Is the Great Wall really "Great"?
Talia Bhatti, intermediate blogger
A long time ago a man named Qin Shi Huangdi decided to build a massive structure in China. The structure he was having built is now called the Great Wall of China. The wall was built because emperor Qin wanted to protect the people from Mongol invaders of the north. The Great Wall was not worth the time, money and effort. Emperor Qin was a very strict ruler. He forced enemies, peasants, and anyone he did not like to build the wall (Mr. Donn). The wall was a waste of time because it never did what it was intended to. The Great Wall of China was supposed to prevent invaders but instead it was a barrier for China from the outside world (History.com). It also cost many emperors a lot of money and time because it went on through many dynasties. The wall was built all the way through the Han, Sui, Jin, and Ming dynasties (The Imperial Era). The Great Wall of China was an ineffective way to protect China and killed many people that never harmed anyone.
Emperor Qin also ruined the lives of many by having the people work on the Great Wall of China. Peasants, enemies, criminals, and anyone Qin did not like worked on the wall. The people were not paid for their work which is called slave labor. There were thousands of workers and almost all of them barely got enough to eat. Many of the workers died of exhaustion, diseases, rocks, and caving of walls. "There is an old Chinese saying, Each stone in the
wall represents a life lost in the wall's construction"(Mr.Donn). This quote shows that there were many people that died while building the massive wall and had to sacrifice other daily life activities. Emperor Qin wasted money, time, and effort building the Great Wall of China as a barrier from the invaders.
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