Melissa+G


 * Economic System in Han China and Imperial Rome**

Monty Burns is a hedge fund manager and interested in the economic system of Han Dynasty China and Imperial Rome. Mr. Burns has helped many of his clients amass large fortunes and is well known on Wall Street. A proponent of free trade, Mr. Burns and his associates have invested heavily in foreign companies with low labor costs. To help him decide which dynasty to visit, you will need to research answers to the following key questions:

= **Key Questions:** =
 * 1) What type of economy did the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire posses?
 * 2) What were the major products or goods produced in each place?
 * 3) How did the economy run? How did people buy or trade products?
 * 4) What types of jobs did people have in the economies of Rome and China?
 * 5) What other civilizations or empires did Rome and China trade with?
 * 6) Which empire should Mr. Burns, an investment banker, visit? Why?

=Resources= Your research will be confined to the following web resources and library databases. If you wish to use a resource not on this list you must seek approval from your teacher.

**Rome**
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 * China **
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 * __ [|http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CHEMPIRE/FORMHAN.HTM] __
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 * Library Databases **
 * @http://www.micdslibrary.com/databases.html

Scroll down to the History/Social Studies menu; the ABCCLIO Ancient World History database is particularly helpful.

=Research and Citations= Use the space below to record your research for each question. Remember that you will need to cite your sources using the format found on the MICDS Library resource page.

What type of economy did the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire posses?
Han China: the Han dynasty had a very tight and strict economy because of the secret of how to make silk. the Han also had coinage. their economic system was fairly unstable too. the money had holes inside them so it could be strung on a string and be worn as a belt or a necklace. their economy was also woman free. they thought that men were more important and would leave their female babies on hilltops to die if they were the first born.

Imperial Rome: Rome's economy was very free flowing. in Rome you could trade anything for a profit. they had barter systems and coinage so you had two ways to trade/buy. they had long roads that people could traded on but were made for the army to travel on the roads could be used for two things instead of just one. as I said before Rome was a very free flowing Empire.

What were the major products or goods produced in each place?
Han China: in Han china the thing that they mainly produced was silk. In China they were very protective of the secret on how to make silk. if you ever told anyone about it you would face a very harsh punishment. silk was also very expensive, only the rich could afford and they could only buy a very small patch of it. silk was often traded on the silk road. rice was also produced and traded though out china.

Imperial Rome: the main thing that the Romans traded and produced were cows. in ancient Rome they had a barter system and coinage. they had many coins, one of them being the Dupondi. the Dupondi was a form of a coin that they used as a trading devise. all the coins that they had would have a special value.

How did the economy run? How did people buy or trade products?
Han China: in china they had a place that was sort of like the Greek Agora where they would trade goods. they had vendors and stores where the people could by pottery and farming supplies along with many other house hold items. the people of china usually would trade there or go and trade along the silk road. since chines economy was so up tight, the citizens wore their coins around their wastes or around their necks so people wouldn't steel it.

Imperial Rome: the Romans had a small market type square called the forum were they would buy or trade products. since the economy was so loose running almost everyone could go to the forum and work to sell or buy. with all the commotion of the forum they can gather many people and auction of many different sorts of items such as cattle.

What types of jobs did people have in the economies of Rome and China?
Han China: many of the people in china could work in fields or at street venders selling things for a profit. since rice was the main crop in china they had to have many people in the field working on growing and harvesting it. people could also work on silk making or trading different items such as silk and maybe even slaves, that was the main reason the chines created the silk road.

Imperial Rome: the people of Rome had many different jobs that they could do depending on their social class. if you were a Patricians could be in the court business. if you were a plebeian you could make art, work in fields, make baskets, and work in vendors. but if you were very poor you would have to be sold into slavery. in Rome there are so many options in the way of jobs. when there is a loose economy in Rome people can work better jobs

What other civilizations or empires did Rome and China trade with?
Han China: the silk road led to many different empires and civilizations. when the people needed to get money by trading they would trade with modern day Russia, Antioch, Luoyang and even led out across seas. when a portion of the silk road led out to the sea the trader would higher or get a boat that would carry them and the goods to the next sea port. this was a quick and easy way to trade. the silk road allowed the people of china to help expand the borders of China.

Imperial Rome: the people of roam would trade around the Italian Penninsula through a system of roads that were first made to transport the army but were evolved to be used as an option for transportation of goods. the Romans would trade around the Mediterranean world in places like Gual witch is modern day France they would also trade sometimes in Greece and in Spain, also sometimes up in Macedonia. the roads were made of regular cobble stone and were not very exciting but they held up very well and are still in place today. when the people of Rome went to trade they were very respected because they were citizens of Rome. Rome was a very respected and wealthy society.

Similarities and Differences
Before deciding which dynasty your client should visit, you may wish to create a simple Venn Diagram to compare/contrast the two empires. You may use [|this template] or create one online at Read-Write-Think.

Which empire should Mr. Burns, an investment banker, visit? Why?
In my opinion I think that Rome would be the best place to visit because it is so organized and cultered. there is no secret of the silk or rough economy. Rome is a place where many culters are brought together to create the mother of all empires. Mr. Burns should also visit Rome because its economic system is stable and people trade not only cows but money also. they have a very advanced trading system of coble stone roads. Over all I recommend that Mr. burns visit Rome.

= **Travel Poster Components:** =

You will create a travel poster for each of the two empires. Each poster should be attractive, persuasive, and highlight the major features related to your topic. You will create the posters using Glogster.edu (instructions will be provided in class) and they should contain the following components:

__**Travel Poster Components**__
 * 1) One Glogster.edu poster for each dynasty
 * 2) At least three "must see" tourist features with detailed text and relevant images for each dynasty
 * 3) At least one audio recording on each poster

The **[|Poster Rubric]** will be used to evaluate your work; you should refer to it before handing in your final product. When you have completed the poster, embed it below the "Travel Poster" heading below:

Travel Posters
//embed your posters here by copying the embed code from Glogster and adding an HTML widget//

= **Oral Presentation Guidelines** = The oral presentation is your opportunity to share your posters, explain whether your client should visit Han China or the Roman Empire, and should follow these guidelines:
 * 1) Less than three minutes in length
 * 2) Should address/explain the "must see" features of each dynasty
 * 3) Should explain which destination the client should visit and why

This presentation is about speaking skills and the use of your posters. You will be permitted to use notecards but are NOT to simply read your notes to the audience. The **[|Presentation Rubric]** will be used to evaluate your work; you should refer to it before giving your final presentation.