11/16/09 -Session 2 - Dube - China: 1900 to 1949

I think the concept of extra territoriality says a lot about what countries think about other countries that they visit. If there is respect for the laws and customs practiced in a given area, I think that people may be more inclined to follow the laws based on where they commit certain "unlawful" acts. It seems entirely unfair to the people of that country that "criminals" are not held accountable for their affairs until they reach their "homeland".
Furthermore, I think that this extra territoriality applies to China's need to gain respect globally.

I believe Sun Yat-sen is recognized and remembered in China as the "father" of modern China because he was the first president of China's new republic after the collapse of China's Qing dynasty. Sun hoped to rebuild China on the Three Principles of the People; nationalism democracy & economic security for all the people. He believed China was weak and needed to change. Unfortunately, the warlord problems and foreign imperialism caused China to fall into chaos so he made little progress. He is important to look at when comparing nationalism and revolution around the world between 1910-1939 in areas like India or Latin America or Africa. Nationalism and the desire for change shaped world events in the early 1900s. Sun was just one of the nationalist leaders of the time period that is remembered.

Sun is studied in world history in California. One of the California standards 10.4.4: Describe the independence struggles of the colonized regions of the world, including the roles of leaders such as Sun Yat-sen in China, and the roles of ideology and religion.

I found the information on the Opium Wars, very interesting. It certainly helps to explain China's disdain for the west and provides a good reason to retreat from the international world. I cannot imagine America's reaction if that same scenario had been played out here or in one of our allies home turf! And...the amount of money they paid in penalties seemed extremely high to me. I can see why that instance started the hundred years of shame!

And if you relate that in to the attitudes being played out in the press over Facebook, I can't help but sympathize with China! (oh, oh,) Certainly having access to Facebook is not a human rights issue, and in my mind, we need to stay out of the Facebook situation. After all, who is to say that it would not be detrimental to their society! Certainly not us!

I wanted to comment on something that was mentioned only in passing at the 2nd session and yet the two slides shown will probably stay in my memory more than anything else--and that is foot-binding. It's hard not to see it as barbaric and awful. Still, I didn't realize exactly how it was done. I thought the bones were crushed to keep the feet small, but didn't know it was done more from the side--or so it seemed from these two pictures--to create a pointy effect. It also occurred to me it's not that different from what some women do today voluntarily to their bodies through plastic surgery in the pursuit of so-called beauty, often with health risks or repercussions.

I keep thinking back to one of those "what would have happened" moments in history--

In this case, what would have happened had U.S. took a more hard-line approach and forcibly protected its financial interests in China from both the Russians and then the Japanese after the turn of the century, rather than basically allowing Japan to replace Russia in southern Manchuria after the Russo-Japanese War? We basically recognized Japan's special interests in China (1917, the Lansing-Ishii Agreement) and it led to the collapse of the open-door principle. The policy had no enforcement and the Japanese saw right through it...further expansion into China followed in the years to come.

The thirst for power is clearly demonstrated in the Opium wars. Governments 3 functions as noted by Prof. Dube were to maintain order, collect taxes, and maintain control both at home and abroad. The Opium wars was "fought over issues of trade and diplomatic access".

I didn't see a message for the 12/14 session so I am posting to an older one.

I just have an odds-and-ends kind of response. I loved how Korea is described as a "bumpy" country. I remember a similar experience from travels in India and especially living in Russia--they certainly don't have a strong sense of personal space there.

I found fascinating how farming switched from a commune-type system back to semi-ownership in China and wondered if those people who weren't good at farming just learned by doing. And, in as much as this system is still in effect, if land is inherited and if there is a system of primogeniture in place.

I also really liked the idea of looking at and comparing currency. I don't teach history, but that seems like it would be a great, fun exercise to do in a history class--or economics.

This is a little rough, but perhaps it could be brought into a language arts class at the beginning of a unit on stories from around the world or to teach symbols--students would create their own marks of currency and have to explain the images/symbols, etc. [Edit by="zskalkottas on Feb 7, 10:51:52 PM"]I reposted this to the 12/14 thread. I won't count it as two posts, I promise![/Edit]