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Home , Chain pump, Silk Road

A Presentation by: Mr. Tsolomitis The End of the  The Chinese people were unhappy with the Legalist government of the Qin.  After Qin Shihuangdi’s death in 210 B.C.E., the people rebelled against the Qin rulers.  Liu Bang, a rebel who gained control of the Han kingdom, conquered his enemies and established his own . How the Han did things… • Believed emperors should not rule their people with force. • Began to incorporate Confucian ideals of moral behavior into the government. • This led to a golden age (long period of stability and wealth) • Expanded empire all the way to present-day and , and established with the West. Warfare  Military tactics and new weapons helped expand the empire.  Well-organized army: all men from ages 25-60 had to serve two years in the army, making the army between 130,000 and 300,000 at all times. Warfare continued  Technology: new armor designed like fish scales helped movement, iron swords that were longer than before, and the  Even kites were used to scare away enemy soldiers by using bamboo to make ghostly noises. Government  Kept strong central government of Qin, but softened the harsh ruling style and brought Confucian ideas back into government.  Bureaucracy: a form of government that is structured like a pyramid, with a few people at the top and many at the bottom. Government continued  Emperor used officials to help run the empire using the form of bureaucracy.  Top officials lived in the capital and gave advice to the emperor  Lower-level officials lived throughout the empire and oversaw roads/canals, grain production and storage, and other important duties Government continued  One key improvement was the way civil servants were hired.  Used to be based on your social class  Now they were chosen on ability and knowledge.  To become officials, young men had to pass a long and difficult test, based on five classic writings, which the students had to learn by heart. Government continued  Once a civil servant was hired, they were not allowed to serve in their home district.  Intended to prevent them from giving special favors to family and friends.  They were evaluated every three years and could be either promoted or demoted. Agriculture • Farmers were expected to grow enough food to feed their own families and help stock the shared . – Also expected to make their own clothing, build their homes, and give one month of unpaid labor to the government for building projects (canals, roads, etc.) • Chain : an invention that moved water from low ditches/canals up to the fields. – Workers used pedals to turn a wheels, which pulled a series of wooden planks, which in turn moved the water uphill to the fields. Modern Chain Pump

https://userscontent2.emaze.com/images/8b2ccd7c-6634-437a-847e-f351cf127c60/94860697-19df-4a78-a99f-1bb3650e7e16.jpg Agriculture continued  Poured iron into molds, which allowed mass production of goods, especially iron plows (pushes dirt away from a spot, makes it easier to plant).  Also invented the wheelbarrow. Industry  Two most important industries in : and salt.  Government controlled both  Both industries would lead to new inventions http://www.avianaquamiser.com/20130215silkwormcloseup.jpg

Silk

 A material made from the fibers of a silkworm cocoon.  Difficult and time-consuming to make, and thus very valuable.  Developed a foot-powered machine that wound fibers onto a large reel, ready to used.  Made production more efficient, so they could make more to trade. Salt • Preserves meat and vegetables. • At first, only way to get it was from the sea, but the Han discovered a way to mine it. – Salt water, or brine, exists deep beneath the surface of the earth. – Dug deep wells using iron-tipped bamboo drills – When they reached brine (sometimes 1,000 ft. below the surface), a hollow bamboo pole was dropped down. – The pole had a valve that allowed water in, and when the pole was full, the valve shut and it was pulled up. – Water was placed in iron pots and were heated until the water evaporated, leaving just the salt. in the  Invention of and calligraphy.  Calligraphy: a style of writing that flows naturally, or the art of fine handwriting.  Paper absorbed ink very well, was ideal for scribes and artists.  Made of fibers from silk, hemp, bamboo, straw and seaweed. Dip a screen into a soupy pulp of these ingredients, flatten it out, and when it dried, it was paper. Art continued  Before paper, the Chinese wrote on silk, because it could roll up easily, or bamboo, which was plentiful but difficult to work with.  Paper was cheaper to make than silk and easier to use than bamboo, making it ideal for art and books. Medicine  Believed that illness happened when the forces of yin and yang were out of balance in your body.  Healers tried to restore the natural balance using two particular methods: acupuncture and moxibustion.  Discovered more about how the body works. Acupuncture  Tiny, thin needles inserted into particular parts of the body  Thought to rebalance the forces of yin and yang  Thought to be useful for curing illnesses that strike quickly, like headaches. Moxhibustion  A small cone of powdered leaves or sticks (called a moxa) is placed on the skin and set on fire.  The heat is believed to reduce pain and promote healing  Used to treat long-term illnesses, like arthritis.

http://www.acupuncture-points.org/images/Moxa-cone-in-situ-a.jpg How the human body works  Learned to judge a persons health by listening to the heartbeat or feeling the pulse.  Discovered that blood circulates from the heart through the body and back.  This same discovery was not made in the West until the 1600’s C.E.  Anesthetic: something that takes away the feeling of pain Science  Numerous scientific discoveries were made in the areas of astronomy and .  Astronomy  Recorded appearance of comets  Discovered that the moon shines because it reflects the light of the sun  A solar eclipse is brought on when the moon blocks our view of the sun Science continued • Seismograph: an instrument for detecting eathquakes – First one was a circular device made of bronze, which had a pendulum in the centerand was surrounded by sculpted animal heads. – During an earthquake, the pendulum vibrated, which would release one of eight balls. – The ball would then fall in the direction of the earthquake, telling them which direction the quake came from. • Could detect earthquakes from over 100 miles away. Science continued • Compass: an instrument designed and used for determining direction – Chinese used a magnetic version, which points out either north or south. • Important to place temples, graves and homes in the correct position for luck. – Achieved this by using a lodestone (lodestone: a type of iron ore), which tends to align itself in a north-south direction naturally. • Carved into the shape of a spoon with a handle that would always point south. The  A network of roads that stretched more than 4,000 miles across .  Reached from and the Han capital of Chang’an to Mediterranean ports like , a major port for the Greeks and Romans.  Goods and ideas flowed along the Silk Road  Silk and were most common Chinese goods, often exchanged for spices from and glassware from Rome  was introduced to China via the Silk Road The Father of the Silk Road  Made possible by military expansion of the Han Dynasty  An explorer named went west in 138 B.C.E. with 100 men.  Mission was to form an alliance with the western people’s against the Hun’s, China’s enemy to the north.  Unable to form an alliance, but his trip was beneficial in other ways. Zhang Qian continued • Brought back word of places like Persia, , India and Rome. • Went on a second journey some years later. – Discovered a more powerful type of horse than the Chinese currently had, which were better suited for the type of warfare the Chinese used. – Discovered grapes and established trade relationships with several central Asian peoples. • More explorers would continue to travel further west. What’s so special about silk?  Silk is a strong material, but is also light, warm and soft.  Only the Chinese at this time knew how to make it, which made the value of it skyrocket.  Kept the process a secret so no one else could get in on the market.  Revealing the process was a crime punishable by death. Roman Glassware for Silk • The Romans prized silk and traded eagerly for it. • First encountered silk in in a battle. • Even the richest of Romans could only afford to wear a strip or a patch of silk stitched to their togas (a toga is a loose robe worn by Roman men) • In return, the Romans traded glassware, which the Chinese were unfamiliar with. • Romans were able to blow the into wonderful, delicate shapes. The Silk Road is not just one road…  The Silk Road is not one continuous route, but rather a network of shorter trade routes between various stops.  The Eastern Silk Road connected Luoyang to (a in the western part of the Taklimakan Desert)  The Western Silk Road connected Kashgar to Antioch and other ports in the Mediterranean. Eastern Silk Road  This route led west along the to , in northwestern China.  Protected by the desert and the Great Wall to the north.  From Dunhuang, traders could go by a northerly or southerly route to Kashgar.  Most chose the northern route because the distances between the oases were much shorter.

Eastern Silk Road continued  Dangers include bandits, sandstorms, and mirages (an image of something that isn’t really there, like water) pulling them off the path.  Before entering the desert, many traders chose to form caravans (a group of people travelling together) for protection.  Used bactrian camels (have double eyelids and nostrils that they can close to keep the blowing sand out. This let them carry enough food and water for a traveler to make it to the next oasis. Eastern Silk Road continued  Very expensive to carry goods over the Silk Road. In order to make a profit, the items would need to be of good quality, valuable, and easy to carry.  Silk was great because it was light, valuable and didn’t take up much room. Eastern Silk Road continued  Also sold fine dishware (we call it today china), ornaments, jewelry, cast-iron products and decorative boxes.  Received a variety of goods in return:  Horses, jade, furs and gold from .  Cotton, spices, pearls and ivory from India. Western Silk Road • From Kashgar, goods went west on yaks instead of camels (better suited for Central Asian climate instead of desert climate). • Crossed the (peaks often are over 20,000 ft.) through the narrow and dangerous mountain passes. • Then travelled through a valley, across the Iranian Plateau, across the , and finally reached Antioch.

Western Silk Road continued  A major stop along the route was , located on the eastern bank of the River, a new miles north of Ancient Babylon.  Traders from , Arabia and Persian brought perfumes, cosmetics and , as well as metal items and dies.  Sometimes even slaves. Western Silk Road continued  Romans brought glass trays, cases, necklaces and small bottles, as well as coral and asbestos (used for making fireproof cloth).  Chinese doctors used coral to help them locate illness (it was said that coral lost it’s color when placed on the skin of someone who was sick).  Romans sent so much gold in exchange for silk that in the first century C.E., a Roman emperor named outlawed silk because he thought it made Romans soft and weak because of all the expensive fabric they wore. Cultural Exchanges  Diets, gardening techniques and agriculture changed as new plants were introduced to other areas.  China imported many new foods and spices, such as grapes, cucumbers, figs, , walnuts, chives, sesame, and coriander.  Meanwhile, the West imported many decorative plants like roses, peonies, azaleas, chrysanthemums, and camellias, as well as oranges, peaches and pears.  Also eventually learned to make the major products they traded for, around 500 C.E. Cultural Exchanges continued • The Silk Road also helped spread Buddhism, which began in India. • Because the Silk Road passed through many different nations, religious travelers use the route to spread their beliefs. – Buddhism was introduced to China around the middle of the first century C.E. – Some Chinese Buddhists journeyed through Central Asia to learn more about their new religion and brought back sacred Buddhist texts. – Buddhism would soon become a major Up next…

GREECE!!!