Discovering History
  • Courses
    • Archived Courses >
      • Chinese History >
        • Ancient/Early Modern: Living China's History >
          • Living China's History (fall 2017) >
            • Course Information
            • Course Project
            • In-Class
            • Assignments
          • Living China's History (fall 2018) >
            • In-Class >
              • The Death of Woman Wang
            • Assignments
        • Modern: China's Fall and Rise >
          • China's Rise and Fall (spring 2019) >
            • Course Info
            • In Class
            • Assignments + Units
          • China's Fall and Rise (spring 2018) >
            • Course Information
            • In-Class
            • Assignments
        • Contemporary: Thinking about a Changing China >
          • Thinking about a Changing China (spring 2017) >
            • Course Information
            • In Class
            • Assignments
      • Global Thinking (grade 9 seminar) >
        • HS150 Course Information
        • HS150 In-Class
        • HS150 Assignments
      • Japanese History >
        • Japan's Empire and its Legacies (fall 2016) >
          • Course Information
          • Daily Review
          • Schedule >
            • JE Unit 1
            • JE Unit 2
            • JE Unit 3
            • JE Unit 4
            • JE Unit 5
            • JE Unit 6
          • Research >
            • Issues of History
            • Research Schedule >
              • Checkpoint #2: Annotated Bibliography
              • Checkpoint #3: Outline
              • Checkpoint #4: Supplemental Pages
      • U.S. History >
        • Humanities History (2017-18) >
          • Course Information
          • In-Class
          • Assignments
        • Humanities History (2016-17) >
          • Course Information
          • In Class
          • Assignments >
            • U1: The American Revolution & the Constitution
            • U2: Defining the Nation
            • U3: 19th Century Social & Cultural Transformations >
              • Cemetery Project
            • U4: A House Divided
            • U5: Industry & Empire
            • U6: Progressive Promise & Disillusion
            • U7: Global Conflicts
            • U8: Civil Rights & Human Rights
      • More Course Descriptions
  • Skills
    • Reading >
      • Active Reading
      • Advanced Reading Strategies (Upper Mids and Seniors)
      • Outlining for Reading
      • Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources
      • Analyzing Primary Sources with SOAPSTone
      • Analyzing Visual Primary Sources
      • Selecting & Evaluating Secondary Sources
    • Thinking >
      • What is History?
      • Historical Thinking Chart (PDF)
      • Breaking Down History with the SPICE Factors
    • Discussing >
      • Engaging in Class Discussion
      • Evaluating Discussion
    • Researching >
      • Identifying Research Topics & Questions
      • Note Cards
    • Writing >
      • Zero Draft
      • Thesis Statements
      • Forming Counterarguments
      • Formatting Chicago-Style Papers
      • Ford Library Guide to Chicago-style Citations (PDF)
    • Tech Tips
  • Reference
    • Chinese History Tools
    • Further Reading in Asian Studies >
      • Books
      • News
      • Podcasts
    • Current Events around the World
  • About
    • About
    • Writing

#002 Thinking about China in History

9/7/2017

0 Comments

 
Chinese dynasties song
  • Practice singing together to tune of “Frère Jacques”:
    • Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han,
      Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han,
      Sui, Tang, Song,
      Sui, Tang, Song,
      Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic,
      Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic,
      Mao Zedong
      Mao Zedong.

This song raises couple of notes on pronunciation that will be helpful throughout the course:
  • In Chinese, vowels are always long (e.g. Shahng and Tahng).
  • Pinyin, the system of romanization used in China and many other parts of the Chinese-speaking world, utilizes a few special characters. An in-depth look at the pronunciation can be found here (external link), with a basic guide below:
    • “Q,” pronounced as “ch” in “check”(e.g. Qin and Qing as “Chin” and “Ching,” respectively),
    • “Zh” is pronounced roughly like “j” (e.g. Zhou as “Joe”),
    • “X” is pronounced roughly like “sh” in “she” (e.g. Xia as “Shah”), and
    • “C” is pronounced as “ts” as in “cats” (e.g. Cao as “Ts-ow”).

Analyze the song:
  • This is called the “dynasty song.” What is a “dynasty”? Are all the terms in the song considered dynasties?
  • View this animation (GIF) and look back at the song. How does this animation compare to the song?
  • How is this method of organizing history similar to—and different from—the way you have organized historical chronology in other contexts?

Charting dynasties (added after class):
Picture
Picture

​Discussion on Bol
  • Begin by reviewing the discussion questions (copied below) and your notes.
    • What does it mean to suggest that China—either in “traditional” times or today—is/was “unchanging”? What, in turn, are some reasons Peter Bol raises for doubting this assumption?​
    • Bol references Max Weber's ideas presented in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905) and The Religion of China (1915) to warn against establishing “false dichotomies” between East and West. What, in Bol’s view, is wrong with Weber? Identify one or two alternatives he proposes for making more productive comparisons.
    • Bol endorses Yu Yingshi’s (余英時) argument that “The concept of ‘national history’ in its current Western usage was wholly unfamiliar to Chinese historians before the 20th century.” What is the larger point he is making about the Chinese nation? Why might this argument be uncomfortable or even offensive to some readers?
    • How can ethnicity (productively) complicate our understanding of China’s past?

Homework: Assignment #003
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Quick Links

    Course Info
    Assignments

    Archives

    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017

    Tags

    All
    Archeology
    Confucius
    Daoism
    Du Fu
    Gender
    Geography
    Han Dynasty
    Historical Thinking Skills
    Legalists
    Li Bai
    Mengzi
    Mozi
    Past In The Present
    Qing
    Qin Shihuangdi
    Qu Yuan
    Reading Skills
    Reference
    Sima Qian
    Song Dynasty
    Tang Dynasty
    Three Kingdoms
    Woman Wang
    Zhuangzi

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Courses
    • Archived Courses >
      • Chinese History >
        • Ancient/Early Modern: Living China's History >
          • Living China's History (fall 2017) >
            • Course Information
            • Course Project
            • In-Class
            • Assignments
          • Living China's History (fall 2018) >
            • In-Class >
              • The Death of Woman Wang
            • Assignments
        • Modern: China's Fall and Rise >
          • China's Rise and Fall (spring 2019) >
            • Course Info
            • In Class
            • Assignments + Units
          • China's Fall and Rise (spring 2018) >
            • Course Information
            • In-Class
            • Assignments
        • Contemporary: Thinking about a Changing China >
          • Thinking about a Changing China (spring 2017) >
            • Course Information
            • In Class
            • Assignments
      • Global Thinking (grade 9 seminar) >
        • HS150 Course Information
        • HS150 In-Class
        • HS150 Assignments
      • Japanese History >
        • Japan's Empire and its Legacies (fall 2016) >
          • Course Information
          • Daily Review
          • Schedule >
            • JE Unit 1
            • JE Unit 2
            • JE Unit 3
            • JE Unit 4
            • JE Unit 5
            • JE Unit 6
          • Research >
            • Issues of History
            • Research Schedule >
              • Checkpoint #2: Annotated Bibliography
              • Checkpoint #3: Outline
              • Checkpoint #4: Supplemental Pages
      • U.S. History >
        • Humanities History (2017-18) >
          • Course Information
          • In-Class
          • Assignments
        • Humanities History (2016-17) >
          • Course Information
          • In Class
          • Assignments >
            • U1: The American Revolution & the Constitution
            • U2: Defining the Nation
            • U3: 19th Century Social & Cultural Transformations >
              • Cemetery Project
            • U4: A House Divided
            • U5: Industry & Empire
            • U6: Progressive Promise & Disillusion
            • U7: Global Conflicts
            • U8: Civil Rights & Human Rights
      • More Course Descriptions
  • Skills
    • Reading >
      • Active Reading
      • Advanced Reading Strategies (Upper Mids and Seniors)
      • Outlining for Reading
      • Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources
      • Analyzing Primary Sources with SOAPSTone
      • Analyzing Visual Primary Sources
      • Selecting & Evaluating Secondary Sources
    • Thinking >
      • What is History?
      • Historical Thinking Chart (PDF)
      • Breaking Down History with the SPICE Factors
    • Discussing >
      • Engaging in Class Discussion
      • Evaluating Discussion
    • Researching >
      • Identifying Research Topics & Questions
      • Note Cards
    • Writing >
      • Zero Draft
      • Thesis Statements
      • Forming Counterarguments
      • Formatting Chicago-Style Papers
      • Ford Library Guide to Chicago-style Citations (PDF)
    • Tech Tips
  • Reference
    • Chinese History Tools
    • Further Reading in Asian Studies >
      • Books
      • News
      • Podcasts
    • Current Events around the World
  • About
    • About
    • Writing