By: Andy Prevalsky
The Great Wall of China Origins-
The idea of building large walls in order to protect certain areas of established land from outsiders originated all the way back to the 8th century BCE in China, however since then it has been expanded upon greatly by more recent Chinese Dynasties. As these Dynasties (i.e: Tang and Han dynasties) extended parts of the wall it eventually became a well known landmark for the China and its territories.
The Great Wall's Symbolism of Strength-
Even when the Great Wall wasn't constantly physically maintained it was an important cultural symbol of the Chinese, in old Chinese texts the Great Wall was often shown as the Northern Border, indicating its importance for both cultural and political relations. However as time passed the Great Wall wasn't as much as a national border as much as it was a line of control (this use of the wall can most notably seen during the time of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). More currently the Great Wall serves more of a tourist attraction then as an actual boundary of sorts, this use of the Great Wall facilitates and stimulates economic growth and can also be seen as a symbol of China's economic prosperity.
The Great Wall's Weaknesses
While the Great Wall was widely successful in many aspects it had some negative impacts on China as a whole. It collapsed the Ming Dynasty through an internal conflict within the country which also led to a weakening of the country. The reason it led to this collapse was because the wall meant that people were separated from other countries which caused an influx in poverty and rebellion. This caused a type of isolation in Northern China that led to a stunt of growth in that area. In addition to this flaw was the fact that the wall was easily trespassed and didn't do a great deal to physically protect the Chinese borders.