Adventures in Ancient China for Kids

Shang Dynasty: After Xia times (very early China), the Shang family ruled ancient China for hundreds of years. This was the Bronze Age of ancient China. The Shang are famous for their use of bronze, chopsticks, jade, spices, oracle bones, and a system of writing called calligraphy.

• Oracle Bones: Shang kings used oracle bones (sometimes called dragon bones) to talk to their ancestors and get answers. Archaeologists have found thousands and thousands of oracle bones, each with a question carved on them. The thing is, for example, a question did not actually say "Will it be sunny tomorrow?" What the question actually said was something like this: "If I sacrifice 8 men or 3 oxen, will it be sunny tomorrow?" Then special oracle readers would study the bone and give the king an answer to his question. Doesn't seem quite fair, does it?

T'ang Dynasty: This was China's Golden Age. Tea was already around, but tea drinking became popular during Tang times.

• The Job Market: Under Tang leadership, you did not have to be a noble to get a good job. You did, however, have to pass an examination. Examination Day was a big deal. It was everyone's chance to move up in the world. The roadways were crowded with carriages arriving at the examination hall. People came on foot. Everyone wanted to take the exam. Those who passed were assigned a job in the capital or in one of the many smaller towns in the countryside.

• City Life: Although many people were farmers during Tang times, the capital city of Ch'ang-an was home to over one million people. The city was arranged in blocks. Each block was its own village. Some homes were huge, built of brick and wood, with baths and mirrors and pagoda roofs. There were apartment houses, temples, a marketplace and lots of little shops like tea shops, cake shops, pottery shops, gem and jewelry shops, shoe shops, produce shops, and meat shops, and noodle shops, and pawnbrokers, and other businesses. There were street acrobats and storytellers and colorful banners and street bazaars. All of this activity occurred in each block. Blocks were divided by broad wide streets and little side streets. You were not stuck in your block. You were free to move about and visit any block you wanted. There were street gangs, though. You had to be a little careful. Like any city, some blocks were beautiful and some blocks were pretty rough.

• Free Entertainment: Everyone attended musical and art performances. They were free. You could wander into a concert in the park, listen for a while, and then leave. Some of the concerts were huge, with 700 musicians playing together. Others were the concerts of nature. One of the most popular was the bird concert. This was a place where people gathered with their morning drink, to quietly sit and listen to the birds they brought in cages and the wild birds chirp and sing. The men enjoyed hunting, fishing, polo, and a kind of football. Everyone enjoyed the celebrations and festivals.

• They had fun with hair style, make up, and clothing. Women wore little hats that had dangling bells on them that rang softly. They carried little make up boxes that held a mirror, rouge, and a lipstick. Men wore topknots; they shaved their heads except for the hair right in the center. They wrapped that hair up in a knot. They used hairpins to keep it wrapped up. Shoes were really important. They were a status symbol. Peasants wore straw sandals. Nobles wore cloth slippers. Much of the clothing was made of silk. They wore jade belts and fancy hats. It was very colorful clothing.

• Country Life: Most people in Tang times were farmers. Out in the countryside, homes were made of bamboo and sun dried brick. They were simple, one room homes. The people wore simple clothes. They ate very well, mostly because they owned their own farms! The early Tangs took land from the nobles and gave each peasant approximately 15 acres. They sold some food in the nearby town. Some food was sold to dealers who then resold it to people in the city. Some families worked together to grow crops more efficiently. But it was up to each family to decide how to farm their land.

Gods: For many thousands of years, the ancient Chinese believed in many gods, goddesses, magical beings, dragons, and ghosts. They prayed to gods for help and safety. They also prayed to their ancestors to protect them from harm. It was during T'ang times that the Chinese people embraced two philosophies and one major religion at the same time. They were called the Three Teachings, and were an important part of daily life. The three were Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Each person would do something to honor all three teachings each day. For example, a man might honor his ancestors by following a rigid social rule (Confucianism), practice breathing exercises (Taoism), and stop by a temple to pray (Buddhism), all in the same day. This is not to say the ancient Chinese stopped believing in other gods, like the powerful kitchen god, but these three doctrines were very important.

Holidays and Festivals: With all their many beliefs, there were a great many holidays and festivals. Something was always going on. They even had a holiday for ghosts because everyone needs a day off now and then, even ghosts.

To learn more about ancient China, play games, read stories and myths, take challenges, discover the animals of the zodiac, count dragons toes (if you dare!) or to find just what you need, scroll up to the menu above.

Mr. Donn and Maxie's Ancient History PowerPoints Series
Written by Lin & Don Donn,
illustrated by Phillip Martin, Published by Good Year Books

Mr. Donn and Maxie's Always Something You Can Use Series
Written by Lin & Don Donn, Published by Good Year Books