Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
The Grandest of Grand DesignsImagine you are about to board a plane to China and you are going to see the Great Wall.
What questions could you ask the tour guide?
Take a virtual tour of the Great Wall for yourself by clicking on the link below. Describe what the wall looks like and the materials you think it was made of.
http://www.panoramas.dk/7-wonders/great-wall.html
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
万里长城 (Wàn lǐ cháng chéng) means "Thousand Miles Long City Wall".
The wall length is10000 Li. 10000 Li is equivalent to 3107 miles or 5000 km.
Why was the Great Wall of China built?
The construction of the Great Wall began during the Warring States Period on 7th century BC more than 2,500 years ago. Many dukedoms built walls in Central China to protect themselves from each other and from the “barbarians” in Mongolia. The walls were built in the states of Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei and Qin. At that time, the Great Wall was only a regional project to ward off enemies from the north. However, the separate walls were joined together and consequently stretched from east to west for about 5000 kilometres in the Qin Dynasty. The Wall was further extended and strengthened in the succeeding dynasties. During the Ming Dynasty, the Northern nomadic ethnic groups became very powerful. The Emperor then ordered the renovation of the Wall many times until its full length was 6,700 kilometres (more than ten thousand Li, Li is a unit of measurement in Ancient China).
Summary
Why was the Great Wall built?
The Great Wall of China started construction in…………………………………………….. .
Dukedoms built walls to………………………………………………………………… Walls were built in the following Chinese states
………………………................................................................................. The separate walls were eventually joined together during the
……….........……………………………. and stretch for more than …………………………………………………………….
Source: http://www.google.com.au/url?q=http://www.mitchellteachers.com
What materials were used to build the Great Wall?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB4nXADdPPY
At the beginning, the Great Wall was mainly made of earth, stones and wood. Due to the large quantity of materials required to construct the Great Wall, the builders tried to use local resources. When they built over the mountain ranges, the stones of the mountain were used in the plains; earth was rammed between two constructed frames; in the desert, even the reeds and juniper tamarisks were used to build the Great Wall.
During the Qin Dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC) the Great Wall was basically built by tamping the earth. In this period, the wall was made of layers of rammed earth. The section remaining in Gansu Province today is a typical example. Scientists have found that the foundation comprises a layer of raw earth, over 1.5 metres thick at the bottom. The wall was built on this foundation from layers of *tamped-earth.
During the period of Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), earth or crude stones were still popular. The construction material did not reach a new level until the middle of the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644).
Bricks were a more convenient material than earth and stone as their small size and lightweight made them convenient to carry, thus increasing the speed of construction. Stone material was found to better resist breaking down so that in the Ming dynasty, the wall was largely built with a tamped-earth interior between kiln-fired bricks and stone slabs forming the outer layers. The popular tourist section, Badaling section in Beijing is built this way. The workers mixed lime and sticky rice as a mortar filled between the bricks. This form of cement made the wall more solid.
Questions:In the beginning what materials were used to construct the Great Wall of China? How did they build it?………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
In the following table, write in the Dynasty and date and the materials each of the dynasties used to construct the Great Wall of China.
Dynasty Materials used
Who built the Great Wall of China?
There are two main Emperors and dynasties that contributed to the construction and they are Emperor Qin and Emperor Ming.
Emperor Qin
Emperor Qin Shi Huang, conquered many opposing states, unified under his Qin Dynasty and ordered to build the Great Wall of China in 221 BC. Qin Shi used captured enemies, criminals, peasants and anyone whom he disliked for the construction of Great Wall. Though there are no historical records, many historians claim that the Great Wall of China was built by hundreds of thousands workers. During the construction of the Great Wall workers were plagued with many diseases and thousands of workers lost their lives. As many scholars say, “Each stone in the wall represents a life lost in the wall’s construction”. It is also known as the world’s longest cemetery.
http://www.dgreatwallofchina.com/Artist Unknown http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Qinshihuangdi3.jpg
Emperor Ming and the Ming Dynasty
Much of the Great Wall of China that still exists today was at the peak of its construction during the Ming dynasty. The design of the Ming Wall was well thought out. For example, Xuanfuzhen Great Wall in Beijing, due to its strategic position, was built with double lines, inner and outer, to strengthen its defensive ability.
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/china_great_wall/history/ming/
Reflecting
After reading the 2 passages write how each Emperor and Dynasty made an important contribution the construction of the Great Wall of China.
Emperor Qin is significant to the construction of the Great Wall of China because he:
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Emperor Ming and the Ming Dynasty is significant to the construction of the Great Wall of China because:
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Artist: Palace Painterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:明太祖.jpg
What else do we learn about Emperor Qin and the construction of the Great Wall?………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Myths about the Great Wall
There are many myths and legends regarding the Great Wall of China. One popular myth is the myth of Meng Jiang Nu. Watch the following clip on the Myth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgIQtO65WJQ
Tell the myth of Meng Jiangnu………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Putting your thinking caps on
You have just read why the Great Wall of China is an important legacy and why it needs to be protected. Brain storm together as a class and write the reasons why you think it is important below in a mind map.
In your own words, why do you think the Great Wall of China is important to our understanding of the past? Use examples.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Why is the Great Wall of China an
important legacy?
Click on the following link and take a quick quiz on the Great Wall of China as a class.http://edsitement.neh.gov/sites/edsitement.neh.gov/files/GreatWall_Newest.swf
Modern Marvels Great Wall of China Documentary Questions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo98NssbxTc
1. When did the Great Wall of China become the unofficial symbol of the Chinese nation and who was responsible for this?…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. What was the traditional Chinese view of the Great Wall of China?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3. Who was the first traveller to complete walking the Great Wall of China?………………………………………………………………………………………………………
4. Can you see the Great Wall of China from space?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. Is the Great Wall of China one big wall? Explain?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
6. Why did the states start building walls?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………...................................................................................................
7. What made Chin Chu Wan Di want to build a wall?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
8. Why was the Great Wall not built in a straight line?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
9. What are the different ways in which they constructed the Great Wall and what did they use?………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
10.Who did they use to build the Great Wall?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
11.What did the Emperor become obsessed with?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
12.Was it easy for barbarians to get through the Great Wall? Why?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
13.Which Barbarian overthrew China and when?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
14.Why is the Ming dynasty important to the construction to the Great Wall?………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
15.How did they construct the Great Wall?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
16.What is the Great Wall of China called in Chinese?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
17.Who overthrew the Ming Dynasty and when?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
18.Why were parts of the Great Wall destroyed in the 20th Century?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
