Answered by Rod from Switzerland | Nov. 21, 2015 15:15
During the construction of the Qin Wall, 300,000 soldiers under the command of Meng Tian were sent to build the Great Wall after they defeated Xiongnu (they represented about 1 in 10 able male laborers). The project extended for approximately 5,000km and required many more laborers.
During the Qin Dynasty, criminals were either fined or made to do do forced labor and if they could not pay their fines, they were forced to work, the term for this practice is "chengdan". In order that they could not run away, their faces were tattoed and hair shaved off.
When in dire need, workers were hired, but this practice was frowned upon. A bamboo slip found by archeologists notes that Governor Li (232 BC), ordered that the civilians not be used to transport materials to the wall because this work was detrimental to their well being and is a waste of the human resources of the State.