Session 10 - May 12

[Jennifer Macchiarella]

I too enjoyed the shirt with exam answers, and I found the Princeton encylopedia article enlighting in two ways, First, it was clear that the examinations were on classical materials, and not necessary specific skills or knowledge needed for the job.  Was there a math section? Did students have to demonstrate knowledge of current laws and regulations?  Demonstrate the ability to interact with the public?  While I support a liberal arts education that is tied to thinking skills, logic, general knowledge, and writing, I wonder what kind of on the job training was required for those in the civil service.  Second, I find the idea of the "eight-legged" essay similar to the five paragraph essay we teach in early writing classes.  While I don't ask my students to write poetically or require a certain number of syllables or lines, it is a somewhat rigid structure that we try to move beyond.  I wonder how much of this writing style is still present in Chinese education. My students from China are usually very good and logically organizing information but style and creativity are lacking, even when they are comfortable with academic English.  Our standardized tests often include an essay prompt about writing to the school board, or convincing parents of something, and making up answers on the spot is often difficult for them. 

[Miguel Diaz]

I read the Princeton piece on “Civil Service Examinations” by Benjamin A. Elman. I was really fascinated to learn how much of a central role the imperial examinations played in Chinese social and intellectual life from 650 to 1905. Elman stated that the examinations served as a glue that held together a nation under a uniform philosophical, cultural, and political framework. 

Examinations allowed for an elite literati culture to flourish, a pathway to politics and power, and a massive bureaucracy that unified people under a common goal. Although imperial exanimations were mainly reserved for men from families of means, women played a role in the examination ecosystem. Elman wrote that women, “…followed their own educational pursuits if only to compete in ancillary roles, either as girls competing for spouses or as mothers educating their sons.” In today’s China, mothers play a vital role in the education of their children. 

The most interesting aspects of the article were the challenges surrounding the examination system at the time of its demise. The examination system was under pressure from several forces. First, radical reformers (Neo-Confucianists) we’re pushing to eliminate what they perceive to be an outdated system. They wanted to implement reforms similar to those in Japan under the Meiji Restoration. Second, the leadership in China had to act because they were facing a series of rebellions from within, most notably, the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864). Third, China was under intense pressure from Western Imperialist powers.

The most interesting part of the Qing dynasty’s decision to eliminate the civil service examinations in 1904, was that they did not have a plan in place for a new schooling system. This decision by the Qing dynasty, according to Elman, “…undermined its longstanding partnership with gentry-merchant elites. The dynasty fell before a new schooling system could be put in place empire wide.”

The action of ending imperial examination system without a new schooling system reminds me of Mikhail Gorbachev’s Perestroika.

 

[Miguel Diaz]

As a teacher of English literature, I ask my students to pay close attention to the tone (and changes in tone) which can be observed, not only in literature, but in popular culture such as songs and film.

I taught tone a couple of months ago to my students while reading “Charlotte’s Web”.  We have moved on to other children’s novels since.

A student recently asked me, “When are we going to study tone again?”

“For the rest of your life,” I answered him.

The letter from Emperor Qianlong to George III is particularly harsh in tone. I have always understood that, as a rule, diplomatic and foreign policy démarches and communiqués are mainly civil, polished, and highly restrained. Yes, there are incidents when the leader or representative of a nation will say things such as, “We will bury you.” But for the most part, this type of language is avoided.

In the specific case of China, I have always understood that Chinese leaders carefully measure and consider their public words, especially when involved in diplomatic relations with other nations. (Of course, putting aside the ratcheted propaganda, and oftentimes pugnacious language, of Mao’s regime in specific and the communist era in general.)

I may be totally wrong in my assumptions here. I do not know enough about China to draw accurate conclusions. I am left with questions.

Did Chinese emperors (or their envoys) have a history sending harsh, and even mocking letters, to the leaders of other countries?

Was Emperor Qianlong’s letter a result of frustration in having to deal with an embassy from King George III that simply would not take no for an answer?

[Deirdre Harris]

What priorities and values are evident in the proclamations of the Hongwu Emperor? What philosophical ideas do they draw upon?  

Emperor Hongwu was a cruel, suspicious, and irrational leader. His priority was to promote good behavior and to punish bad behavior.  Wanting to rule his people "On A Budget" he seems to be implementing a horrible way of life for all of his people with his system of lijia, having the Elders police the villages, and watch people's comings and goings.  Asking the Elders to do their community service and police their own people, made for the legalist type of philosophy that we discusssed in earlier sessions.  

This would make everyone suspicious of everyone, and be just an awful, and oppressive way to have to exist.  He appears to have been possibly paranoid to some extent, and desperate to find a way to govern the people from the top, all the way down to the peasant farmer without having the manpower to do it.   

His life experience taught him that government corruption was the biggest evil that oppressed the poor peasant class.  Being that he came from this humble beginning himself, caused him to target government corruption at all levels was therefore the biggest priority of his reign.  He organized rural China into communities and this lijia organization asked Elders of households to watch the farmers, and peasants, and incentivize their good behavior. 

The Placards that were later posted to keep even the Elders in line, caused fear as well.  He seemed concerned with the way people would perceive him as a leader. 

His philosophy appears to be “legalist”, the philosophy that people are selfish so they must be ruled by clear laws & fear. This is shown by the passage “With the exception of the righteous person, the true gentleman, and the sage, no one is able to avoid the temptation of money."  He assumed people were bad by nature, and the proclamation was a scathing judgment by Hongwu of his people.  

He organized rural China into communities and this lijia organization asked Elders of households to watch the farmers, and peasants, and incentivize their good behavior. The communities were responsible for collecting taxes and report criminal activities.  The emphasis seemed to be on agricultural work, and he didn't want them to be disturbed. He believed their work was very important for growth and expansion. 

Not a fun society to live in by any means.  

[Johnny Walker]

Ebrey’s "Song: The Attractions of the Capital" is an absolutely wonderful read that inspired me to brainstorm a simulation and class project. I was imagining turning this chapter into a jigsaw reading exercise where students in small groups read, then plan and create “an experience” at their table for classmates who are visiting different neighborhoods of the capital. For instance, the first topic identifies various types of markets including rice, candy, herbs, and vegetables. Students could bring examples of each to demonstrate to their classmates on their “visit” to this section. Or, in the Commercial Establishments section, students could create a checklist of different professions and each “visitor” to that section has to pay a specific tax. While the descriptions of Wine Shops (students could use grape juice) and prostitution may make this more of a high school activity rather than a Middle School activity, there seem to be many opportunities to create simulations from the text, and expose students to a creative project that makes a game of what they might otherwise see as a dry piece of reading.  In the description of the Restaurants, it would be a lot of fun to actually find some of the food described in the text and expose our students to them- or show an example of a pickled pig’s foot. As the Tea Houses section demonstrates, many of these establishments are covers for other activities. And, in the Entertainment Centers station, teachers could help students set up video or audio that demonstrates the types of music, dance, puppet shows, or acrobatics described there. Descriptions of Dragon Boats also provides an opportunity for students to watch film or even engage in an engineering project. Finally, the description of “The Three Teachings” explains how Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism coexisted and played a harmonious role in society. While it may take some effort to present this simulation/game, I think it could result in an extremely fun and informative collection of evidence about the wealth, diversity, and customs that not only define the Song Dynasty, but reflect continuities and lasting understandings throughout Chinese history. And, it would be fun to challenge students to engage in a creative interpretation themselves.

[Johnny Walker]

I wanted to extend the possible uses of student engagement with the Marco Polo document. I love the suggestions that will engage students to discuss and argue whether Polo visited China or not, as well as arguments whether the effects of Polo outweigh the veracity of his travelogue.

I was also considering that it is an opportunity for students to discuss the reliability of a source and how to evaluate it. In addition to Polo’s text, there are probably contemporary accounts that demonstrate lies about an event. The Trump catalogue is especially fruitful here, whether it’s determining the veracity of claims of his inauguration crowd size, the letter from his doctor attesting to his fitness, or the claims of election stealing in 2020. Then, class discussions that relate the motivations for lying, the effects of lying, and the methods and duty of journalists and historians to expose those lies are put into sharper relief.

It’s also an opportunity to dismantle the Great Man theory of history and argue that it was not necessary for one man to travel the length of this global trade route because there were objects of material culture that could have told stories of faraway lands during that time if people had taken the time to look carefully. As we see in modern globalization, it is up to the curious consumer to determine how, where, and why their products were made. I use an NPR webquest that involves the journey of a tee shirt from idea and cotton seed to finished printed product. I was thinking of doing the same thing for a single silk robe that made its way to Rome in 1200 and trace its journey from a silkworm in a mulberry tree to being draped on a Roman’s body.

Finally, it would be an interesting exercise for students to write a fake/imagined travelogue to engage in the creative endeavor of both research, fiction-writing, and presenting. Then, other students would act as fact-checkers or journalists to uncover the “lies” in the fake travelogue through either exposing images in a students’ report as being taken from certain websites or finding descriptions being plagiarized from other sources. That could be a whole entire presentation itself. This activity would also serve as a learning experience about academic integrity, plagiarism, and how and why to cite and attribute sources. I also want my students to see how easy it is for teachers to spot blatant plagiarism.

[Johnny Walker]

The more I am exposed to Chinese history, I’m reflecting on how much of China’s culture and history reflects the domination of “non-Chinese”. I had only thought of 20^th century Japanese imperialism and 19^th century British imperialism as being examples of foreign domination before taking this course. However, as I reflect upon different periods of Chinese history, I see an ever present continuity of foreign influence. Buddhist influence reflects a strong foreign ideological imprint upon a millennium of Chinese society. Likewise, the reliance upon Muslim merchants to transport and exchange Chinese goods reflects a “foreign” economic reliance although China stood at the economic center of the hemisphere. The Yuan dynasty certainly represents rule by a “non-Chinese” source. While the Mongols and Khans certainly appropriated “Chinese” structures and cultural elements, they were outsiders who left their mark on the “nation”. Similarly, the Qing Dynasty are Manchus, so their rule could also be viewed as “outsiders”. I’ve also recalibrated my sense of Maoism as being as anti-colonialist or anti-imperialist as I had previously thought. While certainly liberating of Japanese forces and espousing Chinese nationalism, communism’s adoption initially placed China’s role as a “little brother” to the dominant paternal foreign Soviet model. Likewise, the economic liberalization since the late 1970s and growth of manufacturing has placed China in service of American corporations and consumers. This seems to reflect a continuing subordinated status or at least a conformation to foreign economic influence. I’m curious then, why does the 19^th century stand as a “Century of Humiliation”? The “open and closed” status of China does not seem to be ever truly “closed” to foreign dominance. Foreign influence seems rather to be varying degrees of nonconsensual political, economic, and cultural intercourse.

[Johnny Walker]

I am continually delighted to be exposed to ideas here that stimulate my learning. I am extremely grateful to have access to Professor Dube’s slide decks and have the opportunity to study the sources and ideas there. One idea that jumped out at me was “Occidentalism”. I have studied the Western racist ideas including 19th and 20th century European and American fascination with what Said labeled, "Orientalism". However, I hadn’t been exposed to the term, “Occidentalism” to describe the Eastern fascination or fetishization of the West. Is there a similar negative association with this movement? Or, do power dynamics of east and west change the moral equivocation of western fascination with the east as different from eastern fascination with the west?  In slide number 14, there is an example of the palatial Forbidden City as containing elements of “Occidentalism”. This made me consider assumptions I have made about cultural appropriation. I’m curious about learning more about this idea and the relative nature of racism. What kinds of discussions are there about cultural appropriation as being benign examples of diffusion, syncretism and sharing versus racist attempts to fetishize, objectify, colonize or subjugate other cultures.  Are there debates and awareness in modern China, Korea, or Japan about racism within their societies and the types of historical studies that expose or dismantle those ideas?

[Taylor Bub]

I think it speaks to the intelligence of the leaders of the Qing dynasty that they were able to maintain control of China for such a long time.   Clayton spoke about the accommodations the Qing dynasty made for other cultures within their rule.  Some things that stuck out to me were things like being more accepting of Tibetin Buddhist monks, and maintaining the same tax system that was already in place.  These things helped businesses not be interrupted by the change in rulership.   I did find it interesting that, while they seemed so accommodating, they also encouraged (if not required) men to shave their heads and wear their hair in braids, and I wonder if this created any kind of negative reaction from the Chinese people.

[Todd Rutley]

The 2002 book by Gavin Menzies titled “1421: The Year China Discovered America” is TOTAL FICTION deliberately portrayed as non-fiction to increase book sales (see Fritze in references).  However, Menzies books have sold over 1 million copies and his theories are considered factual by many people. It has also been sold in the history/non-fiction category to add to the confusion.  

The ideas in Menzies book have been popularized in PBS videos on global exploration that some of your students may have seen.  Some of my students have seen these videos, read Menzies books, and fully believed his theory.

The Menzies theory has been debunked by the UCLA Professor of History Richard von Glahn and other many academics. However, despite academic criticism which only academics read, Menzies ideas are very popular on the internet.

Ming Dynasty Sea Voyages Influence China’s Territorial Claims Today

Professor Dube noted in the Ming Dynasty presentation that Zheng He’s voyages throughout South-East Asia are used by China today to support its territorial claims in the South China Sea. 

If China’s explorations of the South China Seas justify its territorial claims there, should the claims that China discovered the Americas justify a Chinese territorial claim over North America? Are we all living on Chinese land without leaving America? (Menzies followers would say yes)

You probably think this idea sounds like nonsense, but China’s current territorial claims over 95% of the South China Sea are comparably nonsensical. 

Conclusion

Whether the Menzies theory is pure fiction or only 95% fiction, many people believe it and his ideas are circulating on the internet. Therefore, as teachers, I think it is important to understand these idea and to be prepared to deal with them in class.   

As Professor Dube noted in video #1, remember “contingency/serendipity” because history is not deterministic and many paths are possible depending on choices made or circumstances.

My opinion is that ideas motivate national choices and actions that make history, and bad ideas have had at least or more influence than good ideas.     

South China Sea Background

Despite the obvious fact that the South China Sea borders many countries (Vietnam, The Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia) that all have legal claims to part of the Seas under the rules of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), China claims that all the Sea is its inherent territory.  China makes a similar claim over the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyudao) in the East China Sea that were formally annexed by Japan in 1879 (and occupied by the Satsuma domain far earlier).

References

https://vegas.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/e27de4d3-c939-4d55-ab55-2dc300db99ff/zheng-he/

https://vegas.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/vtl07.la.rv.text.zhengii/the-voyage-of-zheng-he-ii/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavin_Menzies

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/ancient-chinese-explorers/

Books

The Economic History of China: From Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century. Richard von Glahn (2016)

https://www.international.ucla.edu/china/article/10387

http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/china_1000ce_mingvoyages.htm

Invented Knowledge False History, Fake Science and Pseudo-religions By Ronald H. Fritze. 2009. See pages 96-103

https://maritimeasia.ws/topic/1421bunkum.html

How China Could Have Conquered The World When China Ruled The Waves https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4YEADagu0o

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[Tara Corral]

I was looking at your response Taylor as well as Johnny Walkers response in the post prior and it did make me think about how China may not have been completely focused on its own Chinese Lifestyle the entire time. 
you mentioned how the Qing dynasty accomadated multiple cultures and people such as the Tibetan Buddhist Monks, but then we also have China being ruled by the Mongols and how they incorporated their own practices as well as kept some Chinese practices as they moved into their capital. So it makes me wonder if the reason that China was able to be so succsseful and a dominant power in the East was due to its acceptance of other people and their traditions. We already know that Buddhism was accepted quite easily as well as Christianity by women so therefore was China just smart in accepting what they knew they couldnt change or stop. 

[Guadalupe Moreno]

I too found it intresting of the Qing dynasty to maintain certain costums and accomodate for the culture prior to the new rule. From my studies, many who overtrhow a dynasty/kingdom/rulere/etc. tend to demolish and remove prior cutoms to show who is now in control. The prior cultrue is not longer the way and thus it has to be removed so acceptance as you mentioned does speak of the intelligence of the Qing leaders which allowed them to be successful. 

[Guadalupe Moreno]

I did not expect for foot binding to be brought up in this course but it is an intresting and painful time for womenin Chinese culture. During the Song Dynasty the idea of feet binding started to emerge and lasted for centuries. Feet binding was a sign of wealth and beauty due to this practice only being for Elite women, mostly those in the North. I am not sure how this can come into play in my classroom, perhaps advisory but it is an intresting time to learn about. There is many articles, documentaries on the last generation, plus a book called Bound. The book is more a Chinese inspired "Cinderella" but throughout the book, it talks about the foot binding process and the terrible pain the young women went through. This is certainly one way to place the impression of the process and the form women were now limited during those time. 

[Melina Melgoza]

I appreciate your thoughts on religion in public schools. I was a product of K-12 LAUSD schools, and I remember my favorite topic being about religion and to be honest, I never felt that I was learning religion through a "proselytizing approach." But, rather I always felt like my teachers took a historical approach, which I really truly appreciate, now retrospectively. I think setting norms at the beginning with the class, like you did, is important in making sure there is not confusion when you talk about religion. 

I think the same thought process happens when talking about politics, I make sure to encourage dialogue and remind them that I will not share my beliefs, but rather play devil's advocate often...just for the purpose of dialogue. We have some really great conversations, and I think that when students feel comfortable sharing their beliefs and arguing for their beliefs, they are actually more open to hearing about other's beliefs as well. 

This can get tricky, sometimes we talk about the Stonewall Riots or the Gay Liberation Front, they are both critical historical moments, and often times it is possible that because of religious beliefs, or other reasons, students may not always feel comfortable with that. But, if we do it through a historical perspectives, more often than not, students are very open to learning about anything and everything.

[Melina Melgoza]

I found this to be particular as well. I think they had to be very meticulous about balancing needs/wants/community expectations. There is a reason they were able to maintain rule for so long. It was very interesting that they were indeed accepting about certain cultural and religious aspects,  while stringent on other aspects of life, like their hair. Again, I find that there needed to be a balance in order to maintain order. While stringency was necessary, according to them, a certain level of acceptance also allowed some sense of community.

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