session 11 (4/27 afternoon) Clayton Dube Qing dynasty and course summary

[clay dube]

In our last session, we'll look at the conquest of China by the Manchus and how they incorporated the Ming Dynasty into their empire. The Qing empire, established by the Manchus in 1644 and expanded in subsequent decades, is the geography largely claimed by the Republic and then the People's Republic in the 20th and now 21st century. We'll discuss its distinctive history and legacy. In your web posts, please discuss the primary and secondary sources or share ideas on how ideas from this era might be introduced to students.

Required readings:

primary sources
Lan Dingyuan Casebook (the challenges a magistrate confronted)
Village Headman and the New Teacher (from a satirical novel)
Qianlong Emperor (1711-1799) Writes to King George (III, 1738-1820)

optional secondary sources
Perdue, "The Expansion of the Qing Dynasty of China and the Zunghar State" -- free online at: http://oxfordre.com/asianhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277727-e-7
Baranovitch, "Others No More - Non-Han People's in Chinese History Textbooks, 1951-2003"
Zhu, "Yongzheng - the television show"

required news articles
Bell, "The Manchu Language is Nearly Extinct" (audio + text)
BBC, "Yanxi Palace: the most Googled show on Earth" (and you should sample a couple minutes of the series)

please browse
Imagining China: The View from Europe, 1500-1700 and the Children's Section
Chinese television report on "Edo and Beijing" exhibition in Beijing

Edo, The Kidai Shoran(picture scroll depicting the prosperity of the Nihonbashi district)(details),1805
Museum of Asian Art,Berlin

Beijing, The Qianlong Emperor’s eightieth birthday celebrations(details),1797
The Palace Museum,Beijing,China

 

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[Ricardo Reyes]

It is truly amazing to know that the Manchu Language is out of favor and was once the language of the emperors of China who originated and came from the north. The last Chinese emperor ruled until 1911 and now the Manchu comprise 10 percent of the Chinese population of 1.3 billion while the Han are the remaining 90%. Efforts to preserve the Manchu language are fighting an uphill struggle as there are very few first language speakers. An abundance of translated historical documents in the Manchu language will lose meaning and significance in the complex and varied historical roots of the Chinese nation. There is a strong predilection to allow the Manchu language to simply go extinct. An essential question is raised as to how to preserve a dying language if it is not used on a daily basis? Is it possible to record it digitally and use dialogue recordings and linguistic maps to maintain an encyclopedic text? What is the projected disappearance of this language and what other dying languages are there in present day China? This is a dumbfounding event among so many others of a rapidly evolving world where culture, traditions, and natural resources are diminishing only to never return. 

This is a website detailing the nearing extinction of ancient languages: https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/nine-worlds-most-endangered-languages-0011455

One of these endangered languages is the Ainu of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. There are probably hundreds or perhaps thousands more which are fading away. 

[Ricardo Reyes]

It was suggested to watch two minutes of this Chinese series. Well, I have made it through the 3rd series of the first part and am hooked. This period piece series transports me to that era of the last imperial dynasty in China ruled by the Manchurian ethnicity. They ruled strong handed over the Han people. The concubines, harem, and royal court are portrayed in fine detail with a convincing and lyrical dialogue. The intriguing drama of conceit, deceit, envy, and skulduggery is very captivating. Most of the scenes are within the royal palace and the epic historical events are referenced sparingly. The emphasis is on the intricate machinations and envy plottings of a female dominated cast with the emperor seemingly in control although he at times loses his cool and resorts to power tantrums. Check this series out as you might go binge watching soon enough. 

[Marcos Rico]

I can see a parallel on the fate of the Manchu's language to what is happening to many Native American languages. A couple of months ago I showed my students a video about the Kumeyaay and how they are currently working hard to save their language and traditions. In California, over the past couple hundred years the Spanish, Mexican and United States governments have tried to make the Kumeyaay assimilate into the main culture and to give up their traditions and ways of life. They almost succeded because most of the Kumeyaay no longer speak their Native Language, only some of the elders still speak it fluently.  The political boundaries have separated the Kumeyaay into opposite sides of the U.S.A- Mexico border, but somehow their culture has managed to survive in Baja California. In the video that I showed my class, it talked about an unique approach to rescue their language. They would host a summer camp for young Kumeyaay from both sides of the border. They would purposely pair up a kid who spoke Spanish and Kumeyaay with another who spoke English and Kumeyaay. This would encourage them to use their only common language, Kumeyaay in order to communicate with each other. 

I think it would be great for my students to read both articles and to make comparisons about the fate of both languages.

Here is a link to one of the articles:

https://www.wilderutopia.com/traditions/kumeyaay-people-traditions-survive-in-baja-california/

 

[Amy Chen]

Growing up Chinese, I haven’t heard about Manchus in school or from my family until 2008 when my mom and sister visited Macau. Now reading the article about the Manchu language is nearly extinct, I’m not entirely surprised. The culture and language is overlooked by Han Chinese. According to the article, the Manchu language which is the “soul of a culture” is slowly becoming extinct. Written language throughout China is standardized even though there are many different spoken dialects. Machu written language is very different. With less and less people studying written Manchu, the core of the language is threatened. There is little interest to study the language because there is no professional gain to know it.  Cao Meng, a language professor at Shenyang Normal University, states that Manchu is the largest ethnic population therefore their language should not die out. There are few language schools where a teacher plays pop music for her students to learn the language. The teacher who knows more Manchu than her student’s parents. This is both sad and fascinating to me as as foreign language teacher.

[Gerlinde Goschi]

I was slightly surprised to read that there is no interest in learning Manchu or advocating for its survival.  The 26 year old lawyer, Chen, felt this about Manchu:"My personal opinion is that we should let it be, because some languages will slowly fade away," Chen replied matter-of-factly. "I don't think we should do something to intentionally preserve them. What will die out, will finally fade away."  As a child, I listened to many conversations of adults in the neighborhood, often these were about the importance of preserving a language.  The elderly of the neighborhood saw it their duty to speak their native tongue with their children in order to ensure its survival.  I grew up with many languages.  It was the norm.  The elderly in my the neighborhood of my childhood would be insulted by this comment.  They would scold this young man and tell him he does not know what he is saying.  Times have changed though. The professor in the aticle makes a very valid and solid argument for preserving Manchu.  Books are huge treasures, and since there are quite a few still available containing precious information, it would be a great loss if no one was able to read these or no one was around to teach the language.  The lawyer mentions that he is captivated by the legacy of the Qing Dynasty but not interested in its language, Manchu.  Can the two be separated?  Isn't Manchu an important part of the Qing Dynasty? Shouldn't the language be an essential part of the study of a dynasty?  These would be good questions to ask students and ask them to debate in class.  It would make an interesting period.

 

[Gerlinde Goschi]

Hi Marcos!  I like the idea for a lesson comparing th articles.  It is an interesting topic. The Kumeyaay existence in Baja for at least 1,300 years is important history, not only to Californians, but to all.  It is also a great lesson to teach students the importance to pass on a language to the younger generation.  The parallels to Manchu make a great Venn diagram project for a small group. After the compare & contrast analysis, students could either present their findings to the entire class or have a discsussion about what they thought.

[Gerlinde Goschi]

I was curious to find out what is the Manchuria of our discussions and reading today in class, in China today?  HIstory books call it Manchuria.  We learned to name it Manchuria as well.  I came across an article entitled "A Brief History of Manchuria" (https://www.thoughtco.com/where-is-manchuria-195353) and read that the Manchu people themselves and the Chinese do not use the term Manchuria, but call it "the Northeast" or the "Three Northeast Provinces."  These are known as Guandong (means "east of the pass").  In the English name remains Manchuria.  I remember Dr. Dube mentioning this in one of our classes.

[Brenda-Jean Shephard]

It's fairly depressing to read this exerpt from a novel written more than 500 years ago, in which a teacher is underpaid for a challenging assignment in which the pupils turn out to be mischievous ("The children were a wild lot.  The moment Zhou Zin took his eyes off them, they slipped outside to play hopscotch and kick balls"--sounds like my students today!).  This is especially alarming, considering that we teachers stereotype Asian students as the most serious about their studies...

[Scott Craig]

I was curious about this show after the comments that were made in the session. Your review has made me really want to check it out. I was happy to find out it is on Amazon Prime, so I will be watching episode 1 tonight. I've been looking for a good drama to binge..thank you.

[Scott Craig]

I actually found the exerpt somewhat comforting because it proves once again that human nature is human nature regardless of time or culture. I do see how it can also be depressing though, because we all have those students/classes that try our patience and get on our last nerve. Another reason it was somewhat depressing is that teachers have been underpaid for over 500 years....will that ever change?

[Scott Craig]

I really enjoyed seeing the pictures and video inside the forbidden city. It was interesting to see how they incorporated religious beliefs in their architecture. I was also fascinated by the symbolism with the numbers and would actually like to do more research on that. The lecture inspired me to search out other videos on YouTube about the forbidden city. I would like to come up with some lessons for my AP World class next year about the forbidden city.

[Kim Leng]

When I read Bell’s article, the lawyer’s apathy regarding the Manchu language struck a nerve inside me. He said, “My personal opinion is that we should let it be, because some languages will slowly fade away. I don't think we should do something to intentionally preserve them. What will die out, will finally fade away." I don’t know why it bothered me so much that someone would say that about a language.  Especially a language from a very long-lasting dynasty that is very much a part of Chinese history.   I’m not a language expert, but I prefer professor Wei’s response: "If Manchu dies out so much will be lost. Language is the soul of a culture. People would never truly understand Manchu culture and history."

Before reading this article, I did not know that there was a Manchu language or that less than 100 people in the world can read it!  And according to language professor Cao Meng, there are many useful materials that will be lost.  Materials that include traditional medicine.

I think this topic would make a great argumentative essay assignment.  Is preserving a dying language of any value?

[Dan Thalkar]

Simiarly to many of my classmates, I was struck by the impending disappearance of the Manchu language. Language tells us so much about a people, and is, particularly in cases of conquest and colonization, a deeply political project. As such, preserving (or not) languages is never just about the words; it's about the people, the current climate, cultural values, and how history is currently constructed, among many other things. I am sure students would be engaged in debating the ideas from Bell's article, as well as the deeper issues of how language is used as a tool of power.  

[Dan Thalkar]

Marcos,

Thank you for sharing these resources and ideas. I didn't know about the Kumeyaay, but am now intrigued and excited to incorporate this into my class. I think it can also be extended to connect with the challenges many indigenous communities around the world are facing as they struggle to preserve their languages. It could be interesting to extend this further and have students develop a proposal for an international organization, such as the U.N., regarding what they can do to help preserve these languages and cultures. 

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