MENG T'IEN

died 209 BC, China Pinyin Meng Tian famous general of the Ch'in dynasty who built the Great Wall of China. As a general under Shih Huang-ti, the first noted emperor of the Ch'in dynasty, Meng was sent to subdue the nomadic central Asian tribesmen, who were overrunning north 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 Shih Huang-ti, the minister Li Ssu and the eunuch Chao Kao usurped the government, forcing Meng T'ien and the legitimate heir apparent to take their own lives. Meng is credited with inventing the cheng, 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.