Bell RingerImagine that you are Zhu Yuanzhang immediately after his defeat of the Mongols. He has arrived in the capital city and intends to start a new dynasty.

What are some accomplishments that you would want to achieve as the new emperor of China?

Challenge: What empire did Zhu Yuanzhang begin?

OBJECTIVE & Standard• I can evaluate the contributions of the

Ming Dynasty and how they impacted China.

• SPI- 7.26- I can draw evidence from the informational text to analyze the contributions made during the Ming dynasty such as building projects, the reconstruction of the Great wall, isolationism, and sea voyages.

Bw: Look at the ship on page 427 and predict contributions of the Ming

Dynasty !

Backstory...• Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Ming

Dynasty• Ming Dynasty ruled China from 1368-

1644 – 300 years!

• One of the most stable and profound dynasty's of Chinese history. The Ming expanded China’s fame overseas and created amazing building projects!

The Voyages of Zheng HeLook at the image of the ship on page 427.• With your partner, predict what this tells you

about the importance of sea travel in China.

• What do you know of Christopher Columbus?

60 years BEFORE Columbus!!• Zheng He was the greatest sailor of his

time! He sailed huge fleets! Some of his ships were as big as football fields!

• He sailed with about 27,000 in his crew and about 60 ships – Columbus had 3 ships and a 90 member crew!

• He sailed throughout the Indian Ocean ..he sailed all the way from the Persian Gulf to the easternmost cost of Africa!

Building projects • Many of their projects were designed to

impress both the Chinese people and their enemies to the north.

• In Beijing they built the Forbidden City . This was an AMAZING palace complex that included hundreds of imperial residences, temples, and other government buildings. There were over 9,000 rooms in these buildings!

***Look on page 428 – 429***

The Forbidden City

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.

Look on page 428 & 429!

The Hall of Supreme Harmony

Night view

Early days

The Forbidden City• This huge complex was built for the emperor,

his family, his court, and his servants • Ordinary people were forbidden from

entering.• What sort of impression do you think the

people of China had on the Forbidden City?

Great Wall

More than 2,000 miles long

25 feet high

12 feet wide

Isolationism• Imagine if for ONE WEEK, you had to stay at

home, could not watch TV, go to the movies, read any twitter, instagram, or facebook updates, or talk to, text, snapchat, etc. anyone on the phone.

• Describe how you would feel…

Isolationism • The Chinese under the Ming Dynasty

secluded themselves from other foreign countries. They wanted to eliminate ALL foreign influences.

Reading with a Purpose• Read the information about the Ming Dynasty.• Highlight or underline the significant

information and evidence about their history.• You will take the quiz on the back of the

reading, but DO NOT turn over to do the quiz until I tell you to.