DO NOWRead the diary entry of a Tang farmer.

What problems did this farmer have? List at least three.

February 26, 813Dear Diary,

Life’s tough in Northern China. It’s so cold and dry here! I’m a farmer, and I grow wheat. We barely have enough wheat to feed our family. Sometimes I wish I could have more kids to help me around the farm and to take care of me in old age, but I can’t grow enough food to feed another child! I wish I could do something else besides farming—like make beautiful silk clothes or porcelain dishes—but I must farm to feed my family. Even worse, I don’t own the land, so the landowner takes some of the rice I grow, and then he sells it at the market. He’s growing rich from my hard work! Oh no, the Mongols are coming, I must run to protect my family!

-Tang Shi

Objective

• SWBAT explain the significance of agricultural changes during the Song Dynasty.

For centuries and centuries, Chinese farmers had grown

wheat in the cool, dry climate of northern China…

 …but then everything

changed forever!

We’re under attack! MOVE!

CAUSE: Farmers moved to southern China

• Attacks by Mongols drove many landowners and farmers to move to southern China

• The warm and wet climate of the south was ideal for growing rice plants

Old Type of Rice

EAT

PLANTHARVEST

New Type of Rice

EAT

PLANTHARVEST

New Type of Rice

• Ready to harvest in two months instead of five

• Resistant to drought and floods

New Farming Strategies

• To grow rice on hillsides, farmers created terraces

Name another civilization that used terraces.

New Farming Tools

• How did farmers get water to where they needed it?

Surplus of Rice!

• Surplus: extra amount of something

February 26, 813Dear Diary,

Life’s tough in Northern China. It’s so cold and dry here! I’m a farmer, and I grow wheat. We barely have enough wheat to feed our family. Sometimes I wish I could have more kids to help me around the farm and to take care of me in old age, but I can’t grow enough food to feed another child! I wish I could do something else besides farming—like make beautiful silk clothes or porcelain dishes—but I must farm to feed my family. Even worse, I don’t own the land, so the landowner takes some of the rice I grow, and then he sells it at the market. He’s growing rich from my hard work! Oh no, the Mongols are coming, I must run to protect my family!

-Tang Shi

What are the effects of a surplus of rice?

Effects

• China’s population grew to over 100 million

• Farmers could take away time from farming to make silk, cotton cloth, and other products to sell or trade

• Landowners could sell surplus rice to buy luxury items such as silk, porcelain, pearls, & ivory

Summarize what you learned!

Now that I grow rice, my life has improved in many ways.

First,Secondly,

Finally,

HOMEWORKFebruary 26, 813

Dear Diary,

Life’s tough in Northern China. It’s so cold and dry here! I’m a farmer, and I grow wheat. We barely have enough wheat to feed our family. Sometimes I wish I could have more kids to help me around the farm and to take care of me in old age, but I can’t grow enough food to feed another child! I wish I could do something else besides farming—like make beautiful silk clothes or porcelain dishes—but I must farm to feed my family. Even worse, I don’t own the land, so the landowner takes some of the rice I grow, and then he sells it at the market. He’s growing rich from my hard work! Oh no, the Mongols are coming, I must run to protect my family!

-Tang Shi

• 1 page diary entry from the perspective of a Song farmer– How is your life

different than a Tang farmer’s?

– Use words like climate, rice, terraces, chain pump, surplus

Objective• SWBAT explain the significance of commercial

changes during the Song Dynasty.

Commercial: having to do with the buying and selling of goods

Which letter of GRAPES?

Agricultural Changes

EAT

PLANTHARVEST

Surplus of Rice!

• Surplus: extra amount of something

Increased supply of goods: Peasants begin to make other goods

Now that I have extra rice, what should I do instead of farm?

Cause #1 of Commercial Change

Increased demand for goods: Wealthy landowners wanted to buy luxuries

Owning these rice paddies has made me rich… what should I do with my money?

Cause #2 of Commercial Change

When supply of goods is high and demand of goods is high,

the economy will GROW!

Water Transportation• China had two major rivers, but they were

1,000 miles apart• VIDEO: How did the Chinese link cities on

the Yellow River with cities on the Yangtze River?

Water Transportation

• To link cities on the Yellow River with cities on the Yangtze River, the Chinese built the Grand Canal, an artificial river

WaterTransportation • How did the Chinese

move boats uphill or downhill without damaging the boats?

• The Chinese built canal locks!

• Look at the diagram and tell your neighbor how a canal works. Go step by step through all seven steps.

Canal Locks Today• One of the most important canals is located at the

Panama Canal• Why would engineers build a canal here?

Copper coins

Paper money

Paper Currency

• The Chinese had a shortage of copper coins.

• Plus, copper coins were too heavy.

• The Chinese had a solution…• Paper currency!• Which invention was used to

make paper currency?

Visualize!

• Imagine you are at a market town along a canal. The canal is crowded with barges loaded with rice and other goods. The barges are sailed, rowed, or pushed along with the help of long poles. Carts pulled by oxen trudge along the bridges that cross the canal. Peasants are coming to town to sell their surplus crops and animals, as well as things they have made at home, such as silk, charcoal, and wine.

• On the streets and bridges, merchants have set up small shops to attract customers who are visiting the city. You also see “deposit shops” where rich landowners trade long strings of copper coins for paper money.