#507 “The Feud”

Pair review

In the first activity, we will pair up so that we have at least one student who was present last class and one student who was not. This is a good opportunity to empower those who were here to share what we learned and for those who were out to gain some insight.

• Start by having the student who was present guide the student who was absent through the main points of our conversation.  The student who was absent should listen actively, ask questions, and contribute their own perspectives. After you have reviewed what we discussed, shift to the next task.
• Also in your small groups, begin making a list of what you see as the most important themes in the book so far (this should include content from chapters 4 and 5). If relevant, note how these themes connect to other work we have done over the course of the year.

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​Discussion

We will bring these questions around the table to tackle the two questions we did not fully address last time as well as the questions from last night’s reading:

• What role did the law serve in the case of Woman Peng? Did the laws provide incentives for moral behavior? Do you feel she was she treated justly by the end of the story?
• What common threads to you see in the experiences of Xiliu and Woman Peng? Do any of the shorter examples, Woman Fan, the old spinning woman, Woman Wu, Woman An, and Woman Gao, either build on or provide different insight into the condition of widows?
• Compare Huang Liuhong’s handling of the outlaw Wang family with the earlier account of the tax-evading Liu Tingyuan (56-58)? Taken together, what picture is emerging of how Huang approaches the task of magistrate?
• Consider the cases of Tou Tingzhang and Woman Peng (who bullied by the Chen family in the last chapter, 72-76). Would you consider either/both of them victims?
• What parts of Cui Xian’s revenge tale seem realistic? Which parts might be farfetched?

Contemporary relevance

Consider:

• Is there a present relevance to these the themes that have emerged so far?
• Read and discuss “Patriarchy 101: School Espouses Sexist ‘Feminine Virtues’.”

Course evaluation.