Ancient Chinese Digital Magazine

Article 1: Ancient Chinese Geography

Ancient China was home to many major cities and the importance of them rose and fell through
the dynasties. Here are some of the more influential cities:

● Anyang was the capital of the Shang
Dynasty from 1600 - 1046 BCE

● Luoyang was the capital of the Zhou
Dynasty from 1046 - 256 BCE

● Xi’an was the capital of the Han
Dynasty from 206 BCE - 25 CE

● Beijing was appointed to the capital
of China by the Ming Dynasty and remains
as China’s current capital

● Changsha was located along the
Yangtze River. Known as Qingyang, it was
an important trading post for the Qin
Dynasty
● Guangzhou was an ancient town in the Qin Dynasty formerly known as Panyu and
became an important city for trade

Because China as a country covers so
much land, its geography varies
greatly. In the early stages of ancient
China, the two most important
geographical features were the two
major rivers that ran through it. The
Yellow River and the Yangtze River
are the cradles of Chinese civilization.
As ancient China expanded it had the
benefit of many natural borders that it
used to defend from invaders. In the
North and Western regions of the
country were vast deserts that could
barely sustain human life. The entire
Eastern border of China was flanked
by the pacific ocean. In Southern China the largest mountains in the world, the Himylayas,
dominated the sky. These natural borders made it nearly impossible for ancient armies to make

their way into China. These boundaries not only protected the Chinese people but helped them
develop as a nation in independence.

The 3 Seas of China:

The Yellow Sea

Also known as Huang Hai, it is situated between China and
Korea. From North to South it is around 600 miles and from
East to West it is around 435 miles. In total, it takes up
146,700 square miles. Its mean depth is 144 feet and max
depth is 500 feet.

The East China Sea

Also known as Tung Hai, it borders the East Asian
mainland. In total, it takes up an area of about
290,000 square miles and around ¾ of the sea is less
than 650 feet. Its average depth is 1,145 feet and its
max depth is 8,912 feet.

South China Sea

Also known as Nan Hai, it borders the Southeast
Asian mainland. In total, it takes up an area of about
1,423,000 square miles. It has a mean depth of
3,976 feet and a max depth of 16,457 feet.

The 2 Deserts of China:

Gobi Desert

The Gobi Desert is 1,000 miles long and from
3-6 hundred miles wide. It has an estimated
area of 500,000 square mile. It extends from
Northern China to Southern Mongolia

Taklamakan Desert

The Taklamakan Desert extends about 600
miles from East to West and has a width of 260
miles. In total, it has an area of approximately
123,550 square miles.

The Himalayas​:

The Himalayan mountains are South and
Southeast of China. They are the tallest
mountains in the world with Mt. Everest (its
tallet peak) reaching 29,029 feet. This mountain
range created a border to protect the Chinese
from southern adversaries. They also had great
significance in Chinese religion and were
viewed as sacred.

The 2 Chinese Rivers:

The Yellow River is located in Northern China and is 3,395
miles long. Also known as the Huang He River, this area is
said to be the cradle to Chinese civilization as the earliest
settlements originated here. The Yangtze River is South of the
Yellow River and is 3,988 miles long and is another, but later,
origin of China.

Famous Site Visits:

Great Wall of China
● 69.541273 million feet long
● Longest structure ever built by humans
● The Great Wall of China was built in 221

BC
● It was built to protect China against invaders

and especially Mongolians
● In the Huairou District of China

Forbidden City:
● Largest imperial palace in the world
● Built from 1406-1420
● It was the home of 24 emperors
● It covers 0.28 square miles
● It has 980 buildings
● 961 meters long, 753 meters wide
● It is surrounded by a 10-meter high wall
● 52-meter moat around it
● 14 million visitors per year

● Built by over 1,000,000 workers and 100,000 craftsmen and served as the Imperial palace
for China for 492 years

Nanjing Confucius Temple:

● Used as a place to worship Confucius
● known as Fuzimiao in Chinese
● Constructed in 1034 BCE (Song Dynasty)
● It was damaged many times but has been rebuilt
● Took the most damage in 1937 when Japanese aggressors burned
it to the ground
● It was rebuilt in the style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties

Article 2: Ancient Chinese Philosophies

Legalism:

I chose this image because in court there
tends to be strict punishments and this
corresponds with the strict punishments in
legalism. Often times just a little mess up
could result in a serious repercussion. For
example, if you stole something you may
lose a limb! Finally, when someone hits the gavel a final decision has been reached, I believe this
corresponds to a final decision being reached for a punishment after a mistake. Overall, this
image portrays legalism because it represents harsh punishments.

Confucianism:

This image shows the base and foundation for all the
idea’s, the founder of Confucianism. The whole
philosophy was created by this man and he became
almost a god to his followers. He developed a set of
relationships which, in turn, guided followers through
their everyday lives. The religion was based on respect
and hierarchy and this picture represents the respect he
has and the power he holds in Confucianism.

Daoism:

I picked the symbol for yin and yang because the whole

Daoist philosophy revolves around this symbol and its

meaning. The yin and yang are supposed to contradict each

other in all aspects, creating the balance in nature.

Yin:​ Yang:​

Feminine Masculine

Passive Active

Darkness Light

Cold Warmth

Weak Strong

Earth; moon Heaven; Sun

Real Life Problems:

A student knows that they are A student's friend starts to
failing a class. They know they will smoke and is trying to influence
be in trouble when their parents the student to start also. How do
find out. How do they handle the they handle this situation?
situation?

Daoism The child would have to be The student who is trying to
responsible for their actions. Daoists influence other students will have
believed that everyone is responsible to live with the fact of what they
for themselves and so the child would did and take responsibility for their
have to overcome their own actions.
challenges.

Confucianism This child would handle this in a The student is helping this friend
respectful manner and whatever their because of Ren and also is
parents said they would respect it empathetic with Shu. They
because of filial piety. They are wouldn’t confront and tell them
honest because of the morality that that they don’t like them or
was highly valued (Yi). anything like that, instead they
would state how it affects their
health and that they would advise
that they don’t smoke.

Legalism The child will have a really harsh The student would most likely
punishment as that is the main belief reject the offer because they would
in legalism. It was believed that be afraid of the consequences.
people would mess up and they Also, they would either rat out
needed a harsh punishment for when their friend as they may have been
they did. rewarded for that or they would
have helped him because he
doesn’t want his friend to have the
consequences.

Article 3: Ancient Dynasties (Timelines)
Han Dynasty Timeline:

Zhou Dynasty Timeline:



Qin Dynasty Timeline:
Article 4: Ancient Chinese Inventions

Paper Making

Task:​ Ts'ai Lun is credited for creating paper as we know it. Write a letter from Ts'ai Lun to the
Emperor Han explaining your invention and how it can help his kingdom. Be sure to explain
who you are and how you came to invent this.

Dear Han Emperor,

I am Ts’ai Lun or Cai Lun. I have been serving the imperial palace since 75 CE and I just made
a great invention. Me and my apprentice, Zuo Bo, have invented paper. Paper is a material on
which you can write. You can document anything from stories and fables to news. I figured that
you would want to hear about my discovery as soon as possible so let me get into telling you a
bit more about the details. Since you know what paper is I will now tell you about how to make it
so you yourself may have some of this material. It is a very easy four step process. Step 1: you
must cut bamboo. This is the backbone of the paper and the actual material of the paper comes
from this bamboo. Step 2: soak the bamboo. You soak the bamboo in order for the texture to be
right and so you can soften it which leads onto step 3: dip a screen into pulp. Do this so then
after you can do step 4 which is pressing the screen onto the bamboo to flatten it. Finally you
must let it dry and then you have your brand new and improved paper!

Sincerely,
Ts’ai Lun

The Discovery of Bronze

Task: T​ he discovery of Bronze by Shang craftworkers completely changed this civilization.
Using your textbook and the internet research this discovery, write a newspaper article detailing
the discovery and its implications for the Chinese people.

Bronze!

Are you getting tired of weak tools and weapons made of stone? Are you always losing
battle because your weapons keep falling apart, well we have a solution for you! BRONZE! It is
1700 BCE and we can no longer be using these lousy tools made of stone, we need a change.
Bronze is a combination of two materials tin (10%) and copper (90%). So why do you need this
new material? There are many reasons, first you can improve your use of tools. Yes, you may
like your stone tools, but you’ll love bronze ones. Not only can these tools help harvest much
quicker, but they are also much more stable and will last much longer. That ties into the second
reason to use bronze, better weapons. After constantly using stone weapons they may break, but
it is much less likely if you are using bronze weapons. Not only are they much more reliant than
stone, but they are also stronger. In battle these weapons will give you much more damage and

almost always guarantee you the win. Now that you know the pros and the cons of bronze you
need to know where you can get it. You can either buy some off of the street or go out mining
yourself and find some of your own. Whatever you chose, don’t be late to get your bronze!

Article 5: The Great Wall

The great wall is one of the most well known parts of China. However, the construction of this
ancient wonder was built throughout 3 different dynasties.

Qin Dynasty (Caleb)

The Qin Dynasty supervised the beginning of this vast project. It was built under the emperor,
Qin Shi Huang. In order to protect themselves from the Huns, the Qin devised the plans for a
wall in Northern China. There were already 3 existing walls which Huang renovated and linked
together. The wall was two parts, on south of the yellow river and the other north and the
construction of the wall cost many lives and materials.

Han Dynasty (Milly)

The Han dynasty extended the Great Wall west in the Gansu or Hexi Corridor. The Great Wall
reached its longest length during time of Han Dynasty and it was longer than 6,214 miles (10,000
kilometers) in length.

Ming Dynasty (Peter)

The Ming Dynasty, lasting from 1368-1644 CE, was when the construction of the wall was
completed and at its peak. It’s purpose was still to defend China’s Northern Borders and at this
point in time really helped them define their physical border. During this dynasty it stretched
from Hushan to the Jiayuguan Pass and spanned 5,500 miles. The physical wall takes up 3,890
miles, the trenches take up 223 miles, and mountains and rivers account for 1,387 miles. In total,
the wall passes through 156 counties in 10 regions. The defense system included walls,
watchtowers, beacon towers, forts, passes, and cities. The materials used to construct it were:
packed earth, bricks, and stones

Today, a lot of the wall has either been torn down or destroyed from natural causes, however, the
government has put a lot of money into putting the wall back together

Article 6: Leaders

Confucius:

Confucius was a Chinese philosopher from 6th century BCE who created Confucianism.
Confucius believed that people were born good and only do bad things when influenced that
way. A main focus of Confucianism was that there are 5 relationships in a person’s life, r​ uler to
subject, father to son, husband to wife, elder to younger. and friend to friend.​ Another main
Confucian concept that tied into the relationships was filial piety, respecting a person’s parents
and elders. Confucius was a man who encouraged people to act morally and to always be kind
and empathetic.

Qin Shi Haundgi:

Qin Shi Haundgi was the founder of the Qin Dynasty and the first emperor of China and waas
the emperor from 221 BCE - 210 BCE. Qin Shi Haundgi's biggest achievement to this day is the
building of the Great Wall of China that he ordered to happen in 221 BCE. Qin Shi Haundgi
used Legalist policies to govern the people of Ancient China. The other major accomplishment
of Qin Shi Haundgi was unifying China through the strict control by the government.

Wu Di:

Wu Di was the seventh ruler in the Han Dynasty and ruled from 141 BCE - 87 BCE (54 years)
and that record was not broken for more than 1,800 years. Wu Di was best known for his military
conquests which resulted in his title Wu Di which means Martial Emperor. Wu Di added
Confucius philosophies to the Han Dynasty’s government. Wu Di was the tenth son of the
Emperor Jing and was chosen to be prince at age 7 and was enthroned when he was 16. During
Wu Di’s time as Emperor the Han Dynasty had the most powerful government in the world.

Gao Zu:

Emperor Gauzo of Han was born as Liu Bang and was the founder and first emperor of the Han
Dynasty. Liu Bang was born as a peasant and during his early adulthood he was a Qin patrol
officer. Liu Bang initiated and created the foundation of the Han Dynasty. His wife Gaohou, the
empress became the first female ruler of China.

Article 7: Daily Life

Zhou Dynasty:

This picture depicts a small village in the
Chinese countryside. Surrounded by forests
and Mountains we can assume this is
somewhere in Southern China. This image
helps to show what daily life was like for the
Zhou because we are able to see how they
lived.
This picture shows workers during the Zhou dynasty hard at
work. It looks like they are making paper however this could be
any of their numerous inventions. It shows that people during this
time were hard-working and focused on production.

This is a great picture to symbolize lifestyle.
There are many people in this picture and each
person is doing a different job. The people
standing towards the front seem to be playing in
some sort of band and have what look to be
various instruments. Others are sitting at a table
in conversation. One man is leaning against a
tree and reading a book, relaxing.

This picture heavily depicts the farming
lifestyle in ancient China. During this time
period, many citizens were farmers and had
extensive farmland. They worked long hours
and, in this case, gender was irrelevant as they
needed all the help they could get.

Qin Dynasty:

There are many elements to this picture and all of them have different meanings. The first image
is the male symbol is greater than
the female one. This was included
in the drawing because it was
believed in Ancient Qin society
that males were more important
than females. This idea ties into
the drawing of the school. The
school is there to show that they
valued school and it says that it is
the “school for boys' ' this was
included because only boys could
go to school. The next image is
the farmer hat. This was drawn
because the majority of the
citizens in the Qin dynasty were

farmers. The fourth image is the cow. This shows that most of the people's meat came from farm
animals such as cows, pigs, and goats. On the topic of food, the rice was drawn to tell the
audience that the main crop they grew was rice. Finally, the skyscrapped equals money is there
to represent that people who lived in cities tended to be more wealthy than people who lived in
the country.

Han Dynasty:

This picture represents how essential
school was in the Han. Education is the

foundation for a person’s life and this shows education in the Han Dynasty

This is a picture of Liu Bang and it is included because he
was the creator of the Han Dynasty and all Han idea’s stem
from his philosophies.

The most commonly eaten foods in the Han Dynasty were​ wheat, barley, rice, foxtail and
broomcorn millet, and beans. There were three social classes in the Han Dynasty. Aristocrats and
bureaucrats were the top tier. Their top job would be being the emperor and after that would be
military leaders, scholars, nobles, and government officials. The bottom tier was slaves and
servants. Painting and sculpture were the most practiced art forms in the Han Dynasty.
Confucianism was the most important Han teaching and during this time, the first civil service
exam was set up.

Article 8:

Xi’an, China:
Xi’an is the eastern starting point of silk road, so it was the start of this huger trade route. and it
was an international connection bringing products from one side of the world to another.

Dunhuang, China:
Dunhuang was an oasis town built on the edge of the Gobi Desert and was sustained by “crescent
lake” and “flanked” by sand dunes. Their travellers were provided with food, water, and shelter.
Finally, its name means blazing beacon and its importance was to warn central China of
incoming raids or attacks.

Taxila, Pakistan:

Taxila was in a subcontinent of India and made money by taxing silk road trade in the city.
Taxila traded jade and silk and today still is a city in Pakistan.

Merv, Turkmenistan:
Merv is the center of the silk road and many empires have conquered it to hold the center of the
route. It was controlled by the Achaemenid Empire, the G​ reco-Bactrian Empire,​ the Sassanian
Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate. Finally, during the 13th century it was the largest city in the
world with 500,000 residents, however, it fell to the Mongols in 1221 and the entire population
was massacred.

Ctesiphon, Iraq:
Ctesiphon is located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River. It was in the Mesopotamia region
and was the royal capital of the Persian Empire. Ctesiphon is famous for the palace of the
Sāsānian king Khosrow. Ctesiphon traded with the Roman empire, and they traded silk, spices,
and jewelry from the east.

Constantinople, Turkey:
Constantinople was the end of silk road, meaning that all of the left of goods from the journeys
ended up here. Also, the bubonic or black plague spreaded here. Constantinople was the end of
the silk road meaning that it ended the journey for all of the traders.