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Culture and Cultural Diversity
Status:
Kurt R. Schroeder Culture of Confucianism NCSS Standard: Culture Performance Expectation: d: Compare and analyze societal patterns for preserving and transmitting culture while adapting to environmental or social change. e: Demonstrate the value of cultural diversity, as well as cohesion, within and across groups. Results/Expected Learning Outcome: 1. The students will be able to articulate who Confucius was, describe the philosophy of Confucianism and how it was used as a means to support political centralization. 2. The students will be able to describe what impact Confucianism had on the development of Classical Chinese Civilization from 1029 BCE to 22 CE and what influences it has on today’s modern Chinese society. 3. The students will be able to identify the five human relationships emphasized in Confucianism used in training people for political positions of responsibility. 4. The students will be able to discuss the theory of “respect for authority” and how it was expected to be learned within the family unit to further the centralization of political power. 5. The students will draw connections between ancient Chinese cultural behavior and current Chinese behavior towards its government. Evaluation: 1. Upon completion of the lesson plan, for homework, the students will write an essay outlining the following: a. describe the philosophy of Confucianism including the identification of the five human relationships key to behavior in Chinese society. b. be able to link how being taught the five levels of human behavior at the family level would help promote behavior demonstrating respect for the Emperor and expected behavior for China’s modern society towards its leaders today. 2. Classroom discussion of how promotion of Confucianism by ancient Chinese governments supported the goal of political centralization both then and now. Curriculum: This lesson is designed for a senior high school world history class. The lesson will provide the students with a glimpse of how current Chinese society was molded over the past three thousand years of civilization. Instruction: 1. Introduce the students to a brief 25-30 minute lecture on who Confucius was, when he was born, what he attempted to do to improve Chinese society during his lifetime, his impact on Chinese society after his death and how Chinese society today reflects how Confucianism influences modern Chinese behavior. a. Ask questions about: i. why Confucius presented his plans and ideas to government leaders of his day. ii. why his ideas were rejected. iii. why did his ideas take hold only after his death? iv. who promoted Confucianism then? v. how did the government to help centralize power for the Emperor use the philosophy of Confucianism? 2. Describe to the class the five levels of human behavior as outlined in Confucianism. a. Write on the white board the five levels of human behavior [list them here], descriptions and who were impacted – Peasants, Mandarins, Bureaucrats. b. Discuss the levels of behavior and how they were expected to be taught starting with the Chinese family unit. c. Describe the reasons why the levels of human behavior would lead to the cultural expectation of behavior for the people towards authority. d. Ask questions about how the government manipulated the population’s cultural behavior with the support of Confucianism. 3. Conduct a 10-minute class discussion with leading questions. Discussion Questions: a. Did the government succeed in centralizing power with Confucianism? [How did Confucianism help the government centralize power?] b. Does Chinese society today reflect any of the teachings of Confucianism? (Have the class cite examples of modern Chinese society and behaviors) c. Is Confucianism a religion or a political philosophy? d. Can Confucianism work to change American social behavior towards its government? [What would be different if America subscribed to the principles of Confucianism?]
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