Volume 1, Issue 1

Ancient China
B A I L A K R A C O F F

12-21-11

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buried in great tombs. The farmers had much simpler homes, one for the summer and one for winter. They used stone and wood for tools and had to give work and gifts to the noblemen. The Zhou believed in a Heavenly Mandate which was when the Zhou told people that the Gods had told them they were to rule. From around 207BCE to 220BCE there was the Han Dynasty. It was ruled by emperor Wu Ti. Some inventions from this dynasty include paper, silk making, iron technology and tools, pottery, seismographs, and wheel barrows. Life was good for many of the people because of the silk road. The silk road was not an actual road but was a name given to any rout that went from China to Rome. It was made for trading. The Chinese had silk and spices while the Romans had gold, silver and precious gems. Emperor Wudi along with Confucius set up a public school system because they believed that education was a key to a good government. Schools were set up ion each province and focused on Confucius ideas. The poor people lived in packed houses with little food and bad sanitation, While the rich lived comfortably in nice homes. Their children were tutored and did not have to go to public school. Since the Qin emperor had burned all the books, the Han dynasty tried to replace the literature. The created new literature and music. Craftsmen made jewelry and carvings. They used iron for making plows and other iron objects. Pottery was glazed and painted with hunting scenes like

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The Chinese era lasted from the years 1700BCE220BCE. Ancient china was ruled by many emperors during a period of three dynasties. Three of the dynasties that rules ancient china were known as the Shang and Zhou dynasties, Qin (Chin) dynasty and the Han dynasty. Each dynasty was run in different ways creating what china is today. Religion was and is a very important role in china. There were three main types of religion in ancient china. There was Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism. The Chinese people felt a strong bond to their land because they believed their ancestors spirits roamed it, and often worshiped them. The first era was the Shang and Zhou dynasty. It lasted from about 1700 BCE to 1100 BCE. They are known for their use of jade, bronze, horse drawn chariots, and highly organized armies. They had a protective wall that was thirty feet high. They worshiped their ancestors because they believed that they can help them with their magical powers. For writing they used bamboo strips, silk or rice paper and wrote in forms of pictograms. Family was a very important idea for the poor and rich in the Shang dynasty. Knobbles marriages were arranged to create a union between the families. The oldest boy was the head of the house and if something went wrong every one got blamed for it. The wives were there to please their husbands and remain respectful. Knobbles and farmers lived very different lives. The knobbles had larger homes, loved to hunt, wore silk and were

mountains, trees, clouds, dragons, tigers, bears. They also advanced the medicine and invented acupuncture, the seismograph which detected when earthquakes were coming and paper. Educated people and nobles were given jobs and paid for their work. In the years 206221BCE emperor Qin rules the dynasty known as Qin. Qin was legalist which means he wanted control over everyone. In these fifteen years many changes were made. To standardize his dynasty Emperor Qin introduced a form of writing, weights, and measures throughout his kingdom. Changes he made were taking land from nobles, peasants were assigned jobs, and created a law enforcement group. To protect his empire he built the great wall of china. peasants, captured enemies, criminals, and any one who he felt was a threat to him had to build the great wall. The laborers were not paid for their work. Qin set up the bureaucracy system divided his empire into thirty six provinces. Each of those provinces were divided into districts. In each of the those provinces there were two government officials. Qin thought that any book that didnt have to do with medicine, agriculture or prophecy were useless. He persecuted scholars and destroyed the books. One of the most significant archeological finding were the terracotta soldiers. These soldiers were made to protect Qin in his afterlife.

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The emperor of china, Emperor Qin Shi Huang, built the terra cotta soldiers to protect him after her died in his afterlife. There were around seven thousand soldiers and each soldier resembled a real guard from the emperors kingdom. Over two thousand years ago around seven thousands craftsman were gathered together from all over the country to make these soldiers. They were each carved that

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no two solders would look alike. Each soldier was made from coiled clay and baked in a kiln. After they were fired they were completed with painted details. All of the clay statues were life size and hollowed out. Each ligament was made separately and joined together with strips of clay. In March of 1974 the first sighting of the terracotta soldiers were made by a group of peasants who were digging a well in the north east of china ware the capital of Xianyang was. There were three main pits that ranged about twenty two square miles. The pits were long and had the soldiers lined up in them.

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The Chinese dragon goes all the way back to 3000 BC. Its believed to stand for happiness, immortality, fertility, and activity. The Chinese people believed that the dragon wore off evil spirits. In the ancient days the dragon was the most sacred animal and symbolized the Chinese race. Dragons are deeply rooted in the Chinese culture and the Chinese people consider themselves the descendants of the dragon. Therefore they wor-

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off of people. The dragon is described as nine different animals mixed together. The horns of a deer, the head of a camel, the eyes of a devil, the neck of a snake, the abdomen of a large cockle, the scales of a carp, the claws of an eagle, the paws of a tiger, and the ears of an ox. The Chinese word for dragon is either lung or loong. the Dragon was known as having great powers

ship it. Both the western and eastern believe in the dragon although their beliefs are different. The eastern view of the dragon is more of a good view. They believe the dragon is the reason the sun brings warmth, wind from the ocean, and water from rain is because the dragon breaths. They also think that the dragon is there to serve and protect the kingdom. The western view the dragon as a violent creature that breaths fire and bite the heads

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These doors and frames were in front of the tombs to protect the dead. The paintings represent scenes from myths and life.

They also show things about the deceased life.