Keith+H


 * Religion in Han China and Imperial Rome**

Misty Fy is motivational speaker keenly interested in the religious practices in Han Dynasty China and Imperial Rome. An avid reader of self-help books, including "10 Days to Defeat Dystopia" and "Happiness CAN Be Bought", Ms. Fy believes that internal motivation comes from external sources. To help her decide which dynasty to visit, you will need to research answers to the following key questions:

= **Key Questions:** =
 * 1) What type of religion existed in the Roman Empire and Han Dynasty?
 * 2) How much of an influence did religion have in both places? Describe the impact, whether negative or positive, religion had on China and Rome?
 * 3) Describe the religious practice and form of worship that existed in the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire?
 * 4) Why and how did the Roman Empire move from a polytheistic religion to a set of beliefs focused on Christianity and monotheism?
 * 5) How did Confucianism influence the Han Dynasty?
 * 6) Which empire should Ms. Fy, a motivational speaker, 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**
 * []
 * []
 * []
 * __ http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/oldworld/europe/ancient_roman_culture.html __
 * __ http://chalk.richmond.edu/education/projects/webunits/greecerome/ __


 * China **
 * []
 * __ http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/early_imperial_china/han.html __
 * __ http://gallery.sjsu.edu/silkroad/civilization.htm __
 * __ http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/hand/hd_hand.htm __
 * __ http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CHEMPIRE/FORMHAN.HTM __
 * __ http://www.international.ucla.edu/asia-archive/lessons/zarou/WSHan.htm __


 * 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.

www.classicsunveiled.com [|www.pbs.org] wapedia.mobi []

What type of religion existed in the Roman Empire and Han Dynasty?
Han China: From 551-478 BCE, the religion of China was Confucianism. Confucianism is based heavily around humanity. Acording to Confucius, external forces punish people after they commit crimes so people would generally behave with no reason why they should. "The goal" of Confucianism is to have a peaceful and just society. In Confucianism there are 5 different basic relationships, ruler and subject, husband and wife,father and son, older sibling and younger sibling, and friend and friend Around the 2nd century B.C.E, a religion called Tao emerged. The Tao emphasizes peace, detachment, flexibility, and non-action. These are mentioned in the Tao te ching. Non-action is one of the most important tenets or "beliefs" in Taoism. Taoism is not nor has it ever been a unified religion. Different branches share different beliefs. But, there are some beliefs that all branches have in common.  Taoists believed in going on spiritual journeys through diet and other rituals. Another "religion" was legalism. Legalists believed that laws were religion. Even the ruler was second to the law. All laws were enforced strictly, no leniency, no corruption, no extra punishments for enemies. What was written was done, plain and simple, the word of the government was law.

Imperial Rome: Imperial Rome began with a polytheistic religion, which means they had many gods who controlled different aspects of life, but over time, they gradually turned to a monotheistic religion, Christianity where they only believed in God and Jesus. Christianity began around 33 B.C.E after the death of Jesus. Whose teachings had already started to convert people to this religion. After his death, his disciples carried on his teachings and spread word of this new religion which eventually became the main religion in the roman empire. Romans didn't want to accept the idea of Christianity because they weren't used to the idea of a single god.

How much of an influence did religion have in both places? Describe the impact, whether negative or positive, religion had on China and Rome?
Han China: In Han China religion was the cause of many disputes over the length of that era. Many Taoists built and lived in monasteries, (a place where a monk or nun would live) to better practice their beliefs and for simple reasons like to practice their religion's stance on hygiene. . The Taoist research for chemical compounds led to the discovery of gunpowder. Confusianism influenced the way people behaved. Confucianism also affected education. Soon a knowledge and understanding of the four books and five classics (essential books in Confucianism) became vital to an education.

Imperial Rome: In Imperial Rome religion had a very big impact on the empire. It was the cause of many conflicts between the people of the Roman Empire and the Roman Soldiers. The romans believed that if the gods were happy with them that they would have good luck, but if the gods were mad they would have a really bad day. The Romans held religious festivals to ensure that the gods were happy. The Romans preformed several rituals to persuade the gods to work in their favor.

Describe the religious practice and form of worship that existed in the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire?
Han China: The people of the Han Dynasty held many ceremonies, one of the most famous is the taoist ceremony is the jiao where the community would renew its communication with the gods. Each religion had certain "texts" similar to christianity's bible or judiaism's tora that the people who practiced that religion would read and gain significant knowledge and guidance about their specific religion from.

Imperial Rome: There were two types of religious practice in Imperial Rome, there were public practices and private practices. Public practices were controlled by priests who taught religion to the masses. Private religion was controlled by //paterfamilias// or "head of the family" the fathers. The Romans built grand temples to worship their gods.

Why and how did the Roman Empire move from a polytheistic religion to a set of beliefs focused on Christianity and monotheism?
Imperial Rome: Rome turned to christianity because the preaching and message of Jesus excited the masses and drew more people to him. Another attractive feature were the mysterious rites of purification and assurance of peace and happines in the afterlife. Another big factor was the conversion of the emperor Constantine. When Constantine took power in 312 A.D. he credited his success to the Christian God. He ordered building of Christian churches on a large scale and since he was the emperor, people followed him into the christian religion.

How did Confucianism influence the Han Dynasty?
Han China: During the Han Dynasty period, the emperors established it as a stabilzing force in society. Even the legal system was based on confusianism and pragmatic legalism. Confusianism caused many disputes over the Han period, usually between different philosophers like Mencius and Xun-zi. Xun-zi believed that the government had to use strict policies and laws to force people to lead moral lives, while Mencius believed that all people were good and they just needed some religious guidance. They also became more leanient with the legal system. The Han emperors promoted Confusianism and it was the main religion of the Han Dynasty and the Han emperors. Later on in the Han Dynasty the government mixed Confusianism with Legalism and called it State Confusianism. This combined the peace of Confusianism with the rules and regulations of Legalism.

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 Ms. Fy, a motivational speaker, visit? Why?
Ms. Fy should visit China because they are more open to new ideas than ancient rome. There is a lower likliness of trouble or controversy in China than rome. So in my opinion that would be a safer place.

= **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.