One On The Aztecs: Film Analysis

From August 12, 2015 through to the 14th, the class was treated to guest lecturer, Professor Ngari Ngunjiri. He showed three films: One on the Aztecs; one involving a not so widely distributed insight to the African Empire; and one detailing the building of the Chinese Empire. The film depicting ancient Chinese civilizations was the most interesting. It was so because it showed how much of a forward-thinking people the Chinese were, and still are. Notably, the Chinese Empire has survived for approximately 4000 years. Equally noteworthy is the engineering minds of the Chinese leaders. Li Bing, a Qin official, who was one of the greatest hydraulic engineers of all time, harnessed the raging waters of the Min River by carving (i.e. blasting) a path through a
The Great Wall is one of the most spectacular engineering feats ever conceived: The Great Wall of China, which eventually spanned over 5500 miles, was constructed to seal the vast Chinese Empire from the outside world. Many peasant workers died constructing the wall and were buried in the wall, which coined the nickname ‘The Long Graveyard’. Mostly all of the Emperors that followed added on to the wall. Further, Shi Huangdi, engineered an opulent tomb that would be his final resting place atop a river of mercury. As discovered recently, Shi Huangdi had intricate sculptures made of his terracotta army to guard his tomb in the afterlife. Another notable feat by Chinese engineers was the digging and constructing of the Grand Canal – which connected the Yellow River in the north, and the Yangtze River to the south. During Emperor Yang Di’s reign (Sui Dynasty), he organized the building of the Grand Canal, which stretches over 1200 miles and is the oldest and longest canal in the world. The Canal was an engine of cultural development since it allowed for adroit and artistic people to travel around the country spreading their gifts and