China Advancements

Great Wall of China

• The Great Wall of China is a system of defensive walls and towers. It was built in stages between 476 BCE and 1644 CE.
• 5500 miles long
• Built to protect China from Mongol invasions.
• The Great Wall did not succeed in keeping out invaders. However, it has become a symbol of Chinese achievement.

The Great Wall of China is often called the “longest cemetery on Earth”, as over 1,000,000 workers died while building it. Archaeologists have even discovered human remains buried under sections of the wall.

Great Wall Watch Tower

The Silk Road

• The Silk Road was a series of roads covering 4000 miles
• Travel was hard and dangerous
• The road ran along deserts, and mountains and often travelers had to withstand sand storms
• The Silk Road ended in modern day Syria

A Route for Goods

Silk

• The Silk Road got its name from silk – a valuable cloth originally made only in China.

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• Han Dynasty farmers developed new methods for raising silkworms.

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• Workers could dye the silk and weave it into clothing.

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• The penalty for revealing this secret was death.

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A Route for Ideas

• Missionaries from India brought Buddhism.

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• Buddhism became a major religion in China during the Han Dynasty.

Invention of Paper

• Chinese first used wooden scrolls and bones to keep records. Later they wrote on silk. Then, around 105 AD, the Chinese invented paper.
• They made the paper from tree bark, hemp, and old rags. The materials were soaked in water, beaten into a pulp, and dried flat on screens.

Agriculture

• Imported fast-ripening rice from Vietnam
• Allowed two crops each season instead of one
• Fueled population increase

Science and Technology

• Block Printing & Movable Type: Pre-cut characters that were combined to form a page.

The crossbow

• The crossbow was created by Chinese blacksmiths in 450 B.C.
• The crossbow helped the Chinese to defend themselves from their enemies and attack their enemies.

Gunpowder

• The Chinese accidentally invented gunpowder when Medicine men were trying to invent new cures for a disease
• It is believed that gunpowder and firecrackers scare away evil spirits/ghosts.
• Gunpowder is used in weapons. Gunpowder helped the Chinese defend themselves.

Grand Canal

• The Sui Dynasty is famous for building the Grand Canal, the world’s longest man-made waterway!
• It stretches over 1000 miles in length, and links the Yellow and Yangtze rivers.

Canal Lock

• Device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water 

Kite

• The kite has ancient origins in China and was initially used for military signaling before becoming a popular recreational activity.

Water Clock

• Water flows out of the container at a constant pace and the markings show how much the water level has dropped and, consequently, how much time has passed.

Porcelain

• Invented the process of making porcelain.
• Porcelain is a type of pottery made from clay, that is glazed and “baked” at extremely high temperatures.

Achievements of the Song Dynasty

• Invented the world’s first paper currency (money)
• Song government minted paper money to replace the metal currency used by merchants

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Song Achievements & Contributions

• Magnetic Compass
• Helps China become a sea power
• Trade routes along Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asia grow

Achievements of the Song Dynasty continued…

Invented a vaccine for smallpox.

Seismoscope

• Seismoscope - device that records the occurrence of earthquakes and the motions of the Earth's shaking

Tea cultivation

• Legend credits Emperor Shen Nong with the discovery of tea when tea leaves accidentally fell into his boiling water.

Song Achievements & Contributions

• Paintings
• Reflected the Daoist love of nature
• “Black is ten colors”
• Artists did not use bright colors