Primary Sources with Document-based Questions | Asia for Educators

Confucius/Kong Fuzi/Kong Qiu, 551-479 BCE
• Selections from the Confucian Analects: On War [PDF]

Sunzi/Sun Wu, Eastern Zhou Period (770-221 BCE)
• Selections from the Sunzi: Art of War [PDF]

Sima Qian, 145?-85? BCE, whose father Sima Tan (d. 110 BCE) was Grand Historian at court of Han Emperor Wu (r. 141-87 BCE)
• Sima Qian's Letter to Ren An [PDF]

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Lotus Sutra, composed after 483 BCE
• Selection from the Lotus Sutra: "The Daughter of the Dragon King" [PDF]

Northern and Southern Dynasties Period, 317-589 CE
• The Ballad of Mulan (Ode of Mulan) [PDF]

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Huineng, 638-713, Sixth Patriarch of the Chan (Zen) school
• The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch [PDF]

Linji Yixuan, d. 867, founder of the Linji (Rinzai) school
• Seeing into One's Own Nature [PDF]

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Emperor Taizong, r. 626-649
• Emperor Taizong on Effective Government [PDF]

Zhangsun Wuji, d. 659
• The Great Tang Code: Article 6, "The Ten Abominations" [PDF]

Yang Yan, 727-781; Lu Zhi, 754-805
• Tang Debate on the Twice-a-Year Tax [PDF]

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Chen Pu (Chen Fu), 1076-1154
• On Farming (Nongshu) [PDF]

Unknown Author, ca. 1235
• The Attractions of the Capital (Hangzhou) [PDF]

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Li Yü (Li Liweng), 1611-ca. 1680
• "On Being Happy Though Poor" [PDF]

Yuan Mei, ca. 1716-ca. 1798
• "On His Chair-bearers—A Case of Misplaced Sympathy" [PDF]

Li Ju-chen, ca. 1763-ca. 1830
• "In the Country of Women" [PDF]

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Han Yi (Pseudonym, possibly written by Liu Shipei, 1884-1917)
• Excerpts from "Destroying the Family" [PDF]

He Zhen (wife of Liu Shipei, 1884-1917)
• "What Women Should Know About Communism" [PDF]

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• 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" (1934) [PDF]; Mao Zedong's "Reform Our Study" (1941)], plus discussion questions and suggested activities for students.

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• 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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• 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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He Zhen (wife of Liu Shipei, 1884-1917)
• "What Women Should Know About Communism" [PDF]

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• 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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Zhu Ziqing, 1898-1948
• "My Children" [PDF]

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• Farmers and the Chinese Revolution
This unit looks at the plight of China's farmers in the twentieth century. With a background reading and two primary-source readings ["Spring Silkworms," by Mao Dun [PDF]; Mao Zedong's "Report on the Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan" [PDF]].

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Hu Shi, 1891-1962
• "A Preliminary Discussion of Literary Reform" [PDF]

Lu Xun (Zhou Shuren), 1881-1936
• "My Old Home" [PDF]

Mao Dun (Shen Yanbing), 1896-1981
• "Spring Silkworms" [PDF]

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• 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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Mao Zedong, 1893-1976
• From "The Dictatorship of the People's Democracy": On Leaning to One Side (Speech, 1949) [PDF]

• Taiwan and U.S.-China Relations Since 1949
This unit offers an historical overview of Taiwan and U.S.-China relations. An introductory reading is followed by two important primary-source documents ["Shanghai Communiqué" (1972) and Taiwan Relations Act (1979)] and discussion questions.

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Hao Ran, 1932-2008
• "Date Orchard" [PDF]

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