2007

Chapter 23: The Han Dynasty

Vocabulary

bureaucracy	a form of government that is structured like a pyramid, with a few people on the top and many at the bottom
calligraphy	the art of fine handwriting
anesthetic	something that takes away the feeling of pain
seismograph	an instrument for detecting earthquakes
compass	an instrument for determining direction
lodestone	a type of iron ore

23.1 Intro	Qin Dynasty only lasted for 14 years, but the Han lasted for over 400, (206 BCE -220 CE); arose during unrest; people unhappy with legalistic ruling; Liu Bang, a rebel, conquered the Qin army and established his own empire; over time, the type of ruling changed; believed could not rule by force; incorporated Confucian ideals into the government; China had a period of stability and wealth (Golden Age); Education, literature, art, practices & inventions influenced lives; also known for military achievements; expanded the empire and established trade with the West.
23.2	WARFARE: excelled; new weapons & tactics expanded empire; extremely large & well organized army; advances in iron improved strength & quality of armor; first to make iron swords; they were longer so they could swing at a safer distance; crossbow was used; kite - used for measurement, messages & to scare off the enemy (tied bamboo pipes and fly them over enemy lines at night - noise scared them away)
23.3	GOVERNMENT: adopted the centralized government like Qin, but softened the ruling style; used government officials to help govern (bureaucracy); top Han officials lived in the capitol & lower level throughout the empire - responsible for checking roads and canals (geographical needs); changed how civil servants were hired - used to be status but under the Han they needed to pass a long exam - they needed to be knowledgeable; ruled away from home (to avoid favoritism); evaluated every 3 years.
23.4	AGRICULTURE: advances improved their lives; farmers had a lot expected of them, between growing food for others, plus meeting their own needs, they also had to give one month's labor pay to the government for building projects; the chain pump helped their irrigation; iron allowed them to build plows; they also invented the wheelbarrow - they could take more food to the market
23.5	INDUSTRY: Han controlled 2 important industries - silk and salt; silk formed from silkworm cocoon; difficult and time consuming; Chinese developed a foot powered machine to wound the fibers onto a reel - ready to use; became more efficient and thus boosted trade; salt was also valuable; preserve meat and vegetables; learned how to mine it from underground; used bamboo drills; went as deep as 1,000 feet; the pole had a valve that allowed the salt water to enter the pole, then the valve was closed; water was boiled and evaporated leaving a salt residue - this allowed people inland to get salt
23.6	ART: calligraphy was an important art form; scribes used same tools as painters; paper was perfect for calligraphy because it absorbed the ink well; before paper people used silk and/or bamboo; paper was invented in the 1st century CE and increased communication - more cost effective and easier to bind into a book; variety of materials were used to make paper - including silk, bamboo, straw & seaweed.
23.7	MEDICINE: treatments invented then are still used today; believed illnesses happened when yin and yang in the body were out of balance; used acupuncture to achieve this balance; learned how the body works; judged health by listening to the heartbeat or feeling the pulse; learned that blood circulates throughout the body to and from the heart; discovered a wine that can be used as an anesthetic.
23.8	SCIENCE: astronomers discovered comets (broom stars); moon reflects the light of the sun; solar eclipses; seismograph - earthquakes could be measured several hundred miles away; the compass (directions) which was important for burials; used lodestones to make the compasses since it tends to align to the earth's magnetism.