By: Louie Conn, Christina Li, Kelsey Behnke, Will
Pendrak, and Quique RB
THE HAN DYNASTY
Warfare
The Han Dynasty excelled at Warfare, they
expanded their territory as far as modern day
Iraq, they became so good at Warfare because
of their advanced weapons, such as the iron
longsword, and the crossbow. Another
advantage that the Han had was how they used
the kite for measuring distances.
Agriculture
Life as a farmer was hard, they were expected
to not only provide food and money for their
family but to give some of their grain to the
local granaries, as well as taxes. They used
tools like chain pumps, wheelbarrows, and iron
plows.
Government
Like the Zhou Dynasty, the Han had a strong
central government, but it made many
improvements, for example: they softened the
harsh ruling of the empire, and brought
Confucian ideas back to the government. Which
at the time was a bureaucracy, like a pyramid, a
bureaucracy has a lot of people at the bottom
and few on the top.
Industry
Trade was very important to the Han, they used
the Silk Road to transport to export salt and
silk, which were hard to obtain. The Han solved
this problem by creating:
● a foot powered wheel that spun silk threads.
● a bamboo valve to collect salt water
Arts
Before the invention of paper, the art of
Calligraphy was difficult to perform because the
materials they used were silk and bamboo,
which were not only expensive but it was hard
to write on them. They invented paper by
making wood into pulp and drying it on a
screen. Also there was a certain order of brush
strokes to write the characters.
Medicine
One technique in Han medicine was acupunture. Thin
needles are inserted in specific parts of the body. This
may sound painful, but it is supposed to be relaxing
and calming. Acupuncture is believed to rebalance
your yin and yang. Another healing technique is
moxibustion. Moxibustion is a small cone of powdered
leaves or sticks called a moxa is placed on the skin,
then is set on fire. The heat is believed to deduct pain
and promote healing.
Science
The Han made great advances in science, they
invented the compass, which they used to find
locations for buildings, and the seismograph
which is used to measure earthquakes, they
also made advances in astronomy, they
discovered how the moon shines, they recorded
comets, and figured out what causes solar
eclipses.
Conclusion
The Han Dynasty was a Golden Age for the
Chinese. Great advances in agriculture and
industry improved the lives of many and
rapidly expanded China's’ influence on trade.
Many Chinese today call themselves Han in
honor of the Han Dynasty. One of the great
leaders of China