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#102 Approaching China's diversity

1/6/2017

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Preparation:

Read:
  • Wasserstrom, 113-118:
    • What is the most common thing Americans get wrong about China?
    • Why is China’s diversity overlooked?
    • How does ethnicity come into the picture?
    • How important are regional divides?
    • How important are age divides in China?
  • Wasserstrom, 122-25:
    • What is the biggest source of Chinese misunderstanding about the United States?
    • How do U.S. and Chinese views on Tibet differ?

Our reading picked up on a number of themes that we saw first in Pomfret, including the attempt to debunk the notion of an “unchanging China.” Today, however, we will focus specifically on the question of China’s diversity.
​

Part 1: Visualizing diversity

View the images and data visualizations below covering climate, food, language, "high tech," and economics. As you view them, identify:
  1. What differences do these images or visualizations depict?
  2. How does one distinguish consequential from less consequential differences?
  3. How significance might the differences being depicted here have on the worldview or perspective of Chinese who grew up in different regions, are of different ages, socioeconomic levels, or other important social distinctions?
  4. What additional measures might be helpful for considering China's diversity that is not available here?
    ​
Climate
Picture
Climate regions in China, Wikimedia Commons.
Picture
North Chinese village in Hebei province. Photo by Mr. Hall.
Picture
Southern Chinese village in Guangxi province. Photo by Mr. Hall.
Food

Picture
Chinese regional cuisines, MIT Technology Review.
Picture
Foshan, Guangdong, China. Photo by Mr. Hall.
Picture
Outside Yidu, Hubei, China. Photo by Mr. Hall.
Language
Picture
Dialect samples from phonemica.net:
  • Beijing (Northern Mandarin)
  • Chongqing (Southwestern Mandarin)
  • Shanghai (Wu)
  • Quanzhou, Fujian (Min/Hokkien)
"High Tech"
Picture
Villagers outside Beijing listen to radio, 1956. Everyday Life in Mao's China blog.
Picture
High tech in 2016.
Economics
Picture
Per capita GDP by province.
Picture
Per capita GDP per province.
Picture
Picture

​Part 2: Tibet question

On pages 123-25, Wasserstrom takes up one of the most divisive questions related to China's diversity, which is the politics of Tibet.
  • What does Wasserstrom suggest about how Americans and Chinese view this issue differently?
  • Why and how might views within China differ on this issue?
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  • Courses
    • HS150 Global Thinking >
      • HS150 Course Information
      • HS150 In-Class
      • HS150 Assignments
    • 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
      • 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 >
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            • 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
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      • Ford Library Guide to Chicago-style Citations (PDF)
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