China history

1. China history By: Shaq Rivera , Paul Christensen and Austin Lyons

2. Social structure • Tang dynasty- Because Tang had been the leader of the Shang tribe, the new era he established is known as the Shang dynasty (16th-11th century B.C.). the capital city moved five times during the 500 years of Shang rule, the period was one of tremendous economic growth. Agriculture prospered due to the use of improved ploughs, shovels and other farming tools, and the use of bronze and other metals became widespread. The variety of goods produced by artisans also expanded greatly. Perhaps the most significant advance achieved during the Shang dynasty was the development of a writing system. During this period, attempts were made to predict the future by exposing pieces of bone to fire. When these heated bones cracked, mystics would copy the patterns on other bones. These symbols, known as oracle script, are China's earliest known form of writing. The development of a writing system was important because it allowed the government to record laws and keep more accurate records. • Work cited http://webpath.follettsoftware.com/resource/viewurl?encodedUrl=JucFxHz5pEmdksLl2A-K0ozfAjSzE4Iq-J5hsHMLm9E&version=1&appsignature=Destiny&appversion=11.0.4.2+%28AU2%29

3. Political/ Rulers • Political/ Rulers • Qin Shi Huang (260–210 BC]) is the modern Chinese name of King Zheng of Qin (r. 246–221 BC), who ended the Warring States period by completing the conquest of China in 221 BC).Rather than maintain the title of king borne by the Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty from 220 to 210 BC. The title would continue to be borne by Chinese rulers for the next two millennia. • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_Shi_Huang

4. Religion • Chinese Buddhism has played a prominent, dynamic role in Buddhist history, particularly in East Asia. Over the course of approximately two thousand years, Buddhist ideas and practices have shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas, including art, politics, literature, philosophy, medicine, and material culture. • wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_China

5. Technology • Tang Dynasty (618 – 907) • Technology- during the period of the Tang Dynasty, there were many astronomers focused on calculating the paths of the sun and moon, and the movement of different constellations. • A prominent Mathematician, Wang Xitong, wrote his book explaining the solution to third degree equations. • Agricultural techniques such as curved shaft plowing, cultivation by fire, and a sophisticated irrigation system greatly enhanced productivity. Hybrid horses and mules were bred because of their ability to do more work. • Medicine improved with the discovery of the blood circuit and digestive system. • Ceramics improved with the new technique of glazing. • During this time period, book printing was invented, resulting in a vast improvement in the circulation of knowledge. • China has had a unified system of standard weights and measures for thousands of years. Before the sophistication of their measurement system, a bolt of silk was commonly used as a unit of measurement.

6. Measurements • 1 háo毫 (0.0000001 li) A tiny measure about a third of the diameter of a human hair • 1 lí厘 = 10 háo毫 (0.000001 li) • 1 fēn分 = 10 lí厘 (0.00001 li) • 1 cùn寸 = 10 fēn分 (0.0001 li)The cun is sometimes called the Chinese inch • 1 chǐ尺 = 10 cùn寸 (0.001 li) The chi is sometimes called the Chinese foot at 1.0936 feet • 1 zhàng丈 = 10 chǐ尺 (0.01 li) • 1 yǐn引 = 10 zhàng丈 (0.1 li) • 1 lǐ里 = 10 yǐn引 There are exactly 2 li to the kilometer, a mile is about 3li. • http://www.chinasage.info/measures.htm

7. Economy and trade • Economy / Trade – The Silk Road was one of the most important trade routes not only for the Chinese economy, but furthermore for Asia as a whole and even the western world. There are misconceptions about this great trade route, though. Despite namesake the Silk Road was not a trade route that existed solely for the purpose of trading in silk; many other commodities were also traded, from gold and ivory to exotic animals and plants. Also, there is not one specific route. All routes started in the capital, Changan, and as they crossed Central Asia several different branches developed, passing through different oasis settlements. The most significant commodity carried along this route was not silk, but religion. Buddhism came to China from India this way, along the northern branch of the route. • The Civil Service Exam was a way to determine who was a good candidate to be a government official. This greatly shaped the future of China, and was one of the first examples of this type of procedure. It is greatly responsible for the distribution of power in the Tang and Song dynasties. • http://www.ess.uci.edu/~oliver/silk.html

8. Writing system • Writing System- the Chinese writing system developed more than 4,000 years ago. The oldest examples of written Chinese are from the 14th or 15th century B.C., when the Shang dynasty flourished. Chinese writing is read from right to left, and consists of an individual character or ideogram for every syllable. Each character represents a word or idea rather than a sound; thus, problems caused by homonyms in spoken Chinese are not a difficulty in written Chinese. • The use of woodblock printing began during the late Sui and early Tang Dynasties. The text is written on thin paper and pasted face-down on a woodblock. The text is then engraved reverse into the wood, cutting out the surroundings of the letters and leaving the reverse letters elevated. The block is then brushed with ink. Laying the paper on the inkened woodblock and mounting a support fabric, the text is touched upon the paper. This technology was very important for the spread of Buddhism, and was used to print sermons, prayers, and pictures of Buddha, which were instrumental in the success of Buddhist missionaries. • http://webpath.follettsoftware.com/resource/viewurl?encodedUrl=_wjp4Y8msr4AJ8LfMxE684CBbQUZAJVmxzIySjn69r8&version=1&appsignature=Destiny&appversion=11.0.4.2+%28AU2%29