Hadrian’s Wall circa 122 A.D.
Something there is that doesn’t love a wall…–Robert Frost
Build a wall, and make Mexico pay for it–DJT
A proverb is a simple and concrete saying, popularly known and repeated, that expresses a truth based on common sense or experience.
In America, even Donald Trump can be President.–proverb
The ten crimes of China’s Qin dynasty:
Abolition of feudalism.
Building the Great Wall.
Melting down the people’s weapons.
Building too many palaces.
Burning books.
Killing scholars.
Building the emperor’s tomb.
Seeking immortality drugs.
Banishing the crown prince.
Inflicting cruel punishments.
Sadly, it is easier for historians to understand and document the mistakes of former civilizations than for today’s rulers to see how to avoid them.
The Great Wall of China, Hadrian’s wall, the Berlin Wall, Israel’s wall–they have one thing in common: long-term, to my limited knowledge, they solved no serious problem.
- Hadrian’s wall may have been built to keep the Roman Army occupied and physically fit. It may have served to regulate trade with the North and collect taxes.
- The Great Wall may never have served a serious military purpose. It certainly didn’t prevent centuries of disastrous wars in China.
- The Berlin wall is an enduring symbol of oppression. As soon as could be, it was torn down.
- Israel’s wall may facilitate illegal occupation of the West Bank, but it certainly hasn’t brought peace.
If Trump’s wall were built of stones, by the army using hand tools, it might serve the purpose of keeping our soldiers fit and thus be worth the cost.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian%27s_Wall
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/hadrians-wall/history/
New NY 23rd 
In defense of the Qin. On one hand it was one of the cruelest dictatorships ever. Buried scholars alive. Forced labor from the peasants. On the other hand it did a lot to unify the different parts of China. It established a common calligraphy . it built a road system. Standardized weights, measures and coinage. China, as a united nation, has its roots in the Qin.
I think the Great Wall was effective at the time. It was not only a wall, but a highway for troops. Chinese horsemen and infantry could be moved easily from various parts of China via the wall, since the wall was more like a raised highway. Not a wall like the Berlin Wall or the US-Mexio border wall.
Of course, any technology devised by man can be defeated by man. The castles of Europe were defeated by cannons and by tunneling and seige engines. Regarding a border wall, a 30 foot wall can be tunneled under, blasted open or defeated by a 31 foot ladder.
Trump’s wall, which will never get built, will be a slush fund for crooked contractors. Wait and see. Just like the ax funds wasted in Iraq and after Hurrican Katrina by the “privatization” of the US government functions.
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More on Qin:
Like Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria-Hungary, the “First Emperor” worked hard dealing with a quota of 120 pounds of documents daily.
Suppression of feudalism allowed the rich to buy large estates, thus making themselves richer and richer without fighting.
When they burned the books they reportedly spared books on science, magic, and farming. Similarly, before agreeing to kill all the filemakers (they were accused of treason), a Mongol emperor, Hülegü, first wanted to know how many of them his army needed.
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