Meredith+B


 * 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:

Han China was amazing, and made many different inventions; some that we still use today! Because of their inventions, their economy was pretty good. For example, they invented paper. Paper was excellent because the people in Han practiced calligraphy, and the paper was the best substance to practice it on because it was expensive like silk, and it wasn't bulky and awkward like bamboo. Han Specialized in silk though, making many different types for clothing and even medical purposes (gauze)

Imperial Rome:

In Ancient Rome, the economy was pretty stable for a while. With all the trading, you could imagine the economy couldn't be bad at all. Rome actually had a pretty good economy going for a while there, but it started falling because of taxes and such a wide spread empire. People were taxed and the soldiers were paid, money just started running out. The downfall of the economy played a major role in the total downfall of The Roman Empire.

What were the major products or goods produced in each place?
Han China:

Han China had many, many goods that they produced. with weaponry, they produced iron, swords, and crossbows, In sometimes whimsical sometimes defense, they produced kites. Beautiful and big, china's kites were amazing and had much detail with little to no mistakes in the painting. In practical, They produced salt, paper, books, medicine, seis mographs, and magnetic compasses. And finally, their main export, both beautiful and practical, silk. raw silk, fine silk, twilled figured silk, gauze, light fabric, brocade, linen, laquerware, and they sometimes even used silk as currency.

Imperial Rome:

In Rome, they traded lots of things. Rome was a huge empire for its day and had many products that they produced. They produced glassware, vases, gold, jewelry, iron, lead, marble, olive oil, perfumes, purple dye, silk, silver, spices, timber, tin, and many other fancy thing that wealthier people enjoyed. They produced a lot of crops, too; such as: wheat, barley, millet, pea, broad bean, lentil, flax, sesame, chickpea, hemp, turnip, olive, pear, apple, fig, beef, corn, plum, and finally, they produced wine.

How did the economy run? How did people buy or trade products?
Han China:

In Han China, buying and trading goods was not very hard at all. they mostly traded and sold goods on the "Silk Road". The Silk Road was an interconnected network of paths and routes where people sold and traded their goods. people from far away came to sell their stuff on the silk road; it passed though deserts, mountains, and all sorts of tough terrain, so there were few people who got from beginning to end.

Imperial Rome:

In Ancient Rome, trading was a big deal. Because it had many more people than some other civilizations, it had many more people who owned shops and traded/sold their goods. Rome had many routes, (like the Silk Road) where people traded, and Rome didn't have customs (where they had to pay extra for something they bought outside of Rome), so trading was huge with other civilizations.

What types of jobs did people have in the economies of Rome and China?
Han China: In The Han Dynasty, people had pretty basic jobs. The Roman Empire actually has many more jobs then Han because Rome was a major huge, bustling civilization while Han was more laid back. The Han Dynasty had: farmers, metal workers, masons, artesian, actors, officials, nobles, and medical physicians.

Imperial Rome:

 In ancient Rome, people had a variety of things they could do in the line of work. There was mostly always a job open somewhere, and most stuck with their work for their entire lives, such as farmers, government officials, and priests/priestesses. There were also craftsmen and shopkeepers, who were usually lower class people. There were actors, soldiers, bakers, architects, engineers, builders, medics, bureaucrats, lawyers, judges, bankers, and oriental carpet sellers; and slaves who sometimes worked as gladiators or chariot racers.

What other civilizations or empires did Rome and China trade with?
Han China:

In Han, one of its main exports was silk. Everyone wanted silk, and Han sure had a lot to trade. They traded with basically everyone near the silk road, including other parts of China, India (spices), Persia (perfume, cosmetics, and carpets), Arabia (frankincense and myrrh), and Rome (glass, gold, and jewelry).

Imperial Rome:

People in Ancient Rome were very big on trading because of customs and things like I had explained earlier. They traded with many different civilizations all around them. Their main trading partners were mostly Modern Day Spain, France, Britain, The Middle East, and North Africa.

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?
=== I think that Mr. Burns should visit The Han Dynasty because of all the inventions. The inventions would be a fantastic thing to invest in because of how popular they got even today. with compasses, paper, and other inventions, (things that we still use today) investing in a product that would last for thousands of years would be more han smart. Another great thing about the han economy was the silk road. the silk road started in china so that was the hotspot to travel to. Han offered amazing, beautiful, and efficient items were sold in China; so everyone traveled there to get these utterly awesome items.===

= **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.