You might have heard of the Great Wall in China. It was built to keep invaders out of their city. But in the early 1200s, Mongols, from central Asia, broke though the wall.
Genghis Khan(JEHNG gihs kahn) was the first outsider to rule parts of China.
Genghis Khan's grandson started the Yuan dynasty in 1271. He did many repairs in China, like rebuilding parts of northern China, and the Grand Canal. This canal was a transportation canal. It is connected with many rivers in the north and south. Each year the canal carried millions and tons of grain.
But China still did not like foreigners. In fact,that lasted for hundreds of years.
In 1368, Chu Yuan-chang led a successful revolt against the Mongols. Chu was a very poor farmer who barely had enough food to feed himself. Even though he was a poor farmer, he became a ruler of the Ming dynasty.
In the early days of the Ming dynasty, the rulers brought peace and order to China. They made new laws, built new schools , printed many new books, and increased trade. Trade included cotton, tea, silk, timber, and iron pans called woks.
The Ming rulers also repaired the Great Wall to protect China.
Long ago the Romans brought back silk from Perisa. Which Persia brought from China.
Silk is produced by silkworms. A silkworm will feed on mulberry leaves for 5 weeks. Then it will spin itself a cocoon. When it is just the right moment, the silk farmer drops the cocoon into boiling water and the cocoon will unravel into a long piece of silk.
The Persians and Romans admired the work of this fine fabric. So they started the Silk Road. Merchants carried tea, silk, and spices along this 3,500 mile road. It went throughout the Himalayan Mountains, but going along this road had risks. The journey took a long time and the bandits and thieves could strike anywhere and anytime.
The British wanted Chinese goods, too. So the British traded a drug called opuim for the goods. Opium is a drug that grew in India. China used very little of this drug for arthritis and dysentery. But the British were not satisfied with such little trade. So they expanded the trade by convincing the Chinese that opuim could help get rid of problems and worries.
The Chinese fell for this and many people began to take this drug. The emperor was furious with this and banned all trade with Britain. China underestimated them. The British were not losers but conquerors and rulers. In 1840, the British sailed into Canton's harbors with great, mighty warships and fought with China. From my resources, China knew a little about the British attack. In those days, China was not as strong so they lost. They lost Hong Kong to the British. In 1997, they got Hong Kong back.
Chinese culture now is popular worldwide. Chinese food can be found all over the world.
You could visit our food page for some more information.
As you might know, the Chinese don't use a fork; they use a pair of chopsticks and a spoon. Chopsticks are two pieces of thin wood. You could go to a Chinese restaurant and try a pair for yourself.
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