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1. legend

12. flood

2. according to

13. lengendary founder of the Hsia

Dynasty

3. legendary ruler who

supposedly introduced agriculture and
herbal medicine
4. crops

14. to lead
15. to control (river)

5. legendary ruler who taught

16. by
people to build tree houses for protection
17. reliable
from wild beasts
6. great

18. Shang dynasty

7. a ruler
8. legendary sage in ancient China

19. oracle bone or shell

writing

9. legendary sage in ancient China

20. a written record

10. the throne

21. the universe

11. morals

22. to evolve

LEGEND AND HISTORY

Chinas history is very long. Everyone knows that, however before the idea of
recording these events down on paper, people could only consider it legend.
According to legend, a long time ago there was a legendary ruler, who
supposedly introduced agriculture and herbal medicine, who taught people how to
plant crops. There also was another legendary ruler, who taught people to build tree
houses for protection from wild beasts. We also learn through legends that there
were two very great rulers Yao and Shun. They didnt transfer the throne to their
children, the normal heirs to it, but instead of transferred the throne to the person
who had the best morals and the best potential. We also learned from legends that
long ago a flood occurred in China, and that is was the legendary founder of the
Hsia dDynasty that lead everyone to help fix that catastrophe.
But all these events were recorded after the written language was invented.
How did these people that recorded ancient Chinese history find out about these
events that occurred a long, long time ago? It was probably passed down
generation by generation by oral tradition. So all of these people are legends, and
this information isnt reliable. China has already found the earliest oracle shell and

bone records from the Shang dDynasty. These records contain about 3500 years
worth of information. From that point on, Chinas history was written information
and not a legend anymore. So from reading the oracle shells and bone records,
weve found out a lot of Chinas past history and events. Some of these records are
very useful. For example, the people of the Shang Dynasty often recorded their
knowledge of astrology onto those oracle shells and bones. Those records were
very helpful for scientists to study the universes evolution.

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10

1. Chin dynasty

6. Yuan dynasty

2. Sui dynasty

7. Mongolian

3. engineering project

8. to rule

4. to build

9. Ching dynasty

5. to develop, to build

10. Manchuria

10

3000
2033
2033
1562
1562
1066
1066
770
476
475
221
.221
.206
.206
.202
.202

256

.206

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8
23
25
220
220
265
265
304 316
439
439
581
581
618
618
907

221 222

263
280

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907
960

1127

1271
1368
1368
1644
1644
1912

979

,,
,,

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A UNITED CHINA
Chinas unified dynasties were Chin, Han, XuaSui, Tang, SongSung, Yuan, Ming, Ching,
with the Han Dynasty and the Tang dDynastiesy being the most powerful, lasting the longest,
and having the highest culture of them all. At that point China had much more land thant what
they have right now and back then they were the worlds most powerful country.
The Chin and the Xua Sui dynastiesy were both very short onesshort-lived; however it was
during that period of time that the biggest engineering projects were constructed in China.
During the Chin ddynasty the Great Wall of China was constructed and during the Song Sung

ddynasty the BigGrand Canal in China was developed. It wasis also because of these
engineering feats that exhausted Cchina of their working force which soon ended both these
dynasties.
Yuan dDynasty was the period of time where the Mongolians ruled China and the Ching
ddynasty was when the people of Manchuria ruled China. Mongolians and Manchurians werent
Han people. Even though those two dynasties were very powerful, the people of China were not
very happy with it and saying said that foreigners were rulingruled them. It was unexpected
that these foreigners had lived in China for so long that they had already been influenced by
Chinese culture and had become Chinese people themselves.
The Ssoung dynasty and the Ming ddynastiesy period of time in China wereas twoone of
the most highly educated, however theirits strength didnt surpass the strengthat of the Han and
the Tang dynasties.

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1. Rome

12. moreover

2. to be separated by

13.

3. to produce

14. seismograph

4. economy

15. to record

5. to be influenced by

16. earthquake

6. actually

17. wings

7. rare

18. belly

8. science and technology

19. a machine

9. developed

20. to move

10. porcelain

21. due to

11. to grasp

22. industrial

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INVENTIONS OF THE HAN DYNASTY

Two-hundred years before the year of our Lord to two-hundred years after,
the strongest empire in the East was during Chinas Han ddynasty. The strongest
empire in the West was Rome. These two empires in the East and West were
separated by thousands of miles, however the people of Rome knew that there
was a silk-producing country in the East. The women of Rome would use gold
and silver pieces to purchase silk, thus the countrys economy was influenced by
this. As a matter of fact, silk was only one invention out of Chinas many and
there are many more that Rome never knew about.
During the Han ddynasty, Chinas science and technology waeres very
advanced, inventing many different things. Out of them all, the most famous and
most useful was porcelain. After about a thousand years, the Westerners finally
wanted to understand how to craft porcelain and paper. Not only that, but Chan
Hung of the Han ddynasty invented the seismograph which can be used to record
earthquake activities from far away. The people of the Han ddynasty have also
invented water mill which can be used for work. Also, there was another person
who invented a wooden bird, with mechanics inside of it, which could fly for

20

around one mile. Doesnt it sound like an original version of our modern day
airplanes?
Eastern sinologists have recorded many of these ancient Chinese inventions.
One of these books says that due to China, during the Han ddynasty, having such
a high industrial skill level, that anything they needed they themselves knew how
to make themselves, and therefore people only hear of the Romans buying from
the Chinese and not vice versa.

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1. Romance of the Three Kingdoms

2. to unite

14. Peking opera

3. to unite

15. to make up

4. natural disaster

16. personality

5. invasion, encroachment

17. personage or figure

6. chaotic
7. a hero
8. describe
9. author
10. Santa Claus
11. chubby
12. to cushion
13. stage

(usually referring to famous persons)

18. capable, very competent
and efficient
19. malicious, evilintentioned, devilish

20. eyelids that do not

have a distinct fold along the edges
21. loyalty

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22. upright and honest

25. split

23. temper or disposition

26. slit eyes

24. the eyebrows

OF THE COUNTRY
There is a very famous novel titled Romance of the Three Kingdoms.1 This
novel begins with the quote, The country united will eventually split; split will
eventually unite. To this day, Chinas thousands of years of history have
followed this pattern of uniting then splitting, splitting then uniting.
Joining together is the definition of uniting.2,3 Chinas landmass is very
large, with a very high population, so uniting2 China is not an easy task. For the
most part, each dynastys first emperor was a very capable ruler, and after
uniting2 China, would pass down the throne from generation to generation. After

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many generations of passing down the throne, China would be left in chaos6,
marking the end of the current dynasty, oftentimes because the first emperors
descendents were not as capable, or because of natural disasters4, or because of
outside invasions.5 China often split up into several smaller territories, and it
wasnt until many years later that one hero7 would unite the entire country.

STRAW BOATS TO BORROW ARROWS

Straw Boats to Borrow Arrows is one of the stories in the Romance of the
Three Kingdoms.1 Romance of the Three Kingdoms1 is a novel that describes8
the story of the three countries Wei, Shu, and Wu. The author9 is Luo
Guanzhong. The story goes like this Zhuge Liang, of the country of Shu, must
acquire ten thousand arrows within ten days. However, it is impossible to make
ten thousand arrows in ten days. So, Zhuge Liang comes up with a plan. Looking
to the sky, he knows that there will be thick fog, so he fills twenty boats with
straw men. When the fog sets in, he sends the boats towards the enemy, while
playing loud war drums. The enemy cannot see clearly, and think they see real
men, so they fire arrows furiously at the boats, sticking many arrows into the

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straw men. Zhuge Liang then orders the boats back to safety, counts the arrows
on the straw men, and finds well over ten thousand arrows.

SPEAKING OF SANTA CLAUS10

Everyone likes Santa Claus.10 The red-suited, white-bearded, chubby11 and
jolly Santa Claus brings everyone great joy! If you want to be Santa Claus10
during Christmas, you must wear a red suit and wear a white beard. Dont forget
to cushion12 your belly with a pillow, and more importantly, dont forget to put a
big smile on your face. This is how you can be like Santa Claus.10
Performing on stage13 should have good acting. Use Chinas Peking
Opera14 as an example! We can tell from an actors face and makeup15 if the
character is good or evil, or tell a characters personality.16 Cao Cao of Wei,
Guan Gong of Shu, and Zhang Fei of Shu are all among Chinas famous
figures17 during the Three Kingdoms period. Many operas include these men, all
three shown with a large black beard. Cao Cao is very smart and competent18,
but is a bad character with many evil intentions.19 Actors who play Cao Cao
have white faces and triangle shaped eyes, so the audience dislikes him from the
start. Actors who play Guan Gong have red faces and eyes without a distinct

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fold.20 This means that Guan Gong is a very loyal21 and honest22 man. Zhang Fei
is also a good character, but has a very bad temper23, so actors who play Zhang
Fei have large flowery faces, thick black eyebrows24, and many splits25 along the
face. It is immediately obvious that this man has a very bad temper.23
This years Christmas, a friend from Taipei sent a Christmas card with a
Santa Claus10 laughing merrily with slit eyes.26 This friend also sent me a book
about Chinas Peking Opera14, which reminded me of the descriptions above.

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1. canal

12. arms, artillery

2. items

13. shore

3. architecture

14. to use

4. topography

15. to collect a fee

5. to dig

16. income

6. to span

17. to build

7. to expend

18. a railroad

8. financial resources

19. silt, mud and sand

9. food

20. distance

10. commodities, goods

21. to sail, to fly

11. officials and soldiers

22. irrigation

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THE BIG CANAL1

China has two pieces2 of the greatest architecture3 projects the Great Wall
and the Big Canal.1 Everyone has heard of the Great Wall. Much less people have
heard of the Big Canal.1
Chinas topography4 shows that the western side is higher and the eastern side
is lower, which results in the rivers all flowing from west to east, which includes
the Yangtze River and the Yellow River. Therefore, north-south transportation was
highly inconvenient.
To solve this problem, in 500 B.C. the Chinese began to dig5 a canal1 from the
south to the north. They dug two more times in the 7th century and the 13th century,
before completing the Big Canal1 from Hangzhou to Beijing. This canal1 has a total
length of more than 1700 kilometers, passes through four provinces (Hebei,
Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang), crosses6 five rivers (Hai River, Yellow River,
Huai River, Yangtze River, and Qiantang River), and is one of the longest canals in
the world.1
Just think how much manpower and financial resources8 must be expended7 to
dig5 such a long canal.1 In ancient times, the Big Canal1 was very useful.

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Merchants used it to transport food9 and goods10, the government used it to

transport officials and soldiers11, and arms and artillery.12 Because so many
people used the Big Canal1, many large cities grew on the shores13 of both sides.
The government also collected fees15 from people who used14 the canal to increase
the countrys income.16 In the 19th century, China built17 many railroads18 from
the south to the north, which decreased the use of the Big Canal.1 Many places
were blocked off by silt, mud and sand.19 In the most recent decades, the canals1
have been unblocked. Ships can only make short-distanced20 voyages21 in the
canals.1 Water in the canals1 can also be used for irrigation22 for farms on both
sides.

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KongFu

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KongFu

36

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1. Shaolin temple

12. to bring together

2. monk

13. to inhale

3. tradition

14. to exhale

4. wushu, martial art

15. maternal grandfather

5. Shoalin boxing, one of 708

sets of Shoalin kongfu

16.
a form of
Chinese martial art

6. to insist

17. body strengthening

7. one palace in Shoalin temple

8. a den, a hole

18. basic

9. step

19. to regulate

10. to practice boxing

20. breathing

11. to squat, to crouch

21. to exercise
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22. bones and muscles

30. doctor

23.

31. crane

24. to imitate

32. a set

25. to train

33. boxing art

26. to flap

34. self-defense

27. arms

35. to protect

28. agile

36. to win

29. head and neck

37. self defense

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SHAW LIN TEMPLE

Shao Lin Temple is located at He Nan province, Deng Feng Countys Shao
Shih Mountain. Since the construction of the Shao Lin Temple, it has accumulated
one thousand and four hundred years of history and is one of the most well known
temples in the world. The Shao Lin Temples monks have a tradition of practicing
martial arts. The different Shao Lin styles have been passed down by the Shao Lin
Monks.
In order to become skilled in martial arts, Shao Lin monks practice day and
night despite the hard toils they have to endure. According to legend, the holes in
the floor located in the Temple of a thousand Buddhas were caused by the constant
erosion between the monks feet and the floor when they practiced martial arts.

MARTIALS ARTS
Practicing martial arts is a type of exercise that strengthens the body. No
matter what type of martial arts, the basics are the same. The Chinese have been
practicing martial arts for two thousand years. The main objective is to regulate
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breathing and exercise the limbs. This way the person would not get sick easily. It
is important that it is practiced every day and done slowly. Ancient manuscripts
showed that a man who lived long ago, named Peng Tzu, practiced breathing
exercises and imitated animal behavior to train the body. For example, the birds
use their wings to fly, we can pretend that our arms are wings and flap them like
the birds thus making them more flexible. Monkeys like to turn their head from
side to side so, we imitate their actions and our neck will become more agile.
Later on, a doctor named Hua Tuoh observed the movements of tigers, deer,
monkeys, bears, and swans; and invented a style of martial arts called Wo Chin
Shi, also known as the five beasts exercise. After that, other people invented Ba
Duan Gin and Tai Chi Chuan. These different martial art styles not only
strengthen the body, but some of them can also be used for self defense.
However, knowing martial arts does not excuse you from provoking fights with
other people. It is only for self defense.

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Kongfu

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