Do you have any childhood friendships that are still strong today? Tell us about them.
Do you have any long distance friends?
How do you keep in touch with your long-distance friends?
How often do you see your long-distance friends?
Do you think it is a good idea to borrow money from a friend? Why or why not?
Do you make friends easily?
Has a friend ever let you down?
Have you made any friends over the Internet?
How often do you write to them?
Have you ever met them in person?
How are your friendships different now than they were when you were a child?
How do you maintain a good friendship?
How do you make new friends?
How many people do you consider your "best friends?"
Is it common to have friendships across generations?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of these types of friendships.
Do you have any friends from a different generation than you?
There is a saying "To have a good friend, you need to be a good friend." How can you be a good friend?
What do you usually do with your friends?
What factors may result in the breakdown of a good friendship?
What is a best friend?
What is the longest friendship that you have had?
What makes friends different from family?
associate
avoid
attributes
bond
curiosity
generous
hound
rare
species
striking
very unusual
a close connection joining two or more people
a group of plants or animals that share similar characteristics
someone who is always giving things to others
any of several types of dog used for hunting
qualities or characteristics that someone or something has
to relate two things, people, etc in your mind
easily noticed
to stay away from something
the feeling of wanting to know or learn about something
It’s known that animals often co-operate in their own social groups, helping each other to hunt or raise their young. Some highly intelligent animals, like elephants, go even further than this, and help other animals who are not in their own family group. But co-operation between animals of different (1)______________ is unusual, so that’s why the story of Suriya, the orang-utan, has attracted a lot of interest.
Suriya lives with his keepers at The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which is a kind of sanctuary for (2)______________ animals. Recently this orang-utan has made an unlikely friend in a local (3)______________ dog. Now most dogs (4)______________ apes, because they are scared of them basically, but these two have formed a strong (5)______________ . Each day the dog comes into the compound and searches out Suriya.
When he finds him, they carry on like long lost friends, wrestling and hugging and playing together. They’ve been doing this every day since they first met and their friendship has attracted the (6)______________ of millions of viewers on the National Geographic Channel. The founder of the institute, Dr Antle, explains: “It’s clear they’re having the time of their life. What is more (7)______________ is that Suriya has also understood that the hound dog is very hungry and so he regularly shares his monkey biscuits with him. Orang-utans are very (8)______________ creatures. If you give one a piece of candy, often they will break it in half and hand one piece back to you.”
So how does he explain the fact that their relationship has a lot of the characteristics of what we call “friendship”? Antle says that the two animals are fulfilling a basic social need in each other that perhaps we don’t normally (9)______________ with animals. “It’s a relationship with (10)______________ of fun and interaction that they are not getting from anyone else.”
Answers:
It’s known that animals often co-operate in their own social groups, helping each other to hunt or raise their young. Some highly intelligent animals, like elephants, go even further than this, and help other animals who are not in their own family group. But co-operation between animals of different (1)species is unusual, so that’s why the story of Suriya, the orang-utan, has attracted a lot of interest.
Suriya lives with his keepers at The Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which is a kind of sanctuary for (2)rare animals. Recently this orang-utan has made an unlikely friend in a local (3)hound dog. Now most dogs (4)avoid apes, because they are scared of them basically, but these two have formed a strong (5)bond. Each day the dog comes into the compound and searches out Suriya.
When he finds him, they carry on like long lost friends, wrestling and hugging and playing together. They’ve been doing this every day since they first met and their friendship has attracted the (6)curiosity of millions of viewers on the National Geographic Channel. The founder of the institute, Dr Antle, explains: “It’s clear they’re having the time of their life. What is more (7)striking is that Suriya has also understood that the hound dog is very hungry and so he regularly shares his monkey biscuits with him. Orang-utans are very (8)generous creatures. If you give one a piece of candy, often they will break it in half and hand one piece back to you.”
So how does he explain the fact that their relationship has a lot of the characteristics of what we call “friendship”? Antle says that the two animals are fulfilling a basic social need in each other that perhaps we don’t normally (9)associate with animals. “It’s a relationship with (10)attributes of fun and interaction that they are not getting from anyone else.”
In my previous review, I made the mistake of criticizing TEFLology for not being something else instead of recognizing it for what it was. At this point in the series, I should have known better. TEFLology is not intended to be an SLA course. It's just supposed to be banter about various TEFL related topics.
This episode was pure banter. I didn't learn a single useful thing from it, but the chat was interesting, it got me thinking about a few different topics, and the banter was pretty funny at points. So no complaints. (I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone take time out of their day to listen to this podcast, but put on in the background while puttering around the apartment, it provides a pleasant little distraction.)
This episdoe was about:
1) Parallelism in Professional Practice,
2) Dictionary Additions, and
3) Francis Lodwick
I'll make my comments about each briefly.
Parallelism in Professional Practice
The TEFLologists themselves are pretty straight forward about saying that this is just an idea they haven't fully thought out themselves. One of them is thinking about developing this idea into a PHD thesis, but it's not there yet.
The concern seems to be the difference between the career paths of Japanese teachers of English and native speaker teachers of English--if everyone is teaching the same subject, why not have the same career trajectory?
Some reference is made to the difference between an ALT and the Japanese English teacher, which is a situation I have some - experience with, but I think the TEFLologist who brought up the issue was primarily thinking about it in terms of the university setting.
To me, the problem seems obvious, and it all has to do with the bureaucracy. Institutions (both private language schools and national governments) have different sets of rules, expectations, and mandatory qualifications for native speakers and non-native speakers, and for foreigners versus citizens.
That doesn't mean it's not fertile grounds for PHD research. Although everyone knows this in the abstract, I'm not sure any work has been done listing and categorizing the different expectations imposed on foreign teachers and Japanese teachers.
I'm cynical that a solution to this problem will ever be found. It would mean requiring the various bureaucracies that recognize or give out qualifications to give up some of their power, and they are going to resist doing that.
Stray Observations
* During my time as an ALT, I often heard the rumor that the reason the ALT had so few duties in the classroom was because the Japanese Teacher's Union had been concerned foreign ALTs would replace Japanese teachers, and so demanded it be codified that the ALT was only an assistant teacher who could not teach the class on their own. I heard it often enough I believed it to be true, but I guess I shouldn't report it here without making the caveat that this was only something I heard reported informally in bars.
* A thought that's occasionally occurred to me when I've been reading about TEFL methodology: Why are all the big names in the field always native speakers of English? (Krashen, Rod Ellis, Michael Lewis, Scott Thornbury, Jack Richards, etc, etc, etc). The people probably least qualified to talk about learning English as a foreign language would be people who speak it as a native language, right?
I wonder if this is because I only read in the English language myself. When a Japanese person does a TEFL degree, do they study Krashen and Rod Ellis, or do they read Japanese experts on TEFL.
Or to put the question more broadly: are the recognized experts on second language acquisition different in different countries?
Dictionary Additions
Some interesting questions about what it means when a foreign word enters the English dictionary. Does that then make it an English word?
This is especially an interesting question in classrooms where students are forbidden to speak their L1 (as in my school). The TEFLologists ask the question if students should be permitted to speak these words once they enter the English dictionary?
It's also an issue for some students who have certain personalities. During my time in Japan, I remember some Japanese students of English who insisted on learning the English word for everything--even in cases where the Japanese word had become common in English (anime or sushi, for example).
Francis Lodwick
Interesting discussion about artificial languages. I don't really have anything to add here, except to reference The Ling Space episode on constructed languages, as a nice supplement to the TEFLologists discussion. Ling Space video here.
Have you ever been caught in bad weather? If so, what did you do?
Do you like snow?
Which do you like better hot weather or cold weather?
What month gets the most rain in your country?
What's the average temperature in your country in the summer time?
What's the average temperature in your country in the winter time?
What is the best season to get married?
In your opinion, which season is the most beautiful?
Which season is the most comfortable for you?
Do you think weather affects the way people feel?
How does weather affect your lifestyle?
Where do you get your weather information?
Vocabulary
average
Celsius
degrees
million
temperature
the Arctic
the Arctic Circle
the equator
the North Pole
an imaginary line around the earth at approximately 70° north
a unit for measuring temperature, shown by the symbol ° written after a number
the number 1,000,000
how hot or cold something is
the imaginary line around the Earth that divides it into equal north and south parts
An __________ amount is calculated by adding some amounts together and then dividing by the number of amounts
a measurement of temperature in which water freezes at 0° and boils at 100°
the point on the earth's surface that is furthest north
the very cold area around the North Pole
Ira block took this photo of an Inuit man near his home in (1)______________Circle. He lives on Baffin Island in Canada. That’s about two and a half thousand kilometres from (2)______________. The Inuit man is also holding another photo by Ira Block. Ira took this photo in the US state of South Carolina which is about two and half thousand kilometres from (3)______________. Ira took the two photos because about fifty-six (4)______________ year ago, (5)______________ probably looked like South Carolina today. The (6)______________ at the Arctic Circle was around twenty-five degrees (7)______________. Nowadays, the (8)______________ temperature in the Arctic is around minus ten (9)______________.
Ira block took this photo of an Inuit man near his home in (1)______________Circle. He lives on Baffin Island in Canada. That’s about two and a half thousand kilometres from (2)______________. The Inuit man is also holding another photo by Ira Block. Ira took this photo in the US state of South Carolina which is about two and half thousand kilometres from (3)______________. Ira took the two photos because about fifty-six (4)______________ year ago, (5)______________ probably looked like South Carolina today. The (6)______________ at the Arctic Circle was around twenty-five degrees (7)______________. Nowadays, the (8)______________ temperature in the Arctic is around minus ten (9)______________.
Answers:
Ira block took this photo of an Inuit man near his home in (1)the Arctic Circle. He lives on Baffin Island in Canada. That’s about two and a half thousand kilometres from (2)the North Pole. The Inuit man is also holding another photo by Ira Block. Ira took this photo in the US state of South Carolina which is about two and half thousand kilometres from (3)the equator. Ira took the two photos because about fifty-six (4)million year ago, (5)the Arctic Circle probably looked like South Carolina today. The (6)temperature at the Arctic Circle was around twenty-five degrees (7)Celsius. Nowadays, the (8)average temperature in the Arctic is around minus ten (9)degrees.
The listening questions are taken from here--I've modified them slightly. The transcript comes form here--I've modified it slightly.
#7—Crash Course World History2,000 Years of Chinese History! The Mandate of Heaven and Confucius
Answer each question with no more than 3 words or a number
China was really the first modern state--by which I mean it had a centralized (1)_________________ and a corps of (2)_________________ who could execute the wishes of that government and it lasted, in pretty much the same form, until 150 BCE to 1911 CE.
Chinese history is conveniently divided into periods called (3)_________________ which are ruled by a king, or as the Chinese know him, an emperor, who comes from a continuous ruling family. The dynasty can end for two reasons: either they run out of dudes (which never happened thanks to the hard work of many, many concubines), or the emperor is overthrown after a rebellion or a (4)_________________.
Leaving aside the Xia dynasty, which was sadly fictional, the first Chinese dynasty was the Shang, who were overthrown by the Zhou, which disintegrated into political chaos called the Warring States (5)_________________, which ended when the Qin emperor was able to extend his power over most of the heretofore warring states, but the Qin were replaced by the Han, which was the dynasty that really set the pattern for most of China’s history and lasted for almost 400 years after which China fell again into political chaos – which only means there was no dynasty that ruled over all of China –and out of this chaos rose the Sui, who were followed quickly by the Tang, who in turn were replaced, after a short period of no dynasty by the Song, who saw a huge growth in China’s commerce that was still not enough to prevent them from being conquered by the Yuan, who were both unpopular and unusual… because they were (6)_________________, which sparked rebellions resulting in the rise of the Ming, which was the dynasty that extended the Great Wall and made amazing vases but didn’t save them from falling to the Manchus who founded a dynasty that was called the Qing, which was the last dynasty because in (7)_________________ there was a rebellion and the whole dynastic system came to an end.
The concept of the (8) _________________ dates from the Zhou Dynasty and current historians think that they created it to get rid of the Shang.
So basically the fact that one dynasty falls and is replaced by another in a (9)_________________ that lasts for 3000 years is explained, in the eyes of early Chinese historians, by divine intervention based on whether the ruler behaves in a proper, upright (10)_________________.
Let’s see an example of the mandate of heaven in action. The Qin dynasty lasted only (11)_________________ years, but it is one of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, so important in fact that it gave the place its name. The accomplishment of the Qin was to (12)_________________ China under a single emperor for the first time in 500 years, ending the warring states period. The great Qin emperor Qin Shihuangdi, and his descendants developed a reputation for brutality that was (13)_________________. But it was also exaggerated for effect so that the successor dynasty, the Han, would look more legitimate in the eyes of Heaven.
The early Han emperors, such as Wen, who came to power in (14)_________________ BCE and ruled benevolently, avoiding extravagance in his personal behavior and ruling largely according to Confucian principles. Under Wen, there were no more harsh punishments for criticizing the (15)_________________, executions declined, and, most importantly for the Confucian scholars who were writing the history, the government stopped (16)________________ books.
So who is this Confucius? Confucius was a minor official who lived during the (17)_________________ period and developed a philosophical and political system he hoped would lead to a more stable state and society. Confucius was a conservative. He argued that the key to bringing about a strong and peaceful state was to look to the (18)_________________ and the model of the sage emperors. By following their example of upright moral (19)_________________, the Chinese emperor could bring order to China.
Confucius’s idea of morally upright behavior boils down to a person’s knowing his or her place in a series of hierarchical (20)_________________ and acting accordingly. There are five key relationships—but the most important is the one between father and (21)_________________, and one of the keys to understanding Confucius is filial piety, a son treating his father with reverential respect.
Ultimately the goal of both father and son is to be a (22)”_________________” (Junzi in Chinese). If all men strive to be Junzi, the society as a whole will run smoothly. This idea applies especially to the (23)_________________, who is like the father to the whole country.
So how do you know how to behave? Well, first you have to look to historical antecedents particularly the sage emperors. The study of history, as well as poetry and (24)_________________ in order to understand and appreciate beauty, is indispensable for a Junzi.
The other important aspects to Junzi-ness are contained in the Confucian ideas of ren and li. Ren is usually translated as “propriety”. It means understanding and practicing proper (25)_________________ in every possible situation, which of course depends on who you’re interacting with, hence the importance of the five relationships. Li is usually translated as (26)”_________________” and refers to rituals associated with Chinese religion, most of which involve the veneration of (27)_________________.
Traditional Chinese historians were all trained in the Confucian (28)_________________, which emphasized the idea that good emperors behaved like good Confucians. In this history the political fortunes of a dynasty ultimately rest on one man and his actions, whether he behaves properly.
The Mandate of Heaven is remarkably (29)_________________ as an explanation of historical causation. It explains why, as dynasties fell, there are often terrible storms and floods and peasant uprisings... If the emperor had been behaving properly, none of that stuff would have happened.
Now, a more modern historian might point out that the negative effects of terrible storms and floods, which include peasant uprisings, sometimes lead to changes in (30)________________. But that would take the moral aspect out of history and it would also diminish the importance of Confucian scholars. In short, the complicated circularity of Chinese history is mirrored by the complicated circularity of the relationship between those who write it and those who make it.
Answers:
China was really the first modern state--by which I mean it had a centralized (1)government and a corps of (2)bureaucrats who could execute the wishes of that government and it lasted, in pretty much the same form, until 150 BCE to 1911 CE.
Chinese history is conveniently divided into periods called (3)dynasties which are ruled by a king, or as the Chinese know him, an emperor, who comes from a continuous ruling family. The dynasty can end for two reasons: either they run out of dudes (which never happened thanks to the hard work of many, many concubines), or the emperor is overthrown after a rebellion or a (4)war.
Leaving aside the Xia dynasty, which was sadly fictional, the first Chinese dynasty was the Shang, who were overthrown by the Zhou, which disintegrated into political chaos called the Warring States (5)period, which ended when the Qin emperor was able to extend his power over most of the heretofore warring states, but the Qin were replaced by the Han, which was the dynasty that really set the pattern for most of China’s history and lasted for almost 400 years after which China fell again into political chaos – which only means there was no dynasty that ruled over all of China –and out of this chaos rose the Sui, who were followed quickly by the Tang, who in turn were replaced, after a short period of no dynasty by the Song, who saw a huge growth in China’s commerce that was still not enough to prevent them from being conquered by the Yuan, who were both unpopular and unusual… because they were (6)Mongols, which sparked rebellions resulting in the rise of the Ming, which was the dynasty that extended the Great Wall and made amazing vases but didn’t save them from falling to the Manchus who founded a dynasty that was called the Qing, which was the last dynasty because in (7)1911 there was a rebellion and the whole dynastic system came to an end.
The concept of the (8) Mandate of Heaven dates from the Zhou Dynasty and current historians think that they created it to get rid of the Shang.
So basically the fact that one dynasty falls and is replaced by another in a (9)cycle that lasts for 3000 years is explained, in the eyes of early Chinese historians, by divine intervention based on whether the ruler behaves in a proper, upright (10)manner.
Let’s see an example of the mandate of heaven in action. The Qin dynasty lasted only (11)38 years, but it is one of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, so important in fact that it gave the place its name. The accomplishment of the Qin was to (12)re-unify China under a single emperor for the first time in 500 years, ending the warring states period. The great Qin emperor Qin Shihuangdi, and his descendants developed a reputation for brutality that was (13)justified. But it was also exaggerated for effect so that the successor dynasty, the Han, would look more legitimate in the eyes of Heaven.
The early Han emperors, such as Wen, who came to power in (14)180 BCE and ruled benevolently, avoiding extravagance in his personal behavior and ruling largely according to Confucian principles. Under Wen, there were no more harsh punishments for criticizing the (15)government, executions declined, and, most importantly for the Confucian scholars who were writing the history, the government stopped (16)burning books.
So who is this Confucius? Confucius was a minor official who lived during the (17)Warring States period and developed a philosophical and political system he hoped would lead to a more stable state and society. He argued that the key to bringing about a strong and peaceful state was to look to the (18)past and the model of the sage emperors. By following their example of upright moral (19)behavior, the Chinese emperor could bring order to China.
Confucius’s idea of morally upright behavior boils down to a person’s knowing his or her place in a series of hierarchical (20)relationships and acting accordingly. There are five key relationships—but the most important is the one between father and (21)son, and one of the keys to understanding Confucius is filial piety, a son treating his father with reverential respect.
Ultimately the goal of both father and son is to be a “(22)superior man” (Junzi in Chinese). If all men strive to be Junzi, the society as a whole will run smoothly. This idea applies especially to the (23)emperor, who is like the father to the whole country.
So how do you know how to behave? Well, first you have to look to historical antecedents particularly the sage emperors. The study of history, as well as poetry and (24)paintings in order to understand and appreciate beauty, is indispensable for a Junzi.
The other important aspects to Junzi-ness are contained in the Confucian ideas of ren and li. Ren is usually translated as “propriety”. It means understanding and practicing proper (25)behavior in every possible situation, which of course depends on who you’re interacting with, hence the importance of the five relationships. Li is usually translated as “(26)ritual” and refers to rituals associated with Chinese religion, most of which involve the veneration of (27)ancestors.
Traditional Chinese historians were all trained in the Confucian (28)classics, which emphasized the idea that good emperors behaved like good Confucians. In this history the political fortunes of a dynasty ultimately rest on one man and his actions, whether he behaves properly.
The Mandate of Heaven is remarkably (29)flexible as an explanation of historical causation. It explains why, as dynasties fell, there are often terrible storms and floods and peasant uprisings... If the emperor had been behaving properly, none of that stuff would have happened.
Now, a more modern historian might point out that the negative effects of terrible storms and floods, which include peasant uprisings, sometimes lead to changes in (30) leadership. But that would take the moral aspect out of history and it would also diminish the importance of Confucian scholars. In short, the complicated circularity of Chinese history is mirrored by the complicated circularity of the relationship between those who write it and those who make it.
INTRODUCTION
Hi, I’m John Green, this is Crash Course World History, and today we’re going to talk about China, which these days is discussed almost constantly on television and in newspapers - wait, are they still a thing?
So, we used to print information on thinly sliced trees and then you would pay someone to take these thinly sliced trees and throw them onto your front lawn, and that’s how we received information. No one thought this was weird, by the way.
Right, but anyway, you hear a lot about how China is going to overtake the U.S. and bury us under a pile of inexpensive electronics, but I don’t want to address those fears today. Instead, I want to talk about how the way you tell a story shapes the story.
China was really the first modern state – by which I mean it had a centralized government and a corps of bureaucrats who could execute the wishes of that government. And it lasted, in pretty much the same form, from 150 BCE until 1911 CE, which is technically known as a long-ass time.
The Chinese were also among the first people to write history. In fact, one of the Confucian Classics is called the Shujing, or Classic of History. This is great for us, because we can now see the things that the Chinese recorded as they were happening, but it is also problematic because of the way the story is told.
So even Me From The Past with his five minutes of World History knows that Chinese History is conveniently divided into periods called Dynasties.
Past John: Mr. Green, I didn’t even say anything. That doesn’t seem very fair-
Present John: Shh! What makes a dynasty a dynasty is that it’s ruled by a king, or as the Chinese know him, an emperor, who comes from a continuous ruling family. As long as that family produces emperors - and they are always dudes- (cutting noise as it cuts to a voice-over from John)
No they aren't. First off, there were several empress dowagers who wielded tremendous power throughout Chinese history, and there was one very important full-fledged empress, Empress Wu, who WU-led China for more than 20 years and founded her own freaking dynasty! (cuts back to John in the studio)
-and those emperors keep ruling, the dynasty gets to be a dynasty.
So the dynasty can end for two reasons: either they run out of dudes (which never happened thanks to the hard work of many, many concubines), or the emperor's overthrown after a rebellion or a war. This is more or less what happened to all the dynasties, which makes it easy for me to go over to camera two and describe them in a single run-on sentence: Hi there – camera two.
Leaving aside the Xia dynasty, which was sadly fictional, the first Chinese dynasty was the Shang, who were overthrown by the Zhou, which disintegrated into political chaos called the Warring States period, in which states warred over periods - oh, no, wait, it was a period in which states warred - which ended when the Qin emperor was able to extend his power over most of the heretofore warring states, but the Qin were replaced by the Han, which was the dynasty that really set the pattern for most of China’s history and lasted for almost 400 years after which China fell again into political chaos – which only means there was no dynasty that ruled over all of China – and out of this chaos rose the Sui, who were followed quickly by the Tang, who in turn were replaced, after a short period of no dynasty, by the Song, who saw a huge growth in China’s commerce that was still not enough to prevent them from being conquered by the Yuan, who were both unpopular and unusual... because they were Mongols- [mongoltage] - which sparked rebellions resulting in the rise of the Ming, which was the dynasty that built the Great Wall and made amazing vases, but didn’t save them from falling to the Manchus, who founded a dynasty that was called the Qing, which was the last dynasty because in 1911 there was a rebellion like the ones in, say, America, France or Russia, and the whole dynastic system which at this point had lasted for a long-ass time, came to an end.
And... breathe. So that's what happened, but what's interesting, as far as capital-H History is concerned, is why it happened, and especially why the people who were writing history at the time said it happened. Which leads us to the Mandate of Heaven.
THE MANDATE OF HEAVEN
So the concept of the Mandate of Heaven dates from the Zhou Dynasty, and current historians think that they created it to get rid of the Shang. Before the Zhou, China didn’t even have a concept of “Heaven” or T’ian, but they did have a “high god” called Shangdi.
But the Zhou believed in T’ian, and they were eager to portray the idea of heaven as eternal, so they ascribed the concept of the Mandate of Heaven back to a time even before the Shang, explaining that the Shang were able to conquer the Xia only because the Xia kings had lost the Mandate of Heaven. This, of course, would have been impossible, partly because the Xia kings had no concept of “heaven”, and partly because, as previously noted, they didn’t exist, but let’s just leave that aside.
The Shujing is pretty specific about what caused the Xia kings to lose the Mandate, by the way, explaining: “The attack on Xia may be traced to the orgies in Ming Tiao.” Sadly, the Shujing is woefully short on details of these orgies, but orgies are the kind of behavior that is not expected of a ruler, and therefore Heaven saw fit to come in, remove the Mandate and allow the Shang to take power.
But then the Shang lost the Mandate. Why? Well, the last Shang emperor was reported to have roasted and eaten his opponents, which, you know, bit of a deal breaker as far as the Mandate of Heaven is concerned. Of course, that might not actually have happened, but it would explain why Heaven would allow the Zhou to come to power.
So basically the fact that one dynasty falls and is replaced by another in a cycle that lasts for 3000 years is explained, in the eyes of early Chinese historians, by divine intervention based on whether the ruler behaves in a proper, upright manner. It’s after-the fact analysis that has the virtue of being completely impossible to disprove, as well as offering a tidy explanation for some very messy political history. And even more importantly, it reinforces a vision of moral behavior that is a cornerstone of Confucianism, which I will get to momentarily.
But first, let’s see an example of the Mandate of Heaven in action. The Qin dynasty on lasted only 38 years, but it's one of the most important dynasties in Chinese history, so important in fact that it gave the place its name, “Chin- uh.” (laughing) Can I just tell you guys, that we literally just spent 20 minutes on that shot? We shot it like 40 times. Stan, you are in love with puns.
The accomplishment of the Qin was to re-unify China under a single emperor for the first time in 500 years, ending the warring states period. As you can imagine, the making of that particular omelette required the cracking of quite a few eggs, and the great Qin emperor Qin Shi Huangdi and his descendants developed a reputation for brutality that was justified.
But it was also exaggerated for effect so that the successor dynasty, the Han, would look more legitimate in the eyes of Heaven. So when recounting the fall of the Qin, historians focused on how a bunch of murderous eunuchs turned the Qin emperors into puppets, not literal puppets, although that would have been awesome. And these crazy eunuchs like tricked emperors into committing suicide when they started thinking for themselves, et cetera.
So the Mandate of Heaven turned away from these suicidal puppet emperors, which set up a nice contrast with the early Han emperors, such as Wen, who came to power in 180 BCE and ruled benevolently, avoiding extravagance in personal behavior and ruling largely according to Confucian principles.
Under Wen, there were no more harsh punishments for criticizing the government, executions declined, and, most importantly for the Confucian scholars who were writing the history, the government stopped burning books. Thus, according to the ancient Chinese version of history, Emperor Wen, by behaving as a wise Confucian, maintains the Mandate of Heaven. So who is this Confucius I won’t shut up about? Let’s go to the Thought Bubble.
THOUGHT BUBBLE
Confucius was a minor official who lived during the Warring States period and developed a philosophical and political system he hoped would lead to a more stable state and society. He spent a great deal of his time trying to convince one of the powerful kings to embrace his system, but while none ever did, Confucius got the last laugh because his recipe for creating a functioning society was ultimately adopted and became the basis for Chinese government, education, and, well, most things.
So Confucius was conservative. He argued that the key to bringing about a strong and peaceful state was to look to the past and the model of the sage emperors. By following their example of upright, moral behavior, the Chinese emperor could bring order to China. Confucius’ idea of morally upright behavior boils down to a person’s knowing his or her place in a series of hierarchical relationships and acting accordingly.
Everyone lives his life (or her life, but like most ancient philosophical traditions, women were marginalized) in relationship to other people, and is either a superior or an inferior. There are five key relationships - but the most important is the one between father and son, and one of the keys to understanding Confucius is filial piety - a son treating his father with reverential respect.
The father is supposed to earn this respect by caring for the son and educating him, but this doesn’t mean that a son has the right to disrespect a neglectful father. Ideally, though, both the father and the son will act accordingly: the son will respect the father, and the father will act respectably.
Ultimately, the goal of both father and son is to be a “superior man” (Junzi in Chinese). If all men strive to be Junzi, the society as a whole will run smoothly. This idea applies especially to the emperor, who is like the father to the whole country. Oh, it’s time for the Open Letter? Alright.
OPEN LETTER
God, that’s good. But first, let’s see what’s in the Secret Compartment today. Oh, an iPhone? Stan, this doesn’t factor into Chinese history until much later. An Open Letter to the Xia Dynasty.
Dear Xia Dynasty,
Why you gotta be so fictional?
You contain all of the most awesome emperors, including my favorite emperor of all time, Yu the Engineer. There are so many The Greats and The Terribles among royalty and so few The Engineers. We need more kings like Yu The Engineer: Peter The Mortgage Broker; Danica The Script Supervisor; Stan The Video Editing and Producer Guy. Those should be our kings!
I freaking love you, Yu The Engineer. And the fact that you’re not real – it breaks my heart, in a way that could only be fixed by Yu The Engineer. The circularity actually reminds me of the Mandate of Heaven.
Best wishes, John Green
THE CIRCULARITY OF CHINESE HISTORY
But back to the Junzi: So how do you know how to behave? Well, first you have to look to historical antecedents, particularly the sage emperors. The study of history, as well as poetry and paintings in order to understand and appreciate beauty, is indispensable for a Junzi. The other important aspects of Junzi-ness are contained in the Confucian ideas of ren and li. Ren and Li are both incredibly complex concepts that are difficult to translate, but we’re going to do our best.
Ren is usually translated as “propriety”. It means understanding and practicing proper behavior in every possible situation, which of course depends on who you’re interacting with, hence the importance of the five relationships. Li is usually translated as “ritual” and refers to rituals associated with Chinese religion, most of which involve the veneration of ancestors.
Which brings us back, in a very roundabout way, to the fundamental problem of how early Chinese historians wrote their history. Traditional Chinese historians were all trained in the Confucian classics, which emphasized the idea that good emperors behaved like good Confucians. Would-be historians had to know these classics by heart and they’d imbibed their lessons, chief among which was the idea that in order to maintain the Mandate of Heaven, you had to behave properly and not engage in orgies or eat your enemies or eat your enemies while engaging in orgies.
In this history the political fortunes of a dynasty ultimately rest on one man and his actions - whether he behaves properly. The Mandate of Heaven is remarkably flexible as an explanation of historical causation. It explains why, as dynasties fell, there were often terrible storms and floods and peasant uprisings... If the emperor had been behaving properly, none of that stuff would have happened.
Now, a more modern historian might point out that the negative effects of terrible storms and floods, which includes peasant uprisings, sometimes lead to changes in leadership. But that would take the moral aspect out of history and it would also diminish the importance of Confucian scholars.
Because the scholars can tell you that one of the best ways to learn how to be a good emperor, and thereby maintain the Mandate of Heaven, is to read the Confucian Classics, which were written by scholars.
In short, the complicated circularity of Chinese history is mirrored by the complicated circularity of the relationship between those who write it and those who make it. Which is something to think about no matter what history you’re learning, even if it’s from Crash Course.
Next week we’ll talk about Alexander the Grape— really, Stan, for an entire episode? That seems excessive to me. They’re just like less sour, grapey-er lemonheads - ohhh Alexander the GREAT. That makes more sense. Until then, thanks for watching.
CREDITS
Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Muller. Our script supervisor is Danica Johnson. Our graphics team is Thought Bubble, and the show is written by my high school history teacher Raoul Meyer and myself.
Last week’s phrase of the week was "Right Here In River City". If you wanna guess at this week’s phrase of the week or suggest future ones, you may do so in comments where you can also ask questions about today’s video that'll be answered by our team of historians.
Thanks for watching. As we say in my hometown, don't forget to be awesome!
IELTS PART 3 QUESTIONS
1. Can you think of any examples from your country’s history in which something bad happened, and people thought that it was punishment from the gods?
What do you think? Does God (or gods) actively intervene in human history? When disaster happens, is it because of God’s punishment?
2. What do you think?
What causes dynasties (or governments) to fall?
Why don’t governments last forever?
3. Do you agree with Confucius, that the old traditions need to be valued?
Or do you agree with progressives, who think that society needs to be changed?
Do you agree with Confucius, that young people need to listen to older people?
Or do you agree with progressives, that young people can bring positive change?
Or are you in the middle?
4. Think about your own country: Was there a time in the past when things were better than they are now?
What things were better in the past?
Would you like to return to an earlier time?
5. “Who controls the past, controls the future. Who controls the present, controls the past.”
