Ancient History Resources for Homeschool and Personal Study. This weeks topics: Government of the Qin, The Great Wall of China, the Han Dynasty, Han Technological Advances and the Terracotta Soldiers.

Ancient History is studied through the collection of archeological evidence, written records and oral stories or myths. Just because evidence shows a particular belief or custom was common at a particular time does not mean that everyone in that civilization shared that belief. When you study the topics for this week, you can either go deep on one topic for the week and skip the others or you can do a new topic each day. This outline is just a suggested pace, you can go slower or faster as needed. This outline is intended to provide you with a place to start. You will still need to do your own research.

Great Wall of China

Homeschool Topics for Week 25

Government of the Qin

The Great Wall of China

The Han Dynasty

Han Technological Advances

The Terracotta Soldiers

Discussion Questions

Government of the Qin

The Qin dynasty ended the feudal system in China but began the use of slavery. The emperor gave the aristocracy local government positions. The town of Beijing was taken over by the Qin emperor. The common people rarely left the homes where they were born. The military began to use cavalry and steel weapons. The government fortified the northern border by beginning construction on the Great Wall. This dynasty only lasted while the first emperor was alive and then fell into disarray.

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall was begun by the Qin dynasty but none of the Qin wall remains. Later the Ming dynasty revived the idea of a Great Wall and began again to built it. The wall helped secure the border, allow for government tariffs and provide a garrison for troops.

The Han Dynasty

The Han emperor shared power with the ruling nobility. The Chinese court officially sponsored Confucianism. The Han dynasty had to defend itself from a confederate of tribes on the northern steppe. Learn more about the Han Dynasty here.

Han Technological Advances

The Han dynasty enjoyed prosperity and was able to make technological advances to benefit their society. "Science and technology during the Han period saw significant advances, including the process of papermaking, the nautical steering ship rudder, the use of negative numbers in mathematics, the raised-relief map, the hydraulic-powered armillary sphere for astronomy, and a seismometer employing an inverted pendulum that could be used to discern the cardinal direction of distant earthquakes." (Wikipedia)

Terracotta Soldiers

Upon the death of Qin Shi Huang, the funerary art of terracotta soldiers were installed to protect the emperor. Estimates from 2007 are that 8,000 life-size painted, facially unique soldiers were created out of clay. Various pieces were fired and then later assembled and painted.

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