The New Childrens Encyclopedia

CHINA’S DYNASTIES

195

Forbidden City In 1420, the Ming emperor

and his household moved to a vast imperial

palace in the capital, Beijing. Court officials and

members of the imperial family were allowed

inside, but only the emperor had unlimited

access to all of the buildings.

 980 BUILDINGS

survive enclosed by a

26 ft (7.9 m) high

city wall.

 COSTLY PROJECT Millions of soldiers,

prisoners, and local people were enlisted to

build the Great Wall and many thousands

died during the construction.

THE TERRA-COTTA ARMY

To prepare for his death, Qin Shi Huang (first

emperor) ordered that thousands of life-size

clay warriors, horses, and chariots were to

be made to guard his tomb and help him rule

his empire in his afterlife ( p.165).

1271–1368 YUAN
618–907 TANG

Gunpowder,

invented earlier by

the Chinese, was

developed to be

used in powerful

explosive cannons.

1368–1644 MING

Court officials wore

robes with a dragon

motif within the

universe, symbolizing

the emperor as the

“Son of Heaven.”

Production

increased of the

very popular

blue-and-white

porcelain with

painted scenes.

1644–1912 QING

Middle kingdom Zhõngguó (pronounced

jung-gwo) meaning “Middle Kingdom,” was

first used by the rulers of the ancient Zhou

dynasty (1050-771 BCE), who believed their

country was the “center of civilization.”

Throughout China’s history, the name has had

different meanings and caused conflict between

dynasties. Only since 1911 has Zhõngguó

officially been used for the country’s name.

HISTORY AND POLITICS

Women were given

many of the same

rights as men and the

educated Wu Zhao

became China’s

only empress.