5 Ways the ming changed

china

Read Lesson 4 WS and RACE questions

Read pgs. 203 & 204

Zheng He

Read Ming Dynasty Great Wall

Read Isolationism Text

The Great Wall of China was built to keep out what invaders? a. The Japanese

b. The Mongols

c. The Persians

d. The Tartars

e. The Russians

Where was the Great Wall located? a. Along the western border

b. Along the southern border

c. Along the northern border

d. Along the ocean to the easte. Around the city of Beijing

Which of the following statements is not true about the Great Wall of China? a. It is considered to be one of the New Seven Wonders of the World

b. It was built over the course of over 1000 yearsc. It is the longest manmade structure in the world

d. Only the rich and wealthy were allowed to work on the wall

e. During the Ming Dynasty, around 1 million soldiers were on guard at the wall

Read Forbidden City

1. What was the Forbidden City? a. A palace for the emperor b. A tomb for soldiers c. A temple to Confucius d. A prison

2. What modern day Chinese city is the Forbidden City located at the center of?

a. Shanghai b. Chengdu c. Shenzhen d. Beijing

3. What was the main function of the inner court?

a. It was where the emperor met with his ministers

b. It was where official ceremonies were held

c. It was where the emperor and his family lived

d. it was where the army camped4. What was the main function of the outer

court? a. It was where the empress lived b. It was where the emperor held

official ceremonies c. It was where the emperor lived d. It was where the children of the

emperor played games5. What sort of fortifications did the palace

have? a. A 26 feet high wall all the way

around it b. Tall towers at each corner c. A moat of water surrounding it d. All of the above

Why did China use the policy of Isolationism?

Chinese Isolationism

In Ming China, 1434, a proclamation was issued that

forbade foreign trade. This ban included the stop of all

building and repairing of Chinese junks. This occurred shortly

after the return of Zheng He’s treasure fleet.

Several explanations for this sudden inward turn have

been offered. One such explanation is that the Confucian

scholars were gaining power in Chinese society. One ideal of

Confucianism is ethnocentrism, which perhaps lead the

Confucian scholars to influence regulations to become more

isolationist. Another explanation is that the Chinese economy

was declining at this time. Authorities in China may have

therefore decided to spend funds internally instead of

spending them on building large treasure ships.

The listed consequence of traveling overseas is death.

Ancient ChinaThe Forbidden City

History for Kids >> Ancient China

The Forbidden City was the palace of the Chinese emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is located in the heart of Beijing, the capital city of China, and is the largest ancient palace in the world.

Forbidden City by Captain Olimar

When was it built?

The Forbidden City was built under the orders of the powerful Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty between the years 1406 to 1420. More than one million people worked on the construction of the expansive palace. The best materials were brought in from all over China including specially made "golden" bricks, logs of the rare Phoebe zhennan trees, and blocks of marble. When the palace was completed, the Yongle Emperor moved the capital of the empire to Beijing city.

How big is the Forbidden City?

The Forbidden City is enormous. It covers an area of 178 acres that include 90 palaces with courtyards, 980 total buildings, and at least 8,700 rooms. The total floor space is over 1,600,000 square feet. Imagine if it was your job to clean that floor. The emperor had an army of servants, however, to take care of his palace and all the people that lived there.

Features

The Forbidden City also served as a fortress to protect the emperor and his family. It is surrounded by a 26 feet high wall and a 170 feet wide moat. Each corner of the palace has a tall guard tower where guards used to keep watch for enemies and assassins.

Each side of the palace has a gate with the main gate being the Meridian Gate to the south. The other gates include the Gate of Devine Might to the north, the East Glorious Gate, and the West Glorious Gate.

Forbidden City by Unknown

Layout

The layout of the Forbidden City followed many Ancient Chinese rules of design. The main buildings all were aligned in a straight line from north to south. There are two main sections to the palace: the outer court and the inner court.

Kids History: Forbidden City of Ancient China http://www.ducksters.com/history/china/forbidden_city.php

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Layout

The layout of the Forbidden City followed many Ancient Chinese rules of design. The main buildings all were aligned in a straight line from north to south. There are two main sections to the palace: the outer court and the inner court.

Outer court - The southern part of the palace is called the outer court. It was here that the emperors conducted official ceremonies. There are three main buildings in the outer court including the Hall of Preserving Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Supreme Harmony. The largest of the three is the Hall of Supreme Harmony. It was in this building that the emperors held court during the Ming dynasty. Inner Court - To the north is the inner court, where the emperor and his family lived. The emperor himself slept in a building called the Palace of Heavenly Purity. The Empress lived in a building called the Palace of Earthly Tranquility.

Forbidden City by Unknown

Special Symbolism

The Forbidden City was designed using Ancient Chinese symbolism and philosophy. Here are a few examples:

The buildings all faced south which stood for holiness. They also faced away from the north which symbolized the enemies of the Chinese, cold winds, and evil.The roofs of the buildings in the city were made with yellow tiles. Yellow was the exclusive color of the emperor and symbolized his ultimate power.The ceremonial buildings are arranged in groups of three. The number three represented heaven.The numbers nine and five are used often because they represent the majesty of the emperor.The traditional five elemental colors are used throughout the design of the palace. These include white, black, red, yellow, and green.The roof of the library was black to symbolize water in order to protect the writings from fire.

Is it still there today?

Yes, the Forbidden City still lies at the center of Beijing city. Today it is the Palace Museum and houses thousands of artifacts and pieces of art from Ancient China.

Interesting Facts about the Forbidden City

Twenty-four different Chinese emperors lived in the palace over the course of nearly 500 years.About 100,000 artisans and craftsmen worked on the palace.The last emperor of China, Puyi, continued to live in the Forbidden City for twelve years after he abdicated the throne in 1912.The Chinese name for the palace during ancient times was Zijin Cheng which means "Purple Forbidden City". Today the palace is called "Gugong" which means "Former Palace".The movie The Last Emperor was filmed inside the Forbidden City.

Kids History: Forbidden City of Ancient China http://www.ducksters.com/history/china/forbidden_city.php

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Ming Dynasty Great Wall QuickFacts

• Built: 1368–1644 • Length: 8,850 km (5,500 miles) including inner, outer, and side walls, and natural

obstacles like mountains and rivers • Location: North China • Built to: defend China against attack from Mongolians and Manchurianss. • Built by: millions of soldiers and forced laborers, supervised by famous generals such

as Xu Da and Qi Jiguang • Forts and garrisons: Over 1,000

WhyWastheMingDynastyGreatWallBuilt?

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty in 1368, the Mongolian rulers of the overthrown Yuan Dynasty retreated to Inner Mongolia, but still attacked southward, burning, killing, and pillaging. Meanwhile, the Jurchen (Manchu) People, who had ruled North China before the Mongols in the Jin Dynasty (1179–1234), also threatened border security in northeast China.

To stop north China being reclaimed by the Mongols or Manchurians, the Great Wall was constantly constructed under imperial orders. Ming Dynasty China fell to the Manchurians in 1644, when, already compromised by rebellion within, the Great Wall at Shanhai Pass was surrendered by a defecting Ming general.

HowWastheMingDynastyWallConstructed?

Local topography and materials were fully made use of in constructing the Great Wall. Where there were mountains, the steepest mountain ridges were used for their tactical advantages, and the passes were fortified.

WhatBuildingMaterialsWereUsed?

In some places, rock blocks were carved out of the mountains and stuffed with soil and lime, making a very solid wall. The Great Wall in the loess plateau area was made of rammed soil, while that in the Gobi Desert was made of a combination of reeds, willow braches, and small pieces of stone.

WhatTechnologyWasUsed?

The Ming Dynasty Great Wall was mainly built by man power, as machinery for construction and transport was not available. A single rock block weighed about a tonne, and a "brick" weighed over 15 kilograms, both were made of solid sandstone.

The Great Wall’s bricks were mainly transported by hand from one man to another in human chains, though wheelbarrows, rolling logs, iron claws, and winches were employed as well. It is said that donkeys carried baskets of lime and goats transported bricks to the mountain tops, however most jobs were done by men.

TheBuildersoftheGreatWall

The labor force for building the Great Wall mainly came from three sources: soldiers guarding the frontier (the major force), forced laborers and famine refugees, and banished criminals.

TheStructureoftheMingGreatWall

The Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty is also known as the Fourth Great Wall, and was stronger and better than any previous walls due to better construction techniques employed.

The Ming Great Wall was a complete military defensive system, composed of walls, forts, flanking towers, watchtowers, and beacon towers, barracks, stables, and armories.

TheWallBody

The Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty had several types: brick wall, stone-block wall, rammed-earth wall (trapezoidal with trenches), mountain-hewn wall, wooden wall (fences in forest areas), and trench wall, which were employed according to local topography and availability of materials.

Features: The wall body sometimes had a brick skin and drainage trenches on both sides. Arch gates, steps, and blind passages were used for access.

Battlements topped key parts of the wall, and some sections, such as Mutianyu, had battlements on both sides to show their important military status. Usually, battlements were 1.8 meters (6 feet) high with loopholes and crenels, and parapet walls were 1.2 meters (4 feet) high.

Forts

Forts were built at important access points along the Ming Great Wall, controlling communications between Ming China and its northern neighbors with several layers of walls and gates.