ABCs Of China Made by Jessica Soesanto
A is for Awful The Qin Dynasty was pretty awful in a way. The first emperor, Qin, had ruled with control. He had made everyone work and if they didn t, he killed them with no mercy. He did make the Great Wall of China longer but did it harshly. He burned books because he thought they were useless and a waste of time. Also, peasants were given one of two jobs, grow food or harvest silk. If they didn t do their job, they would be killed! Isn t this is awful?
B is for the Bronze Age During the Shang Dynasty s reign, they were living in the Bronze Age. Bronze had become popular and everything they used were mostly bronze! Such as bronze vessels for rituals, bronze chariots, and even axes! The metal had been used in royalty so in the tombs of Shang rulers, there were hundreds of bronze objects, even hairpins!
C is for Confucius Confucius was a chinese philosopher, teacher, editor, and politician. He tried to teach during war and confusion of politics while the Zhou Dynasty was falling in power.
D is for Denomination Denomination in the Qin Dynasty was pretty emerged. An early form of Buddhism was destroyed, and Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism emerged from this time.
E is for Efficient The Han Dynasty was pretty efficient. They advanced with paper, so the government could simply take down records and data. There was also iron, crops, and acupuncture. Also, there were advancements in studies, as in math, buildings, medical, astronomy, and engineering.
F is for Flood During the reign of the Xia Dynasty, Yao faced a huge problem. The Yellow River was flooding towards the farms and people. Gun was ordered from Yao to stop it. He had tried stopping it using dykes, or giant walls. But the dykes could not hold it and more chaos erupted. He had tried to stop it for nine years but the floods kept getting bigger and more powerful. Yu the Great had solved this problem later on.
G is for Gunpowder In 142 AD, there lived a man who was the first person to write anything about gunpowder. We re not sure it if he was talking about gunpowder but he talked about mixing three powders that would fly and dance but very it was very dangerous. In 300 AD, a scientist from the Qin Dynasty, named Ge Hong had wrote about and described the powders to gunpowder including the explosion.
H is for the Himalayans The Himalayans Mountains have been a huge geographical barrier during Ancient China. They are the highest mountains because it houses Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world! You can see how it has been a barrier because it was so hard to climb.
I is for Iron Iron started getting very popular when the Shang Dynasty was ruling. The iron have helped them by so much! They achieved animal drawn plowing for farming. But it has also improved their armies and warriors. They got new swords and better armor from iron.
J is for Jade Carving Jade was very prized back in the Han Dynasty. They believed it held mystical and cosmic powers. Only certain people could wear jade, and it was usually the emperor. They wore to show power and it was also used in rituals.
K is for Kine On the Silk Road, animals were traded. Kine (cows/cattle), sheep, and much more. Even animal fur and animal skins was traded on the Silk Road
L is for Life Life was bit better in the Han Dynasty. Life for peasants in the countryside, worked hard but they had food and shelter. Although, peasants who lived in the city life were pretty bad because they would live in crowded houses and sometimes went without food. Life for the rich was nice too, they lived in houses decorated in carpets and paintings.
M is for Mandate of Heaven The Mandate of Heaven gave the title to emperors to those who could govern well and fairly. The Mandate of Heaven depends on the emperor, if he was well and fair then he would have the right to be the emperor but if he is not he will lose the mandate, therefore lose the right to be emperor. This has be introduced by the Zhous Dynasty.
N is for New It always seemed like the Ancient Chinese Dynasties made new products that would always stack the previous ones. Such as bronze to iron, and paper to write on. They always seem to make something that would last their time and ours!
O is for Oracle Bones The Shang Dynasty used ox or tortoise bones to predict about their future. The process of this that one of those kinds of animal bones gets a question inscribed on it, intense heat using a metal rod, cracks some parts of the bone. Those cracks get interpret using ink and to make sensible answers to their starting questions.
P is for Philosophy Confucius had many philosophies and sayings. His main idea was that if everyone did their job and worked with society, this would achieve peace! But if everyone didn t the would lead to violence and unhappiness. This idea turned out to be that people should follow the law and respect elders and parents. That was his main idea.
Q is for the Qin Dynasty The Qin Dynasty lasted only for 15 years yet, it s a very famous dynasty. They practiced Legalism, which meant people were thought to be bad so they controlled every single second of their lives since, they didn t want them to bad things. Their emperor was the first man to control to all of China, and named China, China!
R is for Road The Silk Road was a series of paths that connected China to the West and East, even to the Mediterranean Sea! It was named the Silk Road from a German Geographer, Ferdinand don Richthofen, because silk was heavily traded for. The Silk Road was open to many countries, China, India, Persia, Arabia, Greek, Rome and much more!
S is for Silk In the 27th BCE, a silkworm cocoon fell into Empress Leizu s cup of tea. She asked for it to be extracted from her drink as they started unrolling thread from the silkworm. They had thought of the idea of weaving, where it turned into a soft material. This is a very popular myth about silk in Ancient China, because the Chinese seemed to be heavily guarding the making of this material during the time.
T is for Terracotta Emperor Qin had made these stone soldiers, called Terracotta Warriors. He made them because he thought when he died he went into an afterlife where he would need an army to go to the afterlife with him. The making of these stone warriors took 11 years to finish and when done it was also to show his glory.
U is for Unique The items that were sold on the Silk Road were unique to each country that traded to each other. China sold tea, salt, sugar, porcelain, and spices. They bought these items, cotton, ivory, wool, gold, and silver.
V is for Victorious Ancient China has been victorious. They have been the longest, and oldest, civilization. They have made products that have been used for centuries. Such as gunpowder, paper, silk, and the compass. We still use these items today! Even their great wall as lived on!
W is for Wall The Great Wall of China is very old. In fact, this wall got started at 259 B.C! It is made out brick, stone, and wood. Including bodies of people! Chinese people thought that if people s bodies were stuck into the wall their soul could contribute to the wall and give themselves extra protection!
X is for Xiayu Xiayu (Also known Dayu or Yu the Great) was the first emperor of the skeptical dynasty, the Xia Dynasty. He was known for solving flood problems and that s what put him as the first emperor.
Y is for Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He is 3, 395 long, making the sixth longest river in the world! This river has helped the early Chinese farmers by a lot. They built small villages near the river, because of a yellow colored soil, which have helped plants grow. But it has been called China s Sorrow because of all the floods that have occurred.
Z is for the Zhou Dynasty The Zhou Dynasty started off weak but get stronger as they went along. They had made many inventions, such as roads and paths, and better ways to make iron. Their ruler was King Wu. They started at 645 BCE and ended at 256 BCE!