The Story of Ancient China’s First Lotteries: Funding the Great Wall
The origins of lotteries can be traced back to ancient China during the Han Dynasty, a period that spanned from 205 to 187 BCE. At that time, China faced monumental challenges. One of the most pressing was protecting its vast territories from invading forces, particularly from the north. To address this, the state embarked on one of the most ambitious engineering projects in human history: the construction of the Great Wall of China.
Building the Great Wall was no small feat. It required enormous resources—materials, manpower, and time. The Han rulers, recognizing that traditional tax revenues were insufficient to fund such a colossal project, turned to an innovative and unconventional solution: the lottery.
The lottery introduced during this era was a game remarkably similar to what we now know as “keno.” Players would select a series of numbers, and winning combinations would be drawn randomly. Participation in this game wasn’t just about the thrill of gambling; it was seen as a patriotic act. Citizens knew that the money raised through ticket sales was being funneled directly into the construction and maintenance of the Great Wall—a structure that symbolized the safety and unity of the empire.
The system worked brilliantly. The lottery became wildly popular, not only because it offered the chance to win prizes but also because it gave participants a sense of contributing to a noble cause. It appealed to the communal spirit of the Han people, as each ticket purchased brought the nation one step closer to completing the Wall.
The funds generated through this early lottery helped cover the costs of labor, materials like stone and brick, and the logistics of transporting supplies across vast distances. The Great Wall, often called the “longest cemetery on Earth” due to the lives lost during its construction, was a testament to collective effort and the innovative use of resources.
This early example of a lottery demonstrates how games of chance have historically been used to achieve extraordinary feats that benefit society as a whole. It set a precedent for using lotteries as tools for funding large-scale public works, a practice that would spread to other parts of the world in centuries to come. The legacy of the Han Dynasty’s lottery system lives on today, not only in the Great Wall itself but in the continued use of lotteries to support communal and national progress.
