Family letter home

Dear family,

       I have been have the most wonderful time here in China! I cant believe I have been here for tten years now. I have been here from 89 BCE to 79BCE I have been eating the best food. The most common staple crops consumed during  the Han dynasty are wheat, barley, foxtail millet, proso millet, rice, and beans. Commonly eaten fruits and vegetables here include chestnuts, pears, plums, peaches, melons, apricots, strawberries, red bayberries, jujubes, calabash, bamboo shoots, mustard plant and taro. You know how much I love plums so I am really liking it here. Domesticated animals that were also eaten included chickens, Mandarin ducks, geese, cows, sheep, pigs, camels and dogs When people ate dogs, only certain types were eaten, others were as pets. Turtles and fish are taken from streams and lakes. Commonly eaten birds are owls, pheasants, magpies, sika deers, and Chinese Bamboo Partridges. Seasonings include sugar, honey, salt and soy sauce. Beer and wine are also regularly consumed.

     In my stay here I also met the one and only emperor Wu! It was the coolest thing meeting him. Emperor Wu of Han, also translated Han Wu,  He was the seventh emperor of the Han Dynasty of China, ruling as such for 54 years, from 141 BCE to 87 BCE. Wu's reign resulted in the vast territorial expansion, development of a strong and centralized state which resulted from his governmental re-organization, including his promotion of Confucian doctrines. Wu is known for his religious innovations and patronage of the poetic and musical arts.

     The sights that I have seen are amazing. I have seen the Great Wall of China. The great wall of china is outstanding. The purpose of the walls were to stifle attacks from other provinces and nomadic tribes to the north. Other purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls, allowing the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road, regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration. Furthermore, the defensive characteristics of the Great Wall were enhanced by the construction of watch towers, troop barracks, garrison stations, signaling capabilities through the means of smoke or fire, and the fact that the path of the Great Wall also served as a transportation corridor. The Great Wall stretches from Shanhaiguan in the east, to Lop Lake in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia.


                                                                   Sincerely,
                                                                                   Andrew Blogger Extraordinaire