Message from hpenrod

[Anonymous]

Two Day Lesson

California State Standard:
10.4.4 Imperialism from the perspective of the colonizers and the colonized and the varied immediate and long-term responses by the people under colonial rule.

Objective:
*Students will understand early views of Europeans from the perspective of China
*Students will understand China's response and reaction to European Imperialism.

Materials
*The reception of the 1st English Ambassador to China, 1792
*Qian Long: Letter to George III, 1793
*Primary sources may be downloaded from the following website:
Modern History Sourcebook@http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html
*Butcher paper
*Markers

Procedure
*QW: How do you thnk the Chinese view the Europeans? How do you think they will respond to Europe's pressure to trade?
*Students will spend about 5 minutes responding to this prompt. Then discuss the prompt with the class.
*Have the clas read the reception of the 1st English Ambassador to China, 1792
*Discuss the following:
1. What was the attitude of the Chinese monarch to the British ambassador?
2. How did the British ambassador comport himself in the presence of the Chinese monarch?
3. What was the purpose of the visit to the royal court?
4. What was the result of the visit?
*Have the class read the letter to George III, 1793. (It is long--the class may read only portions of it).
*Discuss the following:
1. What does king George want from China?
2. What does Qian Long state in his letter to King George?
3. How does Qian Long view the British? What language is used to convey this sentiment?
4. How do both of these sources reflect the feelings of the Chinese ruling class in regard to foreigners?
*Hand out a map of China to the students. Have them identify the city of Canton (Guangzhou). What is the significance of the city?
*On butcher paper, students may choose to construct a poster or T-chart illustrating the differences between the thinking of the Chinese and the thinking of the British in the late 1700s, early 1800s.
*Additional activity: Students respond to this question:
What would you do if you were advisor to the Chinese monarchy? Would you advise the monarchy to continue in isolation from the West, or would you advise the monarchy to become modernized?
Follow-up
Have students read the sources listed on the following websites:
*Emergence of Modern China, The Opium War 1839-42
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CHING/OPIUM.htm
*History of the Opium Trade in China
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/om/ommenu.htm