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Home › Forums › Core Seminars › East Asia Origins to 1800, Spring 2020 › Session 3 - March 28 readings (dube- china qin/han - song/yuan)
Alma Ochoa.
cgaoHi Everyone -
Our online discussion will be Saturday morning, 3/28. We'll spend an hour on China, 221 bce-1368 ce and then have an hour on Japan. Please watch the video lectures that Craig Stubing has uploaded. Thanks for your flexibility. Hopefully, you'll be able to watch and think about these at your convenience. As always - we look forward to your contributions to the discussion, here and via Zoom on Saturday. See you then. - Clay
Hi Folks,
We are going to have a busy stretch on 3/14. In the morning, we'll cover China's early empire (the Qin and Han dynasties), the age of division and the arrival of Buddhism, and then the reunification of China by the Sui, through the cosmopolitan Tang, the early industrial/early modern Song and the Mongol Yuan dynasties. 1600 years, but who's counting?
We need everyone here by 9am, though, because we plan to start with our Hundred Schools Debate. To prepare for the debate, please read the curriculum guide on Chinese philosophy we shared for 3/7. Please bring the philosophy document with you, either digitally or in print form. You'll need to use it.
For the debate, you and your schoolmates (fellow Confucians, Mohists, Daoists or Legalists) will need to argue in support of "your" school of thought and against those of others. Here are some of the questions we'll look at:
1. What is the basic nature of human beings?
2. Describe the organization and conduct of an ideal society. How is it organized? What are aims of the state and how do the people and the state interact? To whom do we owe loyalty?
3. What are the core components of education in that ideal society? How are people taught? What are they taught?
4. How can we move from the society we have to the ideal one? What is to be done?
You can prepare by reading the philosophy teaching guide. As you read, try to answer the questions on pages 46-47 for each of the schools.
Qin/Han/disunion primary source readings:
Penal Servitude
Salt and Iron Debate
Cartoon interpretation of Han-era Classic of Filial Piety
For each of the readings and for each of our discussions, please identify the points you found most interesting. Please discuss how you could use these materials or these ideas with your students.
For example, for this session, you've read about the salt and iron debates. Why was the state monopoly on the production and sale of these items so contentious? Are there any items in today's world that the government insists on monopolizing? Why?
The Peach Blossom Spring was written after the fall of the Han dynasty (in fact, two centuries later). What values does it convey?
Here is a short YouTube version of the story with Chinese and English subtitles.
Finally, here's a current story about the US, China and the Qin terracotta warriors.
clay dubeFor the Sui dynasty (589-617), we'll focus on reunification and the remarkable Grand Canal. Please read this short web page about the canal and its builder: http://blogs.umb.edu/buildingtheworld/waterworks/the-grand-canal-china/
For the Tang dynasty (618-907), please read the intro to the attached poetry selection. Then choose one poem that interests you and post something about it. Please also read Bai Juyi's The Song of Everlasting Sorrow and come up with at least one question about it. This and many other Tang poems came to be well known in Japan and were excerpted in The Tale of Genji.
For the Song dynasty (960-1279), please read the Attractions of the Capital (N. Song dynasty: Kaifeng, S. Song dynasty: Hangzhou) reading.
For the Yuan (1279-1368), please read the selection from Marco Polo about the capital and its people.
stubingstubingstubing
Billie JohnsonJust a quick thought. The nature of some humans was on full display over the past couple weeks. Who would have thought that people would be fighting over toilet paper and having a knife pulled on you over hand sanitizer? Although I know that there is good in the majority of society I have to say that this shocked me. I am looking forward to finishing the readings and getting back to where we left off. Thank you!
stubingclay dubeBillie - thanks for your note. Hopefully others will take a look at these short video lectures and offer their thoughts. We're aiming at regrouping for a Zoom-facilitated video discussion.
All - Billie was part of an online program on Contemporary China earlier this spring, so she's familiar with these tools. I hope everyone else will watch the videos at your convenience, comment online and join us via Zoom (a free download for your computer, phone or tablet or within your browser).
Meghann SerilThis week has certainly given us a lot to think about. As I was reading more into the different schools of thought I found that many of the principles could be applied to help us get through this situation. From Confucius, I noted the importance of respect for elders as we have designated shopping hours and neighbors running errands for each other. Unfortunately, some news stories from the week challenge the idea that humans are essentially good people. From Mohism, I agree that competition can lead to scheming and war. You share examples of those fighting over basic supplies. I hope for the Mohist ideal of universal love and cooperation. From the Daoists, I think many of us are learning to live with more simplicity. I have certainly been challenged to make do with what I have in the kitchen to avoid the grocery stores. I see evidence of the idea that oppressive laws and regulations will cause people to figure out how to break them with those choosing to gather in large groups for spring break. Then there are the legalists who believed people are motivated by fear and greed. There were so many stories this week to exemplify this idea. I too am looking forward to getting back to our discussions. I hope everyone continues to be healthy and safe.
Meghann SerilMany of the materials presented for this era would work well as comparison points with my third grade curriculum. One major aspect of the language arts standards and curriculum is the study of fables. I would love to use the comics of filial piety with my students to discuss the author's message and theme. The messages also enforce topics we discuss in our character education curriculum. As a follow up, I would ask my students to create their own comic strip that teaches and important lesson and emphasizes family relationships. I think my students would enjoy this activity and I'm sure their parents would get a kick out of their comics. In third grade we study the history of Los Angeles and the importance of the LA river to residents of the area. We consider how the river influenced the economy and activities of LA residents from the past to the present. The "Attractions of the Capital" piece could be used to compare and contrast the types of commerce and amenities that became available, though I'd probably leave out the water tea houses.
Billie JohnsonWen found a true representation of peace and tranquility. He found a grotto filled with people who had lived their for centuries in escape of the horrors of war. He lost his perception of his reality...was this real at all? Finding this isolated place could have caused him to lose his peace of mind. Prior to finding this place he was resting on the river, fishing, and floating aimlessly thinking of nothing at all. I was struggling with the idea of perhaps he was intoxicated and potentially dreamed all of this up. The values the story conveys are patriachy, respect for elders, wanting of peace, and trust.
Billie JohnsonThere are so many lessons that this information can be incorporated into. We can work on creating our own myths based on the Qin Dynasties triumph on the battlefields and focus on legalism. We could also work on compare and contrast activities with students comparing focal points between this dynastic period and another civilization from this period in time. Students could choose arts, politics, marriage, class, agriculture, religion, economy, death, philosophies, or another topic where they could come up with an argumentative claim and provide evidence for such claim. The idea of standardization and legalism can be compared to our society today. We could explore why the different punishments and ideals changed over time and have open ended discussions about this topic. We discuss some of the ideals that still exist today and why? Having a dedicated discussion about power and who gets to deliver the historical narrative. The information about the Han Dynasty reminded me somewhat of the Age of Enlightenment and voila we could work on the different achievements of this time period.
Billie JohnsonThis period of time did stifle the exchange and development ideas in some ways because of the competitive nature of the different Kingdoms. However, this was a great time for the exchange of ideas for example, Buddhism became established in China. Without the centralization of one empire/ruler, people were able to be creative and explore their curiosity. There were advancements technology and an explosion of the arts: poetry, paintings, and carvings to name a few.
Billie JohnsonFirst of all, I love how it doesn't matter where you are from, history influences the cinema in so many ways. I like how China was credited with their construction the canal and the influence this had on the US with the Erie Canal. The flexibility and purposes of waterways are active today especially in terms of economics. Thinking about the canals in Venice that are used now for tourism and in Long Beach...all over really. It is nice to see this written in history about the advancement of economics. I see this period of time as a lesson in diversity, too. The relatively successful reign of Empress Wu Zetian shows that people were open minded and perhaps focused on what was good for people instead of what the sex of the ruler is. Were there any lesser known female emperors? Also, the impact that spices has had on China and its food is a lesson in diversity because this is an amalgamation of cultures that emerged during this time. The tea industry is still huge all across the globe. I am intrigued how much of an impact these advancements have had beyond this period of time. The rise and fall of civilizations is also a tale we must heed. What goes up, must come down.
Meghann SerilIn Peach Blossom Spring, I think the fisherman found an ideal society in which there seem to be an abundance of resources. However, in isolation the villagers would lose connection and possibly innovation. I think the story conveys values of hard work and consistency.
Disunion may have spurred change as military competition would lead to the development of different technologies and strategies. It also seems that there was a lot of cultural development at the time with the flourishing of poetry, calligraphy, and music. I do think that that exchange would be stifled if different realms used different written language or different systems of exchange.