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Thinking about China in History

11/16/2018

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The longue durée

We last left off with Su Dongpo, who lived from 1037-1101. We will next pick up our story at the end of the seventeenth century. 
What was happening right here in northwest Connecticut 600 years ago? To what extent is that a helpful comparison for thinking about China?


How do you talk about history over a 600-year period? Which of those things can we present visually in a fairly digestible format?

First, poke around with the interactive Harvard World Map
  • Navigate to Harvard’s WorldMap (external link)
  • Teacher introduction:
    • Selecting a base map.
    • Using the shift-select zoom function.
    • Operating opacity controls for overlays.

Next, either using the map interface or doing your own outside search, pick a small handful of visuals that captures history in China from the Song to the early Qing.

“Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet”

The following quotations are drawn from among highly-respected European and American thinkers about China.

  • “The history of China itself does not develop anything and on that account one cannot engage in the details of that history.”—Georg Hegel (1770-1831)

  • “At times the conditions inherited from ancient times of one or another oriental people have been regarded as the foundation of everything. But one cannot possibly use as a starting point the peoples of eternal standstill to comprehend the inner movement of history.”—Leopold von Ranke (1795-1886)

  • “East Asian economic success has its source in East Asian culture, as do the difficulties East Asian societies have had in achieving stable democratic political systems. . . . Europe, as Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., has said, is ‘the source -the unique source’ of the ‘ideas of individual liberty, political democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and cultural freedom’. . . . These are European ideas, not Asian, nor African, nor Middle Eastern ideas, except by adoption.”—Samuel Huntington (1927-2008), The Clash of Civilizations


  • “The collective or interdependent nature of Asian society is consistent with Asians' broad, contextual view of the world and their belief that events are highly complex and determined by many factors. The individualistic or independent nature of Western society seems consistent with the Western focus on particular objects in isolation from their context and with Westerners' belief that they can know the rules governing objects and therefore can control the objects' behavior.”—Richard Nisbett (1941-), The Geography of Thought
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    Course Info
    In-Class
    Assignments

    Unit Overviews

    • ​I. Finding a Path
    • ​II. Making China Great Again
    • ​III. "The Empire, Long Divided, Must Unite . . ."
    • IV. China's Golden Age
    • Course Project
    • V. The Death of Woman Wang

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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
  • About
    • About
    • Writing