HOW TO COMPLETE THE TASK
10 STEPS TO SUCCESS
Complete the following steps, one by one, to successfully carry out this quest.
1. Read through the webquest pages Setting the scene, Your Task, How to complete the task and Assessment so that you know what you are supposed to be doing. Ask your teacher for help if you are unsure.
2. Decide which person in society you are going to be - will it be Peasant, Artisan or Merchant?
think about
If you are a peasant
- you will be working the land by hand with all your family helping you.
- you may have a buffalo to pull the plough.
- you will have a large family of at least 4 or 5 children
- you will be living in a very simple house of only one or two rooms. You may even be in a cave house which you may have carved out yourself
- you will be growing millet and vegetables mainly for you and your family to live on. You may be growing enough to sell to other people or to barter for other things you dont make yourself. You will not be growing rice as that is a plant not grown in the north where you live
- you may have a fish pond in which "water" (fresh) fish are grown. This is your main form of protein
- you may have mulberry trees and produce raw silk for sale to the silk merchant to help you earn enough to live on
- you know that you are a very valuable member of society
- what has been done by the Emperor, his government, local officials and anybody in authority to affect your life
- how have you responded to what has been done to you
If you are an artisan
- you may be a black, a silver or a gold smith,
- you may be a skilled potter, a wheelwright, a carriage builder, a furniture maker or a leather worker
- you may be a tailor, an embroiderer or a silk weaver
- you may be a painter, a sculptor or a maker of cloissonne
- you may be a musician and either be itinerant (wandering) or in a special group
- you know that you have a very important role to play in society because of your special skills but sometimes it is very difficult
- what has been done by the Emperor, his government, local officials and anybody in authority to affect your life
- how have you responded to what has been done to you
If you are a merchant you may be a local merchant trading in
- grain
- specialty food items not grown locally such as herbs and spices, dried fruits, alcoholic drinks
- agricultural hardware - tools, ploughshares, nails, bolts, harnesses
- clothing
- luxury items such as silk products
- you know that you are considered at the bottom of the social ladder but sometimes that does not matter
- what has been done by the Emperor, his government, local officials and anybody in authority to affect your life
- how have you responded to what has been done to you
or you may be a dynasty wide merchant trading
- China's special goods
- across China's borders
- between the major cities of China
- importing exotic goods and exporting Chinese materials
- dealing with people both inside and outside the empire
- handling money or credit with merchants across the borders
- you know that you are considered at the bottom of the social ladder but great wealth can come from trade and who knows what that might bring
- what has been done by the Emperor, his government, local officials and anybody in authority to affect your life
- how have you responded to what has been done to you
3. Decide what craft you follow if you are an Artisan, or what sort of Merchant you are, as these decisions will affect your future investigations
4. Decide what town you live in or near, by checking out this map of the Qin time and this map of the Han time. Now you need to check out a modern map of China ( this simple hand drawn map might be easier to start with) and pick out the name of a town or village somewhere between Chang'an (now Xian) and Luoyang. When making this decision think about what you need for your chosen group - farmland, town or village or access to transport.
think about
it has to be somewhere between Chang'an and Luoyang and it has to be right for who you are
- a peasant would be on farmland, preferably near a good water supply
- an artisan would want to be near or in a place which wanted what he produced but that would change depending on what he produced
- a merchant would want to be near a good transport hub or have good access to transport
follow up
5. Learn about the history of the period by reading through the resources provided on this special page
follow up
6. Write down a draft of your family's story using some of the writing ideas provided on this page
7. Select appropriate images from the Ancient China Qin and Han Website. Make sure that you acknowledge the source even though these images have been provided for you to use. That way you can never by accused of plagiarism (taking someone else's intellectual property and pretending it is yours).
8. Check and correct your draft to make sure that you have described your life in the first part in the recount and that you have explained in the second part in your account and that you have referred directly and specifically to any images you have used
9. Check that your draft meets all the requirements set by your teacher for length, style and when it is due.
10. Submit your task to your teacher
