The Great Wall of China
explanatory Essay
598 words
The Great Wall of China is an assemblage of smaller walls built by various dynasties over many years. Builders erected these walls for protection from invasions by those from the north. The Great Wall itself, with a history lasting over 2000 years, measures approximately 5,500 miles in length, although some of the sections lie in ruin or have disappeared altogether. It is about 25 feet high and is 15-30 feet wide. It is the longest man-made structure in the world.
In the 7th century B.C. the first of the smaller walls were constructed. Few of these remain today, but they were the starting point of what became the Great Wall of China. The first emperor to have the various lengths of walls joined together was Qin Shi Huang, whose dynasty ran from 221-206 B.C. He is well-known for his Terracotta Army. From 206 B.C-1368 A.D. the Great Wall was extended and rebuilt in order to keep invaders from crossing the northern borders. During the Ming Dynasty, which ran from 1368-1644 the wall reached its greatest length. In the final Chinese dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, which ran from 1644-1911, Ma...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the great wall of china is an assemblage of smaller walls built by various dynasties over many years.
- Describes the construction of the great wall of china in the 7th century b.c.
- Explains that the ming dynasty was the longest graveyard on earth because approximately one million people died during its construction. the chinese invented the wheelbarrow.
- Explains that bandaling is the most popular section of the great wall of china. it is close to beijing and easy to access and climb.
- Explains that the nan pass, at the southern part of the juyongguan section, is for those who wish to explore without tourists surrounding them.
- Describes the mutianyu section of the great wall, which is 45 miles from beijing. it is known for its large number of watchtowers.
- Explains that the shanhaiguan pass section of the great wall gives visitors a chance to understand the military power of ancient china.
- Explains that the chinese had several methods of defending their wall. some sections of the great wall were surrounded by deep ditches or moats filled with water.
- Explains that president nixon visited the wall in the 1970s, and during the 2008 olympics, one of the best-preserved sections near beijing was used as the finishing point for a cycling course. thanks to the easing of travel restrictions, the world is now able to appreciate the great wall of china.
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- The Triumph Of The Great Wall Of Chinaexplanatory essayThe Great Wall of China has been called a wonder by many who have seen it. It brings pride to the Chinese nation, and is known for being the only man made structure visible from space. The magnitude of The Great Wall is an architectural achievement as well as an example of the will power of man. Many find it hard to believe that such an amazing sight could have a history so filled with death, slavery and sadness as The Great Wall does. The Great Wall of China is one of the world's most famous architectural triumphs and has helped China throughout its history, even though its creation is marked by tragedy.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the great wall of china was instrumental in the evolution of modern wall building techniques.
- Explains that the great wall protected the early chinese empire and protected early trade for china. the defensive reasoning for the wall disappeared once the nomads realized there were easy ways to get around it.
- Explains that the magnitude of the great wall is an architectural achievement as well as an example of the will power of man.
- Explains that the chinese had to have an organized government to build the great wall.
- Opines that the great wall is a world-famous symbol and inspires many people. it has helped china's economy from the days of the silk road through the present.
2603 wordsRead More - The Berlin Wallopinion essayThe Berlin Wall Today people belong to the CNN generation. Any time an event happens in the world today people turn to CNN. In recent years, the Gulf War, and the events in Bosnia have been headliners. In 1989, one event monopolized the airways of CNN, THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the recent events, such as the gulf war, and cnn.
- Explains that germany is rapidly becoming one of the key business centers in all of europe.
- Explains that the soviet union wanted to bring the war to german soil.
- Explains that after august 23, 1961, citizens of west berlin were no longer allowed to enter east berlin.
- Opines that houses were with-in view of the west side of city.
- Explains that the sheer size of berlin proved that they could not build a wall.
- Describes a concrete tube on top of it, and explains how it was hidden on the eastern side.
- Explains that people who got over the wall were shot in the death area, hence the name.
- Explains that the city's border cut through 192 streets, 97 leading in to east berlin.
- Explains that many escapees made it to the west through fields and woods.
- Opines that things in the country section were far more complex than in a city section.
- Opines that even thinking about escape would be crazy. they also had a roving patrol with dogs.
- Explains that germany, and the railway had to go through as well.
- Explains that the vastness of the city meant that goods and services had to come in from the outside.
- Opines that the occupation of world war ii fuelled the hearts of the people.
- Opines that the wall was permanent, and the chances of it ever coming were slim.
- Explains that berliner like the citizens of berlin was also a citizen of germany.
- Explains that the government was in no position to resist them and in november 1989 the wall came.
- Opines that if he had only known, any of the people who died would not have died.
- Explains that they still did not view them as germans, but as austrians.
- Opines that she still can't shake the idea that east germany is part of germany.
- Explains that berliners had access to a vast array of goods from all over the world, while the east.
- Narrates how they were shocked when they took a ride on the berlin u-bahn.
- Analyzes how the lavishly decorated stations made the stations in the western side look bad.
- Explains that the guards were armed, and had dogs. they were not like a guard along the wall.
- Explains that since the fall of the wall, berlin has taken its place among other german cities.
- Describes the distances between hamburg, frankfurt, and hamburg.
- Explains that berlin has a population of 3.5 million people. access to the city can be by public transport.
- Explains that the rail way has two main stations, the bahnof zoo (station) and the zoo.
- Opines that the wall was not the sole reason for this split.
- Opines that the wall only gave there intentions to the division of berlin.
- Opines that pinckney d. after the wall was over, times litery supplement, feb. 24 1995, p10(3).
- Describes schlegel n. berlin rebuilds and redefines. europe may 1995.
- Analyzes isaac j. the meaning of 1989. central and eastern europe: gains and losses in the
- Analyzes shpakov's how the berlin wall collapsed. moscow news, nov.
- Opines that the fall of the berlin wall succeeded in one aspect that today is still not been rectified; the wall divided berlin into two.
- Explains that after the wall was destroyed eight years ago, the city remained divided, and is still divided today.
- Narrates how they wanted to stay stateside, with little travel. going on a one to two year hardship overseas tour did not appeal to them.
- Explains how and when the wall was constructed, and of what material. they also explain how the fall and the tunnels affected the travel within the city.
- Opines that the city is no longer restricted by its cold war status as the symbolic dividing.
- Explains that berlin and west berlin were in the soviet sector of the post-war division, but the capital too was divided among the victorious allies.
- Narrates how the western allies demanded that west berlin should become a free city within six months.
- Opines that no one has the intention of constructing a wall.
- Analyzes how the soviets did not plan to give up their influence in the city. the berlin airlift of 1947-49 is a great example.
- Explains that the soviets cut off supply routes to berlin during the berlin air lift. the only way supplies could be brought into the city was to fly over and drop them.
- Explains that the allies participated in a massive airlift in which french, us, and british planes were dropping 8,000 tons of food and fuel into the blockade.
- Describes how berlin bled to death after he was shot down by east berlin border patron in an attempt to escape over the wall.
- Explains that berlin was a divided city, one side as capitalist democracy, and the other as communist state.
- Opines that one would have jumped off an apartment building with a glider and sailed across the area.
- Explains that the numbers on the wall were killed in attempting to escape. the west german embassy could not deal with all the escapee’s.
- Explains that the wall was deep in the middle of east germany, and it was barely fifty kilometers from the polish border.
- Opines that the fall of the berlin wall was due to bigger reasons than the political culture of europe at the time.
- Explains that people wanted to be involved in this historic occasion. the wall had served as a symbol for germany, that had been split.
- Opines that the european union, to citizens of east berlin before the fall would never be reality, but in west berlin, the citizens always hoped the city would again be united to its
- Opines that even in their last visit in 1995, people were still happy the wall was down, but they still refer to east germans and west german’s as
- Narrates how they bought a two-stroke engine for fifty dollars when they were stationed in germany.
- Explains that the posters they observed were of berlin decadence, the berlin city opera, and cultural events that during the wall era people in east berlin.
- Explains that the railway system was begun to be built in 1896. these lines before the wall went to east and west berlin freely.
- Explains that concrete collars were set in the roof and sides of the tunnel, so trains could fit through with little room on top or either side. escape would be impossible a person attempting to stand by the wall.
- Explains that berlin is back as a center of german society. the capital of all german has been moved from bonn, back to berlin.
- Opines that the resurgence of berlin will put them back on top as a world leader.
3079 wordsRead More - the Berlin wallexplanatory essayThe Berlin wall was built in 1961 and it did not come down until 1989, twenty–eight years later. Walter Ulbricht built the wall in order to prevent people from escaping communism for a better life style under capitalism. The wall separated West Berlin from East Berlin, which was controlled by the Russian communist.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the berlin wall was built in 1961 and it did not come down until 1989, twenty-eight years later. walter ulbricht built the wall to prevent people from escaping communism for a better life under capitalism.
- Explains that at the end of world war ii, the allied powers divided germany into four zones, each occupied by the united states, great britain, france, or the soviet union.
- Explains that by the end of 1948 the two parts of the city had their own policy, government and currency. they were still able to travel east to west and west to east.
- Explains that the berlin wall was originally built overnight using concrete posts and barbed wire for fencing.
- Explains that the berlin wall was built in 1961 to keep people from leaving communism. 511 people tried to escape east berlin, but were killed by the gdr guards.
- Explains how people used creative methods to escape from the gdr, such as digging tunnels and escaping through barbed wire.
- Narrates how the gdr government resigned on november 7, 1989, and all border crossings were opened. on october 3, 1990, the flag of the federal republic of germany was raised in berlin.
- Analyzes the rise and fall of the berlin wall by erin dauer. hildebrandt rainer. it happened at the wall.
531 wordsRead More - the berlin wallexplanatory essayThe Berlin Wall was a tangible symbol of the suppression of human rights by the bloc of Eastern Germany during the Cold War. The people of Berlin Germany were divided by a wall because of issues between the free world and the communist world.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the berlin wall was a tangible symbol of the suppression of human rights by the bloc of eastern germany during the cold war.
- Describes how germany divided berlin into four zones, with the soviet union, united states, britain, and france all having a zone. after the second wall went up, more than 200 people died trying to flee to the west.
- Explains that the soviet union wanted berlin to be communist, but berlin didn't want a communist government. the united states, britain, and france were all against the wall.
- Explains that east berlin lost one-sixth of its population before the soviet union put up the wall. by 1961 around three million people had left east germany for the west.
- Explains that west berlin was the side run by the united states, great britain, and eventually france. germans crossed the east-west border to work, shop, go to the theater and the movies.
- Describes how east berlin's communist party announced a change in its relations with the west on november 9, 1989. the reunification of east and west germany was made official on october 3, 1990.
556 wordsRead More - East Asia Regionexplanatory essay"The Great Wall of China." The Great Wall of China. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2013. .
In this essay, the author
- Explains that east asia is a region located in the northeastern hemisphere of the world.
- Explains that east asia has many tectonic plates inside of its boundary and surrounding it. it has a humid subtropical climate.
- Explains that the three gorges dam, the yellow river, and the great wall of china are the most well-known physical features of east asia.
- Explains that the three gorges dam is an artificial creation, built by humans, and the land around the yangtze river was diminished and destroyed.
- Explains that the yellow river is a home to over 189 million people. the great wall of china was built by three groups of people: soldiers, common people, and criminals.
- Analyzes how the three gorges dam has affected the lives of those who lived in the area. the yellow river has been affected by pollution, hydropower, and intensive water extraction for human consumption, agriculture and industrial use.
- Explains that the three gorges dam could change the earth's axis due to the weight of the built-up water. the yellow river is more polluted than ever, making life along the river uninhabitable.
- Explains that east asia is a region that has many features that make it unique and different. it has amazing physical features, some that are the largest or biggest in the world.
- Cites dahl, michael, pang, guek, and zobel, derek. china. mankato, minn.: bridgestone books.
- Explains china's three gorges dam environmental impact. n.p., n.d.
- Explains that china's three gorges dam, by the numbers, is published in national geographic.
- Explains the geography of east asia and the great wall of china.
1188 wordsRead More - Changes And Continuities In The Shang Dynastyexplanatory essayThe founder of the Qin dynasty was Qin Shi Huangdi, a title meaning “First Emperor.” He was a brutal ruler, but he brought about many changes. However, in addition to all the new, some old ideas were continued from the Zhou, such as the emphasis on the wheat and rice staple foods, and the philosophies, Confucianism and Daoism. The old continuities tended to have been deeply embraced by China, and, just as the Zhou did, the Qin would create some ideas that lasted, and some that did not. Qin Shi Huangdi enforced a tough autocratic rule and, as a result, opposed formal culture that could make people counter his rule. This meant that he burned many books and attacked Confucian ideas in order to keep the people from generating rebellious ideas. When the Qin dynasty fell, so too did the opposition towards education, because it took away from the civilization culturally. Despite the fact that the Qin dynasty was very short and had little time to fully develop its systems and ideas, it did pump out a vast quantity of new and lasting concepts, such as the Great Wall and a central government. One of the biggest contenders for the most well-known feature of the Qin dynasty is the Great Wall. This architectural masterpiece extends over 3,000 miles, and was mainly a
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the fall of the shang dynasty ended the river valley society in china, followed by the zhou, qin, and han empires.
- Explains that the zhou dynasty was the beginning of great social, political, environmental, cultural, and economic advances in china.
- Explains that both philosophies had a strong focus on ethics and morality, while daoism leaned more towards religious enlightenment, whereas confucianism branched out towards social and political relationships.
- Explains that the qin dynasty brought back new social, political, environmental, cultural, and economic ideas and improvements.
- Explains that the great wall is one of the most enduring continuities in the qin dynasty, and the emphasis on a central government.
- Explains that the han dynasty formatted china's basic political and intellectual structure by combining and adapting the systems from the past.
- Explains that the bureaucracy handicapped upper-class rule and limited arbitrary use of power by the emperor himself, making it a strong han feature that did not change.
1657 wordsRead More - Causes Of The Marshall Planexplanatory essayAt first it was a make shift wall made overnight using anything they could to build it up. Going on for about 100 miles. Some east people refused and tried to get over to the west but ended up a bloody mess. This wall blocked of families from seeing each other. Cut of workers from there work and kept the spread of socialism down.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the marshall plan was a program to boost economies to keep the spread of communism from the east.
- Describes how a make-shift wall was built overnight using anything they could to build it up. some east people refused and tried to get over to the west.
- Explains that the east side was losing 100,000 people a year to the west, and the soviets refused to pull their troops. east germany began construction of the berlin wall.
- Explains that the soviet union was in a major movement, trying to spread communism in as many places as possible.
- Explains that after world war 2, many countries in europe were destroyed, their economies were struggling, and many blamed it on their government. communist saw this as a way to start communist take-over, while america was the strongest and wealthiest economy.
- Explains how america constructed the marshall plan, a program to give financial aid and other resources to any country in need of help.
- Explains that before the wall was put up, berlin was separated by a tension of polar opposite beliefs. the soviets saw they were losing thousands and decided to trap the people in their place.
- Describes how the soviet leader nikita khrushchev built a five-meter-tall, 45-kilometer-long concrete wall to stop contact between east and west berlin.
- Explains that america responded by creating airlifts to supply the people trapped in between the wall. kennedy gave a speech to boost the west berliners attitude.
- Opines that freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but it permits us to make economic progress.
- Opines that while the wall is the most obvious and vivid demonstration of the communist system's failures, for all the world to see, we take no satisfaction in it.
- Opines that real, lasting peace in europe cannot be assured as long as one german out of four is denied the elementary right of free men, and that is to make a free choice.
- Opines that freedom is indivisible, and when one man is slaved, all are not free. the people of west berlin can take sober satisfaction in the fact that they were on the front lines for almost two decades.
- Opines that the berlin wall was used as symbolism to promote the cold war, showing that one can break through any barriers in life.
1244 wordsRead More - The Berlin Wallexplanatory essayThe Berlin Wall ferociously slashed through the rights of the people of Germany. People have the right to go and live where they choose. Constructing a wall to trap and limit people was wrong. The people of Germany were oppressed economically and politically.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the berlin wall slashed through the rights of the people of germany. constructing a wall to trap and limit people was wrong.
- Explains that the berlin wall was put up for political and economic gain. approximately 2.7 million germans escaped from east germany to west germany.
- Describes how east berlin was carved in two by police and soldiers in the soviet sector. the barbed wire was swapped with concrete slabs and hollow blocks.
- Explains that the berlin wall had unpleasant effects on the germans for 28 excruciatingly long years. the german families were split with no way to see each other. german workers who worked on either side of the wall lost their jobs.
- Explains that the germans wanted to escape east germany's wall, but the government in east berlin made the selling of rope and twine illegal.
- Explains that the wetzel and strlzyck families purchased little amounts of nylon cloth inconspicuously, and sewed it together to create a hot air balloon.
- Describes how a huge network of tunnels was constructed to try and carry out this hopeful feat.
- Describes how the berlin wall finally came down on november 9, 1989, after 28 years of sliced a city in two. the germans' absolute right to freedom was won back.
- Explains that their websites are primary sources because they got so much information from each and every website they used.
- Explains that they used the website's basic information to explain when and how the berlin wall was constructed.
- Explains that they used this website a lot for information about the effects of the berlin wall.
- Explains that the website helped them discover some consequences of the berlin wall. it was the main source of information about climbing over the wall.
- Explains that the information they found on the website was a great help to understand escape tactics.
- Explains that this website was the entire source of information about trying to tunnel under the berlin wall.
- Opines that this website gave them oodles and gobs of information about escape attempts from the berlin wall.
999 wordsRead More - The Berlin Wallexplanatory essayThe Berlin Wall Throughout the history of the World, there are many great facts, and things to learn. There is an abundance of information out there not only about our country but about the rest of the world also. After researching the Berlin Wall, I was quite interested, and did not realize what I was missing out on about the past history of our world. I am going to share all that I learned about the Berlin Wall, and how it made a difference in our past and future times.
In this essay, the author
- Describes how they learned about the berlin wall and how it made a difference in our past and future times.
- Explains that the berlin wall was built on the night between 12th and 13th august 1961.
- Opines that the berlin wall was built simply because germany was controlled by communist regime, and by the soviet union.
- Opines that 2nd dawning is the best music they've ever played. they compare the berlin wall with it because it's emotional.
- Explains that their main weakness in 2nd dawning is 123 to 131; the other is the sextuplet runs from 147 to
- Explains that they have learned a great deal about the berlin wall and how it affected our country, and other countries.
810 wordsRead More - The Berlin Wallanalytical essayThe Berlin Crisis reached its height in the fall of 1961. Between August and October of that year, the world watched as the United States and the Soviet Union faced off across a new Cold War barrier, the Berlin Wall. In some ways, the Wall was Khrushchev’s response to Kennedy’s conventional buildup at the end of July, and there were some in the West who saw it that way. However, as Hope Harrison has clearly shown, Khrushchev was not the dominant actor in the decision to raise the Wall, but rather acquiesced to pressure from East German leader Walter Ulbricht, who regarded the Wall as the first step to resolving East Germany’s political and economic difficulties. The most pressing of these difficulties was the refugee problem, which was at its height in the summer of 1961 as thousands of East Germans reacted to the increased tensions by fleeing westward. But Ulbricht also saw the Wall as a way to assert East German primacy in Berlin, and thus as a way to increase the pressure on the West to accept East German sovereignty over all of Berlin.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how khrushchev acquiesced to pressure from east german leader walter ulbricht, who regarded the wall as the first step to resolving east germany's political and economic difficulties.
- Argues that ulbricht was the only player who regarded the wall in this manner. khrushchev was willing to keep the peace treaty and the ultimatum on the table, but was growing concerned that the united states was not buckling under the pressure.
- Analyzes how western leaders saw the wall as an admission by khrushchev that his pressure on berlin was not working in the face of their steadfast policy.
- Analyzes how the building of the new berlin wall caused tensions, both official and unofficial, and confrontations were almost inevitable. the standoff between american and soviet tanks at checkpoint charlie was climactic during the cold war.
- Analyzes how the kennedy administration was keen on restarting work in live oak, on the basis of what they hoped would be a new nato strength proportional to the new american strength.
791 wordsRead More