session 12 readings (5/8)

[Anonymous]

Proverb 15: "Those who accord with Heaven are preserved; those who rebel against Heaven perish. "
In this proverb, Heaven must be a metaphor of emperor. Emperor has the supreme power. People obeying him could survive or they would die. Ancient Chinese rulers did have too much power. They ruled the country and people. I would ask students read a few emperors in Chines history and compare 2 of them about their ruling of the country.

[Anonymous]

The one thing that I truly appreciate about this institute is the abundance of resources (i.e., primary and secondary) that are provided for each lesson. Like many teachers, once something is available, I am more likely to use it right away. I have already downloaded all the readings into a folder to do some further summer reading. For that, I want to say "thank you."

[Anonymous]

The letter to King George intrigued me because it was so graciously unaccommodating! I loved the stately tone in which Emperor Qianlong shut King George down! As far as teaching this to my students, they would have a hard time getting through the roundabout prose down to what the Emperor is trying to say to King George. As an English teacher, I'm always thinking about how to teach style to my students. Perhaps replicating the language to write their own letter would be a good exercise. Perhaps doing the opposite and taking this letter and simplifying it would be a good idea too?

[Anonymous]

I found this account to be very compelling. The whole account dedicated to young people in hopes that this would "wake them up." The author believes that they have grown "lax" due to the blessing of peace. I wonder if this can be connected to a larger unit of remembrance. There are a lot of first person survivor accounts on the web, both written and audiovisual. It would be a good exercise to determine themes and connective threads between these.

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed the class discussion on Marco Polo, trying to separate fact from fiction. Just because MP never mentioned the Great Wall, foot binding or tea doesn't mean he never went to China, right? The Wall wasn't the tourist attraction it is now, and he might not have been in the right place at the right time to observe that other stuff first hand. No one knows for sure, but his "journey" has made for great historiographical tug-of-war.

[Anonymous]

The Qing required that Han Chinese wear the queue beginning in the early 17th century. This hairstyle, short in the front with a long ponytail in the back, signified Han submission to Qing rule. There was a saying among the Qin, "Not shave your forehead and lose your head, or shave your forehead and keep your head." This hairstyle was a common sight among the Chinese who immigrated to California during the Gold Rush. Even in United States, Chinese would loyally wear the queue, which reminds me of a local history feature I worked on when I was in television news.

There is a remote gravesite not far from the oil town of McKittrick in Kern County that is the final resting place of an unknown Chinese man that is dated 1907. The grave simply says "Chinaman," which speaks to the racial standards of the time. As the story was told to me by a local historian, a drunk white man assaulted the Chinese man and cut off his queue. The Chinese man killed the man with a cleaver in retaliation. However, the townsfolk, exhibiting the kind of frontier justice not uncommon in those days, killed the Chinese man and buried him in the same grave with the man he killed.

[Anonymous]

I agree that we would never truely know whether MArco Polo was in China, but I do think about what was popular and frequnet during those times which was to annotate all of your findings escpecially as someone who was seeking adventures. Although we might never truely know, I think that the educated guess is pretty darn close to the truth. But, a guess is that, just a guess, educated or not!

[Anonymous]

Manchu Hairstyle
When the Manchus took over China, they demanded loyalties from their subjects by requiring them to have a certain hairstyle. Those who complied will be rewarded and considered loyal. Did the Manchus think that forcing the Chinese to have this hairsyle would make them cooperate? They might have done it because they had no choice, but once the empire fell, most of the Chinese got rid of them, showing that rules unjustly imposed will not last.
edited by ahuynh on 6/18/2017

[Anonymous]

Marco Polo
Marco Polo have always been taught when ever China was mentioned. I thought that it was fascinating that the Chinese records does not show that this was 100% accurate. This would need to be addressed because students need to be aware of such problems and think why Marco Polo was not mentioned in China, but in other literature. I would have the students create a game now Marco Polo and his travels.

[Anonymous]

I found the discussion of this period very interesting, and I like how it was juxtaposed with the current Chinese leadership's vision for what their China Dream is; to be a hub at the center of the world, radiating their economy outward. It was interesting to learn about all the chaos of war and leadership changes that happened in China from basically the 900's to the 1900's. 1000 years! The USA has only been around for, what, less than 250 years? To think that your culture has that much history behind it really must affect how you think about the past and what's possible.

[Anonymous]

I thought the discussion about the mongol's taking over china, and then the debate about weather Marco Polo ever did actually visit China was something that could definitely be used in a classroom. Difficult in a math class, but for History, or even English, to discuss what evidence means, and how to use it to support or contradict a point, is really useful. And, it's a topic that kids would be into, they know who Marco Polo is, so learning something new about this fabled person is very engrossing. Plus, honing one's debate skills is important to be able to think critically.

[Anonymous]

The idea of Marco Polo every reaching China is something I discuss with my students during the China Unit. It is a great topic of discussion and I appreciate Professor Dube discussing this because it gave me more insight into the conversation I can have with my students. I also feel that whether he did go or not, he is the one that brought the ideas and inventions into Europe. Many Europeans, such as Columbus used Marco Polo as a motivator for more exploration. I believe he helped create the "Age of Exploration".

[Anonymous]

I really wonder why that style of hair was what the Manchu's used when taking over China. I understand the idea behind the control and knowing what "Chinese" was loyal to the new government, but that is a very interesting hair style. It is a good topic to start a conversation with the students about what kind of things the students do today to "conform" to society and what is acceptable here. We can talk about "styles" in the United States and other parts of the world.

[Anonymous]

I read the article that spoke about how hair was used to display loyalty to the Manchu people. Thus, hair became a sign of rebellion for those who did not want to pledge their loyalty to the Manchu people. The quote "lose your hair or lose your head" basically summed it up. This article reminded me of another article I read about hair regarding the Aztec warrior society. The top of the head was regarded as the source of ones "Tonalli," or ones energy. Warriors would take the hair or scalp their opponents to take their hair. I don't think the Manchu had the same attitude toward hair, but it makes for an interesting comparison.

[Anonymous]

*Session 12 Late Imperial China
I found it interesting to learn about the controversy over whether Marco Polo really did go to China. He didn’t mention anything about tea, the great wall, and women’s feet binding. This however does not necessarily mean he didn’t really go. This would be a great topic for students to build some critical thinking skills.

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