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Great Wall of China. Video and primary source. This is a short video going over key details about the Great Wall. This video will be used to set the scene for the lesson.

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Explore National Geographic. A world leader in geography, cartography and exploration.

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Seismograph. Video. This video talks about the inventor Zhang Zheng his invention of the first seismometer.

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Centuries before the European Renaissance, Zhang Heng had all the makings of a Renaissance man. Learn how this statesman, scholar and inventor invented the first seismometer in this episode. Stuff of Genius tells the story behind everyday inventions. From the bikini to super wheat and everything in between.

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Zhou Dynasty. Interactive site. The students can click on a picture of a tomb from the Zhou Dynasty and investigate parts of the tomb, whats in the tomb, along with descriptions about the tomb every time they click on something.

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Qin Dynasty. Primary. This article shows pictures of the Terracotta Army, how they were build and made up of, facts about them, and why they were built.

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The Terracotta Army in Xi'an - Why and How They Were Made

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The Terracotta Army/Warriors are a must-see attraction in Xi'an. Here find out about their history, discovery story, formations, exhibition, and categories.

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Acupuncture. Book.
White, Samara, and Troy White. Maya & Friends Visit the Acupuncturist. Mugwort Media, 2014.
This Children's book explains what an acupuncturist does.

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Han Dynasty. Interactive map. Students will be able to move the timeline bar graph to see how the Han Dynasty spread over time.

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What is happening in China in 1500BC

The Yellow river region of China is now ruled by the Shang dynasty (1766-1122 BCE), the first of a long series of Chinese dynasties which is illuminated by the light of written history. This region is home to a flourishing Bronze Age civilization. The first real cities of ancient East Asia, housing tens of thousands of inhabitants, have appeared here.

Although the kings of the Shang dynasty probably exercise real authority over only a part of the region, their authority is acknowledged over a much larger area of northern and central China through subordinate lords and tribal chiefs who rule virtually independently in their own areas.

A system of writing, which in all essentials is the modern Chinese script, is already in use at this ancient period. Bronze technology is well developed. Indeed, the Chinese are already making some of the finest bronzes ever produced in world history.

Cultural influences eminating from the Yellow river region are bringing a more advanced material culture to the Yangtze region, and this is leading to population expansion. A distinctive, non-literate but materially advanced culture is developing here.
Next map, China in 1000 BCE
What is happening in China in 200AD

A great chapter in the history of ancient China is coming to an end, with the Han dynasty now in its death throes.

About 200 years after the founding of the Han dynasty (202 BCE), a succession of weak emperors led to the usurpation by the chief minister Wang Mang (reigned 9 - 27 CE). He attempted some radical reforms, which caused first confusion, then a destructive civil war, and finally the restoration of the Han dynasty. This was followed by years of reconstruction, renewed economic expansion and restored imperial power. It was during this period that paper was invented, to meet the needs of the civil servants.

Latterly, however, the foundations of the later Han empire have been undermined by a succession of child-emperors. This has resulted in unchecked factionalism at the Han court, and in the provinces, an increasingly corrupt bureaucracy. As a direct result, widespread peasant revolts have broken out, causing immense destruction.

At the same time, a renewed barbarian threat has emerged with the reunification of the Xiongnu nomads.

The Han dynasty is now in terminal decline, and has only twenty years to go before it succumbs to these many dangers. Chinese history is entering a troubled period.
Next map, China in 500 CE
What is happening in China in 500AD

The Han dynasty, whose empire marked the high point of ancient Chinese history, fell in 220 CE. It was followed by almost three centuries of division, invasion and, in the north, barbarian rule. Unlike with the western Roman empire, however, the fall of the Han empire did not lead a steep decline in material civilization.

The Northern Wei, who are of Mongolian origin and who have ruled northern China since their conquest in 425-435 CE, have ended the worst of the divisions and have brought more than half a century of peace and stability to the region. Of all the barbarian dynasties, they have pursued a policy of Sinicisation most purposefully, giving their state a much greater degree of strength and durability than its rivals and predecessors.

Southern China has been unified under one government since the fall of the Han. Despite the succession of weak, faction-ridden dynasties, this region, spared the upheavals to the north, has seen considerable economic expansion and population growth.
Next map, China in 750 CE
What is happening in China in 750AD

After centuries of division, China was reunified by the Sui dynasty in 589. This dynasty did not last long, but in their brief time in power they constructed the Grand Canal, which would unify China's economy; and they restored the examination system for recruiting government officials. This had been first instituted under the Han, but then abandoned.

After a brief civil war the Tang dynasty came to power in 618. This was able to build on the foundations laid by the Sui to become one of the most brilliant dynasty's in China's long history.

The Tang emperors brought stability and good government to China, as well as pushing out the frontiers of the Chinese empire further than ever before. The great Taizong (624-49), who set the dynasty on strong foundations, was succeeded by less capable emperors, but this allowed one of the most remarkable personalities in all Chinese history to exercise power, the empress Wu (649-705, first as concubine of the emperor, then as wife, and finally, after 690, in her own right). She expanded the examination system so that more non-aristocratic officials came to hold the most senior positions in government.

Under her son, the emperor Xuanzong (712-56), the Tang empire has reached a peak of power. Culturally, Xuanzong's reign is later seen as a golden age, particularly in the field of poetry. However, there are causes for concern. Over-powerful generals now control the frontiers, and the elderly emperor is increasingly withdrawing from affairs of state, under the spell of a beautiful concubine. This situation will very soon lead to one of the most terrible rebellions in China's history, bringing disaster for the Tang dynasty and for the whole of China.

What is happening in China in 979AD

In 755, one of the most disastrous events in China's history occurred when a powerful frontier army commander, An Lushan, revolted and seized the capital, Loyang. His rebellion was not crushed until 763, after causing great destruction and loss of life throughout China. The later Tang emperors were unable to assert the same degree of control over their empire as their predecessors had done, and the centralized rule of the early Tang was never fully restored.

One of the feature of the late Tang period was that the regime turned against the Buddhist establishment. It confiscated its vast wealth and ordered thousands of monks back to secular life. Buddhism would remain a popular religion in China right up to the present day, but mostly without official patronage.

Eventually, the familiar tale of child-emperors, factionalism at court and widespread peasant revolt led to the fall of the Tang dynasty in 907, and China again fragmented into several states.

This period of division did not last nearly as long as the earlier one in China's history, following the fall of the Han dynasty. By 969 China was largely reunified under the Song dynasty.

In northern China, however, two barbarian dynasties reign, the Liao and the Western Xia (the latter founded as a recognized dynasty in 1038, but existing as a state from the mid-10 th century). In the Liao, a small ruling nomad group governs the state along Chinese lines, and under them Chinese gentry families participate fully in the Chinese culture of the period. The Western Xia is a more purely nomadic tribal confederation.

What is happening in China in 1215AD

The centuries of Song dynasty rule have seen unprecedented economic growth and population expansion for China. A revolution in farming, based largely on wet-rice cultivation, has greatly increased crop yields, and has been accompanied by dramatic commercial and industrial expansion, both within China itself and throughout South East Asia. This has been the great age of Chinese technological innovation, with printing, gunpowder, shipbuilding techniques, the compass, paper money and porcelain all either appearing for the first time or seeing great advances.

In their internal policies, the Song emperors have expanded the examination system as a means of recruiting officials, and China is now administered largely by a class of professional scholar-officials. This class now professes a reformed Confucianism which modern scholars label "Neo-Confucianism". This has borrowed elements from Buddhism and Taoism to provide a more emotionally satisfying form of the ancient ideology. It will be the dominant belief-system of China's ruling class up to the 20th century.

The Song dynasty now only rules the south of the country, however. In 1135 a major invasion by the Jurchen, a people from central Asia, conquered the entire north of China from the Song and formed the Jin empire. Though ruled by a small minority of nomadic descent, this functions as a Chinese state.

The Song dynasty of this period is therefore give the label "Southern Song". It has been left with by far the richest and most populous part of China, and under them the advances which began under the early Song have continued.

What is happening in China in 1453AD

The past few centuries have been ones of great upheaval in Chinese history. The Mongols from central Asia conquered northern China in the 1230s, annexing it to their empire which stretched as far west as the Middle East and (within a few years) Russia. Southern China fell to them in the 1270s. The Mongol emperor, Kublai Khan (reigned 1260-94), presented himself as a legitimate Chinese ruler, of the Yuan dynasty, and maintained the traditional Chinese bureaucracy, though with Mongols in the topmost positions.

After Kublai Khan, the Mongols weakened and their vast empire fragmented into separate states. Yuan dynasty China was one of these. From the 1330s, an increasing number of rebellions culminated in the expulsion of the Mongols from China. Native Chinese rulers of the Ming dynasty were installed on the throne.

The Ming emperors have restored the Confucian bureaucracy, along with the examination system, to its predominant position in the state. In the early 15 th century they briefly sent out a number of major naval expeditions to South East Asia and beyond, reaching as far as Africa. In Inner Asia, however, the Mongols remain a dangerous threat to China, and the Ming have completely rebuilt the Great Wall - one of the greatest feats of engineering in world history.

Internally, the country is largely tranquil, and the economy and population is expanding strongly.
Next map, China in 1648
What is happening in China in 1648AD

The Ming dynasty presided over a reasonably tranquil period in Chinese history. However, the Ming emperors, for the most part nonentities, fell increasingly under the control of eunuch factions at court. These factions were frequently in bitter conflict with the scholar-officials of the imperial bureaucracy. The turbulence of life at the centre meant that some deep-seated problems in the administration of the Ming empire were not addressed properly.

In the 16 th century the Ming dynasty showed the classic symptoms of dynastic decline, repeated at regular intervals throughout China's history: corrupt and ineffective administration in the provinces, famine and floods inadequately dealt with, peasant revolt and invasion from across the frontiers.

One group of invaders are a people from the northern steppes who, having developed a Chinese-style state in Manchuria (hence the name by which they are known to history, the Manchus), have taken advantage of rising chaos in China to march on the capital and seize the throne (1644). They have thus established a new dynasty, the Qing ("brilliant"), and, under their regent, Dorgon, are now in the process of pacifying the entire country. After initial struggles a final, glorious phase in China's imperial history will begin.
Next map, China in 1789
What is happening in China in 1789AD

The Qing (Manchu) dynasty has ruled China for the past 150 years, though it was not until 1680 that the country was fully in their hands. Although of foreign origin, the Qing have established an orthodox Confucian state, complete with bureaucracy, examination system, and law code. However, Manchu officials serve alongside Chinese in all the topmost posts, and the Chinese male population are required to wear their hair in a queue as a sign of their subjection.

In one of the most remarkable succession of rulers in all world history, China has been governed for more than a century by just three very able rulers, the Kangxi emperor (1667-1722), the Yongzheng emperor (1722-35) and the Qianlong emperor (1736-95). These emperors have pushed out the frontiers of the Qing empire to include vast areas of central Asia, never previously under Chinese rule. They have centralized power, ensured high standards of administration, and presided over a prolonged period of peace. Due largely to this peace, but also to new crops introduced from America (maize, sweet potatoes, peanuts), migration to hitherto under-developed areas and the bringing of much new land into cultivation, and productivity gains in Chinese farming methods, the 18 th century has seen a doubling of the population. From 150 millions in the late 17 th century it has grown to 300 millions. Commerce has expanded considerably, especially long-distance trade within the empire, and industries such as porcelain, steel and textiles have flourished.
Next map, China in 1837
What is happening in China in 1837AD

China in the period of the later Qing dynasty was by now showing signs of strain. Despite the expansion of food production in China, by the end of the 18 th century there were clear indications that it was not able to keep pace with the continuing rise in population. Each acre was having to feed more people, and standards of living - especially amongst already-poor peasants - were slipping. These adverse trends manifested themselves in a fashion repeated throughout the history of China: rural disorder and banditry leading to full-scale peasant uprisings. Such uprisings began to break out in the late 18 th and early 19 th centuries. The White Lotus rebellion took the Qing government several years to bring under control (1796-1804). However, at this date these episodes were comparatively local affairs.

At the same time, the Qing government was getting increasingly concerned with the rise in opium smuggling into the country, and the spreading addiction to the drug at all levels of society. Opium was being brought to China by British merchants in ever-larger quantities, both because the Chinese government placed severe restrictions of legitimate trade and because China's economy was so self-sufficient that it had little need for the kind of goods British merchants had to offer. Such was the scale of the problem that by 1837 the senior Qing dynasty ministers were concluding that the Opium trade had to be stamped out once and for all.
Next map, China in 1871
What is happening in China in 1871AD

The history of imperial China has now entered its final phase. Tensions over trade between China and Britain, particularly over the role of British merchants in bringing illegal opium into the country, led to the outbreak of the first Opium War (1839-42). In this, the superiority of Western forces over Chinese told, and the treaty which ended it was the first of several "unequal treaties" China would be forced to sign, favorable to foreign interests. The most enduring result of this one was the establishment of Hong Kong as an outpost of the British empire.

Continuing population growth and spreading poverty within the Chinese empire led to the outbreak of the most destructive uprising in China's history (and in world history as well). This was the Taiping rebellion, which began in 1850, and was aimed at driving the Qing dynasty from China. Within a couple of years, the Qing government had lost control over a large part of southern and central China. Then, with the rebels undefeated and another major revolt breaking out further north, China found herself at war with Britain (and now France) again (1858-60). This led to the emperor's Summer Palace in Beijing being burnt down - and of course, to another "unequal treaty". More rebellions broke out in various provinces of the empire, and rebel forces roamed, apparently at will, through the length and breadth of China. The Qing dynasty found itself facing challenges on all sides, not least because the Chinese people were increasingly thinking of the Qing, who had originally come from outside China, as part of the problem.

By the time the Taiping rebellion had been crushed (1864), 20-30 million lives had been lost. There followed a period of rebuilding, which was remarkably successful given the circumstances, and included the resettlement of large areas of depopulated lands. Some attempts at modernizing China's armed forces were also made.
Next map, China in 1914
What is happening in China in 1914AD

The long imperial era of China's history has ended and the last of its dynasties has left the stage.

In 1894-5, a war with Japan ended in humiliating defeat for the China. Japan gained Taiwan and other territories, and other foreign powers joined in a free-for-all at China's expense: they demanded (and got) more ports along the coast of China and claimed wide "spheres of influence" around them. The complete dismemberment of the Chinese empire was only averted by rivarlies between the great powers of the day.

These developments undermined support for the Qing dynasty, now widely seen as puppets of the foreign powers, and they deepened the already bitter hatred of foreigners within China. The last years of the 19 th century saw the rise of a particularly violent anti-foreign movement known as the Boxers, and many Western missionaries were killed. The Qing court seemed to endorse the movement, and the foreign community in Beijing came under threat from Boxer groups. The Western powers sent an international force to protect their compatriots, which sacked Beijing (1901). The foreign governments then demanded a huge indemnity from China.

At this point the Qing court enacted a wide range of modernizing measures, but these were too little, too late to save the last of China's imperial dynasties. In 1911 some Qing policies aimed at bolstering their rule sparked opposition throughout the country, and local garrisons and provincial assemblies one by one seceded from the empire. The commander of the army in Beijing declared a Republic on January 1st, 1912.
Next map, China in 1960
What is happening in China in 1960AD

The years after the fall of the Qing dynasty and the founding of the Chinese republic were some of the most turbulent in China's history.

Within a few years of its proclamation in 1912, the government of the republic had lost control of the country, and China fell into chaos. Some measure of order was restored by the Nationalist Party (the Goumindang) in 1926, but then a bitter struggle broke out between it and the rising Communist Party. The Nationalists gained the upper hand, and, hard pressed by Goumindang forces, the Communists carried out a gruelling treck - the "Long March" - from their bases in southern China, to link up with more of their forces to the north (1934-6). This event consolidated Mao Zedong's leadership of the Party.

For the next ten years, until the end of World War 2, all Chinese forces were committed to fighting the Japanese. Immediately this fighting was concluded, however, the struggle between the Communists and the Goumindang resumed. By 1949 the Communists had control of all China except for Taiwan, to which the Goumindang had fled. The Communists proclaimed the formation of the People's Republic of China.

Under Communist rule, China has been transformed. The gentry class, throughout China's history the mainstay of imperial China, has been eliminated, farmland had been collectivized, women have been given equal rights with men, and under Mao's "Great Leap Forward", China is straining to create an industrial socialist utopia.

What is happening in China in 2005AD

The history of Communist China since 1960 has been in two distinct phases, the first one of upheaval, the second one of great economic expansion.

The "Great Leap Forward" (1956-60) ended in the deadliest famine of the 20 th century. Some years of economic recovery followed before China suffered a second great upheaval, the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). "Red Guards" - school and university students - roamed the country meeting out violence and extreme humiliation to anyone they deemed too conservative. Half a million lives were lost, and millions of other lives were greatly disrupted.

Mao Zedong died in 1976. Immediately the pent-up disgust with the radicals saw the rise of Deng Xiaoping, who dominated Chinese politics until his death in 1997. He opened up China's economy to the outside world, and since then China has seen the most dramatic economic expansion in world history. It has not been accompanied by political liberalization, as was shown most famously in 1989, when student demonstrations in favour of democracy in Beijing's Tiananmen Square ended in a violent clamp-down. Nevertheless, countless millions of people have been lifted out of poverty and gained a measure of prosperity, which their parents and grandparents could never have dreamt of.

The return of Hong Kong from Britain (1997) and Macao from Portugal (1999) to China finally ended European rule on Chinese soil.

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The Yellow river region of China is now ruled by the Shang dynasty (1766-1122 BCE), the first of a long series of Chinese dynasties which is illuminated by the light of written history. This region is home to a flourishing Bronze Age civilization.

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Qin Dynasty. Article that explains important facts from this Dynasty and shows original pictures.

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Qin Dynasty History, Facts, Achievements, and Legalism

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Discover the important Qin dynasty achievements of Ancient China. Read about culture, legalism, education and learn all the interesting facts about Qin Huang Di.

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Zhou Dynasty. Video. This video explores the Zhou Dynasty.

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Shang Dynasty oracle bones. Primary source. Students will look at a picture of oracle bones and read about them in the passage below.

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The Great Wall of China. Children's book. This illustrated children's books makes connections between Shi Huangdi (builder) and the Great Wall of China.

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the emperor who built the great wall (illustrated kids books

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chinese history and culture): qin shihuang (once upon a time in china 1)

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juvenile nonfiction / biography & autobiography / presidents & first families

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juvenile nonfiction / biography & autobiography / presidents & first families

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The Emperor Who Built The Great Wall (illustrated kids books, picture book biographies, bedtime stories for kids, Chinese history and culture): Qin Shihuang (Once Upon A Time In China 1)

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DID YOU KNOW that China was named after its first emperor-the brilliant, all-powerful emperor who built The Great Wall? In this book, read about his interesting life and how he became one of the most important men in Chinese history.Emperor Qin Shihuang may have lived more than two thousan...

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Yangzi River. Video. This video shows pictures of the Yangzi River while providing interesting facts about it.

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The Great Wall of China. Interactive source. This game allows students to test their knowledge over the great wall of China in order to "build" sections of the wall.

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Dynasty. This book explores the different dynasties of ancient China.

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By Mel Friedman

Reviewed by Claudia Chow, Book Review Editor

Recommended for ages 7 and up

Ancient China is all about the history, culture, traditions, and inventions of the Ancient Chinese world. The different Chinese dynasties are all discussed, like the Xia, Shang, and Zhou. They also talk about different Chinese philosophies, such as Confucianism, Legalism, and Taoism. The Chinese also invented many of the things we use today, like paper, compass, and martial arts. They also talk about the customs of ancient China, like education, the binding of women's feet, Chinese marriages, and their fear of ghosts.

I would highly recommend this book, because it gives you a quick, but informative look into the world of ancient China. I don't really learn that much about the history of China in school but after reading this book, I learned a lot about China that I didn't know before. Everyone should know about the influence of the Chinese in our lives today, so find a copy at your local library or bookstore!

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By Mel Friedman Reviewed by Claudia Chow, Book Review Editor Recommended for ages 7 and up Ancient China is all about the history, culture, traditions, and inventions of the Ancient Chinese world. The different Chinese dynasties are all discussed, like the Xia, Shang, and Zhou.

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Legalism, Confucianism, Daoism. Interactive activity. Students will role play in groups of 4 to present a talk show. There will be a host and three guests-Confucius, Laozi(Daoism), and Han Fei(Legalism).The host will interview and ask them questions about their philosophies.

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Ancient China Activity - Student Talk Show - Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism

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Students will work in groups of four to present a talk show. Their talk show will include the host who will ask the deep and engaging questions and three guests who will answer in an interesting and detailed way. The three guests that the talk show host will interview are Confucius (Confucianism), Laozi (Daoism) and Han Fei (Legalism).

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Silk Road. Lesson Plan. Teacher will read aloud a book about the Silk Road that contains routes, cities, and various products that were traded and originated from certain places on the route. They will also learn about the factors that affected trade, such as climate change, challenges in transportation, theft, etc. The students will be able to create a map route of the Silk Road and make a key of the different products traded.

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Overview: Students will explore elements of trade along the Silk Roads by examining the products of various locations along the route--production, influences of resources and environment, challenges of transportation, and economic exchange. Through their investigations, students will gain an understanding of what was traded along the Silk Roads

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Buddhism. Lesson Plan. In h is lesson students will research about Buddha, Buddhism, and the spread of Buddhism across the world. They will look up the different sculptures of Buddha from different Asian countries and then pick one to make a model using clay.

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Learn about Buddhism, a philosophy of life that emphasizes wisdom and kindness, which is followed by people around the world.

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Huang He River. Primary Source. This website is filled with interesting facts about the Huang He River and is a primary source because it includes a map.

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Huang He: Huang He, principal river of northern China, east-central and eastern Asia. The Huang He is often called the cradle of Chinese civilization. With a length of 3,395 miles (5,464 km), it is the country's second longest river-surpassed only by the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang)-and its drainage basin is

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Confucius. Sample Lesson Plan. In this lesson plan, students will discover the connection between Confucius and character.

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Lesson on character traits, Confucius the Chinese thinker and the function of proverbs | Scholastic.com

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Students learn the meaning of certain core traits that help to define good character, as well as an understanding about Confucius and the wisdom of proverbs.

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Shi Huangdi. Primary Source. This is an article discussing the tomb of Shi Huangdi. It is a primary source because it includes pictures.

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(Image credit: Clara Moskowitz/LiveScience)

Buried deep under a hill in central China, surrounded by an underground moat of poisonous mercury, lies an entombed emperor who's been undisturbed for more than two millennia.

The tomb holds the secrets of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who died on Sept. 10, 210 B.C., after conquering six warring states to create the first unified nation of China.

The answers to a number of historical mysteries may lie buried inside that tomb, but whether modern people will ever see inside this mausoleum depends not just on the Chinese government, but on science.

"The big hill, where the emperor is buried - nobody's been in there," said archaeologist Kristin Romey, curatorial consultant for the Terracotta Warrior exhibition at New York City's Discovery Times Square. "Partly it's out of respect for the elders, but they also realize that nobody in the world right now has the technology to properly go in and excavate it."

The Terracotta Warrior exhibition, featuring artifacts from the Qin dynasty and nine life-size statues from the extended burial complex built for Qin Shi Huang, is on display through Aug. 26. [ Photos: Terracotta Warriors Protect Secret Tomb]
The warring states
Qin Shi Huang (pronounced "chin shuh hwang") was born in 259 B.C., first son to the king of Qin, one of six independent kingdoms inside modern China. These kingdoms had been warring for more than 200 years, but through a combination of military strength, strategy and natural disasters, Qin Shi Huang conquered them all, proclaiming himself not just a king, but also an emperor - the first of China.

Scholars still debate the details of how this occurred, and what unique tactics allowed the Qin emperor to achieve what no one had managed before.

When he died, Qin Shi Huang was buried in the most opulent tomb complex ever constructed in China, a sprawling, city-size collection of underground caverns containing everything the emperor would need for the afterlife. The ancient Chinese, along with many cultures including ancient Egyptians, believed that items and even people buried with a person could be taken with him to the afterlife.

But instead of burying his armies, concubines, administrators and servants with him, the Qin emperor came up with an alternative: clay reproductions.
Shocking discovery
In 1974, a group of farmers digging wells near Xi'an, China stumbled upon one of the most shocking archaeological discoveries of all time. The life-size terracotta solider they dug out of the ground turned out to be just one of an army of thousands, each utterly unique, with individual clothing, hair and facial features.

For almost four decades, archaeologists have been excavating the site. So far, they've uncovered about 2,000 clay soldiers, but experts estimate there are more than 8,000 in total.

"They're going to be digging there for centuries," Romey predicted.

Still, scientists have yet to touch the central tomb, which holds a palace containing the body of Qin Shi Huang.

"It's really smart what the Chinese government is doing," Romey told LiveScience. "When we went into [Egyptian King] Tut's tomb, think about all the information we lost just based on the excavation techniques of the 1930s. There's so much additional that we could have learned, but the techniques back then weren't what we have now."

"Even though we may think we have great archaeological excavation techniques right now," she said, "who knows, a century down the road if we open this tomb, what they're going to say?"

(Image credit: Clara Moskowitz/LiveScience)

To open the tomb?
The decision whether to explore the tomb anytime soon, or ever, is up to the government of China. That decision will likely be influenced by the pace of technological progress.

"In archaeological conservation, every year you have major new developments," Romey said. "When we began excavating [the soldiers] in the '70s, the minute they were exposed to air and sunlight, the pigment just flaked off. Now they've figured out a new technique where they can actually preserve the paint as they excavate."

Perhaps, if science advances enough, that excavation wouldn't cause serious damage to the burial site, and the tomb will finally be opened. [ Album: The Seven Ancient Wonders of the World]

"I wouldn't be surprised if you had some sort of robotic visual survey going in there at some point," Romey said.

And despite their desire to protect the treasures of antiquity, archaeologists are itching with curiosity to find out what's inside Qin Shi Huang's central tomb.
Rivers of mercury
Ancient writings say the emperor created an entire underground kingdom and palace, complete with a ceiling mimicking the night sky, set with pearls as stars. Pits full of terracotta concubines have never been discovered, though experts predict they exist somewhere in the complex.

And Qin Shi Huang's tomb is also thought to be encircled with rivers of liquid mercury, which the ancient Chinese believed could bestow immortality.

"It's kind of ironic," Romey said. "This is probably how he died, by ingesting mercury. He was taking all these mercury pills because he wanted to live forever and it killed him by the age of 39."

That moat of mercury also presents another reason why archaeologists are loath to explore the tomb just yet - doing so would likely be very dangerous, according to soil samples around the tomb, which indicate extremely high levels of mercury contamination.

In the end, scientists and historians must always weigh their desire to know more with the damage such inquiry would cause.

"Archaeology, ultimately, is a destructive science," Romey said. "You have to destroy stuff in order to learn about it."

Clara has a bachelor's degree in astronomy and physics from Wesleyan University, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has written for both Space.com and Live Science.

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The Secret Tomb of China's 1st Emperor: Will We Ever See Inside?

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(Image credit: Clara Moskowitz/LiveScience) Buried deep under a hill in central China, surrounded by an underground moat of poisonous mercury, lies an entombed emperor who's been undisturbed for more than two millennia. The tomb holds the secrets of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who died on Sept.

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Daoism. Video. This video describes the founder of Daoism and details of the practice itself.

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Confucius. Video. This video discusses facts from Confucius's life and some of his impacts on the world.

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Who was Confucius? - Bryan W. Van Norden

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Shi Huangdi. Interactive website. This source allows children to move around facts about Shi Huangdi to be placed in the appropriate spot.

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Confucius. Novel. This children's novel discusses Confucius's life and influences he had on the world.

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The of the Confucius: The Golden Rule by Russell Freedman, Frederic Clement | at Barnes & Noble. FREE Shipping on $25 or more!

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Confusinism. Primary Source. The original book of Analects (collection of sayings and ideas of Confucius).

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Rongo (Analects) is famed as the collection of the words and deeds of Confucius. As the most cherished scripture of Confucianism, the book greatly influenced the culture of China and neighboring nations. It is said to have been introduced to Japan around the fifth century. The first published edition of Rongo in Japan was made in Sakai, a city in present-day Ōsaka Prefecture, in the 19th year of the Shōhei period (1364), and is known as the Shōhei version. The wood blocks of the first edition disappeared in early days. The copy presented here is a reprinted version, which seems to have been published in the late Muromachi period (16th century). The red marks and punctuation marks are assumed to have been added at that time.

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Rongo (Analects) is famed as the collection of the words and deeds of Confucius. As the most cherished scripture of Confucianism, the book greatly influenced the culture of China and neighboring nations. It is said to have been introduced to Japan around the fifth century.