Name _____________________________ Class _________________ Date __________________
Ancient China
Section 5
MAIN IDEAS
1. Farming and manufacturing grew during the Han dynasty.
2. Trade routes linked China with the Middle East and Rome.
3. Buddhism came to China from India and gained many followers.
Key Terms and People
silk a soft, light, highly valued fabric made from the cocoons of silkworms
Silk Road a network of routes between China and the Mediterranean Sea
diffusion the spread of ideas from one culture to another
Key Terms and People
procedure the way a task is accomplished
Section Summary
FARMING AND MANUFACTURING
During the Han dynasty, many farming advances
led to bigger harvests. Manufacturing methods
improved. Master ironworkers developed the iron
plow and the wheelbarrow, two devices that made
farming vastly more efficient.
The centuries-old process of producing silk
increased. Weavers used foot-powered looms to
weave silk threads into beautiful fabric. Garments
made from silk were very expensive. The Chinese
were determined to keep their procedure for
making silk a secret. Revealing this secret was
punishable by death.
TRADE ROUTES
When Han armies conquered lands deep in Central
Asia, they learned that people even farther west
Name two devices that
made farming more
efficient.
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
Why do you think it was
important to keep the silk
production process a
secret?
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
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Guided Reading Workbook
Name _____________________________ Class _________________ Date __________________
Section 5, continued
wanted silk. Han leaders saw that they could make a
profit by bringing silk to Central Asia and trading
the cloth for strong, sturdy Central Asian horses.
The Central Asian people would take the silk to the
west and trade it for products they wanted.
Traders used a series of overland routes known as
the Silk Road to take Chinese goods to distant
buyers. Although traveling the Silk Road was
difficult and risky, it was worth it. Silk was so
popular in Rome, for example, that China grew
wealthy just from trading with the Romans. Traders
returned to China with gold, silver, precious stones,
and horses.
BUDDHISM COMES TO CHINA
Over time, the Han government became less stable.
Life became violent and uncertain. In this climate,
Buddhist missionaries from India began to attract
attention.
Buddhism seemed to provide more hope than the
traditional Chinese beliefs did. At first, Indian
Buddhists had trouble explaining their religion to
the Chinese. Then they used the ideas of Daoism to
help describe Buddhist beliefs. Before long,
Buddhism caught on in China with both the rich and
poor.
Buddhism’s introduction to China is an example
of diffusion, the spread of ideas from one culture to
another. Chinese culture adopted Buddhism and
changed in response to the new faith.
Aside from Rome, where
did many of the items
traded for silk come from?
_______________________
_______________________
Why did Buddhism become
popular in China?
_______________________
_______________________
Underline the sentence that
describes how the Indian
Buddhists made their
religion understandable to
the Chinese.
CHALLENGE ACTIVITY
Critical Thinking: Drawing Inferences Do you
think it was difficult to keep the origin of silk and
its production process a secret? Write a brief story
about a woman who wants to tell a friend the secret
and her fear of the dire consequences.
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71
Guided Reading Workbook
Name _____________________________ Class _________________ Date __________________
Section 5, continued
DIRECTIONS Read each sentence and fill in the blank with the word
in the word pair that best completes the sentence.
1. The iron plow and the _______________________, a single-wheeled cart,
increased farm output. (wheelbarrow/diffusion)
2. The _______________________ was the most famous trade route to take
Chinese goods to distant buyers. (diffusion/Silk Road)
3. _______________________ is the spread of ideas from one culture to another.
(Diffusion/Silk Road)
4. Chinese women kept secret the method for making a soft, light, highly valued
fabric called _______________________ to avoid punishment by death.
(silk/wheelbarrow)
5. The introduction of Buddhism to China is an example of
_______________________. (diffusion/Silk Road)
6. Buddhism spread from India to China along the _______________________.
(diffusion/Silk Road)
7. China’s leaders saw they could make a profit by bringing
_______________________ to Central Asia and trading it for horses.
(silk/wheelbarrow)
DIRECTIONS On the line provided before each statement, write T if a
statement is true and F if a statement is false. If the statement is false,
write the correct term on the line after each sentence that makes the
sentence a true statement.
_____ 8. Silk is made from the cocoons of a certain type of worm. The threads of
the cocoon are unraveled and then prepared for dyeing and weaving.
___________________________________________________________
_____ 9. The diffusion was a 4,000-mile-long network of routes that stretched
westward from China to the Mediterranean Sea.
___________________________________________________________
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72
Guided Reading Workbook
Answer Key
The Hebrews and
Judaism
3. uses shadows cast by the sun to tell the
time
Fill in the Blank
4. Liu Bang
5. Han
6. seismograph
7. acupuncture
8. sundial
SECTION 1
Summary
(First Page) Students should circle: Hebrews;
Students should underline: God promised to
lead him to a new land and to make his
children into a mighty nation and answer
Canaan
Vocabulary Terms
9. c
10. a
(Second Page) because he led the Israelites
out of Egypt; human life, self-control and
justice; Students should circle Saul, David,
and Solomon and answer Solomon
SECTION 5
Summary
(First Page) iron plow, wheelbarrow; possible
answer—to prevent other cultures from
learning how to make silk, which would lower
its cost
Challenge Activity
Student commandments will vary but should
reflect reasonable ideas
Fill in the Blank
1. David
2. Moses
3. Ten Commandments
4. Abraham
5. Diaspora
(Second Page) Central Asia; It gave people
hope in troubled times; Students should
underline the sentence: Then they used the
ideas of Daoism to help describe Buddhist
beliefs.
Challenge Activity
Answers will vary. Student stories should
explain why the secret of silk was so guarded
and what penalties people faced for revealing
the secret.
Descriptive Phrases
Answers will vary. Sample answers:
6. the dispersal of the Jews
7. when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt
8. the religion of the Hebrews
9. Israelite, son, king
10. moral laws from God to Moses
Fill in the Blank
1. wheelbarrow
2. Silk Road
3. Diffusion
4. silk
5. diffusion
6. Silk Road
7. silk
SECTION 2
Summary
(First Page) Students should underline: God,
education, justice, obedience; the belief in
only one God
(Second Page) Students should circle: Torah;
a collection of commentaries, folktales, and
stories written by scholars
True/False
8. T
9. F; The Silk Road was a 4,000-mile-long
network of routes that stretched westward
from China to the Mediterranean Sea.
Challenge Activity
Students stories should include the idea of a
modern-day Talmud and a Commandment.
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8
Guided Reading Workbooks Answer Key