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AnonymousSession 12- Late Imperial China
Clayton Dube talked about many things in session 12 and as always, I gathered new information and ideas for my classes. The topic that stood out to me and was of the most interest was Marco Polo and the question-did he even go to China? For those that believe he did not go, there are questions that arise concerning the legitimacy of the accounts. For example, if he was there why did he not talk about tea? Tea is served at every meal and is a staple of the Chinese culture. Other concerns arise in the fact that he did not mention The Great Wall or foot binding. Historians believe he did go to China because of his details of the country and the spot on descriptions. Some of the counter arguments from historians suggest that tea may not have been served as regularly during this time period because it was expensive and a luxury. They note that the women who had their feet bound were from more prominent families and would not be out in the streets and common places mixing with travelers. As far as The Great Wall and having never mentioned it, perhaps he was not in that area of China and did not see it. Clayton suggested and I agree that the Marco Polo question would be a great question to give to students and have them explore and ponder the different points of view. I would have to make modifications for my classes but this would be a fun lesson!
AnonymousOne challenge of making learning about other historical periods & places accessible to students is helping them to see the similarities between their culture & the "other". The examples of looking the Chinese contracts would be a useful comparison/contrast with their own experiences.
Also the detective work in determining whether or not Marco Polo visited China would be a useful activity to support the standard of providing support for arguments. Many students might have some familiarity with Marco Polo through pop culture. I would have the students take a position on whether he did or did not visit China then go on a scavenger hunt finding info to support their opinion citing the sources properly in MLA format. They would also have to evaluate the source's credibility. They may also refute the evidence supporting the opposing viewpoints & why that argument lacks merit.
The Letter to George III from Emperor Qianlong was an interesting read. In it's elegance, it is clear that the emperor finds the idea of a British ambassador and established trade with Europe repulsive. The diplomatic customs requiring those that come to dress and speak according to traditional Chinese customs while forbidding the person from leaving is a good starting point for debate. The belief in Chinese superiority is evident throughout the points the emperor makes (whether it be for the distaste for the inferiority of European goods, the inconsistent customs of the various European nations rather than the cohesiveness of the Chinese which the emperor intends to protect at all costs). It might be a good example of how others viewed the British & Europe in general as a comparison to how the American colonists were viewing Great Britain around the same time & how those viewpoints evolved over time.
edited by cmccarty on 5/17/2016
edited by cmccarty on 5/17/2016
AnonymousThe topic that stood out to me during Professor Dube's lecture was his lecture on when Matteo Ricci and his Jesuits arrived to Beijing to convince and convert the Chinese to Christianity. I was very interested to learn that the Jesuits use geography to get the Chinese's attention (Ricci's map of the world). Also, to learn that the Jesuits' mastery of astronomy won favor on the Chinese. Their efforts to spread the word did have some success as some Chinese did embrace and converted to Christianity. I was also very interested on the theory of whether or not Marco Polo ever visited China. This is something I want to explore and research more to make my own conclusion on whether Marco Polo did visit China. Finally, I was intrigued on the sample contracts Professor Dube provided. The contract for the purchase of a concubine surprises me. I know that concubines date back to the biblical era or even before then; however, I never thought you would need a contract. I thought it was something men did and no one question it including his wife. It was very surprising and interesting to learn that there was a contract involved.
edited by cseman on 6/8/2016
AnonymousWhat a great idea in implementing whether or not Marco Polo visited China in your classroom! Although I teach second graders, I can incorporate a lesson on introducing several explorers, and focus on the theory on how some believe Marco Polo did not visit China. This allows students to research and make conclusions on their own to determine whether it is true or not by using evidence from their research. Great idea!
AnonymousProfessor Dube provided us with a lot of information on our last session. Several interesting topics and questions arose, such as whether or not Marco Polo visited China raised various curiosities. Researching the various facts to come to possible conclusions will not only be interesting, but also engaging for students. Another topic that students will find interesting is the definition of a concubine and the contract for the purchase of concubines. Personally, I was aware of some facts of concubines but learning about the contract of purchase was all new to me.
In addition, learning about Matteo Ricci and his attempt to convert the Chinese to Christianity was definitely something I did not know. Since I plan to do a cross curricular lesson plan with the history teachers on my campus, incorporating this aspect and religion in general will be enlightening to our students. We can definitely create many different individual and group activities based on this subject.
edited by jtang on 6/9/2016
edited by jtang on 6/9/2016
edited by jtang on 6/9/2016
AnonymousThe final seminar by Clay Dube presented a wrap up to the seminar series, and attempted to bring us forward toward 1800. Much of the focus was on the period known as "late Imperial China" and we discussed the current relevance/questionable evidence of Marco Polo. Hangzhou became one of the capital cities, and went beyond the typical administrative capital. Commercial markets flourished in the city and it further became a cultural capital (festivals, food, etc.). In effect, Hanzhou became a vibrant epicenter of Chinese civilization with advancement in modern living. During the presentation and the reading of the Ming Dynasty documents, demonstrates a formalized structure of contracts among commoners. A way for decentralization and how common people can negotiate and settle differences. I found the template structure that can easily be filled out by all parties to the transaction to be an interesting way to pass on the responsibility for self-governance to the less educated population (landlord/tenant, marriages, management of public officials, real estate sales, loans, purchasing livestock, purchase of a concubine, adoption). The documents were law, and I found it surprising how simple the templates are to fill out. Reminds me of some of today's legal documents that can be purchased online.
The Hongwu Emperor issues an edict (Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook by Patricia Ebrey). Trying to control the government officials from corruption and evil acts, the emperor takes an interesting approach. The approach is one that espouses ideas with the threat of punishment. He uses his own personal experience as a commoner and how he rose to become emperor. He also explains his personal thoughts as to how he will punish, and then how he will be regarded as a tyrant for acting in the best interest of the people. The Qing era documents are mostly historical texts about the take over from the previous rulers. The document regarding lineage rules is also interesting when it comes to how land was distributed and passed down to future generations. The one document that I found unique and that I would like to share with my students, is the philosophical text "Proverbs About Heaven." There is a list of 34 proverbs that in many ways can be used to teach students analysis of text. SAY-MEAN-MATTER (students can use the analysis approach to each proverb). Using a proverb from the list can be a good way to introduce a speech or writing assignment.
Anonymoushttp://china.usc.edu/emperor-qianlong-letter-george-iii-1793
The letter from Emperor Qianlong of China to King George III of England is an interesting one. I personally found it somewhat amusing, and yet another example of imperialist desires of the British. The letter is not lengthy, and I believe it can be used in a shorter ELA unit for letters/letter writing, or during a imperialism/colonization unit that I share with the 10th grade World History teacher. Students could use a crude graphic organizer to pull the "counterarguments" put forward by the emperor, as well as take into consideration the arguments put forward by the king of England. The letter is diplomatic, although at the end it is obvious that the emperor is not happy with the British ambassador's requests for an island for British merchants, request for a permanent representative appointed to the Chinese court, a separate area away from Aomen for the merchants, and the missionary/request for the spread of Christianity. The emperor waits until the end to unveil a threat if his decree is not respected by the king.
AnonymousI believe our final lecture was led by Professor Dube and he discussed four Chinese dynasties leading all the way to the 1800s. However, as others mentioned, one of the most interesting stories was that of Marco Polo. For example, I was not aware that the Chinese never wrote about Marco Polo, and that many argued about his actual existence. Also, how foreigners accept his stories to be true despite missing important information. This was critical for me as an educator, because it reminds me to question the validity of what I read and not just accept everything at face value. I appreciate this reminder, because I mention this to my students, but i caught myself falling into this bad habit. We also learned about the involvement of Christianity and the Jesuits in China, but I think that many lessons can be taught using the Marco Polo story and have students making claims using evidence. Lastly, I can also see use of the forms that were used during the Ming Dynasty from the reading, [font=MinionPro]Ebrey, Patrica Buckley, ed. Chinese Civilization: 50 Commercial Activities. These documents also provide insight into what was important during the time period, and I think students can use these forms as a guide to create important documents for current important issues.[/font]
AnonymousThis class session was a eye opener to how Hollywood redistributes Asian History in movies and films and replicates what we know about the facts.
We discussed Marco Polo and if he ever really was in China, outside of what we know of the stories retold about about Marco Polo and the different ways that it has been recounted in film and media.
The same was true about the end of the dynasty which was recounted in the film The Last Emperor. There are stories here that are for many the first and only way they are drawn to the history and story if the western worlds and we must understand and know that this is a factual representation of the people and places which seem so far away from us.
AnonymousSession 12, we talked about Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty. We talked about the theories that Marco Polo did or didn’t go to China. We also went over some of commercial activities contracts. We read through mortgaging a house and selling a son for adoption. Really sad to hear how business was conductive but another interesting fact that I was not aware of.
Proverbs of Heaven was interesting to read. I already thought of having students come up with poems and creating landscape painting using ink. In order to make the lesson easier I could have students choose from these proverbs, copy it in Chinese and create a landscape or image that best goes with this proverb.
AnonymousReview of Ethnic Minority Groups in China developed by Waka Takahashi Brown with contributions by Robin Tsai. This book was given to me at the end of Session 12 and it is a good resource to have. It is a curriculum binder that has 5 unit lessons for elementary and secondary schools. The units will help students examine the minority groups in Asian countries. The units are broken down into the Notions of Identity, The Hui, The Tibetans, The Mongols and The Miao. This is a good resource to have because it comes with handouts, slides and graphic organizers for those of you who are interested in purchasing it. Here is the link below
AnonymousThis is completely unrelated to this thread but I didn't want to start a new one. Participating in this course has made an impact in my life. Now I get excited when there is mention of anything related to Asia. For example, for Father's day my family and I took a tour of the Gamble House in Pasadena. This home was built in the early 1900's for David and Mary Gamble of the Procter & Gamble Company. David and Mary enjoyed travels to Asia and were particularly fond of Japan. Through out the home you will find their family crest which is a crane and a rose. This sparked my interest knowing that the crane takes a large role in Asian symbolism. Soon after, the tour guide began pointing out the Japanese aesthetics of the Gamble house explaining the Gamble's enjoyment of Asian elements. In the attic of the home is a nice ancient display of several tsuba (decorative samurai sword hand guards). There are also some asian artifacts displayed in some of the Gamble display cases.
AnonymousI unfortunately was unable to attend this lecture, but the readings for this session were very insightful and will definitely be useful for the classroom. I especially appreciated the primary sources on commercial activities, in that the sources would be accessible for my school students to read and make inferences from. It also is a great way to show what merchants sold/traded/exchanged during the Ming dynasty, and how commercial activities were done such as buying a house, hiring workers, forming business partnerships, etc. A good extension activity to have students apply their knowledge with this would be having them create their own commercial activity ad, based on what they read. Prior to this, one could have students work in groups/stations reading the different commercial activities, and create guiding questions to make sure students are held accountable. I would also search the internet for pictures I could add to this activity.
AnonymousThe proverb reading would also be very useful for students to interact with. I would give students a graphic organizer that would have them summarize the proverb they get, and then make a connection to modern day. To add movement to the activity, I would have students each have a different proverb on a different strip of paper and then trade them after 4-5 minutes of filling out their graphic organizer. That way, they have movement, and can have choice in which proverb they decide to tackle next. For the harder ones that are mutually contradictory, I would have students work in pairs/groups and see if they can identify why the proverbs contradict. This would be a great activity to push rigor in the classroom, and higher on the DOK level scale.
The reading on the Yangzhou Massacre would also be a great source to use in the classroom when teaching about this event. This memoir would allow students to gain a valuable perspective in order to interpret and understand this event through another lens. In order to have my students access this source, I would chunk the reading into several days so it would not be too overwhelming for my middle schoolers, but at the same time keeps them on their toes in terms of rigor.
Anonymousedited by nramon on 6/23/2016