The labor
force of building of the Great Wall is mainly derived from the following
sources as we learn from Chinese literature:
Garrison
force is the main force. Qin Shi Huang (the
first emperor of Qin Dynasty) dispatched senior general Meng Tian to
construct the Great Wall with a force of 300,000 men after defeating
the Xiong Nu. It took nine years to complete the project.
Conscripted
laborers:In 555 A.D. or the
sixth reigning year of Tian Bao, Northern Qi Dynasty as many as 1,800,000
laborers were conscripted to repair a 450 km-long Great Wall from Xiakou
Pass, Youzhou (now Nankou Pass, Juyongguan Pass, Beijing) to HengZhou(now
Datong, Shanxi province).
Convicts
and persons sentenced to exile:In Qin and Han dynasties
a special form of punishment was meted out to persons (convicted of
crime) to build the Great Wall. PeiYin, who wrote commentaries on "Shi
Ji" or Record of the Historian quotes Ru Chun assaying that persons
whose hair were shaved off and wore iron rings on neck were sent tobuild
the Great Wall. These men had to watch over invading troops by day and
build the Great Wall by night. The punishment lasted four years.
Other forms
of labor service set up under different names.
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