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Exploring Culture in the Great Cities of Asia
Fall 2015 ~Asian Studies 180W/History 180W
Class time: MWF 10-10:50 AM, KRJH 236
Lisa Trivedi
Office: KRJH 141; ext. 4980; Office Hours: M 1-2 PM, Th 3-4PM, and by appointment
Thomas Wilson
Office: KRJH 140; ext. 4236; Office Hours: T 3:00-4:00, W 1:00-2:00, and by appointment
This course is an introduction to the histories of China, India, and Japan from the ancient period to the early 20th century, emphasizing both commonalities and distinctive features in a comparative framework. The course provides students with a broad political narrative alongside social and cultural details that place emphasis upon the heterogeneous and ethnically diverse composition of each society. The course focuses on such themes as ritual and kinship, the spread and transformation of Buddhism throughout Asia, empire and imperialism. Students will read textbooks and secondary sources, as well as a variety of carefully selected primary sources.
Because this is a writing intensive course, students will earn a substantial part of their final grade through four writing assignments (80%). Students are required to review their first paper at the Writing Center with a peer tutor, although they are strongly encouraged to avail themselves of these services for all three writing assignments.
REVISION POLICY: Each of the first three writing assignments may be revised in consultation with the faculty member; revisions will be due 10 days after the graded assignment is returned to the student. The grades earned for original version will be averaged with that earned for the revision in calculating the final grade (see p. 9 for details). Revisions must respond to comments and suggestions on the first version. The more significantly you develop the argument of the original version, either in conception or use of evidence, the more likely the revision grade will improve upon the original. Grades for revised versions that just correct mistakes noted in my comments on the original version are not eligible for change. When submitting the revision, briefly and concretely describe in your email how your revised version addresses the instructor’s comments on the original.
Students will also contribute 2 Questions and 2 Comments (2Q2C) for each set of readings that they post to the Discussion Board using the course Blackboard space (10%). Students earn 10% of their final grade based upon their participation in class discussion.
Texts for purchase:
Thomas Trautmann, India: Brief History of A Civilization (Oxford, 2011)
Conrad Schirokauer, (et al.) A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations (4th Edition, Thomson Wadsworth, 2013)
R. K. Narayan, The Ramayana (Penguin, 1972)
Wu Cheng-en, Monkey, Arthur Waley, trans. (Grove Press, 1958)
Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji, Royall Tyler, trans. (Penguin, 2006)
Other reading is available on Blackboard under “Assignments.”
Grades:
1st writing assignment 20% 4th writing assignment 20%
2nd writing assignment 20% 2Q2C 10%
3rd writing assignment 20% Class participation 10%
Discussion Board Posts on Blackboard:
As part of your preparation for class lecture and discussion, students are required to post two questions and two responses to the assigned reading by 9:00 AM the day they are due. Questions and posts will be available in the class Blackboard space. Each student may opt out of posting four times during the semester without penalty. Choose your passes carefully. Failure to post all but four will significantly affect 10% of your final grade.
The Rules:
Class attendance is required. You may miss up to two classes without penalty to your final grade; your final grade will be lowered by 1/3 of a grade for each additional class missed.
The Writing Assignments. We expect that your written work will be completed on time and according to the directions specified. A late paper will be marked down 1/3 of a grade for each day it is late. Each assignment will be graded by one of the two faculty members; consult with the faculty member to whom you will submit your assignment. If you are experiencing any difficulty with your coursework, please speak with us immediately. It is your responsibility to speak with us about any problems that you are having prior to a deadline; no extensions are granted on the day before or the day an assignment is due. To earn a passing grade you must submit all writing assignments.
Students with Disabilities. Hamilton College is committed to making reasonable accommodations for students with properly documented disabilities. We request that any student with a documented disability needing academic adjustments or accommodations speak with us during the first two weeks of class. All discussions will remain confidential. Students with disabilities should also contact Allen Harrison in the Dean of Students Office (Elihu Root House; 315.859.4021) who coordinates resources and services for students with disabilities.
Class Schedule:
8/28 Introduction
Instructors, course themes, using Assignments and Discussion Board in Blackboard
8/31 Mythical Origins: India and China
Trautman, Chap. 3 up to The Later Veda
Schirokauer, A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations, Chap. 1
“Creation,” The Rig Veda, Wendy Doniger, trans., 29-40
The Hymns of the Rgveda, Ralph Griffith, trans., “Purusa” (Hymn #XC), 602-603; “Creation” (Hymn #CXXIX-CXXX), 633-634
“The Canon of Shun,” Book of Documents, 11-18
Topics: the Vedic era: Rg Veda and Vedism, Brāhmaṇas; creation myths; pantheon: Prajāpati, Brahmā
9/2 Ancient India: ritual
Trautman, from the Later Veda to the end of Chap. 3
“The Horse Sacrifice,” The Rig Veda, Wendy Doniger, trans., 87-95
The Hymns of the Rgveda, Ralph Griffith, trans., “The Horse” (Hymn #CLXII-CLXIII), 107-109
Topics: the Vedic era: Rg Veda and Vedism, sacred foundations of the society
9/4 Ancient China: ritual
“The Single Victim at the Border Sacrifice,” Book of Rites, 416-420 through #7 (#8-13 concern tangential issues), 423-37 through #18, pp. 443 (#14)-448 (#29)
Topics: the son of Heaven, Heaven’s mandate, sacrifice
[*see reading notes at the end of the syllabus]
9/7 Comparative Thinking: India and China
“Comparative Thinking”
Review primary sources
film clip: “Altar of fire.” (2007)
9/9 Writing A Good History Paper
How to Write a Good History Paper, Alfred Kelly for the History Department, Hamilton College
Topics: paper mechanics, developing a thesis statement and a solid first paragraph; use of evidence and footnotes; the final paragraph
9/11 What is Asia?: thinking about geography, chronology, narrative
Schirokauer, xx-xiii (map and timeline)
Rhodes Murphy, A History of Asia, 1-9, plus maps
Trautmann, India Brief History of A Civilization, 1-15
David Ludden, India and South Asia: A short history, 5-9
INDIA
9/14 Vedic Tradition and Its Challengers: Heterodox Practice
Trautmann, Chap. 7
Upanisads, 3-17
Bhagvad Gita, ch. 2-4
Topics: Salvation, dharma, samsara, karma, nirvana; Gautama Sakyamuni, four Noble Truths and Eight-fold Path; Vardhamana Mahavira and Jain principles
9/15 Paper 1 Due at 4 PM. Submit your paper as an email attachment to Prof. Wilson (twilson@hamilton.edu); name your file: “yourlastname1.doc” or “.docx” Be sure to “save” the final version before sending it.
9/16 Spreading the Buddha’s Teachings: The Maurya Empire and Patronage
Trautmann, Chap. 4
Romila Thapar, “Asoka and Buddhism as Reflected in the Asokan Edicts”
Asokan Rock Edicts, selections; Asokan Edicts/Pillar Locations
Topics: Asoka Maurya, state patronage, rock edicts, dhamma, Silk Route, rise of merchant class, Buddhist monasteries and stupa
9/18 Hinduism: Patrons, Temples, and the Divine Order
Trautmann, Chap. 5
Begin reading The Ramayana
Topics: Kings the rise of kingdoms, Hinduism and the caste system; early Hinduism, Gupta Kings, consolidation of Hinduism, Bhakti, Shiva (Shaiva); epic tales
9/21 The Ramayana
Complete The Ramayana
Topics: Visnu (Vainava)
9/23 Many Ramayanas
“Wilderness: Chapter Two” from Valmiki’s Ramayana, 242-250
“Ayodha” from Tulsidas’ Ramacharitmanas, 183-184
“The Forest”(Surpanikha Disfigured by Lakshmana) from Tulsidas’s Ramacharitmanas, 306-308
“War: Chapter Thirteen” through Epilogue: Chapter Two” from Valmiki’s Ramayana, 629-679
“Sita Returns to Rama” and “The Ordeal by Fire” from Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas
Review Narayan’s Ramayana, 62-73 (Encounters in Exile) and 148-157
9/25 Purity and Impurity: social organization and caste
Trautmann, Ch. 6
Diane Mines, Caste in India, 5-35
Topics: caste, varna, jati, ritual, British colonialism and the invention of caste
9/28 Mughal Empire (1526-1858)
Trautmann, Chap. 9
Francois Bernier, Travels in the Mogul Empire, AD 1656-1668, 73-92
Topics: Babur, (r. 1526-1530); Akbar (1556-1605), mansabdars/military elite, jagirdars/landholder, zamindars/landholder
9/30 Mughal Courtly Culture: imperial ideals and the architecture of authority
Catherine Asher, “The Architecture of Raja Man Singh”
Topics: imperial cities–tent and built, Shah Jahan’s Taj Mahal
10/2 Islamization of South Asia
Barbara Metcalf, “A Historical Overview,” Islam in South Asia, 1-26
Review Trautmann, bottom 143-153
Topics: overland and maritime trade, the Indian Ocean trade zone, Islam and merchants, Sufis, 4 Common Theories of Islamization; Richard Eaton’s “Islamization By the Plough”
10/5 Eighteenth Century India: a re-evaluation
Christopher Bayly, Rulers, Townsmen and Bazaars: North Indian society in the age of British Expansion, 1770-1870, 9-34
CHINA
10/7 Early Confucianism
Begin reading Monkey
Schirokauer, Chap 2
The Analects of Confucius, Arthur Waley trans., Books 3-4
“Gods of the Analects,” Thomas Wilson, trans.
“The Spirits of Chinese Religion,” Religions of China in Practice, 3-7
Topics: Ru (“Confucian”/classicist), rites, humanity, gods/spirits,emperor, Legalism, Dong Zhongshu (179-104 BCE), “syncretism”
10/9 Imperial China
Schirokauer, Chapter 3, 5 (pp. 99-111)
“Heaven, Earth, and Man,” Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, 57-59
“The World beyond China,” Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, 54-56
Topics: building the Chinese empire, emperor, Qin (256-207 BCE), Legalism, Han (206 BCE-220 CE), civil bureaucracy, Xiongnu; Tang (618-907), Tang codification, Great Households, equal fields and taxes; An Lushan
10/12 Ritual City: Chang’an
Schirokauer, 108-111 (review)
“Confucianism: The Imperial Cult,” Encyclopedia of Religions 2nd Edition (Macmillan Reference, 2004)
“The Spirits of Chinese Religion,” Religions of China in Practice, 21-36
Topics: sacred geography of the city, imperial court and ritual
10/14 Medieval Daoism (aka “Taoism”)
Schirokauer, Chapter 4
“The Spirits of Chinese Religion,” Religions of China in Practice, 7-13
“The Consolidation and Expansion of Daoism,” Daoism Norton Anthology, 359-374
Use reading from 上清 to illustrate use of elixers, which are featured in Monkey
The Monkey and the Monk, Anthony Yu, trans., chaps. 7-8
Topics: Laozi, Celestial Masters, Highest Clarity, Numinous Treasure
10/14 Paper 2 due by 4pm. Submit your paper as an email attachment to Prof. Trivedi (ltrivedi@hamilton.edu) named “yourlastname2.doc” or “.docx”
Fall Recess (No Class on 10/16)
10/19 Mahāyāna Buddhism
Schirokauer, Chapter 5
“The Lotus School: The Tiantai Synthesis,” Sources of Chinese Tradition, 444-458
“The Spirits of Chinese Religion,” Religions of China in Practice, 13-20
“Buddhist Ritual and the State,” Religions of China in Practice, 390-396
Topics: Tiantai, Pure Land, Lotus Sutra, Bodhisattva, Avalokiteśvara, Guanyin, Chan/Zen, gong’an/kōan
10/21 Late Imperial China
Schirokauer, Chapters 8-9
“Reading the Analects in the Sage’s Courtyard: A Modern Diner’s Guide to an Ancient Feast,” A Norton Critical Edition of the Analects, 216-230
“The Scholars: ‘Fan Jin Passes the Juren Examination,’” The Search for Modern China, 54-63
“Commercial Activities,” Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, 213-220
Topics: decline of aristocracy, Confucian gentry, civil examinations, civil bureaucracy, three examination levels: licentiate/county level, recommended person/provincial, presented scholar/metropolitan; Cheng-Zhu orthodoxy, Four Books
10/23 Cultivation of the Mind/heart 心
Complete Monkey
Schirokauer, Chapter 10
The Monkey and the Monk, Anthony Yu, trans., chap. 17 [19]
“Wang Yangming’s New Learning of the Mind-and-Heart,” Sources of Chinese Tradition, 842-851
film clip: “Uproar in Heaven” 大闹天宮, dir. Wan Laiming (videorecording), Shanghai Arts Films, 2003
Topics: Lu-Wang school, self-cultivation; Wu Cheng’en (ca. 1500-82), Xuanzang (597-664), Consciousness Only School, Sharehouse syncretism, mind/heart; Heart Sutra
10/26 Family and Ancestors: Reading an Ancestral Scroll
Lives of Confucius, Chapter 6
“Ancestral Rites,” from Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, 157-163
Topics: family, lineage, gender, ancestor veneration, spirit and ghost, filial piety
10/28 Late Imperial City
“The Attractions of the Capital,” Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, 178-85
“A Visual Sourcebook of Chinese Civilization prepared by Patricia Buckley Ebrey”
< http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/painting/4ptgqmsh.htm>
Topics: urbanization, the ward system, Kaifeng, Lin’an (Hangzhou); Qingming Scroll
10/30 The Dragon Throne: from Ming to Qing
Schirokauer, Chapter 15
“Recording the Grandeur of the Qing,” http://www.learn.columbia.edu/nanxuntu/start.html
Topics: conquest elite, multiple roles of the emperor, inventing the Manchus
JAPAN
11/2 Ancient Japan
Schirokauer, A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations, Chap. 6: 127-143
Topics: Yamato (552-710), Uji, Nakatomi, Mononobe, Soga; Yamato, Tennoke
11/3 “Shinto: Nature, Gods, and Man in Japan” (film)
Schirokauer, 144-162
11/6 Sacred Kingship in Japan: discussion of primary sources
“Earliest Japanese Chronicles,” Sources of Japanese Tradition, 12-33
Topics: Shinto, Kojiki, Nihongi
Begin Reading Tale of Genji
11/9 Classical Japan: Nara and Heian
Schirokauer, 163-186
“Impact of Chinese Civilization,” 27-33 (documents #2-3a)
“The Fujiwaras” from The World of the Shining Prince, 41-69
Topics: Heian government, courtier (Kugyō) creation of Japanese language
11/11 Gender, Family, Marriage
“The Good People and Their Lives,” 144-54, plus 168-169 and “The Women of Heian and their Relations With Men,” 210-236, excerpts from The World of the Shining Prince
“The Paulownia Court,” from E. Seidensticker, trans. The Tale of Genji (abridged), 3-27
Topics: ideals of beauty, love, marriage, miyabi (courtliness), mono no aware (a sensitivity to things, awareness of impermanence, a gentle sadness of their passing)
11/13 Japanese (Mahayana) Buddhism
“The Founding of Mount Kōya and Kūkai’s Eternal Meditation,” Religions of Asia in Practice, 672-677
“Religions,” from The World of the Shining Prince, 94-122
Topics: devotional paintings of the Buddha; Shingon, Kūkai (774-835), mantra, mandala, Dainichi, three mysteries, Nembutsu, Nichiren (1222-82)
11/13 Paper 3 due by 4PM. See page 10 for details of the assignment. Submit your paper as an email attachment to Prof. Wilson (twilson@hamilton.edu); name your file: “yourlastname3.doc” or “.docx”
11/16 Medieval Japan: The Rise of the Samurai
Schirokauer, chapters 11-12
Selection from Helen McCullough trans., Yoshitsune: A Fifteenth Century Japanese Chronicle, 132-165
Topics: Buddhism, Kamakura government, Mongol invasions, bushidō, loyalty, reward,
Warrior aesthetics and art patronage, Ashikaga shoguns, Warring States Period, daimyō
11/18 Tokugawa Japan
Schirokauer, 312-217; 326-343: chapter 14: “Tokugawa: Background, Establishment, and Middle Years” (read up until “Genroku Urban Culture” subsection)
Michael Cooper, They came to Japan: An Anthology of European Reports on Japan 1543-1560
Topics: Contact with the West: guns and god, three unifiers, sankin kōtai (alternate attendance), Baku-Han system: kin (shinpan-daimyō), vassal (fudai-daimyō), outsider (tozama-daimyō); bureaucratization of samurai
11/20 Osaka: Rice Merchants and the Academies
Schirokauer, 343-354
Keizai Roku Shui, “Addendum to ‘Thoughts On the Political Economy’ by Dazai Shundai (1680-1747)”
THANKSGIVING RECESS
11/30 Japan and the West: The Tokugawa collapse
Schirokauer, chapter 17: 412-426
Takasugi Shinsaku, “Shanghai Diary (Yushu Niroku)” and Maki Izumi, “Letters from a patriot in the last days of the shogunate (Bakumatsu shishi no tegami)” in Jon Livingston et al eds., Imperial Japan 1800-1945, 83-86
Topics: Asia under threat, the Opium Wars, the coming of the Black ships and Commodore Matthew Perry, internal and foreign crises “Restore the emperor, expel the barbarians (sonnō jōi)
12/2 India and the West: The (English) East India Company
Trautmann, Chap. 10
The Queen’s Proclamation,1858
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Queen_Victoria%27s_Proclamation
Topics: joint stock company, Company Raj, Indian Mutiny, Government of India
12/4 China and the West
Schirokauer, chapter 16
“The Crisis Within,” The Search for Modern China, 111-133
“Restoration through Reform,” The Search for Modern China, 134-154
Topics: Opium Wars, Taiping Rebellion, conservative reform
12/7 Meiji Restoration
Schirokauer, chapter 17: 426-432; 18: 434-451
Fukuzawa Yukichi, “A Discussion of our national independence” in An Outline theory of Civilization
Topics: social mobility, seikanron (debate to invade Korea), Taiwan Expedition of 1874,
Fukuzawa Yukichi; “Restore the emperor, expel the barbarians (sonnō jōi)”
12/9 Asian Empire: Japanese Imperialism
“Emperor Meiji’s letter to President Grant on Iwakura Mission” in David Lu, Sources of Japanese History, vol. 2, 51-52
Fukuzawa Yukichi, “Datsu-A ron (On Departure from Asia),” trans., Sinh Vinh in Fukuzawa Yukichi nenkan, 1-4
Emperor Hirohito, “The War’s Goals”
Topics: bunmei kaika (civilization and enlightenment)
12/11 Comparative Thinking: Empire and Imperialism in Asia
Schirokauer, chapter 20
Take Home Final Examination (Writing Assignment #4) due Monday, December 14, by 10PM. Submit your paper as an email attachment to Prof. Trivedi (ltrivedi@hamilton.edu) named “yourlastname4.doc(x)”. You must “save” the final version before sending it.
The Writing Assignments
NO OUTSIDE SOURCES MAY BE USED
In order to earn a passing grade in this course you must complete all writing assignments. Updated versions of an essay that is not the final version (such as inadvertently sending a paper without first “saving” it) will not be accepted after the deadline. Penalties for late paper will be applied to the whole assignment (i.e., draft and revision). No extensions granted within 48 hours of deadlines, and even then extensions will be granted only under the most dire circumstances; conflict or near proximity with assignments in other classes are not adequate grounds for extensions.
Accommodation requests: We will make reasonable accommodations on assignment deadlines for a student who requires them because of a documented disability as allowed by the Dean of Student’s office. If you need such accommodations, please discuss them with an instructor no later than the end of the second week of classes so that we can make necessary arrangements for the semester.
Each writing assignment will be graded by one of the faculty members. If you have questions or need assistance with your paper, please consult ONLY with that faculty member to whom you will submit your paper.
Each student must discuss their draft of the first writing assignment with a peer tutor in the Writing Center. We recommend strongly that students avail themselves of assistance from the Writing Center for each of the three writing assignments. Make sure that your paper is turned in with a copy of the signed Writing Center form. Papers will not be accepted without this form.
Revision policy: Because this is “writing intensive” course, all students are expected to revise the first writing assignment, unless they have received at least a B. The first three writing assignments may be revised in consultation with the faculty member who has graded that assignment. Those earning grades of C- and below are especially encouraged to revise.
Once graded writing assignments have been returned, students have ten days to complete a substantial revision for a revised grade. The revision process requires more than correction of basic local errors, such as spelling, grammar, punctuation, and word usage. A substantial revision entails a more refined thesis or reframing of your argument, the amplification of your analysis of the evidence and possibly the introduction of new evidence, and generally a more nuanced critical reflection upon the argument you presented in the original version. Students are strongly encouraged to schedule a writing conference with their instructor to discuss how to approach the revision. After the ten-day period mentioned above, revisions will not be accepted and the original grade assigned will stand for the assignment.
Successful papers will incorporate passages from the primary sources in their analysis. All papers must include footnotes (Chicago Manual of Style) and a work cited page.
Writing Assignment #1: Sacred kingship in ancient India and China (approx. 4 pages or 1200-1400 words)
Examine how these sources portray the position of humans in relation to greater powers that govern the universe.
Focus your analysis on what the primary sources say about what the rites seek to accomplish; avoid speculation on how you think the rites legitimate the authority of those who perform them. Consider what the ritual participants themselves would regard as most important. Be sure to include specific examples with illustrative passages from the primary sources of ritual practice in your analysis. Avoid comparisons with religious ideas (particularly Christian) prevalent in the West. Make sure to provide complete citations for your evidence.
India: “Creation,” The Rig Veda, “Creation in the Brāhmaṇas and Upanisads,” Hindu Myths, and “The Horse Sacrifice,” The Rig Veda
China: “The Canon of Shun,” Book of Documents and “The Single Victim at the Border Sacrifice,” Book of Rites
Each student must discuss their drafts with a Writing Center tutor. Papers without Writing Center forms demonstrating that a conference was completed will not be accepted.
Writing Assignment #2: The Ramayana (approx. 4 pages or 1200-1400 words)
Using at least two subjects or themes, demonstrate how the Ramayana captures the transition from Vedism to Hinduism.
Essays should address both continuities and changes in the text(s) and make use R. K. Narayan’s prose version of the Ramayana, as well as the selections of Valmiki’s and/or Tulisidas’s Ramayana. Provide complete citations for your evidence.
Writing Assignment #3: Monkey (approx. 4 pages or 1200-1400 words)
Use your knowledge of Asia’s rich religious and philosophical traditions to examine the role of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism–such as their ideas and practices–in Monkey.
At first glance, Buddhism plays a major role in Wu Cheng’en’s sixteenth-century Monkey, and yet Daoist and Confucian elements are pervasive throughout the story. Successful essays will make effective use of the variety of class materials available to you, including class lectures and discussion, textbook readings, and primary source readings from this and other parts of the course. Avoid plot summary and focus on what the story tells us about China at the time when the book was written.
Writing Assignment #4: Tale of Genji (approx. 4 pages or 1200-1400 words)
Using your knowledge of Heian Japan discuss the period by addressing at least one of the following themes: political succession, Buddhism, courtly culture, gender relations.
Your essay must make use of The Tale of Genji, as well as reading selections from The World of the Shining Prince.
More on writing the paper
GRADING CRITERIA: A “good” (i.e., B) essay is clearly written and logically sound. An “excellent” (i.e., A) essay presents a compelling argument for a thoughtful and imaginative interpretation of the sources that is evident only upon thoroughly re-reading the sources and careful reflection upon the problems raised. A compelling argument requires (1) a clear formulation of a problem, (2) analysis of the texts under scrutiny, and (3) a scrupulous use and citation of supporting evidence from the texts. A thoughtful interpretation requires digging beneath the surface meaning of the texts to a subtler understanding of their connections to broader (social, political, etc.) contexts. A “prose” grade of C– (i.e., slightly less than “satisfactory”) is assigned to grammatically correct but informal and stylistically weak writing; and D+ or below for repeated infractions of basic rules of writing, depending upon frequency and egregiousness of such errors.
EFFECTIVE WRITING: An important part of a writing assignment is to formulate an interesting and original topic. Do not simply summarize the content of your sources. Present an argument or a thesis based on your own interpretation of the sources. Be sure to develop your ideas fully. Keep in mind that most important, central ideas of the essay should be clearly stated, explicated, and documented. Do not assume that any major point you want to make is self-evident; it is always important to make explicit the connection between your argument and the evidence you cite. A well written paper requires thorough reading and precise written expression. A thorough understanding of your sources depends upon close reading, careful reflection, and re-reading. Precise written expression requires writing, editing, and rewriting.
DOCUMENTATION: You must cite all sources of information that you use, even if you do not quote a source directly in your essay. If you do not cite the sources from which you derive information, or on which you base your description of an event, or interpretation of an idea, etc., the implication is that the idea is your own, or that it is based on your own primary research. Failure to cite such sources is plagiarism. Be sure to cite exact page numbers of any source from which you quote directly, although it is rarely necessary to cite the same source more than once in the same paragraph. Use proper citation forms in footnotes as described in the Hamilton College Style Sheet. Be consistent in the citation format used.
Below you will find the criteria used for assessing your writing. Students working with a writing tutor are encouraged to share this form and to use it for the purpose of revising their work.
Mechanics (grammar, spelling, punctuation, citation, organization)
Are there any spelling, punctuation, or grammatical errors?
Is the essay clearly and effectively organized?
Are sources quoted accurately and cited properly in footnotes and the bibliography?
Written Expression (prose, eloquence, interpretation, documentation)
Is the evidence (e.g., quoted passages, summaries of texts) effectively connected to the argument?
Is the prose clearly and persuasively written?
Are the ideas expressed articulately?
How compelling is the interpretation of the evidence?
Argument (thesis, argument, evidence, analysis, documentation)
Is the thesis clearly stated?
Is the thesis supported by a compelling argument and the most pertinent evidence?
How persuasively are the (primary) sources analyzed?
Is the evidence used effectively?
Are ideas fully developed? Does your argument move significantly beyond the assignment?
*Reading notes for Book of Rites, “The Single Victim at the Border Sacrifice”
Read the following passages:
pp. 416-420 through #7
p. 423 (begin with #14)-p. 431 (through #8) p. 434 (begin with #14)-p. 437 (through #18) p. 443 (begin with #14)-p. 448 (through #29)
This reading describes sacrifice, perhaps better understood as ritual feasting of the gods. The frequent comparisons between sacrifice and feasting among the living (e.g., p. 417 #1, p. 418 #3) suggests that the authors saw these activities as similar enough to compare in this way.
Section I, pp. 416-426
Border Sacrifice (Kiâo = jiao 郊) = king’s or emperor’s sacrifice to Heaven (south of palace) & Earth (north); suburb refers to places outside the walls of the royal/imperial city; don’t conjure up images of the burbs in the contemporary sense
Kau = Zhou dynasty
“express thanks” (bao 報) has the more particular meaning of to reciprocate, in this case, to offer something in exchange for the gods’ protection or other form of assistance
p. 417n4: “…the taste was not valued; what was held in honour was the scent of the air” = the flavor of the food was not important, what was honoured was the [food’s] aroma: because the gods partake of sacrifice through its aroma; they don’t physically consume the food; thus later it says that rich flavors are not important in sacrifice
p. 418: “developing influence” = yang 陽, a power or influence at work in the
cosmos; “receding influence” = yin 陰: drinking nourishes yang (music is
played); eating nourishes yin (no music); later (e.g., p. 434) water
p. 419 #5: “They did not dare to use for them things of extraordinary flavours...”
should be read as “They did not dare to offer extraordinary or many flavors...” viz. they offered simple, unadorend foods.
p. 420: “expanding influence” = yang 陽; “contracting influence” = yin 陰
pp. 420 #8- 423 #13 concern tangential issues, such as violation of ritual, court audience, ceremonial primacy of the son of Heaven; and violation of ritual
(again)
p. 423 #16: “driving away pestilential influences” was a corrupt popular rite
because it disturbed the ancestral spirits
p. 424#18: “beat his drums”: no music was to be played when fasting #19: inside the Khû gate: where carriages are parked; each rite must be
performed in its appropriate place
#20-21: concern the Shê altar 社 for the god of soils of the land; “darker and
retiring influence of nature” refers to yin (vs. yang); kiâ 甲 is the name of the
first day of a sixty day cycle
p. 425#20: to be an efficacious place to sacrifice to the soils god, the Shê altar
must be exposed to the workings of the cosmos upon it
#21: first sentence should read: “Rites at the Shê altar are the means to service the
Earth” (“as if” is a misleading translation)
Section II, pp. 426-437
p. 426#1: “reared a pile of wood” used for cooking the sacrifice
p. 428#4: fane = temple
p. 429#4: Grand temple = ancestral temple of the royal family; only people who
had the “same surname” could enter
p. 430 (#7): God = Di 帝 or Shangdi 上帝; Ki, or Hâu Ki = Hou Ji 后稷, Lord Millet. manes = material spirit or “ghost” (without any spooky connotations)
[pp. 431(#9)-434 (#13) describes a cult of the Father of Husbandry and other lesser spirits who invented husbandry, etc. The sacrifice is called kâ or zha 軾]
Section III, pp. 426-448
[pp. 437 (#1)-442 (#13): primarily concerned with other rituals, such as capping
and weddings, but parallels with sacrifice can be found throughout: What conclusions can be drawn from them?]