The Great Wall

The Han Dynasty finished the Great Wall by extending it towards the Gobi Desert. This increase of the Great wall was considered the nicest contribution from the Han Dynasty. While extending the Great Wall there was a lack of materials so that they could continue, but the Chinese engineers found something to replace the material needed, while extending it. While extending it they used some of the things that Qin Dynasty did to build the Great Wall. Some of the ideas used from the Qin Dynasty was the way that they finished extending, because it involved putting down a layer of willow reeds, maybe even woven first, then on top of the 1st layer, a 2nd layer is put down. In the 2nd layer a little bit of water, and grave, were put together until it becomes solid. After the 2nd layer is put down, a new layer of gravel is added again. This would be repeated until the height wanted is reached. Some parts of the Great Wall is still standing mostly because of the dry climate of the Gobi Desert. Another thing that the Han Dynasty did was, that they improved was the watch over of the Great Wall, they also improved it by making it 2 stories tall so that you have a better look at everything.
http://www.kinabaloo.com/great_wall.html

Medication in the Han Dunasty

Medication of the Chinese during the Han Dynasty was based on beliefs and practices that came together. Their major belief was that every thing should be in harmony so that there will be nothing wrong with the person’s health. When ever someone was sick it meant that the person’s body was not in harmony. The health of a person was good when everything was in balance. Things that would change someone’s inner balance would be; desire, moral sin, change in temperature, and a change in the environment. By feeling the pulse of the person at different places in the body, it would give us information; like the location that the illness is coming from, and what developed this sickness. One of the discovery that they made was, if you wanted to know if the person was sick or not, you could find out by looking at the color of the skin of the person, tints of different colors on the person’s skin gave more information about the illness that the person has. They also knew the symptoms of the illness, but also they knew the solutions for them. Acupuncture is one of their solution to restore the inner peace. This therapy is used to restore the body’s natural harmony. Acupuncture is done by inserting needles into the parts of the body where it is known that there is the most stress. Other therapeutic options were; massages, changes in died, and burning pieces of flesh with plant material. Many of the medicines that were used in European pharmacology was discovered by the Chinese. These medicines were used so that they could treat burns, hemorrhoids, skin diseases and fever. This could be treated by using plants, animal preparation, and human elements.
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~rogert/chinawv.html

Civil Service in the Han Dynasty

The Bureaucracy had 18 gifferent positions of civil service jobs: these were jobs that one would get by taking an examination.The emperors of the Han before Wudi had already picked out Confucian scholars to be court advisors, since Wudi was emperor he could choose who he wanted. Wudi wanted all of his government officials to be respectful, generous, truthful, and kind because that is what Confucianism teaches gentlemen to be. Wudi wanted people applying to get a job to come and study Confucius works, so he built schools. Emperors would reward followers that did the right thing by giving them government positions. Under the Han was another way to fill the government post. This way of filling the government post involved testing the person’s knowledge about Confucianism. These exams were for any job applicants; since a few peasants could afford to pay for their kid’s education, only the sons of the wealthy could have this job. The civil service worked so well that it continued until 1912.text book: World History by McDougal Littell