Ch 23 The Han Dynasty

1. Ch 23 The Han Dynasty • Introduction • Warfare 1 - 224 • Government 2 - 225 • Agriculture 3 - 226 • Industry 4 - 227 • Art 5 – 228 • Medicine 6 - 229 • Science 7 - 230 • Summary

2. Introduction • Han Dynasty • pronounced "hahn" • Lasted 400 years from 206 BCE to 220 CE • Arose during a time of unrest • Han leaders believed they could not rule with force alone • Confucian ideals of moral behavior incorporated into the government

3. Introduction • Golden Age • Education, literature and art flourished • People's lives improved • Important practices, inventions, and discoveries • Military Achievements • Expanded empire from present-day Korea and Vietnam • Trade relationships began with the West

4. Warfare • Empire reached west into central Asia, east to present-day Korea and south to present-day Vietnam • Large well-organized army • Han armies had 130,000 to 300,000 men • All men from 25 - 60 had to serve two years in the army

5. Warfare New technologies • Advances in iron making • Improved the strength and quality of armor • "fish-scale" armor that flexed and moved with the body • Iron swords • Longer • Longer meant safer • Crossbow • Two pieces of wood in the shape of a cross • String attached to shoot arrow • Kite • According to legend, one general used a kite to measure the width of a heavily guarded wall • Used to send messages from one part of an army to another • Fitted with bamboo pipes and flown over enemy camps at night making a frightening sound

6. Government • General Information • Adopted centralized government established by Qin dynasty • Brought Confucian ideas back into government • Softened the harsh ruling style • Bureaucracy • Many government officials helped run the empire • Bureaucracies are structured like a pyramid • Topic Han officials • advised the emperor • lived in capital • Lower-level officials • lived through the empire • checked roads and canals • Made sure there was enough grain produced and stored

7. Government • Key Improvement • Civil servants chosen based on ability and knowledge • Had to pass a long and difficult civil service exam • Based on the classic writings • Had to learn five books by heart • Civil servants could not serve in their home district • Work evaluated every three years • Evaluation determined promotion or demotion

8. Agriculture • Expectations for farmers • Grow enough food to feed their own families • Grow food to help stock the shared granaries • Make their clothing, build their homes and give one month of unpaid labor to the gov building projects such as canals and roads • Difficulty • floods • droughts

9. Agriculture • Inventions that helped farmers • Chain pump • Made it easier to move water from low irrigation ditches and canals up to the fields • Pedals turned a wheel which pulled planks that moved the water • Iron Plow • Chinese first to learn how to pour melted iron into molds • Process make strong plows • Plows designed to push dirt away from the row • Wheelbarrow • Wheelbarrow had one large wheel in the center • Goods carried on either side of the wheel • Make it easier to push a heavy load

10. Industry • Silk • Produced from the fibers of a silkworm cocoon • Chinese developed a foot-powered machine that wound the fibers onto a large reel • Silk trade began under the Han dynasty • Salt • Salt was valuable to help preserve meat and vegetables • Chinese learned how to mine salt from under the ground • Wells drilled with iron-tipped bamboo drills • A hollow bamboo pole was dropped into the well and entered the pole • The water was brought to the surface and placed in large iron pots • Pots were heated until the water evaporated leaving the salt

11. Art • Invention of Paper • Replaced expensive silk • Replaced bulky bamboo • Invented in the first century CE • paper cheaper than bamboo or silk • People could afford to write more • Easier to bind together to form books • Paper-making process • silk fibers, hemp, bamboo, straw and seaweed • Screen dipped into pulp and brought out • Materials boiled into a soupy pulp • Pulp dried on the screen • Calligraphy • Writing as an art form • characters painted with brush and inch

12. Medicine • Concept of Illness • Illness happened when the forces of yin and yang were out of balance • Healers tried to restore natural balance • Treatment • acupuncture • thin needles are inserted into specific parts of the body • rebalance the forces of yin and yang • useful for curing illnesses that strike quickly • ex. headache • moxibustion • small cone of powdered leaves or sticks called a moxa is placed on the skin and set on fire • Heat believed to reduce pain and promote healing • Use to treat long-term diseases • ex. arthritis

13. Medicine • Discoveries • Learn to judge health by listening to a person's heartbeat or feeling pulse • Discovered that blood circulates from the heart through the body and back to the heart • Western science did not make this discovery until the 1600's CE • Discovered a type of wine that could be used as an anesthetic

14. Science • Discoveries • Recorded the appearance of comets, "broom stars" • Moon shines because it reflects the light of the sun • Solar eclipses happen when the moon blocks our view of the sun • Inventions • Seismograph - an instrument for detecting earthquakes • circular machine made of bronze • Pendulum in the center surrounded by eight sculpted animal heads • Pendulum vibrated during an earthquake • vibration triggered the release of one of eight balls • Ball would fall in the direction of the earthquake • Earthquakes could be detected up to 100 miles away • Magnetic compass - an instrument for determining direction • temples, graves and homes needed to be placed in the correct position for luck • 200's CE Chinese understood a lodestone aligns in a north-south direction • Lodestone carved into the shape of a spoon with handle pointing south

15. Summary • Rule • Han ruled for more than 400 years • Time of peace, wealth and achievement • Advances • New weapons • government organized into a bureaucracy staffed by civil servants • inventions improved agriculture and silk and salt industries • Invention of paper advanced the art of calligraphy • Healer techniques started that are still used today • Chinese scientists made observations and invented seismograph and compass • Achievements • Han left a deep impact on culture • Han is used today to describe the culture of the people of China