such a beautifui chinese lesson,we can learn more about chinese ancient history ,especially the interesting daily tools the peopeo made.

we can also know the king's power represent their family's power,some fabulous culture relics are also impressive.

I have often taught about Japan's declining population as an example in my class. After our discussion this evening about changing perspectives especially of our American students, I thought more about the aging population. I was surprised about China facing a declining population. I think that is something that we don’t often consider given China’s LARGE population especially with their relatively recent limits on family size. I plan to incorporate this discussion in my Modern World History class in our final unit which is the contemporary world, when we discuss the future changes in the world. When the world population is larger than it has EVER been, why is it a bad thing for the population to decline, in specific states and globally? 

Molly raises a great question. With the strain on resources imposed by ever-increasing numbers of people who need food, water, clothing, shelter and space, perhaps slowing growth is the best news ever. The challenge, of course, is to find ways to meet the needs of an aging population, which likely has rising expectations for living standards and more. Getting the balance between producers and dependents just right is a challenge - for families and for societies. The magic weapon: increasing productivity while decreasing the number of workers needed and the resources consumed.

For the pre-modern period examined in this seminar, there are gains through applying more hands to the tasks and sometimes applying new techniques/materials to it. Trade facilitates some specialization which sometimes increases productivity. But even in the pre-modern period societies seem to hit limits to the carrying capacity of their land and other resources. One of the most interesting periods in Japan is the period from 1630 or so to 1800. Stay tuned for that discussion, but for now it does seem that Japanese families limited the size of their families in ways that ultimately led to greater sustainability and living standards.

Most of the time in the pre-modern era, population decline means something has gone badly wrong (devastation due to natural disasters, war, disease, crop failure are some of the possible factors). In the modern era, population decline also usually suggests a failure of one sort or another (war, disease, lowered life expectancy). Low population growth as we see in East Asia is generally because of increasing urbanization, higher education levels (especially for women), delayed marriage and reproductive choices. People in East Asia are living longer and better than ever. But planners worry that fewer working hands might end this positive trend. Finding routes to higher productivity, embracing lower resource demands or living standards are some solutions, some more acceptable than others.

In watching the presentations and reading through the articles, the themes of interconnectivity between China, Korea, and Japan- both historically and currently- are very apparent. Being able to look with students at current issues, then walking them back through history might help them contextualize modern issues and how they are connected to geography and history. Many are completely unaware of the basic geography of East Asia, so this will help. 
Also, the final questions of the first presentation, the focus on an aging population and how that may shift societial norms, is interesting in the context of decreasing life spans in the U.S. Anytime we can draw those comaparisons, it makes for interesting classroom discussion. 

Jennifer's made a great point about the links between the peoples of East Asia. There was a great flow and fluidity and we have had borders and assertions of distinctiveness for so long that we sometimes think that they must have always existed. The world as it now exists has boundaries that are sometimes contested, but organizations (e.g., UN) and events (e.g., Olympics) are controlled by and reaffirm the importance of nations, flags and belonging. In building "us", "we" often make a point of distinguishing ourselves from "they" and "them." This identity-business seems quite a part of our nature, a survival instinct we developed and remain attached to.

When the exchanges of long, long ago (thousands to hundreds of years ago) happened, there was no doubt an awareness of difference, but also an appreciation of similarity (even if the similarity was merely a love of particular goods or profit). What Jennifer gets at, though, is that all important fact that exchange and mixing that was and is there between peoples and teaching about it is essential.

I am a Chinese tutor, because the curriculum is designed to guide students to enhance their language communication skills. After watching your lectures, I thought that when students' Chinese proficiency reaches a certain level, I can design courses based on the knowledge of geography and population. The integration of language learning and historical and cultural learning should be a good course.

The videos and articles all addressed global population decline and birth rate has dropped dramatically over the past five years in China. In 2021, some provinces in China have the lowest birth rate since the year 1960. What's worse, demographers are predicting record lowest birth rate this year. If the current situation continues, the effects related to the nation's education will be significant. Many k-12 schools are worried they may not have enough students. I am thinking how I can help my students understand what drives an aging society and motivate them to discuss the advatages and challenges and impacts during the Mandarin class.