Ancient China Life History Facts:Dynasties,Discoveries,Religions,Crossbow,Sports,Chopsticks Ancient China - The Ancient Chinese Civilization Chinese Historical Accounts the Forbidden City, the home of the Chinese emperors until the last dynasty was overthrown in the 20th century Chinese history, until the twentieth century, was written mostly by members of the ruling scholar-official class and was meant to provide the ruler with precedents to guide or justify his policies. These accounts focused on dynastic politics and colorful court histories and included developments among the commoners only as backdrops. The historians described a Chinese political pattern of dynasties, one following another in a cycle of ascent, achievement, decay, and rebirth under a new family. Of the consistent traits identified by independent historians, a salient one has been the capacity of the Chinese to absorb the people of surrounding areas into their own civilization. Sun-Tzu, the realist writer of the the influential "Art of War" The first prehistoric dynasty is said to be Xia , from about the twenty-first to the sixteenth century B.C.
Making an Ancient Egyptian Mummy Making an Ancient Egyptian Mummy The ancient Egyptians believed that, after death, the body was the home of the individual's spirit as he or she journeyed through the after-life. If the body was destroyed through decomposition, there was danger that the spirit would also be destroyed. Preserving the body in as close to its life-like condition would assure the preservation of the individual's spiritual essence. It is believed that the process of mummification was developed at least 2,500 years before the birth of Christ. The Greek historian Herodotus described the ancient Egyptian methods of mummification around the year 450 BC. "The embalmers, when a corpse is brought to them, show the relatives wooden models of dead bodies, as accurate as a painting. "First, they remove the brain through the nostrils with a curved iron implement, getting some of it out like this and the rest by pouring in solvents. "That is the most expensive way.
Qin Dynasty, Qin Dynasty History, History of Ancient China Era Information Time: 221 B.C.-207B.C.Location of Capital: Xianyang City in Shanxi Province, not far from Xian Emperors: Ying Zheng, Fushu, Zi Ying Replaced by:Han Dynasty In 221 B.C.,Chinese were unified for the first time to construct a great country that ended the long era of disunity and warring. In that year the western frontier state of Qin, the most aggressive of the Warring States, subjugated the last of its rival state.Centralization and autarchy were achieved by ruthless methods and focused on standardizing legal codes, bureaucratic procedures, the forms of writing and coinage, and the pattern of thought and scholarship. To silence criticism of imperial rule, the kings banished or put to death many dissenting Confucian scholars and confiscated and burned their books. In order to fend off barbarian intrusion, the fortification walls built by the various warring states were connected to make a 5,000-kilometer-long great wall.
Military Technology The Song period is a good point to take stock of China's military technology. First, warfare was central to the history of the period. The confrontation between the Song and the three successive non-Chinese states to the north (Liao, Jin, and Yuan) made warfare not only a major preoccupation for those in government service, but also a stimulus to rethinking major intellectual issues. Second, we have illustrated sources for the military arts of the period, in particular, The Essentials of the Military Arts, published in the eleventh century. Warfare in this period usually aimed to capture cities, which were the centers of both commerce and government. Think about the following issues as you view the sections on the right.
Primary History - Romans Secrets of Lost Empires | Roman Bath | Construct an Aqueduct by Dennis Gaffney Aqueducts are one of the wonders of the Roman Empire. These graceful structures are not only majestic, but are engineering marvels that survive to this day. In "Construct an Aqueduct," you are hired as Chief Water Engineer by the Roman Emperor. NOVA's Roman Aqueduct Manual Helpful hints for building your aqueduct Construct an Aqueduct Java applet (120k) To play the Java version of this game, you need a Java 1.1-enabled browser. Special thanks to Peter Aicher for his invaluable help creating "Construct an Aqueduct." A Day at the Baths | Construct an Aqueduct | Watering Ancient Rome NOVA Builds a Bath | Real Roman Recipes | Resources | Transcript Medieval Siege | Pharaoh's Obelisk | Easter Island | Roman Bath | China Bridge | Site Map Editor's Picks | Previous Sites | Join Us/E-mail | TV/Web Schedule About NOVA | Teachers | Site Map | Shop | Jobs | Search | To print PBS Online | NOVA Online | WGBH
A History of Surgery By Tim Lambert Ancient Surgery In the stone age some adults had holes cut in their skulls. At least sometimes people survived the 'operation' because the bone grew back. The Egyptians did have some knowledge of anatomy from making mummies. However Egyptian surgery was limited to such things as treating wounds and broken bones and dealing with boils and abscesses. They also knew that honey helped to prevent wounds becoming infected. The Ancient Greeks bathed wounds with wine. In the Roman Empire techniques of surgery were dominated by the ideas of Galen. Unfortunately Galen was a very influential writer. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the West surgery, along with other crafts, declined in Western Europe. Meanwhile in India surgeons were highly skilled. Surgery in the Middle Ages In Europe in the 13th century a new type of craftsmen emerged in towns. From the mid-14th century the church allowed some dissections of human bodies at medical schools. Surgery in the 16th Century Home
A Brief History of Medicine During the 18th century medicine made slow progress. Doctors still did not know what caused disease. Some continued to believe in the four humors (although this theory declined during the 18th century). Other doctors thought disease was caused by 'miasmas' (odorless gases in the air). However surgery did make some progress. Furthermore during the 18th century a number of hospitals were founded. In the late 18th century and early 19th century dispensaries were founded in many towns. In the 18th century many sailors suffered from scurvy (vitamin c deficiency). In 1792 Luigi Galvani discovered that frogs legs twitch if given an electric shock, showing that electricity plays a part in the nervous system. A major scourge of the 18th century was smallpox. During the 18th century superstition declined. During the 18th century the mentally ill were not regarded as 'truly' human. However in 1793 a doctor called Philippe Pinel argued that the insane should be released and treated humanely. Home
A History of Baths and Showers Most Tudors cared about their appearance. People carried mirrors made of glass or steel. They also carried combs and used tweezers, ear scoops and bone manicure sets. In the Summer people sometimes had a bath in the local river. Sometimes they heated a cauldron of water and had a strip wash. Or they could have a 'dry wash' by rubbing themselves with clean linen. In the 16th century bathrooms were very rare but Henry VIII had a bathroom in Hampton Court Palace. In the 17th century people used toothpicks but in the latter part of the century toothbrushes were introduced. In the mid 19th century middle class homes began to have bathrooms. From about 1800 portable metal bathtubs gradually replaced wooden ones and in the 19th century some people used hand-pumped showers. In the 19th century toothpaste was sold in jars until 1892 when Washington Sheffield invented the collapsible toothpaste tube. The first safety razors for men were sold in 1901. A brief history of Cosmetics Home
A History of Freedom of Thought Return to History page Project Gutenberg's A History of Freedom of Thought, by John Bagnell Bury This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: A History of Freedom of Thought Author: John Bagnell Bury Release Date: January 11, 2004 [EBook #10684] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HISTORY OF FREEDOM OF THOUGHT *** Produced by Jeffrey Kraus-yao. No. 69 Editors: Prof. Prof. Prof. Copyright, 1913, by IT is a common saying that thought is free. At present, in the most civilized countries, freedom of speech is taken as a matter of course and seems a perfectly simple thing. The average brain is naturally lazy and tends to take the line of least resistance. But we are justified only under one condition.
Life In The 18th century By Tim Lambert Society in 18th Century Britain In the late 18th century life the industrial revolution began to transform life in Britain. From 1712 a man named Thomas Newcomen (1663-1729) made primitive steam engines for pumping water from mines. Meanwhile during the 1700s Britain built up a great overseas empire. Owning land was the main form of wealth in the 18th century. Below them were the great mass of the population, craftsmen and laborers. In the early 18th century England suffered from gin drinking. At the end of the 1700s a group of Evangelical Christians called the Clapham Sect were formed. The history of English society Population in 18th Century Britain At the end of the 17th century it was estimated the population of England and Wales was about 5 1/2 million. During the 18th century towns in Britain grew larger. Towns in 18th Century England In the later 18th century bodies of men called Paving or Improvement Commissioners were formed in many towns. The history of farming Home