China is a country located on the continent of Asia. The Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea touch China’s east coast. Its civilization first developed near the Yellow River.
The Chinese use a calendar based on the moon.
Emperors were the rulers of ancient China. A dynasty is a series of rulers belonging to the same family.
The Great Wall of China was built to protect China from barbarians invading from Mongolia to the North. Over 2,000 years ago, the first emperor of China, Emperor Ch’in of the Ch'in Dynasty (221 B.C - 206 B.C.) connected existing walls and extended them. He also united the Seven Warring states of China; set up a common system of weights and measures and standardized Chinese writing, law, and currency.
During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Great Wall was enlarged to become about 4,000 miles long. It can be seen from space when orbiting Earth.
Chinese writing is called calligraphy. It was an art form because there were thousands of symbols, each representing a different idea. It’s hardly changed in over 2,000 years.
The Chinese long kept the production of silk a secret. They used the cocoon of the silk worm to make the thread for weaving silk cloth. One of the ways they used the silk cloth was to cover their kite frames.
Many things, we use, were invented by the Ancient Chinese. Some of their inventions were:
* The abacus was invented to help with math computations.
* The compass was invented to be sure the home they were building was in harmony with nature, facing magnetic north, and to help people find their way.
* Kites and gunpowder were invented for use during warfare. (Later kites were used for play and gunpowder was used in fireworks.)
*Paper, using plant pulp, was invented in China, long ago.
Fishnet and rags were added to the pulp to make paper.
* The wheelbarrow was invented to make moving heavy loads easier.
* The waterwheel was invented to help irrigate the land.
* Porcelain was invented during the Ming Dynasty. (China is the common name for porcelain.)
