CHINA+4

CHINA - CORE #4 __China Core 4 Final Draft__

Names: Will Muscatello orange , Eli Gora red, Laura Burr purple, Ben Gottfried blue, Ana Absalon pink, Aly Beinke aqua, Max Hoffman brown,  Kyle Fielman green

Dear Sir, China was the most technologically advanced civilization of its time ,and has  shaped the life of the modern world that we live in today. They had a powerful government made up of dynasties, they innovated life with new ideas and inventions,and they had a unique geography that helped them prosper <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6aa84f; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Their war technology they used was the most advanced out of any civilization, and they had a very large trading system. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This is why China was top of the mark when it came to building an empire for the ages.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ancient China was ruled for many years by powerful dynasties. A dynasty is a single family that passes down control of the empire through generations, until it is overthrown. Chinese civilization started around 10,000 B.C. when Yangshao settled near the Huang He River. This began the Xia Dynasty. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6aa84f; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This makes them the best because then they can have a strong rule continued in the family,because even after the father died, his son would take his place and was taught to believe the same things as his father. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Tang dynasty was the golden era of China where people invented, tried new things, and prospered. Chinese mariners explored the world and brought back many other ideas and innovations to the mainland. This is also when they <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6aa84f; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">built the famous <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Great Wall and sieged other empires and civilizations. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Most of the laws of this strong civilization came from the moral teachings written in the legal-code books. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #6aa84f; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This made them the best and most powerful empire in the world because of their awesome might that came from their new innovations, resources, and technology from around the world. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6aa84f; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Their government was very strict. Emperors often ruled with forced labor, a huge army and cruel methods of punishment. That was because they had to contain order over a large area of land and defend their nation and battle others for more land. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The citizens obeyed the law mostly out of fear, but the government ruled them effectively. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__The Mandate of Heaven__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is the right to rule in china, and <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__legalism__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> is a brief teaching in the strict rules of China. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6aa84f; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Even for simple crimes they could be strangled, beaten, publicly humiliated, banished from the country, or even tortured. After Confucius spread his teachings the government started not to be as cruel and became enlightened and opened up and let anyone participate in the government but, they had to take a test first. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #6aa84f; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> This all happened during the golden age. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6aa84f; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This makes it better than other civilizations because it could control more people which would lead to more of everything such as trade and food which would have led to more power which means it would be better than any other civilization.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">China was by far the best civilization based on their contributions of introducing the use of <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">coins, money, and land distribution for non-aristocrats. They also introduced the development of the merchant class, which we use today in our economy with coins, dollar bills, and the poor and wealthy. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> People first used cowrie shells for <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">currency <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> as early as 1800 BC under the Shang Dynasty. They <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">also <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> used metal imitations, cowrie shells, and then metal strings of beads called cash. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bronze coins were first found in <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> China by the 400’s BC <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">during <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> the Chou dynasty. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By the time they were led into the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Han Dynasty people started making businesses by digging deep pits <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> into the ground to collect salt and then selling them as a product. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. It is very important to our society because we use money and coins today <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We also use a lot of other inventions they made today. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Without Ancient China’s legacy, we would not be the same and advanced that we are today. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Life was very good for most of the people in China because of the demand for Chinese silk, which caused the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__Silk Road.__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__The Silk Road__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">contained three major routes. The westward route went from China to to the Black Sea. The central route went to Persia to the Mediterranean Sea. The southern route went to Afghanistan, Iran, and India. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__The Silk Road__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> allowed trade to flourish easily. China made a lot of profit from this, and so they were able to afford luxuries that other civilizations couldn’t. For example, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">jobs were given to educated people as well as nobles, and people were paid for their work. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Most of the men who worked in the mines were probablyslaves. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They had a system of public schools that only boys were allowed to attend. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> This makes China the best because it proves that China was very advanced and is actually very similar to our country today. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In the Han dynasty, China was the most advanced civilization in the world, not only in science and <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to advanced <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">technology, but in literature and art. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They created new works literature, music, and scroll painting. they used <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__terracotta__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> clay for building and pottery. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Their medicine was advanced (They created acupuncture and discovered the circulatory system). <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Agriculture dominated the economy in 206 BC- 24 CE thanks farming methods. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They invented paper. Which is very useful today because of how much we use it! <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Chinese invented an instrument that told them when an earthquake was happening. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They also invented the decimal system, which is also really <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">beneficial <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> in many different <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">ways. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In the Shang Dynasty the Chinese had already started dancing. The 12 note octave was already known and employed in the Han Dynasty, and the ancient Chinese had already started using pictures to express their imaginative thoughts. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Chinese poems (work songs, prayers, and songs of love) had originated early in Chinese history. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This makes China the best because they contributed to almost everything we have and use today.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">China's land is very diverse. It has a lot of <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">hills, and drops <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, so they have a variety of animals <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">withdifferent living conditions <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> to hunt when they <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> are <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> not growing crops. The lowest point in the land is at the Turpan Depression, at -154 meters below sea level. The Himalayan mountains <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">is also located near this ancient civilization <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">which stands at <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 29,025 feet up to the top, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">where they <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> can hunt animals like yaks. Also, they host a huge rain forest in southern China. This is very good because they have a diverse amount of plants and animals at their fingertips. So having lots of different kinds of plants and animals, that dwell in different climates, make China's geography the BEST. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Part of their geography includes the The Great Wall. This stucture <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> was built over 2,500 years ago to protect from raiders from the north. It served its purpose well in ancient times. The wall has a walkway on top that is about 6 meters wide, so troops could patrol the wall and look for, or fight off, intruders. This was very helpful because they could stop the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">enemies <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and raise the alarm before they even got to the Great Wall. It is about 3,750 miles long, so invaders from the north couldn’t go around it, and about 20 feet high, so they couldn't go over it. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #783f04; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In conclusion, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">throughout ancient times, the Great Wall of China was a very good defense system. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #783f04; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There are many natural barriers that help surround China’s borders as well as the Great Wall. One of the land forms <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">is <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #783f04; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the Chinaand Yellow <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sea <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #783f04; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> that help put a border on the civilization. Also, there are many large rivers such as the Yangzi and the Yellow River. As well as the water masses, the civilization has mountains such as the Himalayan, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #783f04; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tian and Pamir <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #783f04; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> mountain ranges. There is a desert too <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #783f04; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> called the Gobi Desert <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #783f04; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> which is a <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">massive <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #783f04; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> desert that makes entry to the civilization hard for enemies. China uses it <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">s <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #783f04; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> natural boundary to protect from enemies, which makes it in a prime location <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #783f04; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and makes Ancient China the BEST. Because China is so large, it has many different climate zones. In Northern China, the winters can become as cold as zero degrees Fahrenheit. Contrasting, in Central China, the temperature ranges from 30 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Eastern China can be wet and humid but in the west the climate is hot and dry because of the large <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Gobi <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #783f04; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> desert. This is a good thing for China because it can hold a <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">voluminous amou <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">n <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">t <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #783f04; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">of life and suit many peoples likings.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Chinese food was very unique. Their food made it the best civilization because it shows that they had a <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">n <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> unique taste and interest in foods. They created different meals and harvested food that we still eat today <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> which shows they were hard workers by creating their own food. They even used techniques in agriculture that you see farmers <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">continue to adapt to this day. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Ancient China would grow their own food on farms so they could feed their own families. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Chinese food can be roughly divided into the Northern <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, and <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">southern styles of cooking. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Back then they would fish, grow <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and make their own food. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In Chinese cooking, color, aroma, and flavor share <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> an <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> equal importance in the preparation of each dish. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Other ancient traditions are found in clothing. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Their <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">creations <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">made it better than all the others because it shows how they signified their wealth, and society roles in different ways. It also shows that they were creative in the way that they created they clothing using the limited resources that they had, even though we use it today <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> showing that they had good tardi. The men would wear short tunics and the women would wear long tunics. The people without a lot of money would make their clothing out of silk and hemp. Going with their <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #783f04; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">apparel <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">both men and women would wear long hair because it was said that the hair was from their parents <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and that it was a disrespect to their parents. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bandages were so tight they broke the girls’ toes and bent them underneath their feet <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, forcing them to walk like that <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The ancient Chinese <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> also had certain beliefs when it came to their different types of worship. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They had a very <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">strong faith in the after life, and believed their family ancestors held magical powers. The citizens used to think that they must keep them happy, so that they could continue to protect them and give them wealth and prosperity throughout the lives of the Chinese. To carry out this responsibility, they brought wine and other gifts to temples, and <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__pagodas__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__,__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and also held ceremonies to honor them in the creating of each food dish. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">At all times through the thriving ancient Chinese culture, they believed in <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">many gods and goddesses, magical beings, dragons, and ghosts. They expressed this through paintings and other literature. Later on during this time period, Buddhism was passed along from India, on the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__Silk Road__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.This made the civilization the best because it led to a diversity of beliefs, and meant that they had more religious freedom. This specific civilization had many festive traditions. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They held something called the Chinese New Year, which was made for repaying debts, enjoying feasts, and remembering ancestors. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> There was also a celebration called The Lantern Festival which was held 15 days after New Years Day. Originally is was held for searching for their ancestors, but is now found for honoring looking at the moon at the first full year. It shows that they are better civilization because they had more holidays that brought the citizens together, and celebrated what they all had in common. It added spirit and happiness to their lives, which helped the civilization prosper and become more peaceful and successful. Education was <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">also <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> considered very important in Ancient China. Children spent most of their time tending to the fields and watching siblings. However, boys would attend school if their family could spare the extra labor <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> which shows that the kids wanted to learn making it the best civilization <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. If you lived in a small village that didn’t offer an elementary school, you would be required to live with another relative or stranger. They would first start at age 6, start at sunrise, and went year round, with no weekends. They would go to school in temples, and in different classes, would learn how to read and write, poetry, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__Confucianism__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and Confucius philosophy, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">__Daoism, Taoism,__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> and how to paint pictures.It shows that they had ideas and guidelines that we continue in our schools today, and that they had a more successful civilization because of the educated people. It means that made more rational decisions because they had a better idea of the consequences and possible benefits of each situation.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ancient China was a very unique culture. They had many diverse traditions, a strict government, beautiful landscapes, and an advanced economic system. Their leaders used forced labor to rule along with harsh punishments and consequences. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #783f04; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Also, the people <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">created a very valuable trading network that used gold, silk, and salt. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ancient China also had an ever changing climate that was <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">capable <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">of reaching 0 to 80 degrees. They had a selective educational programs that were only available to boys of unused labor. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #783f04; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The Chinese <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> lived in fear of the government while obeying the emperor’s code. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Life was very good for many of the people in China because of the demand for Chinese silk, which caused the building of the Silk Road. Their economic system was <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> a very complex system <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Without Ancient China, we would not be the country we are today.They contributed to many things we use daily today, such as paper money and coins, and the circulatory system. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #6aa84f; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">That’s why they were one of the greatest civilizations ever.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Kindest regards, Ben Gottfried, Laura Burr, Will Muscatello, Ana Absalon, Aly Beinke, Kyle Fielman, Eli Gora, And Max Hoffman, Nagel Middle School Team 7-4