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My weekend read on ancient China has me wondering about the Great Wall
I read a book on the Great Wall and saw two views. One says it was key for keeping invaders out, the other argues it hurt the economy. By checking old documents, I found it worked for a time but failed later. What if they never built it? Could China have grown stronger another way?
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raymartin1mo ago
What if the real cost wasn't the stone and labor, but the chance to do something else? I used to just see it as a big, failed fence. But after reading more, it seems like the bigger problem was that once you start building a wall, you have to keep paying to man it forever. That constant drain on money and soldiers might have been what really held them back.
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lewis.barbara1mo ago
That's an interesting take, but the wall was more about border control than total defense. It let the empire manage trade and movement, not just stop armies. That system probably helped the economy grow for a long time, all things considered.
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rayallen1mo ago
I remember reading Hadrian's Wall was over 70 miles long with full customs posts. Makes you wonder if the real barrier was just paperwork hell for traders, lol. Maybe some things never change.
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