Ancient China Learning about it’s importance and history

By: Miss George

Brain Pop Jr.!

• Let’s Find Out about China! http://www.brainpopjr.com/socialstudies/ancienthistory/ancientchina

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Where is China Located?

Important Rivers in China

China has 2 major rivers that are important to the agriculture of China. Yellow River and, Yangtze River.

Yangtze River

• The rivers in China are important because they help provide China with a water source to help grow crops.

• The region drained by the Yangtze River is also known as South China.

• It is hillier than North China. The region is also warmer and more humid, this is perfect conditions for crops like rice and tea.

Yellow River

In North China the land is mostly flat and the Yellow River provides the water and minerals needed for crops. The soil in North China is good for crops such as corn, soybeans, and wheat.

Rice Crops

China has deserts!

The Gobi Desert is one of the driest deserts in the world. The Takla Makan Desert, China's other desert, is nicknamed the Sea of Death. It offers poisonous snakes, frequent sand storms, boiling days, freezing nights, and intense water shortages. 

Gobi Desert “Waterless Place”

• It is approximately 500,000 square miles

• Gobi is a very cold desert yet it rarely snows. It is located above sea level.

• Fifth largest desert in the world

• To survive in Gobi desert, the plants have to lose their leaves until it rains again. They are gifted with long roots that absorb water.

• Animals get their water from the food they eat, and come out at night.

China has Mountains!

• China has many mountain ranges. The most famous mountains that boarder China are known as the Himalaya’s.

• Within the Himalayan mountains is the highest mountain in the world known as Mt. Everest!

Himalayan Mountains

ARCHITECTURE OF CHINA

The design of buildings

Pagodas and Architecture

Temple roofs were curved because the Buddhist believed that it helped ward off evil spirits. The curved part of the roof can be seen in much of the architecture all around China.

Pagodas

The Great Wall of China

The building of the Great Wall of China is the most significant event in Ancient Chinese history and occurred during the Qin dynasty. It was built to protect the Chinese empire and is known as the “longest structure ever built”

The Great Wall Expands Over 4,000 Miles!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26dwkKQ6EHE

IMPORTANT INVENTIONS FROM ANCIENT CHINA

Paper Calendar Bronze Writing

Compass Kites

Gunpowder and Fireworks

Paper Making

Paper is a very important invention made by the Ancient Chinese. Papermaking first occurred in A.D. 105 during the Tang dynasty by a man named Cai Lun who was the head of the imperial workshops. The first type of paper was made from silk rags, and later paper was made from fibrous materials such as bamboo, mulberry bark, and hemp. This later “paper was thick and spongy,” which resembles cloth more than modern paper

Writing and Calligraphy

It was during the Shang Dynasty that a system of writing was invented. This writing is called calligraphy. The Chinese perfected their calligraphy using a brush and paint on paper . After inventing the use of calligraphy as an art form, the Chinese perfected painting and creating symbols or characters that represented words in order to communicate with one another.

Ancient Chinese Writing

Tortoise Shell Symbols

Print Making

• The Chinese also invented a form of printing with blocks, called block printing. Movable type in printing was invented during the Song Dynasty. Movable Chinese characters were carved from wood, which could be arranged as needed and even reused.

• The adoption of paper and printing technology in China lead to the spread of knowledge among the Chinese.

Around 2000 BC, people in China learned how to make bronze out of tin and copper, it is now called the Bronze Age.

Bronze Pot Facts:• During Xia, Shang

and Zhou dynasties, bronze production peaked. Bronze was used to make musical instruments, weapons, and containers.

Bronze!

KITES

• The earliest Chinese kites were made of wood. They were called muyuan  or wooden kites.

• After the invention of paper, kites began to be made of this new material called zhiyuan  or paper kites.

• During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), people began to fix on kites some bamboo strips which, when high in the air, would vibrate and ring in the breeze like a stringed instrument or a zheng.

Kites!

Compass!

The compass is a very important invention from Ancient China. The spoon is of magnetic lodestone, and the plate is of Bronze. The circular center represents Heaven, and the square plate represents Earth. The handle of the spoon points south.

The first compass was not used for sailing but for religious rituals in order to find a place to burry people. They were also used for town planning to make sure that all of the houses faced in the right direction that was in harmony with nature.

Gunpowder and Fireworks

Gunpowder that was discovered by Chinese Alchemists during the Song dynasty in the 8th century. These alchemists were also known as Daoists, or priests, who discovered gunpowder by accident. This discovery was made when a mixture exploded when they were attempting to create a potion that prolonged life. By the 10th century gunpowder was used by the Ancient Chinese to make fireworks and weapons. Ancient China’s discovery of gunpowder led to major changes in warfare during this time period.

Gunpowder and

Fireworks!