Name: __________________________________________ Period ______________
Internet Excursion: The Song Dynasty in China
“The Song Dynasty in China” http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song/
& “Asia For Educators” http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/tps/1000ce.htm
Directions: To further enrich your understanding of the significance of the Song Dynasty, you
will use an iPad and tour the pages listed above, answering the questions below. As you read and
analyze sections of both sites, consider what you know of life in Europe at this time, during the
Middle Ages.
1
2
“China in 1000 CE: The Most Advanced Society in the World.” Give four reasons why
this title is accurate.
a
Why is the Beijing QingMing Scroll significant? What other name do scholars
give it? (Click on the picture of the scroll.)
b
How is the Chinese diet different before the Song?
“Urban Life.” (Click on the scroll picture with that label.) Read.
a List 3 ways urban life in the cities of the Song was similar to urban life in modern
cities today:
b
How are 12th Century Chinese cities different from Chinese cities of earlier eras?
3
4
Scroll back to the top of the page and click on “Economic Revolution.” (from here on, you
will mostly hit the “next” button on the bottom of each page.)
a Why was there a hole in the center of Chinese coins?
b
Why did the Chinese adopt paper currency?
c
Read Marco Polo’s commentary about the Chinese currency. Do his comments
support the idea of paper money? Cite a phrase or sentence that supports your
conclusion.
“Iron & Steel.”
a What is the difference between coal and charcoal?
b
5
Why is Marco Polo amazed?
“Textiles & Silk.”
a Who worked to create silk?
b
Who wore silk?
6
“Ceramics” …or why your parents call the dishes they use for special occasions “China.”
Read a bit. What do you think enabled the Chinese to produce such decorative and useful
porcelain?
7
“Rice Cultivation.”
a What became the economic center of China at this time and why?
b
8
What are some of the problems with growing rice?
“Printing & Movable Type.”
a
Since the Chinese were the first to develop printing, why do you think the editors
of “LIFE” magazine’s Millennium edition awarded the German, Johannes
Guttenberg (who introduced movable type to Europe in the 15th century) with its
#1 event/invention of the last millennium? (Think: what term did you learn about
culture from your textbook introduction that you could apply here?)
b
What did Francis Bacon have to say about the invention of printing, gunpowder
and the compass?
9
Skim “Shipbuilding & the Compass” and “Gunpowder.” Jot two facts from both sections
that you did not know before reading.
10
“Technological Advances.” If you were writing an Obituary for Shen Gua, how would
you describe his legacy in 2 sentences:
13. Go to the bottom of “Cities” and read the small section titled “poverty.” Why could one
argue that the Chinese government under the Song could possibly be called socialist?
(Socialist: any political / economic system advocating collective or governmental
ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods)