Chinese+Architecture

 ===Do you know any man-made building over 4000 miles long? It is the Great Wall of China that, built in Shanhaiguan during the 5th century BC, protected China. The importance of the Great Wall can be demonstrated when one understands how it was built, its purpose, and the amount of people who visit it. The Great Wall was mainly built from earth, stones, and wood. But when the wall started to go into the mountains, they even used sanded wood. There were 3 main groups of workers: soldiers, common people, and criminals. The soldiers made up the main building group. About 300,000 soldiers were sent to build the wall (Hessler, Peter, para 3). Even with all these workers, it still took about 9 years to finish the project. In order to make the soldiers feel comfortable; the court gave the soldiers women to marry. The criminals were forced in to labor as punishment. They had to watch the wall during the day and build during the night. It was said that almost 2-3 million people died from this project. The Great Wall was built in the 5th century for a good reason. It may seem like the Great Wall was meant to keep people out. In fact, the Wall couldn’t keep anybody out of China. If some people were to try invading China, the wall would only slow them down. The wall didn't have people watching it and it was very expensive to do so. The main reason of the Great Wall was to stop the groups of Mongols. The Mongols would try to rob China often. It did slow invaders, though. The Chinese used smart signals, setting fires on the wall with straw and dung to alert the guards at far posts. One column of black smoke meant a small group of people, while four columns meant as many as 10,000 men were approaching (Wulingyuan, para 1). After the wall was built, its scary size prevented attacks from other countries. It still stands today, not as a protective guardian, but as a tourist site. A trip to China wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Great Wall of China. The reason is simple: it is one of China’s most important symbol of the Chinese culture. It is also one of the best known ancient constructions in the world ( Wikimedia Foundation, Inc , para 3). One of the most popular spots is the Shanghai pass, which is the East entrance of the Great Wall. The other popular spots are the different watchtowers because a lot of history is stored in them. The Great Wall gets a little over a million visits per year. Overall, the Great Wall of China is a very important structure. It protected many people from danger when the Mongols attacked and kept out bad people from bordering countries. It is also the biggest man-made building in the world, 4000 miles long, making it a popular tourism spot for people visiting China. ===

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= > ====== ====== === >> ====== Imagine stepping foot off of a sixteen hour plane ride in Beijing the Chinese capitol, the first thing you will probably see is a pagoda. Pagodas are a very important part of Chinese culture that were created in 1887 with what was believed to have been for religious aspects. But, today are what common buildings have as roofs. Pagodas are very important in Asian and more specifically Chinese life. Throughout Chinese History Pagodas have had a major impact on society, architecture and art. Furthermore Pagodas are very important to the people of China. Pagodas had a grand influence on Chinese Society. Their most important attribute was that they served as a roof to cover homes and buildings but generally more buildings in populated city areas. Buildings that had many levels of Pagodas were said to originally been set in place to channel God. (Smith P.2) Now throughout China many churches are displayed with a multiple level Pagoda design. Pagodas were comprised of many shingles grouped together. Pagodas were made up of bamboo and crushed brick to hold the design in place. (Cheng 3). Not all Pagodas were slanted but they all had a designed that was curved so that they could drain the water that was on top to reduce the flooding. Throughout China currently the Pagoda Design is used in architecture in buildings, homes, schools and churches. I believe that China had a major impact in Architecture because of the Pagodas. I think that Pagodas had a lasting impact on China and through out Asia that will last for years to come. The pagoda was originally used to channel God and Chinese people today believe if their home has a pagoda style roof they will have good fortunate and their soles would be sanctified. I think that because many Chinese people have that belief then they will strive to be better people and not allow negativity in their homes. I believe pagodas will be an everlasting part of Chinese History. Pagodas have also had an importance in China through Art. Many paintings have been featured about Pagodas especially by the renowned famous Artist Cheng Di Jou. He was from the 1950’s and was said to have had the most details of the texture in each particular shingle. Jou also was asked to paint pictures of many churches. Many wealthy people flocked to him to have him paint a picture of their house with great precision. Pagodas also have an important role by being displayed in Artwork in Churches through out China. Additionally many art galleries have paintings of pagodas featured as well. Furthermore Pagodas are very important to Chinas art scene. Pagodas are very important and renowned through out Chinese culture and play an important roll in many Chinese peoples lives. I think that pagodas will play an important role for many years to come. With out pagodas the Chinese architecture, society and art would be less meaningful and the Chinese people might have a different aspect on life. ======  ==== =

 Works Cited Cheng, Gee “ Pagodas.” __Chinesehelp.__ 2006. Chinaworld. 26 Feb. 2009  "Chinese Pagoda" [] 12 Mar 2009.

Hessler, Peter. "The Great Wall of China." China's Tourist Spots. 1 Mar. 2009 <[]> "Pagoda" [] 12 Mar 2009

"Pagoda Painting" [] 12 Mar 2009.

Smith, Lan. "Pagodas." __Chinaworld__. 2004. 28 Feb. 2009 [|www.chinaworld.com/history_pagodas.htm]. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. "History." The Great Wall of China. 1 Mar. 2009 

Wulingyuan. "Travel China Guide." Travel China Guide. 1 Mar. 2009 

"East entrance great wall of china - Search." __Google__. 12 Mar. 2009 .

"The Great Wall of China." __Online Travel Guides of Travel Destinations - Las Vegas, Caribbean, Hawaii and Machu Picchu__. 12 Mar. 2009 [].

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Great Wall of China. [] March 16, 2009