Which Chinese Emperor initiated the construction of the Great Wall of China?
Great Wall of China,general term applied to number of unified defence lines built by the Chinese in an east-to-west direction,and stretching from the Yellow Sea to Kansu province or beyond.Before the imperial period the Chinese kingdoms put up earthworks as defence lines against each other.After the unification of 211 BC the newly created Chi’n empire had these lines unified as a single system and maintained with static garrison forces.In the Han period the walls were extended to the west and acted not only as a defence against the Hsiung-nu,but also as a means of preventing the escape of deserters from China and as a safe means of conduct for Chinese envoys and yrading caravans.In times of dynastic weakness or take-over by alien dynasties the walls fell into despair,and the most successful attempts to rebuild them were those of the T’ang and Ming governments.The situation of the walls,their size,and material of which they were constructed have been subject to variation.
