Ancient China

Ancient China

Travis Herbst

February 20, 2006

Day 2 Block

The Chinese have a rich culture of dynasties. In early years, the Chinese people were ruled by one dynasty until that dynasty was overthrown by another dynasty. The most known dynasties are: Shang, Ch'in, and Mongols. The Shang Dynasty was the first dynasty of China. Around 2000 BC, the Chinese were starting to make bronze and developing a writing system. The Shang lasted about 700 years until they were overthrown by the Chou Dynasty. The Ch'in Dynasty is responsible for the China name. The Ch'in also built up an army to build the Great Wall of China. In 1276 AD, the Mongols invaded China. At that time, the Mongol empire stretched from India and Russia to northern China and Korea. The Mongols were probably the strongest dynasty.

During the reign of the Shang Dynasty, the Chinese people worshipped many different gods. They mostly worshipped sky and weather gods; also a higher god that ruled over other gods called Shang-Ti. During this time, people believed that their dead ancestors became gods and were to be worshipped. Each family worshipped their own ancestors. Around the Chou Dynasty, people started worshipping a force called t'ien, which means "Heaven." This force decided who the emperor was and when he stopped ruling. Around 600 BC, new ideas such as Taoism circulated China. Taoism is the belief that force shouldn't be used and natural force should decide things. This belief became very popular. Not too long after that, a belief called Confucianism surfaced. This belief was that people should do their duty and follow their leaders. This too became popular. Although these new beliefs were becoming very popular, people still believed that their ancestors were gods and should be worshipped.

Tunics were proper attire for the Chinese people in early years. Women wore long tunics that touched the ground. Men wore shorter tunics that went down to the knees. When the weather was cold, both men and women would wear coats over their tunics and sometimes pants. Poor people made their clothes out of ramie or hemp while rich people used silk. Most people in China wore their hair long because it was disrespectful to cut it. After the Mongols invaded, they brought cotton to China and taught the farmers how to grow it. People preferred cotton more than ramie and hemp because it was softer and warmer.

The first grain ever farmed in China was rice. The Chinese would boil rice in either water or wine. Since rice didn't grown in northern China because it's drier and colder, they gathered wild millet and sorghum. They would boil it into porridge. The popular drink in China was tea. Tea grows wild in China and was very popular.

Transportation was not very good in ancient China. People mainly traveled on foot. It would usually take someone months to get home from a business trip. When traveling from town to town, they rode horses. For short-distance trips, man-carried sedans and carriages or oxcart were also used. For the most part, all these means of transportation were in very low speed.

Ancient China is famous for art. Ceramic pots made in China are popular through-out the world; porcelain pots were most common. The Chinese used materials such as lead, bronze, jade, silk, and clay to create their art. The Chinese were also very talented at painting. Chinese people would use hard writing tools instead of long, soft brushes. The hard writing tools were made of bamboo, wood, animal bones and horns, clods of soil and black lead. These hard writing tools were used in ancient Chinese history, but they later switched to soft pen. Instead of the modern paint brush, they used bird feathers and rabbit tails to paint large areas. The most common Chinese weapon was the staff. A staff is a long sword with rings on the inside. It would be used as a walking stick, to carry loads on your back, carry and transport two water buckets, as a lever, tent pole, and writing implement.

In ancient China, education was valued. Around 100 AD, Confucius and Emperor Wudi, one of the Han Emperors, agreed that the key to a good government system was an education for the young men of Ancient China. Confucian teachers taught in the system of public schools that Emperor Wudi started. Since men were considered more important than women, men went to school. Confucius was nationally honored for his teaching. Schools were set up in every province of Ancient