Oct. 10 – Oct. 16
Let’s have a look at what happened after the fall of the Han dynasty. That was a great dynasty, and we barely touched it, but there is so much more history of China to look at. And let’s not get blinded by the shiny. So what came next up: a bit of history everybody tried to avoid for a long time, and nobody knows what to call (Six dynasties? Northern and Southern Dynasties? Period of Division?) because it doesn’t fit the mold of a neat unified, central empire ruling something we can recognize as China.
Unless otherwise noted, all assignments and tasks are due by 11:59PM. I strongly suggest you keep a healthy life-work balance and make sure to get enough sleep. Check the “best-before dates” policy in the syllabus.
| Monday |
- □ Look ahead at the readings and tasks for this week, and plan in when you will do them.
- – This prevents last minute panic, and means you can make the most of our time together in class.
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- □ Plan for your mid-term check in: appointments available this week and next week.
- – Check out availability and book an appointment using the appointments page (marked as “Mid-term”). Book your appointment now, and change slots if your schedule changes. That’s better than needing to scramble because our schedules don’t align. Meet in my office (Ettinger 300A), unless you request to meet on Discord.
- – Why? Even if you don’t need a mid-term grade, it’s good to see where we are at the mid-semester point, and how you can make the second half count. Things we will discuss: what are you doing well? how are you working towards your goals/objectives for this course? how can we work better together to get you towards those goals in the second half of the semester? how is the relative freedom of the Show and Tell projects allowing you to see things differently, either about (Chinese) history, or about you as a student/writer/researcher?
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- * Look back at your Start of Semester reflection and goals, and your First Reflection to help you ponder these questions; think about goals (new, or adjusted goals) for the second half. Do not come to this conversation without preparation!
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| Tuesday |
- □ Feedback on your fellow students’ posts:
- – Read through and use Hypothes.is (Group HST269) to comment on your fellow students’ posts: everybody likes some encouragement! Here is a random selection of three posts. If two or more posts are the same, or one is your own, just refresh the page for a different set. It’s all random, it’s all good!
- * Post 1:
- * Post 2:
- * Post 3:
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| Wednesday |
- □ Prepare before class: Readings
- – Secondary source: Lewis, Mark Edward. “China and the Outer World”. Chapter 6 in China between Empires: The Northern and Southern Dynasties, 144-169. History of Imperial China. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009. (PDF)
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- This extract gives you the background on how non-huaxiapeople (or non-Chinese, but that’s a complicated question/term) came to occupy and rule over the northern half of what is now China.
- – Primary sources: Instructions for the Yan family (Yanshi jiaxun). Various translations and editions, see footnotes in document. (PDF)
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- Mr. Yan was a Chinese official who served under northern and southern states in the sixth century. He wrote these “instructions” for his sons, and they provide interesting insights in how the two parts of the country grew apart culturally, after centuries of political division. What are those differences? How do such differences affect our use of the word “Chinese”/”China”?
- “Ballad of Mulan”. In An Anthology of Chinese Literature : Beginnings to 1911, translated and edited by Stephen Owen, 241-43. New York: W.W. Norton, 1997.(PDF)
- This is the oldest known version of the “Ballad of Mulan”, set in the Northern Wei. (The Disney movie was only the last in a long series of different interpretations of how the story was molded and retold over the centuries to suit the particular needs of a time period.) What can you learn about life during the Northern Wei from this ballad? What appears to you to be representative of the northern nomadic traditions (of the Xianbei), and are there indications that this culture has absorbed elements of its Chinese surroundings?
- – Optional extra: Primary Source Excerpt from Mouzi. In Sources of Chinese Tradition, Vol. 1: From Earliest Times to 1600, 2nd edition, edited by Wm. Th. de Bary and Irene Bloom, 421-426. (PDF)
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- Mouzi is a Buddhist apologist, not to be confused with the pre-Qin thinker Mozi of “Universal Love” or “Equal Care” (jian’ai) fame of week 3.
- How does Mouzi explain the “strange” customs of the Buddhists? How does he try to convince people? Who do you think is his audience or intended reader?
- – Fun extra: Primary Source In the spirit of the month of Halloween, some Buddhist miracle stories:
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- Stories 2,3 and 4. In Robert Ford Campany, Signs from the Unseen Realm: Buddhist Miracle Tales from Early Medieval China, 71-77. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press/Kuroda Institute, 2012. (PDF)
- These tales demonstrate the power of Buddhism. Why do you think these tales were so popular? How did they help spread Buddhism? What other factors may have played a role in the spread of Buddhism in China at this time?
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- □ Meeting in Ettinger 213, 9.30AM
- Slides (Google drive)
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| Thursday |
- □ Make sure to prepare for tomorrow’s class!
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| Friday |
- □ Prepare before class:
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– Please install Zotero and the connector before we meet. We recommend not signing up with your Muhlenberg email so you’ll maintain access to the group library after graduation too.
– Use Kelly’s handy tutorial, and if need be: consult the help pages for Installation and Quick Start guide. If it really doesn’t work, we will try to get you sorted during the session, or you can visit Kelly or Jess (Denke) in the library, they are pretty good at getting people started.
– Don’t worry about the group library yet. I will invite you to our course’s group library by email or Discord.
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□ Meeting in Trexler Library, Information Commons, 9.30AM
Same place as last week: near those coffee machines!
- □ Show and Tell Project 2: Find all the details on the dedicated webpage
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| Saturday |
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| Sunday |
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Where to get help:
- Tea Room on Discord:
- open anytime for you
- I will be hosting Tue 2PM-3PM; Wed. 11AM-12PM, or at other times by appointment via Google Calendar. You can also find me in my office during Tea Room times.
- Private room for confidential chat available on request.
- Discord Channel #hst269 and the (anonymous) Padlet (both also useful for chatting, sharing fun stuff)
- DLAs: Digital Learning Assistants: schedule coming soon!
- Writing Center: Sunday-Wednesday: 3:30 – 5:30 pm and 7-11 pm; Thursday: 3:30 – 5:30 pm and 7-9 pm; drop in or make an appointment
- Trexler Library Course Subject Guide: our own dedicated subject guide for the course
- Safety on/around campus: report an incident