LONG LONG AGO
IN ANCIENT CHINA
A Peek in Dynasties and the Forbidden City From Ancient Chinese Times
By: Lucas Roberts, Max Turtz, Viola Young, and Juliette Hamlen
WHAT ARE THE CHINESE DYNASTIES AND
THEIR HISTORY?
• The Chinese dynasties are the
Xia, Qin, Shang, Ming, Han, Yuan, Jin,
Zhou, Song, Sui, Tang, and Qing.
• (2100-1600 BCE) Xia-The first
dynasty has little known about the
dynasty.
• (221-206 BCE) Qin was the
dynasty who started the Great Wall.
• (1600-1050 BCE) Shang ruled
much of the Yellow River.
• (1368-1644) Ming finished the
Great Wall of China and built the
Forbidden City, an enormous palace
for the emperor.
• (206 BCE-220 CE) HanAgriculture, handicrafts, and
commerce were well developed.
WHAT ARE THE CHINESE DYNASTIES AND
THEIR HISTORY?
•
1279-1368) Yuan-Genghis Khan led the
Mongols into their defeat of much of China.
•
(265-420 CE) Jin covered two separate
periods: the Western Jin and the Eastern Jin.
•
(1046-256 BCE) Zhou-Several
technological advances occurred during this
period.
•
(960-1279) Song-During this period,
China was the most advanced place in the
world.
•
(581-618 CE) Sui was one of the
shortest dynasties in Chinese history ruling
for only thirty-seven years.
•
(618-906 CE) Tang-It’s thought that
best poetry was written at this time.
•
(1644-1911) Qing-In 1664, the
Manchus invaded China, and set up a new
dynasty known as the Qing dynasty.
WHAT ARE THE DYNASTIES?
•
Dynasties are periods of time that are ruled by
emperors. Like Ming dynasty. That means that the
Ming Emperor ruled for that period of time. The
first dynasty was Qinshai Hung (Emperor Qin.)
•
He was the one who ordered that the Great Wall
be made. Emperor Qin ruled for much longer than
a president would.
•
Who were the Emperors and what did they invent
or do?
•
Emperor Shang made strong weapons.
•
Emperor Han improved silk weaving activities. He
also made the Silk Road, which was a trading
route.
•
Emperor Yuan helped with trading routes.
•
Some of the Emperors were Emperor Sang,
Emperor Chou, Emperor Ching and Emperor Tang
WHAT IS FEET BINDING?
•
In ancient china when girls were very young
they would go to the ladies in waiting to get their
feet bound and they would learn how to be a
proper lady.
•
Why did you have to get your feet bound
together?
•
One reason why people had to get their feet
bound together was that it was the emperor’s
orders. Another reason why was because if you did
not have your feet bound someone might not marry
you.
•
What happens when you get your feet bound
together?
•
When you get your feet bound together they
break your toes. And they wrap your feet in cloth so
that your feet will not grow anymore.
•
Interesting facts about feet binding.
•
Some people who are alive today had their feet
bound.
•
Also, that means that Feet Binding was around
for a while. Even though they stopped feet binding
someone was still doing it.
THE BUILDING OF THE FORBIDDEN CITY
• The Forbidden City was
built in 1406-1420.
Extensions were added in
2004.
• The Forbidden City was
built by emperor Yongle of
the Ming Dynasty. The
palace complex
exemplifies traditional
Chinese architecture.
WHAT IS THE FORBIDDEN CITIES HISTORY?
•
The construction of the grand palace
started in the fourth year of Emperor
Yongle of the Ming Dynasty (1406), and
ended in 1420.In ancient times, the
emperor was said to be a son of heaven,
and therefore heaven’s supreme power
was bestowed upon him. The emperors’
residence on earth was built as a replica of
the purple palace where god was thought
to live in heaven. Such a divine place was
certainly forbidden to ordinary people and
that is why the Forbidden City is so named.
Originally called Zijin Cheng (‘Purple
Forbidden City’), now it is usually called
Gugong the (‘Former/ Old Palace’). The
Forbidden City was the former imperial
palacewhich was home to 24 Chinese
emperors over 491 years between 1420
and 1911. The Forbidden City is now
known as the Palace Museum and is open
to Beijing’s visitors. Before becoming a
museum intruders were discouraged by
guard in watchtowers with bows and
arrows
HOW BIG IS THE FORBIDDEN CITY?
• Wear comfortable walking
shoes as the palace is 960
meters long and 750 meters
wide. It has 9,999 rooms – a
room being the space between
four pillars. The well-guarded
palace is surrounded by a moat
3,800 meters long and 52
meters wide. The Forbidden
City covers an area of 72
hectares (178 acres) with a
total floor space of
approximately 150,000 square
meters (1,600,000 square feet).
It consist of a 90 palaces and
courtyards, 980 buildings and
8,704 rooms.
WHAT FEATURES DOES THE FORBIDDEN
CITY HAVE?
• To represent the supreme power of
the emperor given from god, and the
place where he lived being the center
of the world, all the gates, palace and
other structures of the Forbidden City
were built along the north –south
central axis of old Beijing. The
Forbidden City is enclosed by a 10meter-high defensive wall, which has a
circumference of 3,430 meters. At each
corner of the Forbidden City, there
stands a magnificent watchtower,
which was heavily guarded in the past.
Around the city there is a moat as the
first line of defense. All major buildings
are wooden with yellow glazed tile
roofs supported by white marble
terraces.
WHAT IS THE FORBIDDEN CITY?
• The Forbidden
City was an
ancient structure
that was the home
of 24 Emperors.
The Forbidden
City’s last days
were in the Ming
Dynasty.
IS THE FORBIDDEN CITY BIG?
• Yes, it was the largest
ancient structure in the
world. It covers 178 acres
that includes 90 palaces
with courtyards, 980 total
buildings, and about 8,700
rooms. The total space is
over 1,600,000 square feet.
It was massive as you
probably can tell. The moat
was even 170 feet wide!
DID IT TAKE A LONG TIME TO BUILD?
• Well, not as long as
you would think. The
construction started
in 1406. They
finished in 1420. It
only took 14 years to
build! Considering to
how big it is it did not
take that long to build
in my opinion.
WHY DID THEY BUILD THE FORBIDDEN CITY?
• The main point of
why they built the
Forbidden City was to
protect the Emperor
and his family. It was to
protect royalty. So they
built a wall around it.
Also, Emperor Yong le
wanted a new city that
only he and his servants
could go into.
HOW BIG IS THE WALL?
• Well, the wall
around the
Forbidden City is a
10 Meter high
defense wall. The
distance around it
is about 3,430 feet
long. Again it was
very big.
WHERE IS THE FORBIDDEN CITY?
• The Forbidden City
is located in old
Beijing City. It is pretty
close to the Great Wall
of China. If you were
on the Great Wall of
China you would be
able to see the
Forbidden City.