UCLA Center for East Asian Studies Educational Resources

Contrasting Chinese Ideas With the West

Description:

I want to use the Far East, mainly China, as a comparison to my main focus in Western World History. Throughout the year, in each of my units, I want to bring in the Asian perspective and exper­ience. It will enhance my core content by reinforcing themes and concepts such as religion, government, and human rights. My main units in Modern World History, Grade-10, will be Rise of Democratic Ideas, Industrial Revolution, Imperialism, World War I, Totalitarianism, World War II, and Modern Nationalism . My textbook and framework have a "Western" emphasis. I can easily use China and the Far East in every unit.

 

I want to introduce the students to a continent they will know little about.  I will start with basic geographic knowledge, and move toward deeper cultural issues. Each unit I teach is thematic, so I can spice up my unit with an Asian connection across time or space. In my first unit on Democratic Ideas, I will compare the idea of freedom of citizens ruling themselves with a paternal Emperor. Socrates, Buddha, and Confucius can be compared as can Buddhism's 5 Precepts and the 10 Commandments. This comparison can be brought into the future with a comparison of the West's "rights" and the East's "Duties and obligations". By constantly reinforcing my units with Asian comparisons I will hopefully get students interested in a every different and -fascinating culture, and help them learn their own even better.

Objectives:

 Student will be able to identify physical and political Geography of Asia. Asia's relationship to rest of the world, as well as main cultural components by region.

Student will be able to describe the main philosophical differences between Western individualism and rights and East Asian sense of obligation and duty.

 Student will be able to compare and contrast the key religious and intellectual figures such as Socrates and Confucius, Buddha and Jesus, the 5 precepts and 10 commandments, Mencious and Locke vs. Hobbes and Legalism

 Student will be able to describe the differences between a Chinese and American family.

 Student will be able to argue and support the idea of human rights from a Western and Chinese point of view.