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#505 “The Land”

12/1/2017

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Fact vs. fiction

To start out, let’s pick on the thread we were examining at the end of class yesterday:
  • Is it useful to read fiction when we’re interested in fact? How should we see Pu Songling’s accounts as we grapple with local life of this area?

Life-shaping forces in “The Land”

Chart some of the big forces shaping the lives of people in Tancheng (we’ll do this together on the board). Two questions that might help answer this question can be drawn from the homework:
  • What were some of the notable local conditions that might have impacted life in Tanchang? How might locals been more or less vulnerable to the demands of the state or environmental conditions? Can you think of places where this might be similarly true today?
  • In 1965, British historian AJP Taylor observed that, “Until August 1914 a sensible, law-abiding Englishman could pass through life and hardly notice the existence of the state, beyond the post office and the policeman” (Taylor, 1). How might you modify this statement if you were writing about a farmer in Tancheng in the 1670s?

A dinner guest from Yizhou

Also as a group exercise, you are going to imagine that the different parts of this chapter are brought into dialogue with one another. Imagine that a newly appointed magistrate of neighboring Yizhou (WG: I-Chou) has come to Tancheng. Huang Liuhong hosts a dinner for the visitor and invites Liu Tingyuan and Xiao Er.

At dinner, the visitor asks, “How should a magistrate best serve the people?”

Process:
  • Review the part of the chapter that most closely correspond with your character with this question in mind.
  • Prepare a response to the visitor from Yizhou while thinking about where you might agree or disagree with the others around the table.
  • We’ll enact this simulation in the last part of class.
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  • 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
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