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Engineering an Empire, Summary
=== In the historical documentary, “Engineering an Empire-China”, on the History Channel, the video explored the achievements, dynasties, and emperors of China. In China, there were a lot of different achievements. Some of the achievements were Great Wall of China, Grand Canal, paper, and the Emperor’s Tomb. One big achievement of China was the Great Wall of China! Shi Huangdi made the wall of China because he wanted China to be unified and secure. To make sure China was secure, The Grand Wall was 6,000 miles long! The next big achievement was the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal was made by Yang Di. The Grand Canal made trade easier. It took over six years to build the canal, and it took 5 million people to make it! === === The second topic was emperors. There were a lot of emperors in China, but there was only three important emperors. The first emperor of China was, Shi Huangdi. He became the emperor of China when he was 13 years old. When Shi Huangdi was 22 his mother wanted him dead. When he heard this he killed his mother, grandma, and he banished his two step brothers. But then he died because he drank too much mercury, because he thought that it would make him immortal. The next important emperor was Yang Di. He was killed by his citizens because he trashed the Grand Canal. The next emperor was Liu Bang, and he extended the Great Wall of China! === === The video mentioned about seven different dynasties. Some of the dynasties were Ming Dynasy, Han Dynasty, and the Qin Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty was ruled by a guy named Zheng He. He was the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He died on a voyage, when he set out for war! Then the Ming Dynasty needed a new emperor. Later on the Munguls invaded all of China. With no success, the Ming Dynasty looked to the Great Wall of China to protect them. When the Ming Dynasty sadly fell, a new Chinese kingdom rose, called Communist China. The Han Dynasty built the Emperor’s Tomb. They made an Epic Tomb that was amazing, after Shi Huangdi’s death. But the tombs had bobby traps to keep it safe from tomb robbers. The empire started to fall, three years after Shi Huangdi’s death! === === I thought the video was interesting and that it had very good information! I am still curious about if Shi Huangdi was ever married and if he had any kids? I am also curious about what religion the Chinese people had! ===

** 3 Ways of Thought **

 * === === || ===** Confucianism **=== || ===** Daoism **=== || ===** Buddhism **=== ||
 * === What is it? === || ===A way of life taught by Confucius, sometimes viewed as a religion and philosophy.=== || ===It celebrates man’s association interdependency with nature.=== || ===Buddhism was taught by the Buddha.=== ||
 * === How did it begin? === || ===It all began when Confucius said that people should conduct their lives according to two basic principles. He thought that everyone had a role in life.=== || ===The creator of Taoism was Laozy. He was a Chinese philosopher.=== || ===Siddhrtha Gautama became a monk to become Budda.=== ||
 * === Who is the main Person? === || ===Confucius=== || ===Laozy=== || ===Siddhartha Gautama=== ||
 * === What was their story? === || ===Confucius was the descendant of a branch of the royal house of the Shang Dynasty.=== || ===He was an older contemporary of Confucius. Laozi was a teacher and he developed other beliefs.=== || ===He was once prince but was suffered by others.=== ||
 * === What the big ideas of the philosophy? === || ===It focused on ethics, or proper behavior, for individuals and governments. People should focus their lives on concern for others and appropriate behavior.=== || ===That everything would be more appreciated with harmony.=== || ===To think that nature had harmony.=== ||
 * === How did it affect China’s government? === || ===It made the scholars discuss issues about what human beings do when they do bad things even if their nature was good.=== || ===It gave the society a more peaceful time.=== || ===Some of the Buddhist monks became the empire.=== ||
 * === Which dynasty followed the dynasty? === || ===Chou Dynasty=== || ===Tang Dynasty=== || ===Han Dynasty=== ||
 * === A Quote === || ===“Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.”=== || ==="I treat those who are good with goodness, And I also treat those who are not good with goodness, Thus goodness is attained."=== || === “Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.” === ||
 * === Symbols/images === || === === ||

**[[image:file:///C:/Users/61198270/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image003.gif width="69" height="71"]] China Unit Big Ideas and Essential Questions**
=== //Answer each of the following questions after you have read and taken notes on each section. You must use __complete sentences__ and thoroughly explain your answers in __three to five sentences.__// === || === **Self-Reflection** ===
 * === **Big Idea** === || === **Essential Question** ===

State the Significance [[image:file:///C:/Users/61198270/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image009.gif width="19" height="19"]]
||
 * === **Ch.7; Section 1** ===

The Period of Disunion was followed by reunification by rulers of the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties.
|| === //1. What was the Period of Disunion?// //How did Chinese culture change during the Period of Disunion?// === === The Period of Disunion was what the historians occasionally called the disorder that followed the collapse of the Han Dynasty. During this period, nomadic people started to settled in northern China. Some Chinese people took in the nomad’s culture. Northern and Southern China also mixed cultures. New food, types of art, clothing styles, and music occurred. === || === Why did nomads settle in China? === ||
 * ^  || === //2. When was China __re__unified? When was China __not__ unified?// ===

China was reunified in 589 under the Sui Dynasty. China was not unified in 220. But, it was reunified in 589.
|| === How did the Chinese unified? === || === Buddhism was one of the world’s major religions, and it was led by Buddha. Buddha thought people can escape suffering and achieve a state of peace. Buddhism influenced Chinese literature, architecture, and art. === || === What did Chinese people think of Buddhism? === ||
 * ^  || === //3. What was Buddhism and how did it influence (change) Chinese culture?// ===
 * === **Ch.7; Section 2** ===

The Tang and Song dynasties were periods of economic, cultural, and technological accomplishments.
|| === //1.// //Explain what advances in agriculture and farming led to increased trade and population growth during the Song dynasty.// ===

Farmers learned to grow new crops, like cotton. Farms became more efficient because they found a new way to ripe rice faster. The production of tea also increased.
|| === Farming was a very important advancement in China. === ||
 * === **Ch.7; Section 3** ===

Confucian thought influenced the Song government.
|| === //1.// //What is Confucianism and what are the main teachings of Confucian philosophy?// === === Confucianism is the main teachings of Confucius, which was based on proper behavior for individuals and the government. He said that people should make their lives according to concern for others and would work best if everybody followed these rules. === || === Was Confucianism significant in Chinese culture? === || === Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism were similar because the both taught about proper behavior. Although Neo-Confucianism was more appealing under the Song Dynasty. Their teachings became more important. === || === Neo-Confucianism and Confucianism changed Chinese culture. === ||
 * ^  || === //2.// //How did Confucianism differ from Neo-Confucianism?// ===
 * === **Ch.7; Section 4** ===

The Chinese were ruled by foreigners during the Yuan dynasty, but they threw off Mongol rule and prospered during the Ming dynasty.
|| === //1.// //How did the Mongols come to rule China during the Yuan dynasty?// ===

China was under the control of Mongols.
|| === The Mongols had a very neat and accurate army. That is why they killed so many people, and why they ruled a large part of Asia. === ||
 * ^  || === //2.// //How did the Yuan dynasty come to an end?// ===

Mongols. The Chinese started a new dynasty.
|| === Why did the Chinese want to ===

rebel against the Mongols ?
||
 * ^  || === //3.// //In what ways did the Ming dynasty strengthen China and bring a period of stability and prosperity?// ===

Institutions.
|| === This dynasty made huge ===

and it helped China a lot.
||

29. How many Buddhists are there in the world today? Over three hundred million.
=== 30. Describe the Four Noble Truths in your own words. The first one is everyone who lives, suffers. The second one is the main idea of suffering is wanting, ignorance, and desire. The third one is suffering can be stopped by finding peace within yourself. ===

37. What empire did Genghis Khan establish? The Mongol Empire
=== 38. Why was Kublai Khan different than other Chinese rulers? He challenged the stereotypes of Mongolian rulers by investing in his newly acquired people and providing the foundations of a grand empire. ===