The Great Wall of China was built to keep out Northern Chinese, not invaders. It was an internal barrier that divided China from the rest of the world.

&#x200B;<br><br>I've always been interested in the Great Wall of China, and have always wanted to walk it someday. I recently read that the Great Wall was not built as a barrier to keep out invaders, as I was previously led to believe. It was built as an internal barrier that divided China from the rest of the world.<br><br>This means that China was an island, with its own border wall. That is how I will refer to it going forward. The reason for this is because the Han Dynasty, who built the wall, were a coastal people. They were fishermen and merchants. When they rose to power in 206 BC, they were surrounded by the Xiongnu Confederation, a confederation of nomadic tribes who were horse herders and warriors. This was the first time in Chinese history that they were not surrounded by the ocean. <br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>The Xiongnu were not like the Mongols. They did not conquer territory, they only raided and pillaged. They were like Vikings. They raided Chinese towns, and traded Chinese goods on the black market. The Han wanted to cut them off from the ocean, and isolate China from the rest of the world. That is why they built the Border Wall. They did not build it to keep the Xiongnu out, but to keep the Chinese in.<br><br>The Xiongnu were allowed to live on the other side of the wall. The wall was not built to keep them out, but to keep the Chinese from leaving. It was also used to keep the Chinese from trading with the Xiongnu. The wall was very successful, it worked. China became a self contained economy, and China became an island. It stayed that way until 1644, when the Manchu Dynasty conquered China. They came from Manchuria, and were part of the Xiongnu. The Manchu were the last nomadic people to rule China.<br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>The Border Wall has had a profound effect on China's economy and culture. It isolated China, and kept China from interacting with the rest of the world. It allowed the Chinese to focus on agriculture, and on developing a state controlled economy. This was good for China, as they became the most advanced country in the world, at least for a time.