The Han Dynasty (23)

The Han Dynasty

In what ways did the Han dynasty improve government and daily life in China?

Warfare

• Created NEW military methods & weapons

• Expanded farther East than anyone else.

• Est. 130,000 -300,000 solides from 25 - 60 years old.

• Advanced iron weapons

• Created Fish Scale Armor

• Used Kite's to scare & Measure

Multiple Choice

Inventing the Kite was clever to measure, send messages, and frighten the enemy. Enemy soldiers would hear a ghostly noise coming from the darkness, which sounded like "fu fu" (beware beware). Why were they scared of this ?

• Did not know how to contact the Ghost Busters.

• The Chinese believed strongly in ancient ancestors and afterlife.

• The Chinese never heard such sounds but knew the legend of the Kite.

Government

• Bureaucracy: Large organization that followed a set of rules & conditions.

• Jobs: Followed Confucianism ideas, giving all an opportunity.

• Government Job: Had to pass a long difficult test.

• Hired: When hired they could not work in the area they lived.

• Central control was established.

Multiple Choice

Why were people who got government jobs (civil servants) not allowed to work where they lived?

• This rule was intended to prevent officials from giving special favors to friends and relatives.

• This rule was intended to just give people a hard time.

• This rule was intended to separate families and friends from each other.

Agriculture

• Farmers were expected to plant enough food for themselves, their families, and stock rooms.

• Farmers made their own clothing, build their own homes, and volunteer for 1 month unpaid.

• Floods & Drought destroyed crops.

Multiple Choice

Farmers faced many challenges like growing enough food for everyone, making their own clothes, building their own homes, and.....

• raising a family

• dealing with drought & floods

• having too much food to eat

• going to college while farming.

Inventions

• Made a Chain Pump to help move water up hills to fields.

• Iron Plows allowed them to push dirt away from the row being plowed.

• The wheelbarrow made it easier to carry around and transfer food.

Multiple Select

Which Han inventions (pictured in modern-day) made work in agriculture easier?

Industry

• Han Dynasty controlled important industries like silk and salt.

• Making silk was different and took lots of time.

• There was a high demand for silk outside of China.

• Salt was an important trade item.

• The Han found how to make salt, by drilling iron tipped bamboo into the water.

Multiple Choice

Why was it important to improve the way silk was made (from hand to foot pedal)?

• The Chinese did not know how to work with their hands.

• Silk was so popular they needed to make more for sale and trade with other countries.

• Because they wanted to just sit back and relax, so having a chair and pedal solved that.

Art

• Paper: The Hand invented paper ideal for calligraphy. Before paper, they wrote on silk, but it was very expensive.

• Scribes painted characters with brush and ink.

• Paper changed the way people communicated. People could afford writing materials.

Multiple Select

How did the invention of paper make life easier for calligraphers? (SELECT ALL 3 THAT APPLY)

• Paper was easier to bind than bamboo or silk.

• Calligraphers no longer had to use brushes.

• More people could not afford writing materials.

• Paper was easier to bind together like a book, than bamboo or silk.

• Paper doesn't absorb ink, so it couldn't ruin the calligraphy.

Medicine

• Yin & Yang: Illness happened with the body was out of balance.

• Acupuncture: Thin needles inserted into part of the body to rebalance the body.

• Moxibustion: Healing technique where small cone of leaves is placed near the skin & burned to reduce pain.

• Prediction: Judge health by listening to a person's heartbeat. (Blood circulation)

Multiple Choice

Which statement is FALSE about medicine during the Han dynasty?

• Hans believed illness occurred when yin and yang were out of balance.

• They developed acupuncture, which treats illnesses that strike quickly.

• The technique. of moxibustion helped to treat long-term diseases.

• Hand doctors discovered that blood circulates from the head.

Science

• Astronomers recorded the appearance of comets - "broom stars"

• Learned that the moon shines because it reflects the sunlight.

• Learned that a solar eclipse happens when the moon blocks the sun.

• Invented seismograph to detect earthquakes & a magnetic compass.

Multiple Choice

The Chinese used the term "Broom stars" to refer to...

• Solar eclipse

• Comets

• Seismographs

• Earthquakes

• Lodestones

Open Ended

In what ways did the Han dynasty improve government and daily life in China?

(write your answer and explain your reasons)