Week 3: The Great Wall – People and their stuff in Chinese history

Jan 31 and Feb. 2

Few “things” in Chinese history are as iconic as the Great Wall. But with the fame of the Wall a lot of myths and legends have also accrued around it. You may have heard that you can see the Great Wall from space (false!), that it was built by the First Emperor of China (not really true), and it was built to keep enemies out (it’s complicated, and the short answer is: not true) In this module, you can explore various aspects of the Great Wall, and the assignments will help you how to separate fact from fiction.

Slides
Readings and class details
Assignments
Extra Credit Tasks
Where to Get Assistance?

Slides

Jan. 31
Feb. 2 [Trexler library subject guide]

Readings and class details

Tuesday

Meeting in Ettinger 212, 3.30PM

Pick ONE text from LIST A and ONE text from LIST B. I have included guiding questions to help you find focus in the readings.

LIST A (Pick ONE)
- Waldron, Arthur. The Great Wall of China: From History to Myth. Cambridge Studies in Chinese History, Literature, and Institutions. Cambridge England: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
  - Read Chapter 2 only: “Early Chinese Walls” in Part 1 (ebook in Trexler Library)
  - Questions: Is there a Great Wall, and if yes, is it 2500 years old? What is the evidence for and against? What does the author think, and what evidence does he use?
  - What is the “pitch” (i.e.: Waldron is trying to persuade you, what is that idea?), what is the “complaint” (what does he think is wrong in our understanding of the Wall?), and how does he build his case?
- di Cosmo, Nicola. Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
  - read pp. 138-158 (excerpt from chapter 4: sections “Wall Building” and “Conclusion”)(ebook in Trexler Library)
  - What was the function of military walls, according to di Cosmo? What is Di Cosmo’s “pitch” (di Cosmo is trying to persuade you, what is that idea?), what is the “complaint” (what does he think is wrong in our understanding of the Wall?), and how does he build his case?

ALSO PICK ONE FROM

LIST B (Pick one)
1. Lindesay, William. The Great Wall in 50 Objects. Paperback ed. Melbourne, Vic.: Viking, an Imprint of Penguin Books, 2015. (PDF)
  - Question: The object dates from a slightly later period than discussed in Di Cosmo. What appears to have changed?
  - OPTIONAL RELATED TEXT: Loewe, Michael. Records of Han Administration. University of Cambridge Oriental Publications, No. 11-12. London: Cambridge U.P, 1967. [This is a scholarly text, read only if you can’t get enough of the wooden documents.]
2. Idema, W. L. Meng Jiangnü Brings Down the Great Wall: Ten Versions of a Chinese Legend. A China Program Book. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2008. (e-book Trexler)
  - This book translates a number of different versions of the most popular legend connected to the Great Wall: the story of Lady Mengjiang.
  - Pick one story (from part 1 or part 2) and include a brief, three sentence summary for your colleagues in your initial response post, and include the title of the story for easy retrieval.
  - Question: How has the story of Lady Mengjiang influenced the way Chinese people see the Great Wall? How does this view square with that of historians and archaeologists? (i.e. what you see in List A)
3. Bruce G. Doar. “The Rehabilitation –and Appropriation– of Great Wall Mythology”. China Heritage Quarterly, 7 (Sept. 2006). http://www.chinaheritagequarterly.org/articles.php?searchterm=007_meng.inc&issue=007
  - How and why has the interpretation of the story of Meng Jiangnü changed over the years? What do you learn from studying legends in their historical context?
  - You can annotate the website with Hypothes.is. Use the group HST137, of course.
OPTIONAL EXTRA: Primary source:
- Sima Qian. Records of the Great Historian (Shiji), quoted in Idema, Mengjiangnü Brings Down the Great Wall, p. 8: this is the text closed in time to the construction of the Wall under the Qin emperor (Google Doc)

Thursday Meet in Trexler Library B01

3.30PM. Prepare before class:

Trexler Library Subject Guide: Article exercise: Close to the top of the subject guide you find links to 6 articles. You are assigned 1 article in a group. (see list below). Read through through the article and take brief notes (for reference in class) on what you see as strengths and weaknesses of the article. (Coordinate with your partner[s] if you want!)
- TIP: you don’t have to read the entire article! We won’t discuss the contents in great detail, but you should look for the features that help you identify the strengths and weaknesses.
Where are we? Go down the stairs to B level and turn right. Walk past the vending machines and into the classroom at the end. (And yes, you can bring snax and drinks into the room).
Teams:
- Article 1: Abbe, Brennan & Shoshi
- Article 2: Lizard, Zoe & Emma
- Article 3: Hannah, Gwen & Tori
- Article 4: Jason, Dhaneille & Tanner
- Article 5:, Abe, Paige, Vanessa & Ginny
- Article 6: Jillian, Kagan, Xindy

Assignments

0. Install a footnote plugin for WordPress

0 points task, due Fri. Feb. 3 11.59PM

Plugins are tiny pieces of code or software to add to your WordPress site that make it more awesome. For this task, I request that you install a plugin that will allow you to create footnotes. Then you can write like a professional historian with footnotes in the Chicago Notes and Bibliography style.

We will use the Easy Footnotes plugin by Jason Yingling. Follow these steps to install it, or scroll down a bit for the video tutorial from Tim Clarke.

Go to your WordPress site/blog. In the lefthand menu, click on Plugins
Add the top, click on “add new”
In the search bar (right, next to “keyword”), type easy footnotes
Check that the first hit is Jason Yingling’s Easy Footnotes plugin, and click on “install”
Click Activate

You now have installed the plugin!

To create a footnote you just wrap the text that needs to go inside the note between a tiny bit of code. (Replace stuff with the reference, here)

[efn_note]stuff[/efn_note]

The plugin will automatically take care of numbering and links to move your reader between note and text. Please use these notes for your Show and Tell projects to make sure you are in compliance with the AIC 😁

Please complete the Declaration on Canvas to allow us to keep track of your achievements in this course.

1. Reminder: Weekly blog post (content week 2)

5 points, due Sun. Jan. 29, 11:59PM

Write a blog post exploring themes or ideas based on your reading. You do not need to have all the answers. In fact, learning to ask good analytical or research questions is a skill you can develop during the semester. Remember the description of the assignment from the syllabus.

Length: approx. 400 words. excl. list of materials consulted.
Add the list of materials consulted at the end of the post, in Chicago notes and bibliography style.
- TOP TIP: Just copy the bibliography information from the Reading list on this webpage, do not add the descriptive notes I provide for your information.
Add the words “Week 2” in the title.
- Please use this exact phrase, so your post will show up in the blog stream.
Indicate which Exploration Pack you chose.
Include a relevant image, and add a caption with the source/credit, and an Alt text description
Post on your website, and add to the category hst137.

When you’re done, read this declaration carefully and then fill out the Canvas quiz to collect your points.

Declaration
– I wrote a post of approximately 400 words in response to the readings.
– I included the bibliographic references for the materials I used for my post.
– I indicated which Exploration Pack I chose.
– I included an image, and I provided a caption and credit (source), and an Alt text description for the image.
– I use the words Week 2 in the title, and added the post to category hst137

2. Feedback with Hypothes.is

3 points, due Jan. 31

Below you find links to three blog posts from your fellow students. If one of the websites is your own, or it is twice the same person’s, refresh the page, and you should get new sites. [posts coming on Monday]

Post 1:
Post 2:
Post 3:

Leave feedback, questions, thoughts, insights about the contents of the posts of your fellow students using Hypothes.is group HST137. You can ask for clarifications, point out similarities and differences with the material you covered, or with your interpretation. This should encourage you to nose around in the other materials you did not read originally, too.

Use tags in Hypothes.is: question: If you have a question (obvious); answered: if you gave an answer to a question; info: if you provide more information, looking up additional facts, drawing on knowledge from other classes; and other tags you can think of. This will help us to navigate more quickly to the questions that still need answering.

Use the “Architect’s Model” of giving feedback, and engage with concrete issues. Go beyond “Yeah, I agree,” “I like” or “I think the same”, and instead explain why you have that reaction, or if you disagree, you can try to persuade the original poster of your idea or interpretation.

Remember that Hypothes.is allows for hyperlinks, e.g. to materials that support your argument, or you can include pictures (memes! [yes, there she is again]), videos etc. that help the original poster to learn more.

When you’re done, read this declaration carefully, and then fill out the Canvas quiz to collect your points.

Declaration
– I commented on three fellow students’ weekly blog post on Week 2 materials, using the Hypothes.is group HST137.
– I made sure to leave substantial comments that help the writer to improve the post, or to identify their strengths.
– I left comments that I would like to receive myself: thoughtful, helpful, kind, but also pointing out errors so they can be fixed.

3. Blog post (content week 3)

5 points, due Sun. Feb. 5, 11:59PM

Length: approx. 400 words. excl. list of materials consulted.
Add the list of materials consulted at the end of the post, in Chicago notes and bibliography style.
- TOP TIP: Just copy the bibliography information from the Reading list on this webpage, do not add the descriptive notes I provide for your information.
Add the words “Week 3” in the title.
- Please use this exact phrase, so your post will show up in the blog stream.
Indicate which Exploration Pack you chose.
Include a relevant image, and add a caption with the source/credit, and an Alt text description
Post on your website, and add to the category hst137.

When you’re done, read this declaration carefully and then fill out the Canvas quiz to collect your points.

Declaration
– I wrote a post of approximately 400 words in response to the readings.
– I included the bibliographic references for the materials I used for my post.
– I indicated which Exploration Pack I chose.
– I included an image, and I provided a caption and credit (source), and an Alt text description for the image.
– I use the words Week 3 in the title, and added the post to category hst137

[4. Heads-up: Pitch a topic]

You can find more information about the Final Project on the dedicated webpage. Due date for this first step is Feb. 13.

I collected all the info you need about Pitching a topic (including “help I have no clue what I’d like to do”) on a webpage.

You’ll pitch a topic soon. Better get your thinking caps on! The library session this week will also be useful to give you a space to begin exploring if there are good quality sources available. We will also make some time in class to help you refine your rudimentary ideas.

Extra Credit exercises

EC 3-1: Rewrite a post

2 points, due by Sunday, Feb. 5, 11.59pm

Unhappy about a post you wrote? Feeling you can do better now than a few weeks ago? Had a bad week and rushed to get it in but now you’re ready to do something you can be proud of? Now you can rewrite that post and get some extra credit for it!

Pick one post from a previous weeks (not the Cat post) and use the comments you received, and your new insights, to rewrite it.
Add a brief paragraph at the end explaining how you rewrote the post: which comments did you address, how did you go about the process (e.g. starting from new blank page vs. tinkering; focusing on structure or word choice or adding/correcting facts,…), and what you learned through the process of rewriting.
tag the post with extra, and add “rewrite” to the title
- (Note: it should already be in the category hst137)

Read the following Declaration carefully, and then head on over to Canvas to collect your points in the Declaration Quiz:

Declaration
I selected a post from a previous week and rewrote it, using feedback and insights I gained since writing it.
I added a brief paragraph at the end explaining what I did to rewrite the post, and what I learned about rewriting
I added the tag extra to the post, and added the word rewrite to the title.
I made sure the post is still in the category hst137.

EC 3-2 “Down the Rabbit Hole”

3 points, due by Sunday Feb. 5., 11.59pm

Are you curious? Can you spend hours on internet following one link after another trying to get to the bottom of something? Did you know you can now also get some extra credit for this?

Pick a topic, placename, object, book or person connected to our readings from this week, and follow your curiosity “down the rabbit hole”, like Alice in Wonderland. Then share in a blog post with us where you went, and what you found. Your post does not have to be very long: 250 words should work; more is fine if you went on a deep dive, of course. Here’s what to include:

What in the course materials this week got you inspired to go down the rabbit hole?
Include as hyperlinked text the websites you visited, and what you learned there.
Include an image, with caption giving credit for the image.
You may also critique the sources you find, in particular if you have your doubts about their reliability, or you come across conflicting interpretations. Which one did you side with, and why?
Add the post to category hst137, use the title template “Down the rabbit hole: [insert subject]”, and add the tag extra.