Transcript Ancient China

Ancient China
Han Dynasty: Achievements
Ancient China: Han Society
• Provide three examples on how the Han
Dynasty impacted life in China.
• A.
• B.
• C.
Essential Questions
• 1. How did China’s location impact its
development?
• 2. How did the Han Dynasty impact China.
• 3. How did the Silk Road impact: religion,
government, trade/economy?
• 4. What are some of the achievements of the Han?
Which ones continue to impact modern society?
Art & Literature
1. History Books
2. Paintings
– Experts of figure painting – a style of painting that includes
portraits of people.
• Such as religious figures, Confucian leaders, emperors, and scenes
from everyday life.
3. Poetry
Written in the 500s AD, Hua Mulan or Fa Mulan is a
legendary figure from ancient China who was originally
described in a poem known as the Ballad of Mulan.
This poem is thought to be based on Fu Hao. In the
poem, Hua Mulan takes her aged father's place in the
army. She fought for twelve years and gained high merit,
but she refused any reward and retired to her hometown
instead.
Mulan – Traditional and Modern
Inventions & Advances
1. Paper – material made from ground fibers turned
into a paste, dryed and then rolled into a scroll.
2. Seismograph – device that measures the strength
of earthquakes.
3. Sundial – uses the position of the sun to cast
shadows and tell the time of the day.
4. Acupuncture – practice of inserting fine needles
into the skin at specific points to cure disease or
relieve pain.
****All are still used today****
Acupuncture
Farming & Manufacturing
Ironworks
– They manufactured iron swords and armor for the
military
– Farmers gained advantages with the iron plow and
wheel burrow (a cart to carry hundreds of pounds).
Manufacturing
Silk
A light, soft, highly valuable fabric, was woven
from the cocoon of Silk Worms.
The procedure for making silk was kept secret.
Revealing the information or smuggling silk worms
out of China were punishable by death.
Trade Routes
Silk Road
– This 4,000 mile long
section of routes,
stretched from Chin,
through central Asia
and to the
Mediterranean Sea.
– Western cultures,
especially Romans,
traded: silver, gold,
precious stones and
horses for Silk.
– The Silk Road was
worth its many risks
(bad weather &
thieves). China grew
wealthy from the Silk
Trade alone.
Buddhism Comes to China
• Over time, the Han
government became less
stable. People ignored
laws and violence was
common. Fighting broke
out and peasants were
suffering.
• Buddhism seemed to
provide more hope than
the traditional Chinese
Philosophies of Daoism or
Confucianism.
• It offered rebirth and an
end to suffering. By 200
AD, Buddhist alters were in
the emperors palace.
Independent
• Silk Road
– 1. Identify the various regions that benefited from trade
along the Silk Road.
– 2. List the geographical features along the Silk Road.
– 3. Next, write a letter to a new caravan guide who is
going to travel the Silk Road for the first time. In the
letter, explain the difficulties of the route, what
problems lie ahead, where water can be found, and the
length of the journey from Chang’an to the
Mediterranean Sea. Also, you will include at least 4
ideas or products where can be traded along the Silk
Road.