Session 9B: 20th Century China

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Please post your comments for our final afternoon lecture here.

[Anonymous]

Oh my God. No wonder the Chinese threw westerners out. But what’s amazing is that they accepted responsibility for their drug addition, too, rather than exclusively blaming outside influences. I think they are right – both the greedy supplier and the weak user need to be held responsible for drug trafficking. The British government was ruthless in its fight for the right to supply opiates and then, after securing those rights, to force China to open its ports. How cruel. I wonder what would have happened if the west had been more humane? I wonder how China will respond when the US cannot repay its debt? According to karma, we’re in trouble….

I would love to find some contemporary reports about current drug trafficking and have students compare those reports with the Opium War. Comparing drug prevention programs would also be enlightening. Obviously, we are following a familiar, unsuccessful trail.

Wonder what a better path would be?

[Anonymous]

This was what I was waiting for most intently! The rise of communism in China! My brother is a history major and has regaled my family with horror stories of The Cultural Revolution, and I wanted to hear it in a more, well, educational way. He told us about city people being forced to move to the countryside to learn to be farmers, and how that destroyed the economy, and that is just one of the crazy images I can't get out of my head. Luckily we did watch that scene from Farewell My Concubine that gave us a stunning and unforgettable visual of the red guard, but I want more!

Although I can't tell you how happy I am to be sitting in my pj's with my son running around me drawing on everything with a well-worn green highlighter, I probably could have done one more day so we could have really gotten into the 20th century. I know most of you will agree with me. That's my biggest beef, and it's the one thing that my kids want to ask about (as I mentioned before, we spend half a period doing a KWL about Chinese culture, and everyone is fascinated by the communist oppression, but my foreign exchange kids don't know how to handle the morbid curiosity), so I guess I'll be doing a lot of research on my own! I'm eager to see those PowerPoints we missed out on, too! =:O

[Anonymous]

I agree Sharon 100%, but I think we need to include the Chinese government at all levels. Look at what has happened in the U.S. with smoking. Once there is a media blitz and everyone gets involved things start happening. I had this idea in my head that the opium was coming from China (don't know how that got there). So this lesson was very enlightening. I didn't know silver was coming from Mexico either. I thought it was funny the way the Chinese govn't responded to the opium crisis. Here you addicts are responsible for each other. Wonder why that didn't work????? Then santitariums, not a bad idea, but we know now you can't stop someone who doesn't want to stop. What motivation did they have to stop? Their lives were miserable. Arresting the dealers and smugglers is a good idea, but modern governments haven't been very successful stopping drug trade. So what is the answer? I know this will interest my students and maybe I can use it as a "just say no" pitch. We will discuss why the Chinese would smoke opium and the affects it had on them. I will get some clips that show the opium dens and the destructive forces of the drug. We do a don't start tobacco program in science, so I will use this lesson simultaneously in history. This is so exciting to have many new ideas and materials to use. ML

[Anonymous]

How is it that people like Mao were able to get masses of people to do whatever they ordered, even if those orders were horrific? What was so innovative about Mao that he was able to get a mass of people to join him in changing China, and then to follow and fight to the death – and even after his own death? The answer, I think, is placing blame. These are leaders who were charismatic enough to get people to listen, and they told people in dire situations who was to blame for their troubles. These men told the people who and what to blame their economic and societal hardships on, and said that they themselves were the men who could show the masses the way to easy street. People want to believe in heroes and that even in the most difficult situations they can find the evil and in one fell swoop wipe it out and return to happier times. Mao got everyone working toward a goal. Even though melting down pots was useless, my guess is it worked because people believed, they felt like they were doing something to fix the problem. So by the time the people realized that the crops were not as fruitful, Mao had so much power they were afraid to tell him, and you know the rest. This idea of placing the blame is an interesting one to consider. Can we learn from this? Perhaps it is an issue of stepping outside oneself and seeing the bigger picture in times that seem impossible. Often there is a good solution waiting to be found.[Edit by="ritow on Aug 8, 5:31:37 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

During my undergrad I rented a room from a professor at San Francisco State. Of course I took the Modern Revolution class and wrote a paper on Marx. My landlord was saddened about my lack of knowledge of Communism, etc. I told him that I had never learned about it in school as far as I can remember.
I really got a lot out of the lecture about 20th century China. There were unbelievable amounts of changes happening for merely a 100 year time period. There have been incredible changes from 1976 (Mao's death) or 1989 (protest against tanks in Tienanmen Square) until today. I was trying to explain to my parents yesterday just how important today is in the history of China. I have read online that the opening ceremony was nothing short of spectacular and that it should not be missed. I also read that 16,400 couples are getting married today in Dongcheng, which usually has about 50 marriages a day. Have a good night!

[Anonymous]

I, too, would like more information on China - and East Asia - in the 20th century. Now that we understand the history, I think the events of today would mean more, carry more weight.

I am sitting here watching the pre-game blurbs about the Olympics, and it looks like the Opening Ceremonies were quite a show. I am excited to see it tonght at 7:30. There have also been many demonstrations outside of the area of the Olympics in support of Tibet and human rights in China. This is where our understanding of the history and current events will come into play. The justaposition of the great wealth and celebration of the Opening Ceremonies and these demonstrations makes one think...

[Anonymous]

I liked the story about Empress Dowager wanting to put the phoenix above the dragon. I was not aware of the meaning of these symbol, and it helped explain the tenacity of her personality. As others have also mentioned, I too would like to further investigate this time period. The explanation about the Guomindang (Nationalists) and the Communist Party helped to explain the different political beliefs in China. Had the Japanese not invaded China then it appears the Communist Party would not have come to power. This is important in order to explain Japan's influence over the path of China's history. It is also important to explain to students that China is not all Communistic, only 70 million are, which is a small percentage. They also need to realize the openness to capitalism the country has as well. It appears that China has learned from some of their mistakes in past.

[Anonymous]

I too had been looking forward to a great discussion on Mao's reign in China and the subsequent events of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.

After my first year teaching this standard to my students I felt as though the textbook did not give it justice... nor did I have much personal information to add because I did not learn about it in great detail in college. Therefore, the following year I picked up a few supplemental resources to assist me and give me some ideas to bring into the classroom. For those of you looking for more information on this topic you will be happy to know that the supplemental resources I picked up are part of Package A (High School Social Studies). The DVD, China: A Century of Revolution, provides a wonderful overview and some great images. It provided my students with the visual I know my students lacked the first year I taught it. Also, the curriculum unit, China's Cultural Revolution has great information and a few literary works from the time. There is probably enough ideas to allow you to teach it for 3 weeks; obviously we don't have that much time, but it does provide an excellent range of activities for you to pick and choose from. So again, if you are seeking more information, I believe you would be very happy with these two resources.

[Anonymous]

I think I'll clump both session here because I really didn't want to divide them. I felt one was necessary to connect to the other in the post.

Without ambitions, transformation and development for a country cannot take place, no matter how difficult that transformation is. Innovative ways of producing products is necessary for the economy to increase. Once a product has reached its high, and profit is still needed for the survival of a family or country, new products must be created. These new products have to become popular to create a high demand for that country to profit. The higher the demand globally is desired, then the higher profit it will yield. This was the case in the Qing Long dynasty and the reason for its longevity.
Global product demand becomes an advantage in china because of the international trade. The Chinese made a mistake by not allowing all products to leave China and limited the British to import Chinese products into Britain. China did not feel that the outside world had to anything to offer them because they felt that everything that was not Chinese was inferior to what they had or could do. Because China closed off itself from the world, it lagged behind while other countries got ahead and developed. Once China realized that they needed to keep up with the world and understood this, they began to self strengthen themselves by using what was foreign. They began to trade for weaponry like guns, cannons, and became familiar with foreign strategies for attacking and defeating enemies. Many things in China became reformed and those of the elite began to revolt because they would lose their wealth.
They didn’t want an imperialist government but a republic instead. Rural areas along with other Chinese had nationalist attitudes and hated foreigners, especially America and Japan. Many were saying “Gomendan” stop this encroachment of outside influence. Communism entered China and it spread its control because it was easy to convince the peasants to follow by reallocating the land to them since they were working it, and the landlords were absent. This broke the existing power the elite dominated for years upon years. Young men and women no longer had to marry whom their parents arranged for them to marry. However, the only way you could become a Communist party member, was if another member would nominate you and be responsible for you. Once you were in then you could advance in the party.
These things happened under the rule of Mao but after he died on Sept 1976 his wife and others were put on trial for the atrocities he did while in power. Her response was, “ I was Mao’s dog, who he told me to bite I would.” Although, she was sentenced to death she was let go because of her health but later committed suicide and hung herself. Mao was responsible for the death of 35 thousand people.
China had to mobilize by becoming a nation of industry because there was not enough land and the population was high. Sterialization, forced abortion, the 1 child policy, and no longer having to marry a cousin came into effect. This notion was sold to the people and the western ideas stepped into China.
Women have jobs that are non-traditional, for example, mechanics. They also become advertisers using their bodies to sell products, they go to war, and go into business for themselves. Peasants still had to get their own rice but they also could hire out migrant workers to work in the rice fields. People began to get richer because they began to diversify economically.
Now with China being a developed country other problems enter as well. China has to struggle to keep its uniqueness and find a way to get traditional values that allow them to survive in today’s world. They have to do that in a way that allows them to not fall behind the times but retain Chinese values, customs, and language.

[Anonymous]

Tibet under the control of the Qianlong emperor, Yinzheng, in the 1700s learned Tibetan? Very impressive guy, but then that's what he liked to do, impress people. And, he had the child Dalai Lamma raised and educated in Beijing. So, that's when the Chinese begin to think of Tibet as part of their territory? He had this idea of being the "wheel-turning king," but I think he got it wrong. If you advance only through military conquest to move your people (newly dominated, that is) toward salvation (your idea of it, anyway) that sort of makes you a pretty typical Puritan. But, I liked that he understood that you need to learn the language of the people you dominate. To speak Manchu, Chinese, Mongolian, Uighur, Tibetan and Tangut and attempt to know these cultures is a example that George Bush could learn from, that is, if he could learn.

Anyone read the new book WRESTLING WITH ANGEL OF DEMOCRACY by Susan Griffin? She contends that democracy is actually a revolution in consciousness. It's all about consciousness in the end, isn't it? Whatever notions are swimming around in the heads of the world's leaders, just like Yinsheng's notions, that will be what the rest of us must live with until there is a new way of understanding.

[Anonymous]

It was awesome hearing more about the Opium trade. Not that the situation was awesome but rather it is interesting to see manipulation that went into trade with China. In the past I have made sure to teach this part of history but it would be interesting to do more to have students connect China's past colonization with its current decisions.

I would also like to find some primary source information on the topic such as the written decision by the British Parliament to continue to push for a war with China that Prof. Dube spoke about.

On another colonization note I think it is really important to point out to students that the British colonizers initial reason for going to China for economic reasons. The Chinese, though they were not happy with the British trying to get to much out of the deal, did not protest until the British began passing judgment on their culture and rituals (e.g. commenting on foot binding). I see a large similarity with the British in India where the Indians didn't protest until the British began enforcing laws about marriage laws, and critique the practice of Sati (widow cremations). The information Prof. Dube shared with us is important to add to a lesson on colonization.

[Anonymous]

Okay, catching up here...
This lecture was particularly interesting because it is bringing us into the present time. Up to this point, I've been learning all the names, etc., but this lecture brought up names I actually recognize.
I guess one of the biggest lessons for me here is the actual history of Tibet. I see Tibet as a separate country from China, a theocracy, just as the Vatican is a separate country from Italy, and a theocracy. So it was interesting to me that it was just sort of absorbed as part of China and showed up on the map when the Mongols took over. I wondered if anyone notified Tibet of the change. At that time, it was called the top of the world because of it's elevation, but also because of the fact that you could only get there during a very specific window of time, during which certain rivers thawed and allowed passage. I would like to hear a lecture on Tibetan history from a Tibetan teacher.
The Opium history was really incredible. I guess I wasn't surprised that the British had the trade they did - I think at the time it was considered a drug just like alcohol. I don't know if it biochemically alters your makeup to create the addiction as heroine does, but obviously no one was concerned about that. For a comparison to Opium, you may want to view the movie, "Air America" - a movie about the CIA operated airline during the Viet Nam war. It was from 1990 and starred Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr.

[Anonymous]

This was a wealth of information. A couple of things can be compared in the sixth grade social studies or language arts classrooms. The colonial American triangular trade which is fifth grade standard to the global trade of China. The silk, porcelain, and tea sent to Britain from China, China gets silver in return and finally opium from British India. The students can understand the idea of supply and demand and in some way the countries exporting their surplus. Of course the essence of the triangular trade encouraging the inhuman slave trade. Opium and slaves negative elements for the society
Another point of China in the 1600's-1800's moving from being part of the greater Mongolian empire to the Manchurian rule. Thus China transitioning from foreign rule to foreign trade.
Later, a lesson of China splitting from the Soviet Union, and the end of Mao's regime into expanding its economy, being part of the World bank, International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development bank. Finally on the global forefront, in 2001 China was admitted to the World Trade Organization, and now hosting the 2008 summer Olympics.

[Anonymous]

As many other posters stated, I too had been looking forward to learning more about Mao's reign in China and the subsequent events of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. I will have to read up on these events on my own...

Clay mentioned the movie To Live (Huozhe) in his lecture. I showed this in my World History class when I was student teaching and it is a great movie for showing the personal struggle of the Chinese people during the turmoil they went through in the 20th century. I recommend showing all or part of the film in a World History class - or watching it yourself to gain some insight before teaching the subject.

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