GLOBAL ASIA: YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW
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LESSON THREE
3.
Ask students to form small groups. Ask each group to choose a region and time period and create a small chart showing residents and
their role in society. Students could tackle this assignment in a myriad of ways. They could chart Confucian hierarchical society in Qing
China by listing scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, with a brief description of their role in society. Or they could narrow their
focus and look at a group of four or five people from a specific period. Using China as an example again, students could look at life
during the Taiping Rebellion (1851-1864) from the perspectives of a poor Taiping soldier, a powerful Taiping leader, a Hakka woman, an
imperial army soldier, a peasant whose land is destroyed by this rebellion, etc. As noted, this chart should include (1) who these people
are, (2) the geographic location and (3) a short description of their personal background and/or place in society. Encourage the students
to re-read the article and perhaps choose a place that is unfamiliar to them, such as Malacca, or Burma (Myanmar) or Siam, and/or an
occupation that they may know little about but piques their curiosity (tea trader, missionary, monk, farmer, aristocrat, soldier, samurai,
musician, poet, artisan, rickshaw puller, etc.) Each small group should choose a different region of Asia. Below are a few primary resources,
photos, and essays from the MIT Visualizing Culture site “The Colonial Philippines”:
Illustrations of China and Its People (1873-1874):
Picturing the Japanese Photos (Meiji Era):
Essays:
Explore this site for more resources:
Case Study: Living in the British Empire – India:
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100-Year-Old Photos from the British Raj Era:
The Road to Partition:
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ASSESSMENT
Ask students to imagine themselves living in colonial Asia. In this exercise they will be asked to “change shoes” with someone in Asia between
the 18th and 20th centuries. Again, they need to choose a time period, region and one resident and write an 800-word day-in-the-life of this
person. They could choose one of the people they described in the last assignment or take on another persona. They can be an emperor or a
disenfranchised peasant or a rickshaw puller. This first-person essay should reflect daily life (in other words, what they do from the time they
wake up in the morning to the time they go to sleep at night). Residents may want to record their physical surroundings (living and working
conditions, environmental landscape, etc.) and/or feelings toward those who have more or less (power, wealth, freedom) than they do. If
applicable, each person might want to discuss the challenges, obstacles, opportunities and advantages he or she experiences because
of colonialism. Encourage the students to be creative. They may want to include a photograph of their chosen person.
After they have finished their diary entries, they may want to read them in class or share in pairs. Finally, ask your students to reflect on how
primary sources (information created at the time, such as a diary or memoir) are important resources for historians, anthropologists and
global citizens.
