He founded the Ming Dynasty, famous for its achievements in the arts of ceramics and painting. Zhu Yuanzhang, who became the Hongwu Emperor, took power in 1368 C.E. The wall was continuously brought up to date as building techniques advanced. Elsewhere, quarried granite or even marble blocks were used.
In some places, the wall was constructed of brick. Emperor after emperor strengthened and extended the wall, often with the aim of keeping out the northern invaders. At that time, rammed earth and wood made up most of the wall. He masterminded the process of uniting the existing walls into one. For centuries during the Warring States Period, before China was unified into one nation, such walls defended the borders.Īround 220 B.C.E., Qin Shi Huang, also called the First Emperor, united China.
One surviving section of such an ancient wall, in the Shandong province, is made of hard-packed soil called “ rammed earth” and is estimated to be 2,500 years old. However, this does not detract from the wonder of this astounding ancient structure.įor millennia, Chinese leaders instituted wall-building projects to protect the land from northern, nomadic invaders. Since the wall looks a lot like the stone and soil that surround it, it is difficult to discern with the human eye even from low Earth orbit, and is difficult to make out in most orbital photos. The one thing most people “know” about the Great Wall of China-that it is one of the only man-made structures visible from space-is not actually true.
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