The Contribution of the First Emperor Qin Shi Huang Great Wall

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In the Warring States Periods 475BC-221BC），seizing the opportunity of the strong ducal states fighting with each other for the hegemony，the Xiongnu troops invaded the south and took the Hetao area inside the walls of the States of Zhao and Yan，greatly threatening the securityEmperor Qin Shihuang of the State of Qin in the north.By the year 221 BC，the six states were all conquered by Emperor Qin Shihuang，thus the chaos of the princes and dukes fighting for the hegemony was completely ended，and the first united cen tralized feudal empire in the Chinese history came into being. After that, in order to maintain and cement the unification of the country, Emperor Qin Shihuang ordered topull down the”walls in the heartland”which were used by the ducal states to protect themselves in the Warring States Periods(475 BC-221 BC). He appointed General Meng Tian as the head of 300,000 soldiers to drive out the Xiongnu in the north in 214 BC, which was succeeded.

And then the emperor ordered to build a wall for ten thousand liat enormous cost of labors, materials and money, in order to ensure the peace and security of the central plain area. Based on the previous sections of the States of Yan, Zhao and Qin in the north built during the Warring States Periods (475 BC-221 BC), the Qin dynasty(221BC-206BC) started large scale of rebuilding work-connecting or expanding those original sections of walls. And as the Qin dynasty (221 BC-206 BC) expanding its territory to the north,12 prefectures were set along the northern border to defend in sections. In this way, the whole Great Wall which started from Lintao in the west and ended at Liaodong in the east was linked up into one, stretching over 10,000 li, hence the name of “Ten-thousand-li Great Wall”.

The construction of the Great Wall under the order of Emperor Qin Shihuang was an important event in Chinese history. The places the Great Wall passed were mostly of strategic and perilous positions, going up and down the high mountains and deep valleys. It was really an unprecedented huge project by that time.