2. What was the purpose of the Great Wall of China? Going all the way back to the Qin Dynasty, construction of the Great Wall across the northern part of China was a priority – why? Keep out invaders Great Wall one of the biggest failures in construction history

3. Mongols Mongolia is very harsh geography Cold, rocky, dry, no farmland, little resources – their geography sucks Nomadic tribes that lived separately – very good horseback riders United by Genghis Khan – become the strongest army in the world Will conquer from China to Central Europe at their peak http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F ile:Mongol_Empire_map.gif http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F ile:Mongol_Empire_map.gif

4. Conquering an empire Think back to Alexander the Great – how was he able to conquer a huge amount of land quickly and keep control of it? Mongols allowed conquered people to keep their religion – they wanted land Very violent – killed many in their conquering

5. Kublai Khan 1279 – Kublai Khan leads Mongols, takes over China – sets up Yuan Dynasty First time a foreign power took over China Ruled for about 100 years Kublai Khan blends Chinese customs with Mongol customs, forms unique culture

6. Marco Polo 1288 – Kublai Khan gets a visitor from Venice, Italy named Marco Polo Traveled for 17 years on Silk Road to get to China When Polo got back to Venice, he told stories of how rich China was People didn’t believe him, called him “The Man of 1,000 Lies” – why not? Talked about mail system that could get messages throughout Mongol Empire in weeks, use of coal to heat buildings, paper money Europeans become very interested in China, leads to more travel on Silk Road

7. Mongols try to invade Japan One place Mongols couldn’t conquer was Japan What made Japan so difficult to conquer? Mongols put together biggest invasion fleet in history, were going to invade, wiped out by a typhoon Typhoon that saved Japan became known as a “divine wind” or kamikaze

8. Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Ming Dynasty – strong dynasty that rules through fear, forces other civilizations to pay tribute – Expected anyone traveling in their lands to do this Ethnocentrism – belief that one’s culture is better than everyone else’s – Big characteristic of Ming Dynasty

9. Exploration by Ming Dynasty Zheng He – Chinese admiral who led expeditions to Africa, other lands on Indian Ocean Ming Dynasty very advanced in terms of naval technology Expanded trade, collected tributes from foreigners – Gave silver and silk to show superiority Problems with this? – Expensive – people at home argued money should be used to defend against attacks – China withdraws into isolation after 7 th voyage - 1433 How does isolation show ethnocentrism?