Download learning about china through its ancient tomb culture

LEARNING ABOUT CHINA THROUGH ITS
ANCIENT TOMB CULTURE
Grade Level
This lesson is intended for grades 3, 4, or 5.
Objective
To develop an understanding of Chinese culture by looking at artifacts found in China's
ancient tombs.
Concepts:
• Tomb: A grave; a room or building for housing a dead body.
• Dynasty: A series of imperial rulers belonging to the same family.
Key Ideas:
• China has the world’s oldest living civilization; its written history goes back about
4,000 years.
• We can find out a lot about the Chinese people by looking at artifacts recovered
by archaeologists from excavated tombs.
• During the Shang dynasty (1750-1040 BCE), ritual funerals were held for kings
where all of their worldly possessions were buried along with human and animal
sacrifices.
• China’s history is divided into dynasties, members of the same family that ruled
the country. Since Qin Shi Huangdi (r. 221-210 BCE), the first emperor of China,
China has been ruled by dynasties that succeeded each other, except for a few
periods when competing dynasties controlled different parts of the empire at the
same time.
• When archeologists uncovered the burial complex of Qin Shi Huangdi, just east
of modern-day Xian, they found over 7,000 life-sized terra-cotta warriors, all in
full fighting gear, and arranged in battle formation.
• From the Han dynasty (206 BCE-CE 220) on, clay figures representing servants,
entertainers, and animals replaced the sacrificed humans and animals. Han tombs
were richly furnished and the walls were covered with fine paintings showing
happy scenes of dancing, entertainment, meals, and processions.
Dynasty
Time Period
Important Characteristics
Hsia (Xia)
Rice cultivation,
Dynasty potter’s
2200 BCE
wheel, early f Rice production, potter's wheel, early
(Unsubstantiated
forms of ancestor worship
archaeologically)
Shang Dynasty
1750 BCE
Zhou
(Chou)Dynasty
1100 BCE
Qin Dynasty
221 BCE
Han Dynasty
206 BCE
Three Kingdoms
220 BDE
Sui Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
581 CE
618 CE.
Sung Dynasty
960 CE
Yuan Dynasty
1271 CE
Ming Dynasty
1368 CE
Qing Dynasty
1644 CE
Materials:
Bronze casting, horse-drawn chariots, silk
produced, jade carvings, royal burials,
earliest Chinese writing, historical records
written on tortoise shells, invention of
chopsticks
Iron tools and weapons, Confucius
introduces his theories, writing brush
used; stirrups introduced
Central political power established, Great
Wall begun, weights and measures
standardized, coinage value made
uniform, Chinese written language
codified, road network extended and a
standard width for cart axles mandated,
philosophical books burned
Cultural advances in poetry and art,
Legalism replaced by Confucianism,
which becomes state religion, beginning
of examination system, Buddhism
introduced, paper invented, kites first
flown, seismograph invented, Silk Road
opens, population reaches almost 60
million
China is divided into Three Kingdoms
held by the kings Wei, Shu, and Wu,
Buddhism grows in influence,
wheelbarrow invented
China is reunified
Great flowering of art and culture, China
open to foreign influences, woodblock
printing, multicolor ceramics, landscape
painting becomes distinct art form
Magnetic compass invented, gunpowder
used in fireworks and military signals,
bird and flower paintings
Foreign travel banned, Great Wall
extended
Capital moves to Beijing, blue-and-white
porcelain, art and literature flourish,
voyages of Admiral Zheng He, population
grows to 250 million
Red and green pottery glazes develop,
Peking (Beijing) Opera established.
Mortuary Figure of the Zodiac Sign: Cock (Capricorn), c.525, CMA 1972.76.10
Mortuary Figure of the Zodiac Sign: Dog (Aquarius), c.525, CMA 1972.76.11
Mortuary Figure of the Zodiac Sign: Boar (Pisces), c.525, CMA 1972.76.12
Mortuary Figure of the Zodiac Sign: Rat (Aries), c.525, CMA 1972.76.1
Mortuary Figure of the Zodiac Sign: Ox (Taurus), c.525, CMA 1972.76.2
Mortuary Figure of the Zodiac Sign: Tiger (Gemini), c.525, CMA 1972.76.3
Mortuary Figure of the Zodiac Sign: Hare (Cancer), c.525, CMA 1972.76.4
Mortuary Figure of the Zodiac Sign: Dragon (Leo), c.525, CMA 1972.76.5
Mortuary Figure of the Zodiac Sign: Serpent (Virgo), c.525, CMA 1972.76.6
Mortuary Figure of the Zodiac Sign: Horse (Libra), c.525, CMA 1972.76.7
Mortuary Figure of the Zodiac Sign: Sheep (Scorpio), c.525, CMA 1972.76.8
Mortuary Figure of the Zodiac Sign: Monkey (Sagittarius), c.525, CMA 1972.76.9
Grave Figure, Tang Dynasty, CMA 1928.285
Grave Figure, Tang Dynasty, CMA 1928.286
Grave Figure, Tang Dynasty, CMA 1928.287
Grave Figure, Tang Dynasty, CMA 1928.288
Grave Figure, Tang Dynasty, CMA 1928.289
Grave Figure, Tang Dynasty, CMA 1928.290
Funerary Object (Mingqi): Dog, 25-220, CMA 1983.1
Court Lady With High Chignon (Tomb Figurine), 2nd half 7th century, CMA 1983.25
Court Lady With Tall Headdress (Tomb Figurine), 2nd half 7th century, CMA 1983.24
Female Dancer: (Tomb Figurine), 2nd half 7th century, CMA 1983.26
Female Attendant (Tomb Figurine), c. 2nd century BCE, CMA 1983.6
Hollow Tile: Column From Tomb Chamber Doorway, 2nd century, CMA 1915.68
Tomb Guardian With Animal Head, late 7th or early 8th century, CMA 2000.118.1
Tomb Guardian With Human Face, late 7th or early 8th century, CMA, 2000.118.2
Pillow (Tz’u-chou Ware), 960-1127, CMA 1964.431
What Life Was Like in The Land Of The Dragon: Imperial China AD 960-1368.
Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1998
Tianchou, Fu (ed.), The Underground Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. San
Francisco: China Books & Periodicals, 1985.
Poster board for each student
Art materials, such as markers, crayons, colored pencils, stencils
Paper/pencils for enrichment activity
“Cue cards” that list each dynasty
Procedure
1. Before you share the artifacts from tombs, you will need to introduce the
dynasties of China to the students.
2. Place the name of each dynasty on a large cue card and ask for volunteer students
to arrange themselves in order, forming a human time line of Chinese dynasties.
3. Discuss the characteristics of each dynasty briefly.
4. Show the artifacts from the Cleveland Museum of Art and indicate to which
dynasty each belongs.
5. Share the book, The Underground Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.
Discuss the time it must have taken to make the army, and why would the
emperor want a tomb like that.
6. Have each student make a poster of what he or she would want placed in a tomb-if he or she were a Chinese emperor. What would they want to be known for?
What do they think is important? Refer to the tombs that you’ve discussed.
Evaluation
A. Have students create their own time line of Chinese dynasties and list important
facts about each dynasty.
Ohio State Standards
Social Studies Benchmark 3-5 Program
Compare practices and products of North American cultural groups.
Social Studies Benchmark 3-5 Program
Construct a time line to demonstrate an understanding of units of time and chronological
order.
This lesson was developed by Tonya Salisbury, 4th grade teacher, Emerson World
Languages and Cultures Elementary Magnet School, Westerville, Ohio