Week 4: Tombs of Early China

Feb. 7 and 9

Fear for the ancestors prompted the Shang people to treat the deceased with a lot of respect. The tomb of Lady Hao, the consort of King Wuding, shows us just how much effort went into providing all the necessities for the afterlife. Those ideas did not disappear, but the attitude towards the dead would change over time.1 Nevertheless, when people had the means, they gave their dead a lavish burial, and the most lavish of them all was undoubtedly the First Emperor’s tomb, with the terracotta army, located about 1.5 miles east of the tomb itself.

The terracotta army of the First Emperor of Qin (Qin Shi Huangdi) is, just like the Great Wall, an incredible achievement from early Chinese history. Like we did for the Great Wall, we will try to separate fact from fiction. Note that archaeological investigations and historical research are still ongoing, and our understanding of this cultural relic is likely to change and refine in future years. In addition to the reading, think about what you may have seen or heard about the terracotta army, and the tomb: myths, legends, tall tales…

Everybody will read basic information about how the warriors were made, but you have a choice this week to specialize further in the tomb and warriors of the First Emperor, or read about how other people around that time were buried. The focus is on the materiality of the tombs: the objects, the construction, the resources, the people who created them and what this tells us about the culture and the state that created them. The beliefs underlying the tomb creation also play a role, but are not the focus in this course.

Table of Contents

Slides

  • Feb. 7
  • Feb. 9

Readings and class details

Tuesday

Meeting in Ettinger 212, 3.30PM

Basic set: everybody reads this

  • Slides (Gdrive link)
  • Ledderose, Lothar. Ten Thousand Things : Module and Mass Production in Chinese Art. The A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts, 1998. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000.
    • Chapter 3: “A Magic Army for the Emperor” (PDF)
    • How and why was the army created?
    • Do you see parallels with the production of bronzes, discussed in last week’s readings?
  • OPTIONAL EXTRA Hung, Wu. The Art of the Yellow Springs: Understanding Chinese Tombs. London: Reaktion Books, 2010. (ebook Trexler)
    • “Introduction” (pp. 7-16)
    • This is a general introduction to early Chinese views of the afterlife. (i.e. China until the end of the Han dynasty). What are the major points that help you understand how we should look at the material remains of the views of the afterlife?

Pick one of the following two options:

Option A: Deeper dive into the First Emperor’s tomb

  • Riegel, Jeffrey, “Archaeology of the First Emperor’s Tomb” (2 parts). Lectures 3 and 4 in the series Arts of Asia, by Asian Art Museum. (video lectures)
    • Part 1 and Part 2 (Gdrive link to MP4 file)
    • Mercury was derived from cinnabar; follow the link to this tweet to see it in mineral form.
      • Many an emperor poisoned himself in search of immortality by taking pills made with cinnabar…
  • OPTIONAL EXTRA: NOVA. “Emperor’s Ghost Army.” Produced by Ian Bremner. Directed by Lion Television Ltd. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), 2014. Online Video. (Link)
    • A much more spectacular look at the archaeology (Dramatic music and all!)
  • OPTIONAL EXTRA: pictures from the 2020 excavations (in Chinese) from tombs around the First Emperor’s tomb. Small objects, but also some pictures that give you a good sense of the scale of the excavations.

Option B: Other tombs of Early China

  • Selbitschka, Armin. “Miniature Tomb Figurines and Models in Pre-Imperial and Early Imperial China: Origins, Development and Significance.” World Archaeology 47, no. 1 (2015): 20-44. (article in Trexler).
    • The focus of this article is on the numerous objects buried with the dead, and how the meaning and function of these objects changed throughout the centuries.
    • Try a “three sentence summary” of the article to come to the core of the argument: what is the key idea the author tries to convince you of?
  • Various Han tomb objects: Mawangdui Museum website and list of objects from the MET (NYC)
    • These are provided to help you understand the readings better.
  • Archaeologists in China keep finding tombs, including from the Han dynasty, check out this twitter thread for a recent spectacular find near the tomb of Emperor Wen of Han near Xi’an.
  • Although the subjects would change over the centuries, the idea of providing small earthenware objects for the dead remained, see for instance this example of the twelve animals of the East Asian zodiac from the sixth century from a Northern Wei tomb.

Thursday Meet in Trexler Library B01

3.30PM. Prepare before class: 

  • 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 nearer the time.

Assignments

1. Reminder Blog post (content week 3)

5 points, due Sun. Feb. 5, 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 last week’s 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

2. Feedback with Hypothes.is

3 points, due Feb. 7

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 3 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 4)

5 points, due Sun. Feb. 5, 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 4” 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 4 in the title, and added the post to category hst137

4. Pitch a topic

10 points, due Feb. 13.

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.

Get your thinking caps on! Use last week’s library session 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

EC4-1. Extra commenting

2 points, due by Sunday, Feb. 12, 11.59pm

Do you like reading your colleagues’ work? Do you like helping them out by identifying ways to make their posts better? Here’s some good news! You can earn extra credit by doing extra commenting! This assignment will be available regularly throughout the semester.

  • Go to the Blog Stream of the Class
  • Pick a post that piques your curiosity and that you have not yet commented on
  • Use Hypothes.is group HST137, and leave feedback as we practiced with the Architects’s model
  • Pick 2 other posts: they can come from other students in the blog stream, or if you like the writer, you can stay with them and comment more.
  • The only conditions are
    • that you do not comment on blog posts you already commented on before, as part of your regular weekly “sourdough starter” tasks.
    • that the post is actually written for HST137, and not some other class. Check the category, and the content :upside down smiley:
  • Add the tag extra to the comment (this helps me to keep track of how many people use this option.)

When you’re done, please read this declaration carefully and then collect your points on Canvas with the Declaration Quiz.

Declaration
I selected three blogs I have not yet commented on before, from our class’ blog stream, and I used 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 added the tag extra to my Hypothes.is comments.
I left comments that I would like to receive myself: thoughtful, helpful, kind, but also pointing out errors so they can be fixed.

EC4-2: Record your name with NameCoach in Canvas

1 point, due by Sunday Feb. 12, 11.59pm

Some of you have no doubt wondered how you pronounce my name. (It’s ok, I don’t mind people mispronouncing it. I’d rather you try than say “Oh I won’t even try because I’ll just butcher it.”) To help you out, I recorded it using NameCoach, and put it on Canvas. You can record your name, too!

Check out this tutorial video from our friends at the OIT office to walk you through. It is very easy. When you’re done, check it is showing up on our Canvas course NameCoach tab.

If you already recorded your name at an earlier point, go ahead and claim your point!

Then read this Declaration, and go to the Canvas Declaration Quiz to collect your extra credit point.

Declaration
I recorded my name in NameCoach for our Canvas site.
I checked my recording shows up correctly on the Canvas site.

Where to get assistance?

  • Tea Room on Discord:
    • open anytime for you
    • I will be hosting Tue 2PM-3PM; Wed. 1-2PM, or at other times by appointment via Google Calendar (usually a 15-20min appointment is enough). You can also find me in my office during Tea Room times.
    • Private room for confidential chat available on request.
  • Discord Text Channel #hst137
  • DLAs: Digital Learning Assistants: check the schedule!
  • Writing Center: Sunday – Wednesday 3:30 – 5:30 & 7 – 11 PM; Thursday 3:30 – 5:30 PM &  7 – 9 PM
  • Trexler Library Course Subject Guide: our own dedicated subject guide for the course 
  • Safety on/around campus: report an incident
  1. If you’re interested, see for instance Von Glahn, Richard. “The Han Cult of the Dead and Salvific Religion.” In The Sinister Way: The Divine and the Demonic in Chinese Religious Culture, 45-77. University of California Press, 2004. https://muhlenberg.on.worldcat.org/oclc/56028466.