The Earliest Great Wall of China

No clear historical records show that the earliest Great Wall was built in either Warring States Period or Spring and Autumn Period. There is just one deduction that the first Great Wall was emerged in the Spring and Autumn Period which was consisted of parts belonged to different states in that time.

 

States such as Qin, Wei, Zhao, Qi, Yan and Zhongshan may be the contributors of the original Great Wall of China. Built to withstand the attack of small arms such as swords and spears, these walls were made mostly by stamping earth and gravel between board frames.

 

And after Qin Shi Huang unified the broken situation in 221 B.C., the Great Wall of China was officially built as a landmark of China. The original function of this wall was built to stronger Qing Shi Huang’s ruling power and firmed the country’s centralized safety The Great Wall served as a frontier soldier to

► Clarify Qing Shi Huang’s state boundary

► Protect against the invasion by the Xiongnu group which lived in the north

► Link the former walls which were built by different states during the Spring and Autumn Period

 

For building a large-scale project in that time, the most difficult thing would be the material transporting problem. Ancient Chinese people used their abilities to deal with this problem with following methods:

► Stones from the mountains were used over mountain ranges

► Rammed earth was used for construction in the plains.

With a blur conception of the length of the Great Wall in Qin Shi Huang period, Shi Huangdi is supposed to have had some nearly 1,200 miles of the wall erected during his reign.

Structure of the Great Wall in its Original Form

The original structure of the Great Wall may be not much different from the present one cause it is preserved according to its original form without too much chages.

► The wall of this architecture is made of dirt, mud, stone and brick.

► 5 to 9 meters height and 8 meters width with a small road runs on the top of the wall

► About hundred meters there is a stone tower which was served as a military supplied base, a watching tower and a platform to send the timely information during the warring time.

The Significance of the Original Great Wall of China

 The Great Wall of China was still functioned as a frontier soldier for many dynasties from Qin Dynasty. Till the Tang Dynasty, the Great Wall lost its importance as a fortification, as China had defeated the Tujue tribe to the north and expanded past the original frontier protected by the wall.