The history of the Great Wall of China begins during the Qin Dynasty. Before the formation of the Qin Dynasty, China was engulfed in the Warring States period. This period wrought great conflict across a battling China. Some states were able to make friends with nomadic groups outside of China’s borders, but others served as another enemy. This period ended with the unification of China and the establishment of the Qin Dynasty. The first emperor of the Qin, Shihuangdi, unified the warring states of China in 221 BCE.[1]
While the vying states of China were united, the Qin Dynasty still faced enemies outside of its dominion. One nomadic group, the Xiongnu, battled numerous states during the Warring States period and threatened the newly established Qin. Attempts at appeasement through silk and horse trade was not enough to quell the Xiongnu. The Qin needed another solution for the raiding of their empire, so Emperor Shihuangdi began construction of the Great Wall. The work force was made up of peasants and convicts. The Qin construction connected various walls made during the Warring States period. .[2]
The raiding of China by nomadic groups would not stop with the Qin. The Xiongnu would continue to attack the following dynasty, the Han. The Han returned to a diplomatic, or appeasement, strategy to deal with the incoming raids. An extensive period passed with diplomatic stability between the Han and the Xiongnu until the ascension of Emperor Wudi, also known as Wu, in 140 BCE. Wudi chose not to continue decades of diplomacy in favor of advancing into the nomadic regions beyond China. To secure the vast amount of his empire’s border, Wudi hoped to make an agreement with long Chinese ally the Yuezhi. The Yuezhi was another nomadic group that were enemies of the Xiongnu, so they were an ideal ally for the Han. Emperor Wudi sent Zhang Qian as an envoy to the Yuezhi, but he was captured by the Xiongnu. Qian was imprisoned in Xiongnu territory for nearly a decade before his escape. An alliance between the Han and the Yuzehi never flourished.
The Yuezhi were eventually defeated by the rival nomads leaving the Han Dynasty exposed to further raids. The Han would continue their offensive against the Xiongnu until they no longer posed a threat to their borders. Emperor Wudi would then be the next to expand the Great Wall. The Great Wall was extended to the northwest and reached the garrison town of Dunhuang. This large expansion of the Great Wall allowed increased trade of both domestic and foreign goods.
The route of the Great Wall then took travelers to important locations along the Silk Road, such as the capital city of Chang’an. Goods such as silk, glassware, spices, gemstones were among the many items that were traded along these routes. The Han Dynasty also implemented watchtowers along the Great Wall. The soldiers stationed at these watchtowers kept watch to defend their borders, and they would even trade with nomads for furs and horses. Following the Han Dynasty, the Great Wall became an essential part of Chinese trade routes and nomadic immigration. Nomads migrated into China and adapted to traditional Chinese culture. Under the Tang Dynasty, the Great Wall received new garrisons and protected trading. New foreign goods travelled through the Great Wall and allowed common folk to experience foreign commodities. The Great Wall of China would continue to serve as protection for Chinese borders and a significant landmark for Silk Road travel and trade for centuries to come.
[1] This is the text of footnote one.
[2] This is the text of footnote two.
Hansen, Valerie. The Silk Road: A New History with Documents Oxford University Press, 2017.
Liu, Xinru. The Silk Road in World History Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2010. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/pitt-ebooks/detail.action?docID=547953.