🐲 8 FARMING LIFE

A peasant’s life revolved around the cycle of the farming year.  

Match the season to the correct farming activity.

• Spring.

• • harvesting the crops.

• Winter.

• • ploughing the fields.

• Autumn.

• • caring for the crops.

• Summer.

• • repairing tools and farming equipment.

Under which Ancient China dynasties did the peasants get to own their own land?

• Shang dynasty.

• Zhou dynasty.

• Han dynasty.

• Chow dynasty.

How were Chinese peasants, who owned a small area of land, to pay their tax to the government?

• The landowner peasants gave part of their crops each year to the government as tax.

• The landowner peasants gave one month of the labourers who worked for them as tax for the government.

• The landowner peasants gave a cow and 10 Peking ducks each year to the government as tax.

• The landowner peasants gave 20 bags of rice each year to the government as tax.

If a peasant did not own their own land they could work the land of a landowner for a cost.  

What might that peasant expect to pay the landowner for the use of the land for a year?

• As much as 5% of the rice crop as payment for use of the land for one year.

• As much as 10% of the rice crop as payment for use of the land for one year.

• As much as 20% of the rice crop as payment for use of the land for one year.

• As much as 30% of the rice crop as payment for use of the land for one year.

In addition to paying the landowner to use the land to grow rice and the emperor's tax, what other things might a landless Chinese peasant face to survive a year of farming?

• Fires.

• Floods.

• Earthquakes.

• Famines.

• Labour strikes.

People did most farm work by hand, using tools made of what materials?

• Bone.

• Horn.

• Wood.

• Bronze.

• Ceramic.

Irrigation method used on peasant farms in Ancient Imperial China.

Drag and drop the words below to complete the following paragraph on the Chinese water wheel.

Men kept the (a)   fields under​ (b)   by means of a​ (c)  

containing a​ (d)   of wooden ​ (e)   .

• rice
• water
• trough
• belt
• paddles
• cotton
• shade
• machine
• buckets

True or False

By treading paddles with their feet to turn them, Chinese farmers were able to lift the water from the river up into the fields.

• True.

• False.

Farming came with a very high cost to the peasant people. It required humans to pull carts taking goods to and from the village markets scattered around the countryside and to pull ploughs by hand to prepare the land.   

Why didn't the peasant farmers use horses to do this kind of work?

• Horses were only owned by the very wealthy or those on government business.

• Horses were not found in China at the time and were only introduced in the Wang dynasty.

• Horses were only for the emperor's arm and guards to use.

• Horses were in short supply in China and were very expensive to keep.

True or False

Farming was a family affair requiring numbers to work the land. Often households would join together on building or irrigation projects.

• True.

• False.