I stumbled upon the Asia for Educators website while looking for DBQ resources for a Chinese Dynasties review lesson. It turned out to be a big score! First of all the website has primary sources organized by time period for each of the Chinese dynasties, starting with the Shang period. Of course the earliest Chinese writing was done on bones (oracle bones) so, instead of a text document there are some pictures of oracle bones with script etched into them. All of the documents are in PDF form but the site allows cutting and pasting of the text if you want to pick and choose which excerpts you would like to use. This make it easy to create DBQ's because you don't have to retype everything. There is also a lot of source information and background history given to help the reader understand the documents.
If you want a broader view of East Asian history, this website doesn't disappoint. In addition to having a ton of great resources on China, the site also covers Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia as well. As with the China portion of the site, primary sources are included for each region and organized by time period.
I highly recommend this website, especially for AP World History teachers or teachers who specialize in East Asian history. The sources chosen for inclusion on the site are excellent and collectively, they tell a story about east Asian history that is engaging and fascinating.
Just click on the site name in the opening sentence of this review and you will be directed to the website.
Have fun learning about East Asia!
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