Worksheet

Fact-Checking the Great Wall: Two Accounts of Ancient China

Grade 6 ancient China: compare a tour brochure with a historian's account of the Great Wall, Confucius, silk and paper, and check both against a dynasty timeline.

Grade 6Social StudiesInteractive · Printable

Aligned toHIS.6.5

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1 C3 Framework standard
Printable answer key
10 questions
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Details

Format: Interactive · Printable
Grade: Grade 6
Subject: Social Studies
Question types: Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Matching, Circle the answer, Sorting, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

Students corroborate two accounts of ancient China and decide which claims the evidence supports.
Students place the Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han and Ming dynasties in order and connect them to the Great Wall.
Students contrast Confucius's teachings with Qin Legalism and explain how silk and paper developed.

How to use

Read the brochure aloud first and ask students to mark any claim that sounds too simple, then read the historian's article and work through the questions. The last question works well as a short class debate.

Curriculum

C3 Framework standard covered

HIS.6.5

Describe ancient China's dynasties, the teachings of Confucius, the Great Wall and inventions such as paper and silk.

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Fact-Checking the Great Wall: Two Accounts of Ancient China

Corroborate a tour brochure and a historian's article with a dynasty timeline.

Two accounts

The tour company, its brochure and the historian are made up for this worksheet, but the facts in Account B are real. Read both accounts. Then answer the questions.

Account A: A Tour Brochure

Welcome to the Great Wall! This mighty wall was built in a single burst of work by Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor, in about 220 BCE. He was a wise follower of Confucius, and he built the wall to keep out the peoples of the north. Every brick you touch today was laid by his workers. China was also the birthplace of silk, which was first woven under the Han dynasty, and of paper, which the official Cai Lun invented out of nothing in 105 CE.

Account B: A Historian's Article

1Rulers in China built walls long before the First Emperor. During the Warring States period, rival states built walls of packed earth to defend against one another and against horse-riding peoples to the north. After Qin conquered the other states and united China in 221 BCE, Qin Shi Huang ordered workers to connect and lengthen some of the northern walls. Historians believe many of those workers died from the hard labor.

2Later dynasties kept building. Han rulers extended walls far to the west to guard their trade routes. Most of the stone-and-brick wall that tourists visit near Beijing today was built during the Ming dynasty, more than 1,500 years after the First Emperor.

3The First Emperor did not govern by Confucius's ideas. He followed Legalism, a philosophy that said people obey only strict laws and harsh punishments. Later Han historians wrote that he ordered books burned, including works that taught Confucian ideas. Confucius taught that rulers should lead by good example and that people should respect their parents and elders. The Han dynasty later made his teachings the core of education for government officials.

4Silk and paper are also older than many guidebooks say. Archaeologists have found pieces of silk cloth in China that are more than 4,000 years old, and for centuries the Chinese kept the method of raising silkworms a secret. In 105 CE a court official named Cai Lun reported an improved way to make paper from tree bark, hemp, old rags and fishing nets. Archaeologists, however, have found scraps of paper made earlier in the Han dynasty.

What is the most likely purpose of Account A?

A. To make a visit to the wall sound exciting
B. To explain how historians date old walls
C. To argue against the teachings of Confucius
D. To compare the Qin and Ming dynasties fairly

Sort each claim from the brochure. Does Account B support it or dispute it?

Walls were meant to guard against peoples of the north.The wall was built in a single burst of work.Qin Shi Huang ordered work on the wall.Qin Shi Huang was a follower of Confucius.An official named Cai Lun is linked to paper in 105 CE.Silk was first woven under the Han dynasty.

Account B supports it	Account B disputes it

Underline the sentence from paragraph 3 of Account B that most directly disputes the brochure's claim about the First Emperor and Confucius.

He followed Legalism, a philosophy that said people obey only strict laws and harsh punishments.Confucius taught that rulers should lead by good example and that people should respect their parents and elders.The Han dynasty later made his teachings the core of education for government officials.

Account B says that "later Han historians" reported the book burning. Why would a careful reader notice who reported it?

A. The report comes from writers who lived after the Qin, not from witnesses.
B. It shows the historian saw the books burn in person.
C. It means the First Emperor wrote the report himself.
D. Han writers were Legalists who agreed with the First Emperor.

Check the timeline

Use the timeline and both accounts.

Ancient China Timeline (early dates are approximate)
Date	Dynasty or event
About 1600–1046 BCE	Shang dynasty
About 1046–256 BCE	Zhou dynasty
About 551–479 BCE	Life of Confucius
About 475–221 BCE	Warring States build walls
221–206 BCE	Qin dynasty unites China
206 BCE–220 CE	Han dynasty
105 CE	Cai Lun reports a paper method
1368–1644 CE	Ming dynasty

About how many years after Confucius died did the Qin dynasty unite China? years

Which two rows of the timeline, together with Account B, best show that the wall was built over many centuries rather than all at once?

A. The Qin dynasty row and the Cai Lun row
B. The Shang dynasty row and the Zhou dynasty row
C. The Warring States row and the Ming dynasty row
D. The life of Confucius row and the Han dynasty row

Match each person or group to what Account B says they did.

Qin Shi Huang
Confucius
Han rulers
Ming rulers
Cai Lun

A. Reported a better way to make paper
B. Extended walls west to guard trade routes
C. Taught that rulers should lead by example
D. Connected and lengthened northern walls
E. Built most of the brick wall seen near Beijing

A young man in about 100 BCE is studying to become a government official. Using the timeline and Account B, what would he most likely study?

A. Legalist rules written for the Qin court
B. Confucius's teachings on good example and respect
C. Ming plans for brick watchtowers
D. Cai Lun's notes on making paper

For centuries the Chinese kept the method of raising silkworms a secret. What was the most likely effect on trade?

A. Other lands began making paper instead of buying silk.
B. People in China stopped wearing silk so it could be sold abroad.
C. Silk became cheap in other lands because so much was made.
D. Other lands could buy silk but not make it, so it stayed valuable.

10.

Which account is more reliable about how the Great Wall was built? State your claim, give two pieces of evidence from the accounts or the timeline and explain your reasoning.