STATION 1 - The Silk Road
STATION 1 - The Silk Road
Silk Road was a group of ancient trade routes that connected China and the Roman Empire. The Silk Road flourished primarily from the 100's B.C. to the A.D. 1500's. The routes stretched across about 5,000 miles (8,050 kilometers) of mountains and deserts in central Asia and the Middle East between eastern China and the Mediterranean Sea. The Silk Road got its name from the vast amount of Chinese silk carried along it. The Chinese were the first to learn to make silk, and they guarded the secret. China was the only supplier of silk until the 500's, when Western countries discovered how to make the fabric.
The cities along the Silk Road provided food, water, and rest for travelers, as well as goods for trade. Of these cities, Khotan (now Hotan, China) was famous for its jade. The region of Fergana in present-day Uzbekistan was known for its powerful horses. Camel caravans carried most goods across the dry, harsh regions along the Silk Road. By A.D. 800, traffic began to decrease as traders started to travel by safer sea routes. A final period of heavy use occurred during the 1200's and 1300's, when the Mongols ruled central Asia and China.
Station 2 - Silk, Tea, Porcelain
Silk…
The Chinese knew how to produce silk at least by 1300 B.C., but not until the second century B.C. did it begin to be exported to Europe, and not until about 550 A.D., when monks who had traveled to China brought back silkworm eggs, did the West learn the Chinese secret of silk-making. The Chinese traded silk with the Roman Empire. In return they received such items as wool, glass, and asbestos. Through the silk trade the world's two great empires in the first century A.D. Rome and Han China - were linked, mainly because Roman women wore Chinese silks. The overland trade route between China and the Mediterranean was called the "Silk Road" because China exported so much of this fabric to the West.
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Tea…
Tea drinking originated in China and spread throughout the world. Whether a country calls the beverage "tea" (or some variant thereof) or "chai," as in Russia, depends on whether it came over the sea route or the land route from China. The sea route originated in Fukien province on China's coast, where the word for the drink in the Fukien dialect is "te." The land route originated to the north, where the term for the drink is "cha," Even today in northern England, people often speak of "having a cup of cha," although the more common term in England is "tea."
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Porcelain…
Porcelain, also called "china," is a type of clay pottery that was invented in China by using clay with special minerals. Chinese porcelain was exported throughout the world, and eventually the secret mineral ingredients were discovered by Europeans in 1709. Europeans began to experiment with porcelain-making only after they saw and admired the Chinese porcelains.
Station 3 - Steel
The manufacture of iron requires two processes: First, the iron must be purified in a high-temperature process, which is called reducing or smelting. This process leaves behind the iron in metallic form. The other impurities form a slag, which is then separated. Second, the raw iron must be manufactured into useful articles by heating it in a blast furnace, then pouring into molds producing cast iron. Swords were the first items made, then plowshares, knives, axes, chisels, saws, awls, pots, even toys.
Cast iron has a lot of carbon in it, which makes it brittle. Steel-making involves combining it with other metals to make it stronger. The first steel made by the Chinese was made by blowing air across the molten iron which reduces the amount of carbon in it. Then it can be combined with other elements such as nickel to make steel. Swords, crossbows, and agricultural tools were the main items made of steel.
By gaining access to these new, high quality tools, the Han Chinese were able develop their society to a very powerful level. During this time period, the population swelled from 20 million to 50 million people, all because of the increase in food production from better technology.
STATION 4 - Chinese Paper
Written communication has been the center of civilization for centuries. Most of our important records are on paper. Although writing has been around for a long time, paper hasn't. In fact, putting thoughts down in written form wasn't always easy or practical. Early people discovered that they could make simple drawings on the walls of caves, which was a great place for recording thoughts, but wasn't portable. Imagine spending hours scratching a message into a heavy clay tablet and then having to transport it.
According to Chinese historical accounts, paper was first invented by Ts'ai Lun (about 104 CE), who lived in the Eastern Han Dynasty. He took the inner bark of a mulberry tree and bamboo fibers, mixed them with water, and pounded them with a wooden tool. He then poured this mixture onto a flat piece of coarsely woven cloth and let the water drain through, leaving only the fibers on the cloth. Once dry, Ts'ai Lun discovered that he had created a quality writing surface that was relatively easy to make and lightweight. Some other materials he used for various papers included tree bark, remnants of hemp, linen rags, and fishnets. He presented the invention to Emperor He Di in 105 CE. Over several centuries, with trade and war, knowledge of papermaking spread around the world. The invention of paper had a variety of effects on Ancient China. Some of these include making the Chinese economy reliant on paper money, developments in calligraphy/map making, and even the widespread usage of toilet paper.
Station 5 – Moveable Type
The first known movable type system was invented in China around 1040 AD by Bi Sheng, a Chinese commoner. Bi Sheng's type was made of baked clay. However, Bi Sheng's fragile clay types were not practical for large-scale printing.
Wooden movable type was developed by the late 13th century, pioneered by Wang Zhen. Although the wooden type was more durable than ceramic type (which tended to break or chip), repeated printing wore the wooden type character faces down, and the wood grain would often show through. The types could only be replaced by carving new pieces. This system was later enhanced by pressing wooden blocks into sand and casting metal types from the depression in copper, bronze, iron or tin.
It took a long time to set up the thousands of different characters a page would require, but movable type made printing many copies of the same document go by much faster than traditional printing allowed. More copies of a document allowed for a more rapid spread of ideas and knowledge, and contributed to significant cultural diffusion.
Station 6 – The Great Wall of China
Although the Great Wall was originally built for protection, the wall stands as a tribute to some of the amazing accomplishments of the Chinese. The first Great Wall was a massive undertaking. It was the equivalent of building 30 of the great pyramids of Egypt.
The history of the Great Wall is long as it was built over many hundreds of years. Walls were first built to keep invaders away from the farming villages on the Chinese border. These walls were built at weak points in the natural landscape, or where the threat was perceived as greatest by local warlords. Eventually, the different sections of the wall would be unified during Qin Dynasty. Where possible, natural barriers like mountains were integrated into the path of the wall because their height was used to gain both a greater view and for an advantage in battle. The Great Wall of China was built by soldiers, civilians, farmers and prisoners (It has been said that every foot of the construction of this Great Wall cost one human life.), primarily during three dynasties: the Qin, the Han and the Ming. The building styles of each dynasty added their own flavor and advanced the techniques learned from the previous.
From the 6th to the 14th centuries, the wall ceased to be an effective barrier against determined invaders who discovered that bribing the guards was their most effective weapon. The Chinese Emperors helped in this cause by failing to pay their army troops, generally a bad mistake. If you don't pay your army, someone else will.
Station 7 – Terracotta Soldiers
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The Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang spent a huge amount of resources building himself the largest single tomb built to a leader in the history of the world. As you can see in the pictures above he had over 7000 soldiers, horses and chariots made from terra cotta buried in his tomb. He felt this huge army would protect him and help him to keep his power in the afterlife. He died and was buried in 210 BC, over 2000 years ago.
What is amazing is that the soldiers of the Terracotta Army are life-size statues. They average around 5 feet 11 inches tall with some soldiers being as tall as 6 foot 7 inches. Despite there being so many statues, no two soldiers are exactly alike. There are soldiers of all ages with different ranks, facial features, and hair styles. Some of the soldiers look calm, while others look angry and ready to fight. The soldiers are often wearing different clothing and have different jobs in the army such as spies, scouts, and leaders. The discovery of these soldiers was turned into a museum and can be viewed in Xian, China today.
The Incredible History of China’s Terracotta Warriors
Station 8 –Chinese Art
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ANCIENT CHINA ACHIEVEMENT STATIONS
The Silk Road
1. Which two empires did the Silk Road connect?
2. Why were the Chinese the only people who knew how to make silk for so long?
3. What other things were the regions along the route known for?
Silk, Tea, & Porcelain
4. How did Westerners learn the silk making process?
5. Why do some countries refer to tea as “cha” and some as “te”?
Steel
6. How would new steel technology help in farming?
7. What did the Chinese do to turn iron into steel?
8. What are some examples of steel products from Han China?
Chinese Paper
9. What are some problems people faced with writing before the invention of paper?
10. What did Ts'ai Lun find are the advantages of using paper as a writing surface?
11. What are three effects of the creation of paper on Ancient China?
Moveable Type
12. Who is credited with inventing movable type and what was it first made out of?
13. Why was wooden type better than ceramic type? What problems did it have?
14. Even though setting up a page of movable type took a long time, why was the invention of movable type so important to history?
The Great Wall
15. What was the purpose of the Great Wall?
16. What 3 Chinese Dynasties did construction of the wall take place under?
17. Why did the wall eventually become ineffective?
The Terracotta Warriors
18. How are the Chinese beliefs that led to the creation of the Terracotta Soldiers similar to Ancient Egyptian beliefs?
19. Why do you think so much care went into making the Terracotta Soldiers?
Chinese Art
List any people, items, or activities that you see in the art pieces.
20. How does Chinese art reflect the civilizations’ cultural values?
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Two Chinese workers at a blast furnace
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