Transcript THE GREAT WALL AND THE FORBIDDEN CITY

The wonders of
CHINA
THE GREAT WALL
The Great Wall
◦
The wall stretches about
5,500 miles.
◦ It winds up and down across
deserts, mountains, grasslands
and plateaus.
◦ It travels from east to west
China.
◦
Nearly 2000 years old. Some
sections are decayed.
CHINA’S WONDERS
The Great Wall
Construction began in the 7th century BC.
 Sections built under Chou dynasty each
built their own walls for protection.
 After state of Chin (Qin) unified country
in 221 BC, it joined the walls to hold off
invaders from the north.
◦ Invader: Huns
The Great Wall

Major renovation under
the Ming Dynasty
◦ Present form under Ming.

Ming wanted to make
sure Mongols would not
come back.
The Great Wall
Towers of the Wall
are 32 feet high
 It has battle forts at
important points and
the corners.

◦ Soldiers were posted on
top to warn of attacks.
◦ Mulan Clip
◦
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=dpYRZdw0UpA
CHINA’S WONDERS

Great Wall: History
◦ is crenellated for watching
and shooting at the invading
enemy.
CHINA’S WONDERS
Great Wall
http://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=-DbriF1YmA0
The Ming Dynasty
1368-1644
 Formed by Zhu
Yuanzhang

◦ He successfully forced
the Mongols out of
the country
 Wanted to restore
Chinese greatness
The Ming Dynasty

Yuanzhang was born a peasant
& worked through the military
ranks
◦ Known as a harsh ruler
 killed all of his opposition

Brought pride & power back
to China
◦ Reinstated Civil Service

Concentrated on agriculture
Zhu Yuanzhang
Forbidden City
What is the purpose of the Forbidden
City?
 What dynasties ruled from it?
 How many rooms are in the forbidden
City?
 How long did it take to build?

Forbidden City

Location: center of Beijing
◦ It served as the Emperor’s
palace during the Ming and Qin
dynasties.
 Now it is a palace museum.
◦ It is the world’s largest palace
complex and covers over 2.3
million square feet
CHINA’S WONDERS

Forbidden Palace
◦ Surrounded by a six
meter deep moat
◦ About 25 ft high wall
◦ There are over 800
buildings and 9999
rooms.
Forbidden City

History:
◦ Construction began in
1406.
 14 years to build.
 200,000 men used
◦ Housed 24 emperors
until 1912
Chinese Exploration
Chinese Exploration

Cheng Ho: one of China’s
greatest explorers
◦ Born a commoner & Muslim
◦ Captured by the military

Reached India & East Coast of
Africa
◦ Made 7 voyages
◦ 100,000 miles
◦ Established a trade empire for
China
Chinese Exploration
Chinese Exploration

Began having major problems with pirates
in the Pacific
◦ The emperor forced all people to move away
from the coast & closed down China
He told his people they would be a
continental power
 No one was allowed to enter or leave the
country

◦ Results in the Chinese falling behind the rest
of the world: ISOLATION
CHINA’S WONDERS

Forbidden City
Manchu Invasion
Manchu Dynasty aka
Qing Dynasty
 Last Dynasty of
China: 1644-1912
 Founded by Manchu
people

◦ Semi-nomadic people
from NE China
Manchu Invasion
1644: Manchu were able to take
advantage of rebellions against Ming
 Ming Rebellions:
 Beijing was conquered by rebel forces led
by Li Zicheng

◦ Ming army did not protect the capital because
they had mutinied because the emperor was
not paying them
◦ Rather than be captured the last Ming
emperor hanged himself
Manchu Invasion

Wu Sangui (Ming general) allied himself
with the Manchu
◦ In order to drive out the rebel forces

They were successful but this allowed the
Manchu to take over
Manchu Dynasty
Developed peacefully : it was a time of
economic growth & development
 Tried to forced their way of life on China
but adopted Chinese cultures & traditions
 Limits:
◦ only Manchu could hold the highest government
office
◦ Marriage was forbidden between Manchu & Han
◦ Imperial China reached it height of power