Ancient China was one of the oldest and longest lasting civilizations in the history of the world. The history of Ancient China can be traced back over 4,000 years. It was located on the eastern part of the continent of Asia. Dynasties in Ancient China: In China's history, Ancient China was ruled by powerful families called dynasties.
The first dynasty was the Shang and the last was the Qing. Most of the people that lived under the dynasties rule were very poor peasants. They farmed wheat, millet, and rice. Peasants were paying too much money for taxes and they should pay for the rent as well to their landlord.It was not weird when a father sells his child into slavery to pay the rent.
The dynasty change when the leader shows poor leadership. Then a new dynasty starts. The achievements of the Ancient Chinese The Great Wall of China is the main achievement of Ancient China. It is the largest masonary construction in the world. It is a defensive wall that is 1400 miles long.
Its main purpose was protecting China from their enemies who are called the Mongols that lived in the north. The great wall helped to keep Ancient China preserved from others.It was hard to reach china. The Great Wall closed it from the north. The desert closed it from the west, the Himalayas Mountains to the southwest, and the ocean from the east. Ancient china had many other achievements that we use these days.
For example: Paper, umbrellas, gunpowder, paper money, wheelbarrows, playing cards, using petroleum as fuel, kites, parachutes, matches and martial arts. In the Shang dynasty they developed silk by a process using silkworm cocoons from mulberry trees. Telling the secrets of silk making led to execution!!Terracotta Army In 1974 some farmers were digging in for a well and discovered a life-sized terracotta soldier, made completely out of clay over 2000 years ago, buried in the farm land! By the time archaeologists had finished digging, they had uncovered over 6000 life-size terracotta soldiers! Some of the statues they found are kneeling with terracotta bows, ready to shoot. Some have moustaches.
Experts say that during the Qin dynasty, Emperor Shihuangdi ordered labours to create the clay army, along with a 20-square-mile tomb to house it.For 36 years, 700,000 labourers crafted this underground city. It contains models of palaces and towers, and was protected from intruders by automatically-triggered crossbows. The city stayed buried for more than 2,000 years! Fun Facts about Ancient China * The Last Emperor of China, Puyi, became ruler when he was only 3 years old. * The Chinese have used chopsticks to eat for over 4,000 years.
* Two major rivers played a role in Ancient China: the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. The Yangtze is the third longest river in the world and the Yellow the sixth. In China the dragon is a symbol of good luck, power, and strength. The dragon was often the symbol of the Emperor. * The Ancient Chinese were the first people to drink tea. At first it was primarily used for medicine.
* Although many people spoke different types of Chinese, the written language was the same to all of them. This made reading and writing very important to the Empire. * The biggest festival of the year was the New Year celebration. Everyone took time off and celebrated during this time.
