Great Wall can be seen from the moon appears in a letter written in 1754 by the English antiquary William Stukeley . Stukeley wrote that, "This mighty wall [ Hadrian's wall ] of four score miles [130 km] in length

3570-675: The National Cultural Heritage Administration states that 22% of the Ming Great Wall has disappeared, while 1,961 km (1,219 mi) of wall have vanished. In 2007 it was estimated that more than 60 km (37 mi) of the wall in Gansu province may disappear in the next 20 years, due to erosion from sandstorms . In some places, the height of the wall has been reduced from more than 5 m (16 ft 5 in) to less than 2 m (6 ft 7 in). Various square lookout towers that characterize

3689-504: The Qin dynasty ("Qin Shi Huang") in 221 BC. Intending to impose centralized rule and prevent the resurgence of feudal lords, he ordered the destruction of the sections of the walls that divided his empire among the former states. To position the empire against the Xiongnu people from the north, however, he ordered the building of new walls to connect the remaining fortifications along the empire's northern frontier. "Build and move on"

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3808-489: The Wei River canal built in 246 BC was particularly significant in this respect. During the Warring States period preceding the Qin dynasty, the major states vying for dominance were Yan , Zhao , Qi , Chu , Han , Wei and Qin. The rulers of these states styled themselves as kings, rather than using the titles of lower nobility they had previously held. However, none elevated himself to believe that he had

3927-531: The Xiongnu tribe living in the Ordos region in northwestern China often raided them instead, prompting the Qin to retaliate. After a military campaign led by General Meng Tian , the region was conquered in 215 BC and agriculture was established; the peasants, however, were discontented and later revolted. The succeeding Han dynasty also expanded into the Ordos due to overpopulation, but depleted their resources in

4046-651: The methods of the Mohists and school of names . Confucius 's school of thought, called Ru ( 儒 ), was also influential beginning in the Warring States period, and throughout the imperial periods. Beginning in the subsequent Han dynasty, this school of thought developed a canon of literature thought to represent and preserve the ways of Zhou, called the Six Classics: the Odes , Documents , Ritual , Music , Spring and Autumn Annals , and Changes . Qin law

4165-559: The rampart which surrounded traditional Chinese cities and was used by extension for these walls around their respective states ; today, however, it is much more often the Chinese word for "city". The longer Chinese name "Ten-Thousand Mile Long Wall" ( t 萬里長城, s 万里长城, Wànlǐ Chángchéng ) came from Sima Qian's description of it in the Records , though he did not name the walls as such. The AD 493 Book of Song quotes

4284-452: The zhu zhu of the musics, Which purifies and refines human feelings. Suddenly the spirits ride off on the darkness And the brilliant event finishes. Purified thoughts grow hidden and still, And the warp and weft of the world fall dark. Book of Han , p. 1046 The dominant religious belief in China during the reign of the Qin, and, in fact, during much of early imperial China,

4403-406: The "Records of Officialdom". A commander named Hu ordered his men to attack peasants in an attempt to increase the number of "bandits" he had killed; his superiors, likely eager to inflate their records as well, allowed this. Qin Shi Huang also improved the strong military, despite the fact that it had already undergone extensive reforms. The military used the most advanced weaponry of the time. It

4522-450: The 13th and 14th centuries, such as Giovanni da Pian del Carpine , William of Rubruck , Marco Polo , Odoric of Pordenone and Giovanni de' Marignolli , mentioned the Great Wall. The North African traveler Ibn Battuta , who also visited China during the Yuan dynasty c.  1346 , had heard about China's Great Wall, possibly before he had arrived in China. He wrote that the wall

4641-657: The Great Wall at great cost to defend themselves against northern invaders. The Tang and Song dynasties did not undertake any significant effort in the region. Dynasties founded by non-Han ethnic groups also built their border walls: the Xianbei -ruled Northern Wei , the Khitan -ruled Liao , Jurchen -led Jin and the Tangut -established Western Xia , who ruled vast territories over Northern China throughout centuries, all constructed defensive walls but those were located much to

4760-541: The Great Wall of China. In response, the European Space Agency (ESA) issued a press release reporting that from an orbit between 160 and 320 km (100 and 200 mi), the Great Wall is visible to the naked eye. The image was actually a river in Beijing. Leroy Chiao , a Chinese-American astronaut, took a photograph from the International Space Station that shows the wall. It was so indistinct that

4879-573: The Great Wall splits in two with the "Outer Great Wall" ( t 外 長城 , s 外 长城 , Wài Chǎngchéng ) extending along the Inner Mongolia border with Shanxi into Hebei province, and the "Inner Great Wall" ( t 內 長城 , s 內 长城 , Nèi Chǎngchéng ) running southeast from Piantou Pass for some 400 km (250 mi), passing through important passes like the Pingxing Pass and Yanmen Pass before joining

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4998-460: The Great Wall. A formal definition of what constitutes a "Great Wall" has not been agreed upon, making the full course of the Great Wall difficult to describe in its entirety. The defensive lines contain multiple stretches of ramparts, trenches and ditches, as well as individual fortresses. In 2012, based on existing research and the results of a comprehensive mapping survey, the National Cultural Heritage Administration of China concluded that

5117-521: The Great Wall. Perhaps the first recorded instance of a European actually entering China via the Great Wall came in 1605, when the Portuguese Jesuit brother Bento de Góis reached the northwestern Jiayu Pass from India. Early European accounts were mostly modest and empirical, closely mirroring contemporary Chinese understanding of the Wall, although later they slid into hyperbole, including

5236-409: The Han dynasty. The Qin often expelled criminals to the new colonies, or pardoned them in exchange for fines, labour, or one to several aristocratic ranks, even up to the death penalty. While the penal laws would still be considered harsh compared to the modern day, they were not very harsh for their time, and often not actually enacted. Villainising the first Emperor while adopting Qin administration,

5355-558: The Outer Great Wall at Sihaiye ( 四海 冶 , Sìhǎiyě ), in Beijing's Yanqing County . The sections of the Great Wall around Beijing municipality are especially famous: they were frequently renovated and are regularly visited by tourists today. The Badaling Great Wall near Zhangjiakou is the most famous stretch of the wall, for this was the first section to be opened to the public in the People's Republic of China, as well as

5474-582: The Qin state was greatly increased by the reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring States period . In the mid- and late 3rd century BC, the Qin state carried out a series of swift conquests, destroying the powerless Zhou dynasty and eventually conquering the other six of the Seven Warring States . Qin's 15-year existence was the shortest major dynasty in Chinese history, with only two emperors. However,

5593-451: The Qin statesman Shang Yang introduced a series of advantageous military reforms between 361 BC and his death in 338 BC. Yang also helped to construct the Qin capital at Xianyang , a city that ultimately resembled the capitals of the other states. Qin engaged in practical and ruthless warfare. During the Spring and Autumn period ( c.  770  – c.  481 BC ),

5712-427: The Qin to attempt to conquer the other states. The Qin were swift in their assault on the other states. They first attacked the Han, directly east, and took thir capital city of Xinzheng in 230 BC. They then struck northward; the state of Zhao surrendered in 228 BC, and the northernmost state of Yan followed, falling in 226. Next, Qin armies launched assaults to the east, and later the south as well; they took

5831-665: The Qin were militarily superior. Finally, Qin possessed geographical advantages, with the fertility and strategic position of its territory protected by mountains making the state a natural stronghold. This was the heart of the Guanzhong region, as opposed to the Yangtze drainage basin, known as Guandong. The warlike nature of the Qin in Guanzhong inspired a Han dynasty adage: "Guanzhong produces generals, while Guandong produces ministers." Its expanded agricultural output helped sustain Qin's large army with food and natural resources;

5950-446: The Qin. The state of Qin first began a military expedition into central China in 672 BC, though it did not engage in any serious incursions due to the threat from neighbouring tribesmen. By the dawn of the 4th century BC, the neighbouring tribes had all been either subdued or conquered, and the stage was set for the rise of Qin expansionism. During the Warring States period ( c.  475  – 221 BC),

6069-537: The Wei city of Daliang (now called Kaifeng) in 225 and forced Chu to surrender by 223. Lastly, they deposed the Zhou dynasty's remnants in Luoyang and conquered Qi, taking the city of Linzi in 221 BC. Upon the completion of Qin's conquests in 221 BC, King Zheng  – who had first assumed the throne of the Qin state at age 9  – became the effective ruler of China. The subjugation of

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6188-426: The Zhou. This culminated in 221 BC with the successful unification of China under Qin, which then assumed an imperial prerogative—with Ying Zheng declaring himself to be Qin Shi Huang , the first emperor of China . This state of affairs lasted until 206 BC, when the dynasty collapsed in the years following Qin Shi Huang's death. Qin was a minor power for the early centuries of its existence. The strength of

6307-406: The belief that long, thin objects were visible from space. The claim that the Great Wall is visible from the moon also appears in 1932's Ripley's Believe It or Not! strip. A more controversial question is whether the wall is visible from low Earth orbit (an altitude of as little as 160 km (100 mi)). NASA claims that it is barely visible, and only under nearly perfect conditions; it

6426-404: The bricks made them easier to work with than earth and stone, so construction quickened. Additionally, bricks could bear more weight and endure better than rammed earth. Stone can hold under its own weight better than brick, but is more difficult to use. Consequently, stones cut into rectangular shapes were used for the foundation, inner and outer brims , and gateways of the wall. Battlements line

6545-567: The commanding Ming general, Wu Sangui , who formed an alliance with the Manchus, hoping to use the Manchus to expel the rebels from Beijing. The Manchus quickly seized Beijing, and eventually defeated both the Shun dynasty and the remaining Ming resistance , consolidating the rule of the Qing dynasty over all of China proper . Under Qing rule, China's borders extended beyond the walls and Mongolia

6664-401: The dead journeyed and stayed in the other realm, and to receive blessings from the spirit realm. Religious practices were usually held in local shrines and sacred areas, which contained sacrificial altars. During a sacrifice or other ritual, the senses of all participants and witnesses would be dulled and blurred with smoke, incense, and music. The lead sacrificer would fast and meditate before

6783-507: The different districts. Versatility in federal structures was emphasised, to create a sense of authority and absolute power. Architectural elements such as high towers, pillar gates, terraces, and high buildings amply conveyed this. The written language of the Qin was logographic , as that of the Zhou had been. It was more conservative of earlier graphic forms than more evolved local scripts in other regions. As one of his most influential achievements in life, prime minister Li Si standardised

6902-539: The early period as the source of the name. Qin Shi Huang was the first Chinese sovereign to proclaim himself "Emperor", after unifying China in 221 BC. That year is therefore generally taken by historians to be the start of the "Qin dynasty" which lasted for 14 years until 207, when it was cut short by civil wars. Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China ( traditional Chinese : 萬里長城 ; simplified Chinese : 万里长城 ; pinyin : Wànlǐ Chángchéng , literally "ten thousand li long wall")

7021-602: The east. This section was one of the first to be renovated following the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution . At the edge of the Bohai Gulf is Shanhai Pass , considered the traditional end of the Great Wall and the "First Pass Under Heaven ". The part of the wall inside Shanhai Pass that meets the sea is named the "Old Dragon Head". 3 km (2 mi) north of Shanhai Pass is Jiaoshan Great Wall ( t 焦山 長城 , s 焦 山 长城 , Jiāoshān Chángchéng ),

7140-455: The edge of the Mongolian steppe ; spanning 21,196.18 km (13,170.70 mi) in total. Today, the defensive system of the Great Wall is generally recognized as one of the most impressive architectural feats in history. The collection of fortifications known as the Great Wall of China has historically had a number of different names in both Chinese and English. In Chinese histories ,

7259-514: The eighth king of the Zhou dynasty, this area became known as the state of Qin. In 897 BC, under the Gonghe Regency , the area became a dependency allotted for the purpose of raising and breeding horses. One of Feizi's descendants, Duke Zhuang , became favoured by King Ping of Zhou , the 13th king in that line. As a reward, Zhuang's son, Duke Xiang, was sent eastward as the leader of a war expedition, during which he formally established

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7378-464: The erroneous but ubiquitous claim that the Ming walls were the same ones that were built by the first emperor in the 3rd century BC. When China opened its borders to foreign merchants and visitors after its defeat in the First and Second Opium Wars , the Great Wall became a main attraction for tourists. The travelogues of the later 19th century further enhanced the reputation and the mythology of

7497-556: The exact length and course of the Qin walls. Most of the ancient walls have eroded away over the centuries, and very few sections remain today. The human cost of the construction is unknown, but it has been estimated by some authors that hundreds of thousands of workers died building the Qin wall. Later, the Han , the Northern dynasties and the Sui all repaired, rebuilt, or expanded sections of

7616-454: The first emperor and his advisors was used by later dynasties to structure their own government. Under this system, both the military and government thrived, as talented individuals could be more easily identified in the transformed society. Later Chinese dynasties emulated the Qin government for its efficiency, despite its being condemned by Confucian philosophy. There were instances of abuse, however, with one example having been recorded in

7735-466: The frontier general Tan Daoji referring to "the long wall of 10,000 miles", closer to the modern name, but the name rarely features in pre-modern times otherwise. The traditional Chinese mile ( 里 , lǐ ) was an often irregular distance that was intended to show the length of a standard village and varied with terrain but was usually standardized at distances around a third of an English mile (540 m). However, this use of "ten-thousand" ( wàn )

7854-557: The future. The forms of divination which sprang up during early imperial China were diverse, though observing natural phenomena was a common method. Comets, eclipses, and droughts were considered omens of things to come. The name Qin is believed to be the origin of the modern name for the country in many European languages, China . The word probably made its way into the Indo-Aryan languages first as Cina or Sina , and then into Greek and Latin as Sinai or Thinai . It

7973-578: The legacy of Qin strategies in military and administrative affairs shaped the consummate Han dynasty that followed, ultimately becoming seen as the originator of an imperial system that ultimately lasted in various forms until the Xinhai Revolution in 1911. The Qin sought to create a state unified by structured centralised political power and a large military supported by a stable economy. The central government moved to undercut aristocrats and landowners to gain direct administrative control over

8092-428: The life-sized Terracotta Army . The Qin introduced a range of reforms such as standardised currency, weights, measures and a uniform system of writing, which aimed to unify the state and promote commerce. Additionally, its military used the most recent weaponry, transportation and tactics, though the government was heavy-handed and bureaucratic. Qin created a system of administering people and land that greatly increased

8211-519: The long-drawn conflict was taking a toll on the empire. The Ming adopted a new strategy to keep the nomadic tribes out by constructing walls along the northern border of China. Acknowledging the Mongol control established in the Ordos Desert , the wall followed the desert's southern edge instead of incorporating the bend of the Yellow River . Unlike the earlier fortifications, the Ming construction

8330-458: The loss of all of Liaodong , the Ming army held the heavily fortified Shanhai Pass , preventing the Manchus from conquering the Chinese heartland. The Manchus were finally able to cross the Great Wall in 1644, after Beijing had already fallen to Li Zicheng 's short-lived Shun dynasty . Before this time, the Manchus had crossed the Great Wall multiple times to raid, but this time it was for conquest. The gates at Shanhai Pass were opened on May 25 by

8449-423: The majority (500,000 men) of his army south to conquer the territory of the southern tribes . Prior to the events leading to Qin dominance over China, they had gained possession of much of Sichuan to the southwest. The Qin army was unfamiliar with the jungle terrain, and it was defeated by the southern tribes' guerrilla warfare tactics with over 100,000 men lost. However, in the defeat Qin was successful in building

8568-399: The means of smoke or fire, and the fact that the path of the Great Wall also served as a transportation corridor. The frontier walls built by different dynasties have multiple courses. Collectively, they stretch from Liaodong in the east to Lop Lake in the west, from the present-day Sino–Russian border in the north to Tao River (Taohe) in the south; along an arc that roughly delineates

8687-466: The mortar or any part of the wall, contrary to what a legend states. Communication between the army units along the length of the Great Wall, including the ability to call reinforcements and warn garrisons of enemy movements, was of high importance. Signal towers were built upon hill tops or other high points along the wall for their visibility. Wooden gates could be used as a trap against those going through. Barracks, stables, and armories were built near

8806-508: The most famous images of the wall have disappeared. Many western sections of the wall are constructed from mud , rather than brick and stone, and thus are more susceptible to erosion. In 2014 a portion of the wall near the border of Liaoning and Hebei province was repaired with concrete. The work has been much criticized. A section of the wall in Shanxi province was severely damaged in 2023 by construction workers, who widened an existing gap in

8925-429: The name of Qin Er Shi . They believed that they would be able to manipulate him to their own ends, and thus effectively control the empire. Qin Er Shi was, indeed, inept and pliable. He executed many ministers and imperial princes, continued massive building projects (one of his most extravagant projects was lacquering the city walls), enlarged the army, increased taxes, and arrested messengers who brought him bad news. As

9044-441: The new Han dynasty . Despite the short duration of the Qin, it was very influential on the structure of future dynasties. The Qin aristocracy were largely similar to the Zhou in culture and daily life, with regional variation generally considered a symbol of the lower classes – and ultimately as contrary to the unification that the government strove to achieve. Commoners and rural villagers, who made up over 90% of

9163-428: The new name "Shi Huangdi", meaning 'First Emperor'. The newly declared emperor ordered all weapons not in the possession of the Qin to be confiscated and melted down. The resulting metal was sufficient to build twelve large ornamental statues at the Qin's newly declared capital at Xianyang . In 214 BC, Qin Shi Huang secured his boundaries to the north with a fraction of his large army (roughly 100,000 men) and sent

9282-477: The newly conquered area. In terms of extending the boundaries of his empire, the First Emperor was extremely successful in the south. However, while the empire at times was extended to the north, the Qin could rarely hold on to the land for long. The tribes of these locations, collectively called the Hu by the Qin, were free from Chinese rule during the majority of the dynasty. Prohibited from trading with Qin peasants,

9401-416: The nineteenth century, "the Great Wall of China" had become standard in English and French, although other European languages such as German continue to refer to it as "the Chinese wall". The Chinese were already familiar with the techniques of wall-building by the time of the Spring and Autumn period between the 8th and 5th centuries BC. During this time and the subsequent Warring States period ,

9520-608: The north of the other Great Walls as we know it, within China's autonomous region of Inner Mongolia and in modern-day Mongolia itself. The Great Wall concept was revived again under the Ming in the 14th century, and following the Ming army's defeat by the Oirats in the Battle of Tumu . The Ming had failed to gain a clear upper hand over the Mongol tribes after successive battles, and

9639-602: The one contained in João de Barros 's 1563 Asia . Other early accounts in Western sources include those of Gaspar da Cruz , Bento de Goes , Matteo Ricci , and Bishop Juan González de Mendoza , the latter in 1585 describing it as a "superbious and mightie work" of architecture, though he had not seen it. In 1559, in his work "A Treatise of China and the Adjoyning Regions", Gaspar da Cruz offers an early discussion of

9758-469: The other side. (Both Nanyue and Lingnan are alternative names for Guangdong.) Until recent decades, Mei Pass was an important thoroughfare for the overland trade south to Guangdong, as well as a militarily significant boundary. In 1928, Mao Zedong attempted to cross the pass from Jiangxi into Guangdong. In the 1930s, the Communist commander Chen Yi spent three years in the vicinity of Mei Pass fighting

9877-533: The peasantry, who comprised the overwhelming majority of the population and labour force. This allowed ambitious projects involving three hundred thousand peasants and convicts: projects such as connecting walls along the northern border, eventually developing into the Great Wall of China , and a massive new national road system, as well as the city-sized Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor guarded by

9996-418: The people, largely caused by regional differences which survived despite Qin's attempt to impose uniformity, and many local officials had declared themselves kings. Given this climate, Ziying attempted to cling to his throne by declaring himself one king among all the others. He was undermined by his ineptitude, and popular revolt broke out in 209 BC. When Chu rebels under the lieutenant Liu Bang attacked,

10115-444: The population, very rarely left the villages or farmsteads where they were born. Forms of employment differed by region, though farming was almost universally common. Professions were hereditary; a father's employment was passed to his eldest son after he died. The Lüshi Chunqiu gave examples of how, when commoners are obsessed with material wealth, instead of the idealism of a man who "makes things serve him", they were "reduced to

10234-475: The power of the government to transform environment, and it has been argued that the subsequent impact of this system on East Asia's environments makes the rise of Qin an important event in China's environmental history. When Qin Shi Huang died in 210 BC, two of his advisors placed an heir on the throne in an attempt to influence and control the administration of the dynasty. These advisors squabbled among themselves, resulting in both of their deaths and that of

10353-455: The prevalent philosophy had dictated war as a gentleman's activity; military commanders were instructed to respect what they perceived to be Heaven's laws in battle. For example, when Duke Xiang of the rival state of Song was at war with the state of Chu during the Warring States period, he declined an opportunity to attack the enemy force, commanded by Zhu, while they were crossing a river. After allowing them to cross and marshal their forces, he

10472-402: The process. Indeed, this was true of the dynasty's borders in multiple directions; modern Xinjiang , Tibet, Manchuria , Inner Mongolia, and regions to the southeast were foreign to the Qin, and even areas over which they had military control were culturally distinct. Three assassination attempts were made on Qin Shi Huang, leading him to become paranoid and obsessed with immortality. While on

10591-757: The remainder date back to Northern Wei , Northern Qi , Sui , Tang , the Five Dynasties , Song , Liao and Xixia . About half of the sites are located in Inner Mongolia (31%) and Hebei (19%). Han fortifications starts from Yumen Pass and Yang Pass , southwest of Dunhuang , in Gansu province. Ruins of the remotest Han border posts are found in Mamitu ( t 馬 迷途 , s 马 迷途 , Mǎmítú , l "horses losing their way" ) near Yumen Pass. The Jiayu Pass , located in Gansu province,

10710-845: The remaining Great Wall associated sites include 10,051 wall sections, 1,764 ramparts or trenches, 29,510 individual buildings, and 2,211 fortifications or passes, with the walls and trenches spanning a total length of 21,196.18 km (13,170.70 mi). Incorporating advanced technologies, the study has concluded that the Ming Great Wall measures 8,850 km (5,500 mi). This consists of 6,259 km (3,889 mi) of wall sections, 359 km (223 mi) of trenches and 2,232 km (1,387 mi) of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers. In addition, Qin , Han and earlier Great Wall sites are 3,080 km (1,914 mi) long in total; Jin dynasty (1115–1234) border fortifications are 4,010 km (2,492 mi) in length;

10829-400: The second Qin emperor. Popular revolt broke out and the weakened empire soon fell to Chu general Xiang Yu , who was proclaimed Hegemon-King of Western Chu, and Liu Bang , who founded the Han dynasty. Han Confucians portrayed the Qin as a monolithic, legalist tyranny, notably citing a purge known as the burning of books and burying of scholars ; however, the earliest account of this event

10948-468: The service of things". Peasants were rarely figured in literature during the Qin dynasty and afterwards; scholars and others of more elite status preferred the excitement of cities and the lure of politics. One notable exception to this was Shen Nong , the so-called "Divine Father", who taught that households should grow their own food. "If in one's prime he does not plow, someone in the world will grow hungry. If in one's prime she does not weave, someone in

11067-472: The showpiece stretch for foreign dignitaries. The Badaling Great Wall saw nearly 10 million visitors in 2018, and in 2019, a daily limit of 65,000 visitors was instated. South of Badaling is the Juyong Pass ; when it was used by the Chinese to protect their land, this section of the wall had many guards to defend the capital Beijing. Made of stone and bricks from the hills, this portion of the Great Wall

11186-474: The site of the first mountain of the Great Wall. 15 km (9 mi) northeast from Shanhaiguan is Jiumenkou ( t 九 門 口 , s 九 门 口 , Jiǔménkǒu ), which is the only portion of the wall that was built as a bridge. In 2009, 180 km of previously unknown sections of the Ming wall concealed by hills, trenches and rivers were discovered with the help of infrared range finders and GPS devices. In March and April 2015, nine sections with

11305-419: The six states was done by King Zheng who had used efficient persuasion and exemplary strategy. He solidified his position as sole ruler with the abdication of his prime minister, Lü Buwei . The states made by the emperor were assigned to officials dedicated to the task rather than place the burden on people from the royal family. He then combined the titles of the earlier Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors into

11424-470: The states of Qin , Wei , Zhao , Qi , Han , Yan , and Zhongshan all constructed extensive fortifications to defend their own borders. Built to withstand the attack of small arms such as swords and spears, these walls were made mostly of stone or by stamping earth and gravel between board frames. King Zheng of Qin conquered the last of his opponents and unified China as the First Emperor of

11543-461: The task rather than placing the burden on people from the royal family. Zheng and his advisors also introduced new laws and practices that ended aristocratic rule in China, fully replacing it with a centralised, bureaucratic government. A supervisory system, the Censorate was introduced to monitor and check the powers of administrators and officials at each level of government. The Qin instituted

11662-590: The term "Long Wall(s)" ( t 長城, s 长城, Chángchéng ) appears in Sima Qian 's Records of the Grand Historian , where it referred both to the separate great walls built between and north of the Warring States and to the more unified construction of the First Emperor . The Chinese character 城 , meaning city or fortress, is a phono-semantic compound of the "earth" radical 土 and phonetic 成 , whose Old Chinese pronunciation has been reconstructed as * deŋ . It originally referred to

11781-472: The top. Wangjing Lou ( t 望 京 樓 , s 望 京 楼 , Wàngjīng Lóu ) is one of Jinshanling's 67 watchtowers , 980 m (3,220 ft) above sea level. Southeast of Jinshanling is the Mutianyu Great Wall which winds along lofty, cragged mountains from the southeast to the northwest for 2.25 km (1.40 mi). It is connected with Juyongguan Pass to the west and Gubeikou to

11900-411: The uppermost portion of the vast majority of the wall, with defensive gaps a little over 30 cm (12 in) tall, and about 23 cm (9.1 in) wide. From the parapets, guards could survey the surrounding land. Sticky rice mortar , consisting of sticky rice soup mixed with slaked lime , was extensively used to hold bricks together; no human bones or body parts were ever incorporated into

12019-462: The wall at that time, they were not significant. Soon after Europeans reached Ming China by ship in the early 16th century, accounts of the Great Wall started to circulate in Europe, even though no European was to see it for another century. Possibly one of the earliest European descriptions of the wall and of its significance for the defense of the country against the " Tartars " (i.e. Mongols) may be

12138-793: The wall included "the Purple Frontier" ( 紫 塞 , Zǐsài ) and "the Earth Dragon" ( t 土 龍 , s 土 龙 , Tǔlóng ). Only during the Qing period did "Long Wall" become the catch-all term to refer to the many border walls regardless of their location or dynastic origin, equivalent to the English "Great Wall". Sections of the wall in south Gobi Desert and Mongolian steppe are sometimes referred to as "Wall of Genghis Khan", even though Genghis Khan did not construct any walls or permanent defense lines himself. The current English name evolved from accounts of "the Chinese wall" from early modern European travelers. By

12257-421: The wall to make a shortcut for an excavator to pass through. Police described the act as causing "irreversible damage to the integrity of the Ming Great Wall and to the safety of the cultural relics". Various factoids in popular culture claim that the Great Wall can be seen (with the naked eye) from space, with questionable degrees of veracity. The Great Wall of China cannot be seen by the naked human eye from

12376-540: The wall were built by the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Apart from defense, other purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls , allowing the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road , regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration. Furthermore, the defensive characteristics of the Great Wall were enhanced by the construction of watchtowers , troop barracks, garrison stations, signaling capabilities through

12495-504: The wall's inner surface. While portions north of Beijing and near tourist centers have been preserved and even extensively renovated, in many other locations the wall is in disrepair. The wall sometimes provided a source of stones to build houses and roads. Sections of the wall are also prone to graffiti and vandalism , while inscribed bricks were pilfered and sold on the market for up to 50 renminbi . Parts have been destroyed to make way for construction or mining. A 2012 report by

12614-406: The wall, faced sections of the ram-earth wall with bricks and constructed 1,200 watchtowers from Shanhaiguan Pass to Changping to warn of approaching Mongol raiders. During the 1440s–1460s, the Ming also built a so-called "Liaodong Wall". Similar in function to the Great Wall (whose extension, in a sense, it was), but more basic in construction, the Liaodong Wall enclosed the agricultural heartland of

12733-458: The world will be cold." The Qin encouraged this; a ritual was performed once every few years that consisted of important government officials taking turns with the plough on a special field, to create a simulation of government interest and activity within agriculture. Warring States-era architecture had several definitive aspects. City walls, used for defence, were made longer, and indeed several secondary walls were also sometimes built to separate

12852-662: The writing system to be of uniform size and shape across the whole country. This would have a unifying effect on the Chinese culture for thousands of years. He is also credited with creating the small seal script style, which serves as a basis for modern Chinese and is still used in cards, posters, and advertising. During the Warring States period, the Hundred Schools of Thought comprised many different philosophies proposed by Chinese scholars. These largely lacked coherence until much later taxonomy imposed by Han dynasty librarians. Contemporary institutions descended in part from

12971-441: Was a central guiding principle in constructing the wall, implying that the Chinese were not erecting a permanently fixed border. Transporting the large quantity of materials required for construction was difficult, so builders always tried to use local resources. Stones from the mountains were used over mountain ranges, while rammed earth was used for construction in the plains. There are no surviving historical records indicating

13090-635: Was annexed into the empire, so constructions on the Great Wall were discontinued. On the other hand, the so-called Willow Palisade , following a line similar to that of the Ming Liaodong Wall, was constructed by the Qing rulers in Manchuria. Its purpose, however, was not defense but rather to prevent Han Chinese migration into Manchuria. None of the Europeans who visited China or Mongolia in

13209-678: Was decisively defeated in the ensuing battle. When his advisors later admonished him for such excessive courtesy to the enemy, he retorted, "The sage does not crush the feeble, nor give the order for attack until the enemy have formed their ranks." The Qin disregarded this military tradition, taking advantage of their enemy's weaknesses. A nobleman in the state of Wei accused the Qin state of being "avaricious, perverse, eager for profit, and without sincerity. It knows nothing about etiquette, proper relationships, and virtuous conduct, and if there be an opportunity for material gain, it will disregard its relatives as if they were animals." This, combined with

13328-469: Was defeated by an alliance of the other states in 295 BC, and shortly after suffered another defeat by the state of Zhao, because the majority of their army was then defending against Qi. The aggressive statesman Fan Sui ( 范雎 ), however, soon came to power as prime minister even as the problem of the succession was resolved, and he began an expansionist policy that had originated in Jin and Qi, which prompted

13447-431: Was first used mostly in bronze form, but by the 5th century BC, kingdoms such as Chu and Qin were using iron and/or steel swords. The demand for this metal resulted in improved bellows . The crossbow had been introduced in the 5th century BC and was more powerful and accurate than the composite bows used earlier. It could also be rendered ineffective by removing two pins, which prevented enemies from capturing

13566-416: Was focused on the shen (roughly translating to 'spirits' or 'gods'), yin ('shadows'), and the realm they were said to live in. The Chinese offered animal sacrifices in an attempt to contact this other world, which they believed to be parallel to the earthly one. The dead were said to have simply moved from one world to the other. The rituals mentioned, as well as others, served two purposes: to ensure that

13685-521: Was inconspicuous due to its underground location, and was not discovered until 1974. Floating on high in every direction, Music fills the hall and court. The incense sticks are a forest of feathers, The cloudy scene an obscure darkness. Metal stalks with elegant blossoms, A host of flags and kingfisher banners. The music of the "Seven Origins" and "Blossoming Origins" Are intoned as harmonious sounds. Thus one can almost hear The spirits coming to feast and frolic. The spirits are seen off to

13804-903: Was primarily administrative, and included penal law alongside ritual orthopraxy , comparative model manuals in the Qin empire guided penal legal procedure and application based on real-life situations, with publicly named wrongs linked to punishments. While some Qin penal laws deal with infanticide or other unsanctioned harm of children, it primarily concerned theft; it does not much deal with murder, as either more straightforward or more suitable to ritual. By contrast, detailed rules and "endless paperwork" tightly regulate grain, weights, measures, and official documents. Like most ancient societies, tradition China did not divide administration and judiciary, but it did include such concepts as intent, judicial procedure, defendant rights, retrial requests and distinctions between different kinds of law ( common law and statutory law ). The Book of Lord Shang prophecies

13923-432: Was stronger and more elaborate due to the use of bricks and stone instead of rammed earth. Up to 25,000 watchtowers are estimated to have been constructed on the wall. As Mongol raids continued periodically over the years, the Ming devoted considerable resources to repair and reinforce the walls. Sections near the Ming capital of Beijing were especially strong. Qi Jiguang between 1567 and 1570 also repaired and reinforced

14042-483: Was the initial construction of what later became the Great Wall of China , which was built by joining and strengthening the walls made by the feudal lords, which would be expanded and rebuilt multiple times by later dynasties, also in response to threats from the north. Another project built during Qin Shi Huang's rule was the Terracotta Army , intended to protect the emperor after his death. The Terracotta Army

14161-580: Was then borrowed into English and French as China and Chine . This etymology is dismissed by some scholars, who suggest that Sina in Sanskrit evolved much earlier before the Qin. However, the preceding state of Qin was itself founded in the 9th century BC. Jin , a state during the Zhou dynasty until the 4th century BC, is another possible origin. Others argued for the state of Jing ( 荆 , another name for Chu ), as well as other polities in

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