Ancient Asian Engineering

Question 1

Why is Asian Architecture rich and unique

Answer 1

unique building types, statues, gardens and shrines, tower clocks (China)

Question 2

What were the Four Great Inventions

Answer 2

the compass, gunpowder, paper making, and printing

Question 3

What was the earliest astronomical observation in China

Answer 3

records of supernova explosions in 1400 BC

Question 4

What did Chinese Astronomy consist of

Answer 4

lunar and solar calendars, astrology, Chinese constellations, prediction of astronomical phenomena, recording comets

Question 5

What did Chinese astronomers record every instance of?

Answer 5

Halleys Comet 3000 years ago

Question 6

What was the structure in Taosi possibly used for?

Answer 6

astronomical observatory, 2300 BC to 1900 BC

Question 7

What occurred during the Shang Dynasty

Answer 7

1600 BC to 1050 BC
tools, weapons, religious objects (bronze)
writing development
construction of religious sites
kings were considered to have divine nature
decorated underground tombs
development of ceramic artifacts
structures had symmetry

Question 8

What are important features in Chinese architecture

Answer 8

emphasis on articulation and bilateral symmetry
enclosed
hierarchy
horizontal emphasis
cosmological concepts
gardens with screen walls, talismans, and door guards

Question 9

What did Chinese gardens contain

Answer 9

buildings or pavilions with decorative rocks and rock gardens
plants
trees, flowers
water elements like ponds
enclosed by a wall with winding paths
cannot see entire garden at once, only scenes

Question 10

Why are rocks important?

Answer 10

They harness concentrated natural energy

Question 11

Describe early magnetism

Answer 11

Qin Dynasty 221-206 BC
discovery of magnetism in loadstone
development of simple compasses for geomancy and fortune telling and later for navigation by the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279)

Question 12

Describe the relationship between population and technology

Answer 12

increase in population leads to spur of technological innovation, especially when more food is needed
survival technology for new cropping patterns

Question 13

What was the importance of the Great Silk Road

Answer 13

lead to trade and technological change
trade in luxury goods between China and West Asia that stimulated change
export of Chinese silk was stimulus to textile industry in the West

Question 14

What did the Hebei and Henan provinces develop

Answer 14

rapid expansion of iron industry by using wood and charcoal fuel for furnaces

Question 15

What hydraulic methods did the Chinese develop?

Answer 15

spillways and pound locks

Question 16

What is an example of Pre-modern R&D

Answer 16

The government interference of introduction of new variety of rice that was modified for faster growth and less water need

Question 17

How did Chinese Ships compare to those of the rest of the world

Answer 17

They were about ten times larger than Columbus’ ships and could carry much more cargo and people

Question 18

What was significant about water-powered mechanical clocks

Answer 18

time-keeping became a sacred practice of secrecy

Challenging to measure time since it is always moving

Question 19

When did the written history of Japan begin

Answer 19

6th century when Chinese writing, culture, and institutions were brought in by Korean immigrants

Question 20

What is Japanese science, technology, and medicine influence from

Answer 20

Chinese paradigms

Question 21

How was learning structured

Answer 21

with Confucian classics

Question 22

What were of peripheral importantce

Answer 22

scientific subjects

Question 23

Describe Japanese architecture

Answer 23

influenced by Chinese techniques
Wood
Screens and sliding doors
Tatami: rice straw flooring
Verandas: roofed, open-air gallery port
Genkan: traditional Japanese entryway
relationship with nature

Question 24

Describe the Japanese Traditional religion

Answer 24

Shinto
worship of ancestors and nature spirited and a belief in sacred power (kami) in both inanimate things
Kami are sacred spirits or phenomena that live everywhere
Humans are able to live by receiving blessing from nature

Question 25

What is the oldest structure in Japan

Answer 25

Horyu-ji, a Buddhist temple in Ikaruga, Nara

Oldest wooden structure

Question 26

How did people acquire careers

Answer 26

By passing down, they were hereditary

Question 27

Describe America before Columbus

Answer 27

Scandinavian visit of N. America before 1400 to collect timber
Danish and English seafarers followed up information from Scandinavian sources in voyages to Labrador and Newfoundland
Three major civilizations: Mayan, Aztec, and Incas

Question 28

Describe the Mayan Civilization

Answer 28

lasted for more than 2,000 years, heyday during Classic Period (300-900)
Accurate astronomy
developed writing system
positional number system
developed administration
great monuments and temples
elaborate water management systems

Question 29

Describe Mayan Astronomy

Answer 29

Measured synodic month better than Ptolemy
Measured the length of the tropical year better than 16th century Spanish Astronomers
Developed accurate calendars
Determined the Zenithal passage days

Question 30

Describe Mayan Agriculture

Answer 30

Used irrigation systems of the incas
no iron, no wheel, no pulleys
used Technology Complex (combination of technologies)
Arrival of Europeans in 1513 lead to great disaster of military conquest and epidemic disease like smallpox and measles

Question 31

Before the Incas, show was irrigation developed

Answer 31

based on rivers with long canals fed from diversion dams

Question 32

What is Tikal and describe water management

Answer 32

the ruin of an ancient city, located in a rainforest in Guatemala
had water-holding tanks
Water distribution is associated with power and control

Question 33

How did Mayans store water

Answer 33

they built reservoirs out of rock quarries from large cut stones
they sealed off all cracks with plaster
reservoirs are placed on different tiers of elevation to use gravity to direct the water as they wished through the settlement
they used sand to filter the water (had to travel many miles for sand collection)

Question 34

What is Joseph Needham’s argument

Answer 34

Independent invention is not an adequate explanation for similarities between terraced cultivation in Peru and China
Rope Suspension bridges in the Americas and China
Maya calendar and Chinese Calendar
Mulberry bark paper

Question 35

What is the concept to step-by-step diffusion of techniques

Answer 35

Technological practices like paper making were transferred from one small island to the next