In the duration of the World’s Fair project, I chose to research/“represent” Ancient China, specifically during the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD). I learned of their many achievements through innovation. I was able to elaborate information about their economic situation, inventions, and some of their cultural influence in my persuasive essay. For example, many inventions created around or during the Han dynasty changed many of the world’s necessities and discoveries. China is known for their four Great Inventions, the compass, gunpowder, paper-making and printing, that changed how sea navigation, warfare, and literature, among many other creations that popularized their culture and improved their agriculture. It took a lot more research than I thought necessary but the knowledge I found was very in depth and helped a lot in understanding their accomplishments.
To represent my country’s innovation, my group and I decided on the Ancient Chinese Earthquake detector, made in 132 AD by Zhang Heng. Although, it did not possess the ability to actually detect an earthquake before it happens, it did provide the direction of origin; it was the first record of a seismometer. I wasn’t able to find the importance of why they needed that information but I found the craftsmanship to be very beautiful and detailed. The original item consisted of a bronze vessel with inner, complicated mechanisms that trigger eight different exterior dragon, resembling |