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clay dubeHi Folks,
The readings attached below are optional. Two of them will be useful as background information for you (Carr and Qian). The others are shorter primary sources (5 pages) that you may wish to use with your students. As a part of your 20 required forum posts, you could choose to read these materials and post your reactions and questions to them below. Please also brainstorm on how you might incorporate such ideas or materials into your courses.
Dennis Carr -- This is a big file, because of the many included color illustrations.
"Introduction: Asia and the New World"
What is the evidence offered to support Carr's argument that the new world was where Asia and Europe met? Is it surprising to learn of globalization in the 16th-18th centuries? What was the impact of the flow of goods and ideas?
Huang Yanpei, 1915
"Investigation of American Education"
What differences between China and the United States most impress Huang? What are the positive consequences of American education?
Li Gongpu, 1928
"Presidential Election"
Li is a scholarship student in Oregon and was fascinated by the election. In 1928, the Republicans won their third straight presidential election. Writing for a Chinese audience, how did Li explain Herbert Hoover's victory? What does he have to say about campaign costs?
Liu Binyan, 1982
"America: Spacious Yet Confining"
Liu Binyan was one of China's most famous writers and this piece appeared in the official mouthpiece of China's Communist Party. His prominence is an indication of how open China was 1979-1989. In what ways does the smaller population and different housing styles impress Liu? Why does he devote space to talking about dogs and squirrels? What does he say about American attitudes toward children?
Qian Ning, 1996
"Some marriages hold together, Many fall apart"
Qian Ning was the son of China's foreign minister (Qian Qichen) when he came to America to study journalism in Michigan in 1989. He stayed until 1995. His book, 留学美国 (Studying in America) was published in 1996 and was a bestseller. The English version was published in 2002. In the 1980s and 1990s, most Chinese who came to American universities were graduate students and many were already married.
Why is it that coming to America puts such a strain on married Chinese? In what ways were the experiences of Chinese men and Chinese women in America different? How did the green cards issued by the US after the suppression of the 1989 protests create opportunities for some?
George Bao, 2015
"Surviving on $39 a Month"
George Bao is now a Californian. He came to the US in the 1980s and earned a journalism degree at USC. Here he explains how little he and other Xinhua (China's state news agency) journalists got by with tiny salaries. His salary was boosted to $150/month after a couple of years. I taught in China at about the same time. My salary started at $75, but climbed to $250 as the government loosened price controls. Like Bao, my housing and medical care was provided, but I needed to pay for my own food. My wife's salary in her Chinese work unit in 1982 was about $28/month.
clay dubeGreat work everyone wrestling with the issues presented by a parent who has violated the law. It's fascinating how priorities vary, but sometimes the prescriptions don't. Confucian faith in education is remarkable, Legalism's hard line is perhaps easiest to apply, the Daoists assume that law creates law-breaking. The Mohists may be the most troubled, believing that favoritism much be avoided, but not wanting a stern punishment.
clay dubeCynthia, Thanks so much for choosing a poem and responding to it. The one you chose is one of the most famous, not just in China, but throughout East Asia. Here's a page on it and how it was featured in The Tale of Genji: http://www.taleofgenji.org/yang_kwei-fei.html
I hope others will offer their takes on this or other poems.
clay dube
Hi Everyone,
Week look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday, May 2. In the meantime, please dive into these primary source materials to help us understand some key issues in the Qing dynasty. This Manchu-governed dynasty lasted from 1644 to 1911, but our course concludes at 1800. So the Qing we're looking at is "high" Qing, meaning it was the largest and most advanced empire of its day (though by 1800, Britain was adding India to its empire, having just lost the thirteen American colonies). Still, by 1800, the problems the Qing would face were increasingly evident.
One of those problems was an assertive West. In addition to the pdfs below, please read this letter from the Qianlong emperor to King George III of the United Kingdom: https://china.usc.edu/emperor-qianlong-letter-george-iii-1793.
clay dubeThe legalists have started to weigh in on what to do with our law-breaker elder. I'm anxious to hear what others think.
GREAT DISCUSSION TODAY - THANKS EVERYONE!
clay dubeI agree with Esther's points not just about Sei, but also Murasaki. These were adults (by the standards of the age) talking about adult romances (though in Murasaki there's even an episode that strikes our modern sensibility as a sort of child abuse, where the central character raises a girl to be his perfect mate). At one point, Genji is chastised for being too cavalier in his behavior and he is advised to never embarass a woman or be indiscreet. You're not going to teach the questionable stuff, but there are other aspects of the age that might be appropriate: beauty in the small gesture, the elegant handwriting, as opposed to the ostentatious or flashy, love of careful expression... For the warrior age, we might encourage the discipline (appreciation for hard work, practice), the loyalty, and the value of reflection, seeking balance.
clay dubeAre there Buddhist elements that come through in the Constitution as well as Confucian ones?
clay dubeSamantha and Hilda both propose utilizing primary sources to facilitate discussion/debate among students. The aim is to get them to pull out the ideas and wrestle with how they fit. These are great ideas. How do Marco Polo's descriptions fit with the town maps that we saw in the lectures?
clay dubeMeghann - you're right about the multiple interpretations that are possible. 50 years ago, some historians of China saw the Song as putting China on the brink of jumping into a true industrial revolution with more modern governance. Then the Yuan came to power in what those historians as a regressive move. They spoke of a "Mongolian Break." Now many see the Yuan as a period of openness.
clay dubeI agree with Chad about the utility of studying origin stories. Who gets to determine these? Who perpetuates these stories? Why are they retold?
clay dubeEclecticism in practice is in evidence in ancient and contemporary China -- and in our own lives. Thinking about this shows our innate flexibility. We need to appreciate that pragmatism. Please explain a bit more about SymbolStixPrime symbols - I may not be the only person who isn't familiar with this term/approach.
clay dubeElizabeth's right about the need to adapt what we do for your students. How can we do this? Thinking about narrowing focus, reworking texts for reading or discussion level -- this is all vital. But that's where your creativity and experience pays off. Sharing those ideas here helps us all expand our sense of what's possible. Thanks!
clay dubeAlma's comments remind me how we organize our own story. That is evident in what is included in résumés, of course, but also in what we share with children and friends. It may be, however, that our failures may truly help others understand. Great post -- please keep this discussion going. Here and with your students.
clay dubeOnce students understand core ideas from the four schools, one could ask them which might be more useful in dealing with particular challenges. Examples come up in the seminar's discussion of the Qin/Han iron and salt debates. But also, which of the philosophies will emphasize infrastructure building? What curriculum priorities will the schools have? -- we'll discuss this in the debate on Saturday morning, 3/28. Please be sure to let Catherine know that you plan to participate (9-11 Saturday morning). Thanks.
clay dubeIt is great to see how the values of those core philosophical schools filter into the discussions of how to implement/apply those ideas in everyday life. Perhaps you can find ways for students to discuss the messages of those filial piety stories. Esther mentions Western fairy tales. Do we have contemporary examples that celebrate caring for parents or grandparents?
