The Grandest of Grand Designs
Imagine you are about to board a plane to China and you are going to
see the Great Wall.
What questions could you ask the tour guide?
Take a virtual tour of the Great Wall for yourself by clicking on the link
below. Describe what the wall looks like and the materials you think it
was made of.
http://www.panoramas.dk/7-wonders/great-wall.html
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万里长城 (Wàn lǐ cháng chéng) means "Thousand Miles Long City Wall".
The wall length is10000 Li. 10000 Li is equivalent to 3107 miles or 5000
km.
Why was the Great Wall of China built?
The construction of the Great Wall began during the Warring States
Period on 7th century BC more than 2,500 years ago. Many dukedoms
built walls in Central China to protect themselves from each other and
from the “barbarians” in Mongolia. The walls were built in the states of
Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei and Qin. At that time, the Great Wall was
only a regional project to ward off enemies from the north. However,
the separate walls were joined together and consequently stretched
from east to west for about 5000 kilometres in the Qin Dynasty. The
Wall was further extended and strengthened in the succeeding
dynasties. During the Ming Dynasty, the Northern nomadic ethnic
groups became very powerful. The Emperor then ordered the
renovation of the Wall many times until its full length was 6,700
kilometres (more than ten thousand Li, Li is a unit of measurement in
Ancient China).
Summary
Why was the Great Wall built?
 The
Great
Wall
of
China
started
construction
in…………………………………………….. .
 Dukedoms built walls to…………………………………………………………………
 Walls were built in the following Chinese states
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 The separate walls were eventually joined together during the
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Source: http://www.google.com.au/url?q=http://www.mitchellteachers.com
What materials were used to build the Great Wall?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB4nXADdPPY
At the beginning, the Great Wall was mainly made of earth, stones and
wood. Due to the large quantity of materials required to construct the
Great Wall, the builders tried to use local resources. When they built
over the mountain ranges, the stones of the mountain were used in the
plains; earth was rammed between two constructed frames; in the
desert, even the reeds and juniper tamarisks were used to build the
Great Wall.
During the Qin Dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC) the Great Wall was basically
built by tamping the earth. In this period, the wall was made of layers of
rammed earth. The section remaining in Gansu Province today is a
typical example. Scientists have found that the foundation comprises a
layer of raw earth, over 1.5 metres thick at the bottom. The wall was
built on this foundation from layers of *tamped-earth.
During the period of Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), earth or crude
stones were still popular. The construction material did not reach a new
level until the middle of the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644).
Bricks were a more convenient material than earth and stone as their
small size and lightweight made them convenient to carry, thus
increasing the speed of construction. Stone material was found to
better resist breaking down so that in the Ming dynasty, the wall was
largely built with a tamped-earth interior between kiln-fired bricks and
stone slabs forming the outer layers. The popular tourist section,
Badaling section in Beijing is built this way. The workers mixed lime and
sticky rice as a mortar filled between the bricks. This form of cement
made the wall more solid.
Questions:
In the beginning what materials were used to construct the Great Wall
of China? How did they build it?
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In the following table, write in the Dynasty and date and the materials
each of the dynasties used to construct the Great Wall of China.
Dynasty
Materials used
Who built the Great Wall of China?
There are two main Emperors and dynasties that contributed to the
construction and they are Emperor Qin and Emperor Ming.
Emperor Qin
Emperor Qin Shi Huang, conquered many opposing states, unified under
his Qin Dynasty and ordered to build the Great Wall of China in 221 BC.
Qin Shi used captured enemies, criminals, peasants and anyone whom
he disliked for the construction of Great Wall. Though there are no
historical records, many historians claim that the
Great Wall of China was built by hundreds of
thousands workers. During the construction of the
Great Wall workers were plagued with many
diseases and thousands of workers lost their lives.
As many scholars say, “Each stone in the wall
represents a life lost in the wall’s construction”. It is
also known as the world’s longest cemetery.
http://www.dgreatwallofchina.com/
Artist Unknown
http://commons.wikimedia.
org/wiki/File:Qinshihuangdi
3.jpg
Emperor Ming and the Ming Dynasty
Much of the Great Wall of China that still exists
today was at the peak of its construction during the
Ming dynasty. The design of the Ming Wall was well
thought out. For example, Xuanfuzhen Great Wall
in Beijing, due to its strategic position, was built
with double lines, inner and outer, to strengthen its
Artist: Palace Painter
defensive ability.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:
明太祖.jpg
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china_great_wall/history/ming/
Reflecting
After reading the 2 passages write how each Emperor and Dynasty made
an important contribution the construction of the Great Wall of China.
Emperor Qin is significant to the construction of the Great Wall of China
because he:
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Emperor Ming and the Ming Dynasty is significant to the construction of
the Great Wall of China because:
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What else do we learn about Emperor Qin and the construction of the
Great Wall?
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Myths about the Great Wall
There are many myths and legends regarding the Great Wall of China.
One popular myth is the myth of Meng Jiang Nu. Watch the following
clip on the Myth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgIQtO65WJQ
Tell the myth of Meng Jiangnu
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Putting your thinking caps on
You have just read why the Great Wall of China is an important legacy
and why it needs to be protected. Brain storm together as a class and
write the reasons why you think it is important below in a mind map.
Why is the Great
Wall of China an
important
legacy?
In your own words, why do you think the Great Wall of China is
important to our understanding of the past? Use examples.
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Click on the following link and take a quick quiz on the Great Wall of
China as a class.
http://edsitement.neh.gov/sites/edsitement.neh.gov/files/GreatWall_N
ewest.swf
Modern Marvels Great Wall of China Documentary Questions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo98NssbxTc
1. When did the Great Wall of China become the unofficial symbol of
the Chinese nation and who was responsible for this?
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2. What was the traditional Chinese view of the Great Wall of China?
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3. Who was the first traveller to complete walking the Great Wall of
China?
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4. Can you see the Great Wall of China from space?
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5. Is the Great Wall of China one big wall? Explain?
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6. Why did the states start building walls?
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7. What made Chin Chu Wan Di want to build a wall?
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8. Why was the Great Wall not built in a straight line?
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9. What are the different ways in which they constructed the Great
Wall and what did they use?
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10.Who did they use to build the Great Wall?
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11.What did the Emperor become obsessed with?
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12.Was it easy for barbarians to get through the Great Wall? Why?
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13.Which Barbarian overthrew China and when?
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14.Why is the Ming dynasty important to the construction to the
Great Wall?
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15.How did they construct the Great Wall?
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16.What is the Great Wall of China called in Chinese?
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17.Who overthrew the Ming Dynasty and when?
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18.Why were parts of the Great Wall destroyed in the 20th Century?
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