I've attached a compressed version of part 2 of the presentation.
Originally written for high school students, now used by middle school teachers.
Copies of this were distributed in class.
Time permitting, we'll debate these questions from the perspectives of the four schools discussed in the curriculum guide.
Hundred Schools Debate
When we cover the “hundred schools of thought” era, we usually have seminar participants join a
particular school of thought and then participate in a four sided debate. In the debate, the moderator asks
questions of each school and permits participants to ask questions of each other. In general, we
encourage speakers to accent the positive in their doctrines, though we recognize that it is sometimes
essential to draw contrasts with the way other schools deal with particular issues. Complete details,
background readings, and student handouts are available in Dube, Early Chinese History: The Hundred
Schools Period. China's Golden Age of Philosophy. Los Angeles: National Center for History in the
Schools, 1999. (A pdf version is available in the seminar forum, to order a print version, go to:
http://nchs.ucla.edu/World-Era3.html.)
Among the questions we discuss are:
EDUCATION:
Is education necessary? Define a "well-educated" person. What would such a person know and be able
to do? Who should provide this training?
LOYALTY:
To which people/institutions should a person owe his/her loyalty? What is the nature and what are the
limits (if any) of these obligations?
SOCIETY/GOVERNMENT:
Describe the ideal society and government's role (if any) in that society. Be sure to address issues such
as stratification, relations between people, and qualifications/responsibilities of leaders.
Here are some documents for this session:
The Qianlong Emperor to King George, 1793
http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=1083
Commission Lin Zexu to Queen Victoria, 1839
http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=402
Treaty of Nanjing, 1842
http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=403
Treaty of Shimonoseki, 1895
http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=404
John Hay, Open Door Note, 1899
http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=406
This presentation, even much compressed, is too big for the forum. Click here to go to another USCI page to download the compressed pdf.
Greenpeace prepared this ahead of the famous Copenhagen climate change conference.
China 2030 - joint report with the Development Research Center of China's State Council.
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/02/27/china-2030-executive-summary
China urbanization, March 2014
Includes video summary, downloadable report
http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/china/publication/urban-china-toward-efficient-inclusive-sustainable-urbanization
2009 Asia Society initiative
compact report, could be shared with students
Included in compressed format, note that presentation includes several slides borrowed from:
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCYQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsiteresources.worldbank.org%2FINTEAPREGTOPENVIRONMENT%2FResources%2FCN_WPPI_presentation.ppt&ei=CiILVPmPA-jMigKQroHwBQ&usg=AFQjCNHppgja1v-fR0cbbTPUhale5yATKg
Additional report from the World Bank:
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEAPREGTOPENVIRONMENT/Resources/China_WPM_final_lo_res.pdf
The Story of the Stone
By Cao Xueqin
During the second session in the presentation “China: One Quarter of Humanity” the family planning policy of China was introduced. The family planning policy was enacted in the late 1970s. Several decades later census data reveals a trend of declined population growth. This can be attributed to urbanization and an increase of education, lowering the birth rates. This data also shows a dramatic imbalance in the ratio of men to women. The current dilemma is not having enough women of marriage/child bearing age in China for the male population. The options seem bleak; shipping women in or practicing polygamy. With this dilemma, I find a new found interest in what the Chinese government will do to address this issue. The potential options seem to contradict a traditional mindset of cultural beliefs. Moreover, with continued economic growth and a declining work force this issue is of pressing importance that scaffolds back to the main point from session one, “we” as a world are dependent on the success of the growing Chinese economy.
In regards to relevance in a classroom, I think students need a full scope of understanding when comparing cultural differences. Most of my students come from Hispanic backgrounds and culturally speaking limiting family size is not something they are necessarily familiar with. If they are just given the knowledge of the policy without the historical and culture context we aren’t giving our students the understanding necessary to process this new information.
One of the readings discussed the climate change challenge that the United States and China face. Apparently, the United States and China are the two largest global emitters of greenhouse gases. China's national climate change program includes increasing non-fossil fuel based renewable energy to 15% by the year 2020. The United States could cooperate with China by creating incentives in the United States for clean technologies. This would drive down the prices of those technologies, therefore making it cheaper for the Chinese to use it as well. It's important that the United States work together with China on research and development in this area.
As a teacher, I think it's important to educate students on the conservation of natural resources. It's definitely relevant now as California faces a severe drought. This could be tied in to the climate change challenge. Students can be educated on what they can do as individuals to make the situation better. Then they can learn about what the government is currently doing to conserve water, energy, etc.
During session 2, I received a book called Japanese Tales by Royall Tyler. This is a fascinating book that contains 220 short and simple to read tales from medieval Japan. It tells about things that happened in two centuries between 850 and 1050. It has short stories that welcome you into the world of magical healers, miracles, fables, legends and other tales that reflect the Japanese civilization during that time period.