Bellwork During Egypt, you were tasked with researching a particular invention and writing about it. What was the invention you researched and how did it affect the modern world?

Unit 3, Lesson 4 Impact of China World History Unit 3, Lesson 4 Impact of China

Objectives Discuss several of the later Dynasties following the Late Han Dynasty. Analyze the impact of the Great Inventions of China. Create a poster supporting an invention, give an overview of it’s creation, and explain how it changed the world.

Time period This lesson is set in China following the 700s AD. Just to put it into perspective, we still have to talk about Greece, Rome, and various other cultures that have existed. Questions?

New Dynasties Following the Han Dynasty, various other dynasties appeared in China. In this lesson, we are going to briefly discuss some of these dynasties and the impact they had on the world.

Tang Dynasty In 589, Sui Wendi took control of a weakened and disconnected China and declared himself Emperor of the Sui Dynasty. The dynasty was short-lived and immediately followed by the Tang Dynasty, created by emperor Tang Taizong.

Tang Dynasty The Tang reestablished the strong civil servant system in China and become powerful. However, by the mid-700s, the dynasty began to collapse under harsh taxation and peasant rebellions. These peasants ended up murdering the last Tang emperor.

Song Dynasty Following the dynastic cycle, general Song Taizu took control of China and proclaimed himself emperor. He expanded China to new levels and China entered a period of growth and prosperity.

Song Dynasty By the Song era, China had at least ten cities with a population of 1 million each. China was the most populous country in the world. It was also the most advanced.

Song Dynasty During the Song era, the Four Great Inventions of China were either improved or created: Printing Gunpowder Paper making Magnetic Compass

Printing While block printing existed prior to the Song era, movable type was created in 1040. Those wooden (or metal) blocks were created with individual Chinese characters on them, dipped into ink, and used on paper. This technology would eventually reach Europeans and allowed for the spread of information on an unprecedented scale.

Gunpowder In the 800s, the Chinese invented gunpowder. It was first used as fireworks, but then later became used was weapons. Within 300 years of its creations, it spread west.

Paper While the Egyptians created papyrus scrolls, the Chinese were the first to create modern paper. They used the methods to make paper to make money, which contributed to the large scale commercial economy of China. Essentially, it was easier to carry paper money than bags of coins.

Magnetic Compass By the 11o0s, the Chinese had developed the magnetic compass. The device had existed in China for centuries before it was adapted for use at sea by sailors. This device allowed for China to become a sea power and the technology– like their others- spread west.

Four Great Inventions Near the end of this lesson, we will talk more about the four great inventions of China. So far, any questions?

Where to now in China? To sum, following the Song era, China was later conquered by the Mongols (the Yuan Dynasty) and then later was reestablished under the Ming Dynasty. We will talk about the Yuan Dynasty and the Mongols in a future lesson.

Review Objectives Discuss several of the later Dynasties following the Late Han Dynasty. Analyze the impact of the Great Inventions of China. Create a poster supporting an invention, give an overview of it’s creation, and explain how it changed the world.

Next Lesson In the next lesson, we are going to discuss Ancient Greece.

Activity Create your own group (we need four). Each group is going to be given one of the Four Great Chinese Inventions, research the impact of that invention, and present their findings. Please follow the instructions given to you. http://ncta.osu.edu/lessons/china/general/Chinese%20Inventions%20Harris.pdf

Closure Questions The closure is the final reflection written in the project instructions.