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The Great Wall is not the work of one dynasty, it has existed in the form
of dirt walls and such for centuries. But the first Qin emperor, Qinshi Huangdi is
generally credited for stitching together the many parts of the wall into a
single entity around 215 BC, fortifying it and adding watchtowers.
This is the same megalomaniacal emperor whose other lasting legacy was the
terracotta warriors. The Great Wall was basically a failure: the Mongols, the
Manchu and other nationalities raided and occupied the Middle Kingdom pretty
much at will, not to mention the Western empires of the 19th century who
actually came to China via the sea, totally circumventing the Wall.
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