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Primary Sources with DBQs |
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4000-1000 BCE |
Ancestral
Rites and Divination |
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Warfare |
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Women:
Childbearing |
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1000 BCE-300 CE |
Confucianism |
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Daoism |
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Zhou Dynasty
Govenment: Confucius, Mencius, Laozi |
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Qin Dynasty
Govenment: The Legalist Philosophers Han Fei and Li Si |
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Han Dynasty
Government |
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Warfare:
Zhou Period |
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Agriculture,
Han Period |
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Women
and Family |
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Literature:
The Classic of Odes (Book of Songs); Poetry from the State of Chu |
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Literature:
Sima Qian |
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300-600 CE |
Buddhism
in China |
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Women |
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Literature: "A
Song of Seven Sorrows"; "Peach Blossom Spring" |
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600-1000 |
Buddhism
in China: The Chan (Zen) School of Buddhism |
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Buddhism
in China: Reactions of Confucianists and Daoists to the influence of Buddhism
during this period |
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Tang
Dynasty Government: Effective Rulership, the Law, and Taxes |
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Reflections
on War |
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Slavery
in Tang China |
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Women & Family |
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Tang
Poets: Wang Wei, Li Bo, Du Fu |
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1000-1450 |
Neo-Confucianism |
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Song
Dynasty Government: Reform under the Neo-Confucianists |
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Ming
Dynasty Government: Promotion of Social Order and Morality |
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Military:
The Northern Song Defeated by the Jurchen Jin |
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Agriculture;
Growth of Cities and Urban Life during the Song and Yuan Dynasties |
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Women |
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Literature
of Scholar-Officials and Military Officers |
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Women Writers |
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1450-1750 |
Neo-Confucianism
during the Ming |
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Books
of Moral Instruction, Ming and Qing |
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Christianity
Enters China |
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Provincial
and Imperial Government under the Qing |
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Women |
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Essays,
Poems, and Fantasy Tales of the Qing |
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1750-1919 |
"Self-Strengthening" and "Learning
from the West" |
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Calls
for Radical Social Reform |
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The May
Fourth Movement (ca. 1916-1920s) |
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The Taiping
Rebellion (1850-1864) |
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The Years
of Reform: Prologue to Revolution |
From
Reform to Revolution, 1842 to 1911
After China's defeat in the Opium War of 1842, thinkers tried to understand what
made the West so strong and how China could best respond. This unit traces the debates
about reform from the mid-nineteenth into the early twentieth century, as arguments
for more radical reform, including revolution, increased. Includes background readings,
two primary-source readings (Feng
Guifen's "On the Adoption of Western Learning" [PDF] and Yan
Fu's "Learning from the West" [PDF]) and brief discussions of Liang
Qichao's ideas on democracy and Sun Yatsen's "Three People's Principles." Also
see the Religion, Philosophy, Thought section, above, for more readings by these
and other reformist thinkers.
Chu Chengbo's 1895
memorial to Qing emperor Guanxu (1871-1908, r. 1875-1908)
Excerpts
from Reforming Men's Minds Comes Before Reforming Institutions
[PDF]
Kang Youwei's 1898
memorial to Qing emperor Guanxu (1871-1908, r. 1875-1908)
Excerpts
from Comprehensive Consideration of the Whole Situation [PDF]
Reform Imperial
Edict of 1901 (Issued by the Empress Dowager Cixi, 1835-1908)
Reform
Edict of the Qing Imperial Government (January 29, 1901) [PDF]
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International
Relations: China and Europe (Macartney Embassy, Opium War) |
Macartney
and the Emperor
The Qing dynasty's restrictions on foreign trade increasingly frustrated Europeans,
especially the British. In 1792 Great Britain sent a diplomat, Lord George Macartney
(1737-1806), to present its demands to the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736-1796). This
unit includes an introductory note to teachers with suggestions for teaching about
Macartney's mission; a student reading discussing European contact and trade with
China prior to and on the eve of Macartney's mission to China; and the primary-source
reading Two Edicts from
the Qianlong Emperor, which were the Qianlong emperor's responses to the Macartney
mission. With discussion questions and suggested activities for students.
The
Opium War and Foreign Encroachment
In the fifty years after Macartney's visit (see "Macartney and the Emperor," above),
Western powers pushed their demands on China further, leading to war and the gradual
shift from tribute to treaty relations. This unit examines the events surrounding
the Opium War and the Treaty of Nanjing, which concluded that war, and the increasing
foreign encroachments upon China during the nineteenth century. Included are two
primary-source readings: Commissioner Lin Zexu's "Letter of Advice to Queen
Victoria" (1839) and The Treaty
of Nanjing (1842) [PDF]. With discussion questions and suggested activities for
students.
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Women |
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1900-1950 |
The May
Fourth Movement (ca. 1916-1920s) |
Before
and After the May Fourth Movement
The so-called "May Fourth" or "new culture" movement began in
China around 1916, following the failure of the 1911 Revolution to establish a republican
government, and continued through the 1920s. This unit includes a background reading
and three primary-source readings [Chen
Duxiu's "Our Final Awakening" (1916) [PDF]; Chiang
Kai-shek's "Essentials of a New Life Movement" (Speech, 1934) [PDF]; Mao
Zedong's "Reform Our Study" (1941)], plus discussion questions and
suggested activities for students.
Chen Duxiu, 1879-1942
"The
True Meaning of Life" [PDF]
"Our
Final Awakening" (1916) [PDF]
Chiang Kai-shek,
1887-1975
"Essentials
of a New Life Movement" (Speech, 1934) [PDF]
"China
Cannot Be Conquered" (Speech, 1939) [PDF]
Hu Shi, 1891-1962
"Our
Attitude Toward Modern Western Civilization"
[PDF]
Liang Shuming,
1893-1988
"Chinese
Civilization vis-a-vis Eastern and Western Philosophies"
[PDF]
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Rebuilding
China |
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Mao Zedong
(1893-1976) and the Chinese Revolution |
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Communism
in China |
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Second
Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) |
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Mao Zedong
(1893-1976) on War and Revolution |
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Society and Family: Raising Children |
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Farmers
and the Chinese Revolution |
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20th-century
Literature |
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1950-2000 |
"Hundred
Flowers" Period |
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Land
Reform, Socialized Agriculture, The Great Leap Forward |
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Cultural
Revolution (1966-1976) |
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Socialism
and Democracy in China after Mao Zedong |
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Tiananmen
Square Demonstrations (1989) |
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China's
Political System since 1949 |
The
Chinese Political System and the Communist Party
This unit provides an overview of the Chinese political system and the Chinese Communist
Party (CCP) with excerpts from the constitutions of the Communist Party of China
and of the People's Republic of China. These primary documents can highlight for
students how the Communist Party is the real political power in China. A chart of
the political structure of China is also included, to help students better understand
the relationship between the party and the state in a communist system. Discussion
questions also included.
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China's
Foreign Policy; U.S.-China Relations |
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Literature |
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