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1046 BCE
Zhou dynasty
1046-256 BCE -
476 BCE
Warring Period
All the states wanted the territory to themselves. Greedy people. 476-256 BCE -
221 BCE
Qin Dynasty
The Qin King (Shi Huangdi) succeeded in conquering the other states in the warring period and uniting China.
221 B.C.E FUN FACT: Qin is pronounced "Chin" which is why China is called China. -
221 BCE
Construction of the wall begins
(The Northern Frontier Part) Using the existing parts of the wall, Shi Huangdi started to connect them together to build one big barrier.
By this time, the length had increased to 3, 107 miles. -
207 BCE
The Fall Of The Qin Dynasty
China goes into a civil war with all the chaos of Shi Huangdi dying and now being leaderless. -
202 BCE
Civil War!!!
Fighting, Bloodshed, ect. 207-202 BCE -
202 BCE
More Construction and Renovation
Han made sure that the existing walls were properly maintained and renovated as he saw fit. He also built new walls, built for a new purpose. To keep the Huns away and to protect the silk road, which connected China to the west. -
202 BCE
Han Dynasty
A former officer and general, Emperor Gaozu came to power after the civil war had ended. -
180 BCE
The Fall Of The Han Dynasty
Emperor Gaozu died, and his Empress, Lu Zhi, began brutally murdering all of his sons so she could take the throne. (Greedy, much?) 220 AD -
220
Empress Lu Zhi
Although she never really was in complete power, I believe it’s important to recognize her not only as a ruthless murderer but as China’s first reigning empress. -
420
Northern and Southern Dynasties.
Known as the "Northern and Southern Dynasties" While Lu Zhi was kind of in power (But not really), the dynasties were ruling together. These two dynasties were called the Northern Wei Dynasty and The Liu Song Dynasty. They each built their own section of the wall. This was a chaotic time in China's history. -
581
Sui Dynasty and The Construction Carries On
During this time, The Sui Dynasty did a LOT of construction because the Huns were a threat and an ongoing issue. More Northern and Southern walls were built within this time. 581-618 -
618
Tang Dynasty: Construction Slows Down
Barely any construction happened in this dynasty. A mere 93 miles of the wall was built. It was a peaceful time in China's history.
618-907 -
960
Song Dynasty: No Money For Construction
Because of very little money and bad finances, this dynasty did not construct walls on the borders of their territory. 960-1279 -
1115
Jin Dynasty: CONSTRUCTION RE-STARTS! (Finally!)
The Jin Dynasty was an extremely strong and powerful dynasty. But that didn't stop the power-hungry Mongol Empire from wanting to invade. Extreme protection was needed, so as a huge defense mechanism, a large part of the wall was built called the Jin Dynasty Wall. It stretched a whopping 1,025 miles. The wall possessed garrisons, beacon towers, fortresses, and ditches, a huge asset. -
1271
Yuan Dynasty
If you thought the Jin Dynasty was powerful, check out this one! The Yuan dynasty had such a fierce military, they decided they were too good for building walls in their dynasty. -
1368
"The Great Wall's Golden Age" AKA The Ming Dynasty
From 1368 up until 1644, The Ming Dynasty built a crazy amount of the wall. They built 5,500 miles of the wall due to the invading Northern tribes that threatened The Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty emperors also worked hard to ensure that the walls built in the past were kept up and fortified even more. -
Qing Dynasty
The wall that the Qing Dynasty built was called the Willow Line and it was made of a huge trench with willows planted along it. It was really a defensive thing, but it was to stop the Han people from traveling into Northeast China and Inner Mongolia. 1644-1912 -
Rebublic Of China Begins and Dynasties are ancient history
In this year, the Republic of China began marking the end of the dynasties. The wall was fully completed and the full length is 13,170 miles and 40 feet high. -
A Wall To Remember
The Great Wall Of China is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a huge tourist attraction for many people. A fascinating story of it's creation, the Great Wall Of China continues to spark wonder in people's minds to this day.
