Meng Tian

▪ Chinese general

Wade-Giles romanization  Meng T'ien 

died 210 BCE, China

      famous general of the Qin dynasty who built the Great Wall of China.

      As a general under Shihuangdi, the first emperor of the Qin dynasty, Meng was sent to subdue the nomadic Central Asian tribesmen, who were overrunning northern China, and to build a wall as a defense against these tribesmen. Other Chinese rulers are said to have built defensive walls in the north before this time, and Meng probably incorporated these lesser walls into his work. After the death of Shihuangdi, the minister Li Si and the eunuch Zhao Gao usurped the government, forcing Meng Tian and the legitimate heir apparent to take their own lives.

      Meng is credited with inventing the zheng, a kind of harpsichord, and also a Chinese writing brush made of hair, used as a pen. The latter was almost certainly not his creation, although he may have somewhat improved or modified the standard writing brush.

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