Sessions 9 & 10 (Sat. @ USC) with Dr. Dube

I had trouble finding the class that day. Having to make my way around the USC campus is a lot confusing to me. Overall, the Saturday session was interesting. I was more interested on most of the topics mentioned that day such as forbidden city, Mongols, and the Great Wall. I felt that I was a bit more engaged in this session. I enjoyed going over the 'Contracts' and how there was one sample contract for the purchase of the concubine. I also enjoyed Clay sharing with us about his past with interest in China.

I found this and thought we could all sing it together!

"The Dynasties Song"

This "dynasties song," sung to the tune of "Frère Jacques,"
can help students remember the major Chinese dynasties in chronological order.

Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han
Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han

Sui, Tang, Song
Sui, Tang, Song

Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic
Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic

Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong

— Courtesy of the teachers on the College Board AP-World History Listserv

@lagarcia that song is awesome!

I have used the dynasties song for many yearsand have found it to be an essential tool for helping kids to think about and organize Chinese history chronologically; and they do ten to appreciate the song (although they think it is goofy at first) when they relaize how helpful it is!

As I waited with a couple of other classmates for the session to begin, Clay had a Chinese drama playing on the three screens of the classroom. It was a historical Chinese TV series, part fiction/ part non-fiction and I found it interesting. There were no subtitles and I was impressed at how easily Clay was able to translate the dialogue. I do realize he lived in China and all, but I am always impressed when an English speaker learns Chinese fluently. For me it was so challenging when I had a mini lesson back in a multicultural education class in my college days. The intonations were so confusing for me.

I also liked the "music videos" of the lady singer (sorry, I forget her name!). I thought they were very beautiful both visually and musically. So calming and easy to listen to.

PS Thank you for sharing your personal stories about your experiences/relationships with your Chinese friends- especially your wife! Very touching

This was the session that spoke most to me in terms of my curriculum as an English teacher. History is most certainly intertwined with literature and the previous sessions have added immensely to my knowledge of the origins of cultural norms, beliefs and practices in East Asia. I was thirsting, however, for some more literary references and felt gratified when Professor Yamashita reminded me of books I had read when I took his course at Claremont McKenna College in the eighties: Tale of the Genji and The Pillowbook.

In this session I learned about the poem that served as the inspiration for my curriculum unit, Tao Yuanming (Tao Qian)'s poem, "Peach Blossom Spring." Across cultures many writers and other artists have gravitated toward the subject of utopian quests. Perhaps this explains young adult literature's current fascination with its polar opposite: dystopias such as The Hunger Games. It is not surprising that escapist literature arises most profoundly during times of conflict and most notably in Chinese culture, during periods of disunity which results in disharmony. The need to recreate harmony out of the disjointed remnants of war resonates with the need to find peace in times of strife.

Despite the Communist government's manipulation of dates to represent China as a predominantly unified country over time, the truth is that China has endured nearly as many years of divided rule as it has enjoyed unified leadership. The periods of division opened China to new ideas; most notably Buddhism flourished east of India in this period.