power. That power allowed him to make huge changes. Qin knew that to unify China there had to be big changes. Most of his laws had something to do with protection. Other Changes: Land: First Emperor Qin took land away from the nobles. He did not want the nobles rising up against him. Anyone who argued with Qin was either buried alive or put to work building the Great Wall. Standardization: He introduced one system of weights, measures, money, written language, and laws. Peasants: Peasants were assigned a job. They were either assigned the job of farmer or of silk maker. It they tried to do anything else besides their assigned job, they were sent to work on the Great Wall. If people were lazy or slow at doing their assigned job, they were sent to work on the wall. Censorship: Qin practiced total censorship. He persecuted scholars and destroyed books. He defined useless books as any book about anything except books about medicine, agriculture, or prophecy. Useless books were burned. Over 400 scholars who refused to turn in books were either buried alive or sent to work on the wall. Qin did not believe in any education for the common man. According to Qin, the more time people spent studying, the less time they had to grow food. He especially disliked the teachings of Confucius. He had all Confucius' books burned. Qin did not think his rule was cruel. He said, "A thousand may die so that a million may live." He built roads, canals, and bridges. His public works projects probably saved millions of lives that would have been lost to floods and famine. Although many people died building the Great Wall, it did provide an advantage in war. No rebellion occurred during his rule. End of the Qin dynasty. He died of natural causes in 210 BCE. Once he was dead, his son took over. His son did not rule for long. People revolted against the Qin government all over the countryside. The peasant who led that revolt became the new emperor. His dynasty was called the Han Dynasty. Life vastly improved during the . Name: ________________________________ Date: ___________________ Global History and Geography Period: _________________ Qin Dynasty
Name:___________________________ Date: ___________ Global 9- Cook Period: _________ The Silk Setting out from China along the Silk Road (named due to the high demand for silk), fearful travelers might begin the journey with a prayer. As they set out on their trip, they had to worry about not only the very rough terrain but also the bandits along the way. Still, the possible rewards made the risk worth taking. So the travelers would tighten the straps on their pack animals-horses, mules, camels, or yaks laden with bundles of goods and in a band of 50 or more, protected by a bodyguard of archers, the caravan set forth. Week after week, month after month, the journey continued. The traders would roast in the deserts of the Takla Makan and freeze in the icy, snowy mountains. The great Silk Road stretched halfway across Asia and linked East Asia and the Mediterranean world. Still, few traders covered the entire distance. Instead, goods were relayed in stages from one set of trades to another. A Chinese historian described travel on the desert: “You see nothing in any direction but the sky and the sands, without the slightest trace of a road, and travelers find nothing to guide them but the bones of men and beasts and the droppings of camels…You hear sounds, sometimes of singing; and it has often happened that travelers going aside to see what these sounds might be have strayed from their course and been entirely lost.” In addition to the menace of natural forces, bands of raiders lurked along the route, ready to descend on careless travelers. Despite the dangers, traders and travelers moved along the Silk Road. Lucky traders might