This semester I am teaching HIST 332 Early China, which goes from Anyang to the Tang.1 One problem with this class is where and how to break it in half. The Shang, Zhou, and the Early Empire (Qin and Western Han) is part one. Then there is the Age of Disunion, Buddhism, the Tang, etc. Wang Mang is one place to split but there is really not much on him. Cao Cao and Red Cliff seem better to me, and recently they have gotten a lot easier to teach.
The Three Kingdoms period is a great time to split the class, since while you can’t really trace much of later elite culture or popular culture or the social order back to Wang Mang you absolutely can trace it back to the Peach Garden Oath, Battle of Red Cliff, Cao Pi, the nine rank system and all that. Plus you can show them some opera and talk about video games.
This period has become a lot easier to teach, in part because most of Rafe De Crespigny’s insanely expensive translations and books (a lot of Brill) are available open source or on JSTOR. You can also use Tian Xiaofei’s The Halberd at Red Cliff: Jian’an and the Three Kingdoms, although this may be too much for them to read on their own. 2 or explained something they did not get. I got a nice mix of explained points interesting queries, and “I bounced off it answers”. ))
The really helpful book is Cai Zong-qi ed., How to Read Chinese Poetry in Context: Poetic Culture from Antiquity Through the Tang and in particular the chapter on the Three Caos, by Lian Xinda. Up to this point the class has been reading a lot of philosophy, some Sima Qian, and me bringing in some stuff from the new Zuozhuan translation to add some personality. Starting from Cao Cao and his sons we can do more poetry, and stuff written specifically to show you the personality of the author. This is a big transition, and it helps to go through some poems at this point. Here are two I will use
SONG ON ENDURING THE COLD -by Cao Cao
North we climb the Taihang mountains; the going’s hard on these steep heights! Sheep Gut Slope dips and doubles, enough to make the cartwheels crack.
Stark and stiff the forest trees, the voice of the north wind sad; crouching bears, black and brown, watch us pass;
tigers and leopards howl beside the trail. Few men live in these valleys and ravines where snow falls thick and blinding.
With a long sigh I stretch my neck; a distant campaign gives you much to think of. Why is my heart so downcast and sad?
All I want is to go back east, but waters are deep and bridges broken; halfway up, I stumble to a halt. Dazed and uncertain, I’ve lost the old road,
night bearing down but nowhere to shelter; on and on, each day farther, men and horses starving as one.
Shouldering packs, we snatch firewood as we go, chop ice to use in boiling our gruel
That song of the Eastern Hills is sad, a troubled tale that fills me with grief.
Also
FAMOUS CAPITAL – By Cao Zhi
A famous capital has many bewitching girls, From the Capital of Luo come many young men.
Their precious swords are worth a thousand in gold, Their clothes are beautiful and bright.
They fight cocks on the road to the eastern suburb.
They race their horses between tall catalpas. I have not galloped half through the course,
When I see two rabbits dash out before me. I grab my bow, draw out a whistling arrow,
And race in pursuit of them up Southern Mountain.
On the left I draw my bow, to the right I shoot;
A single arrow shoots through both rabbits.
Before the remaining feats are performed, I raise my hands and shoot right into a flying kite.
All the spectators say my skills are excellent,
The expert bowmen lavish praise upon me.
We return and feast at the Pingle Gate Tower,
The fine wine costs ten thousand a quarter gallon.
The minced carp and stewed shelled prawn,
Roast turtles and broiled bear paws.
I called out loud for my companions,
And we sit in a row, filling the long mat.
Then we dash back and forth, kicking a ball and tossing woodpegs, Quick and nimble we play, in ten thousand ways.
The white sun rushes to the southwest,
Time cannot be brought to a halt. We go back to the city, scattering like clouds,
but come morning we will return again.”
So one poem about how much war sucks, and written from the perspective of someone who is actually there, rather than the more common literati lamenting the sufferings of peasant soldiers. Then a poem that some have read as criticizing the frivolities of the capitol, but which I would read the other way. The great thing about these is that the students can usually analyze them in class, and since you have read the Cai book you can explain them without being very good at this.
See also
I have a colleague who does Chinese archeology, so I can start at Anyang
This worked better than expected. I gave them one chapter to read and then asked for a discussion post where they explained something they thought was important in the chapter (( “Circling the Tree Thrice: Lord, Vassal, Community”
