Introduction
INTRODUCTION
The following links come from all over the World Wide Web and represent a variety of aspects related to China. You may complete the following Internet activities alone or by working in a group. If you need a dictionary, feel free to use it.
The purpose of this Web page is to give you a sampling of some aspects related to China. Each of the activities asks you to make a personal commitment to what you like, believe, or feel about a topic.
Good luck and have fun!
Process
- What animal represents the year you were born? Find it individually and share it to your group.
- What aspects of your zodiac seem true in describing you? Share it with your group.
- Do you know the birthday of a famous person? Find out what animal represents the year that famous person was born. Do you think the aspects of his/her zodiac describe him / her? Which ones?
- Check the list of some current news events in China until you come across with something that you think is either interesting or important.
- Skim through the article.
- Describe what's being discussed in that event and why you thought it was interesting or important. Do those kinds of things happen in your country? Can you share something about it?
- Choose a Chinese proverb you like.
- State what the proverb means (use your own good ideas and some examples).
- Find a similar version with American or Spanish origin that shares the same meaning.
Headless Tao (or Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu as translated by Jim Clatfelter)
- Skim through the numbered passages until you find one that makes sense to you.
- Analyze the general idea of the passage.
- Put the passage's meaning into your own words line-by-line.
The Discovery of His Holiness the Dalai Lama of Tibet
- Read through the description of how the current Dalai Lama was discovered.
- Find the most interesting / important 3 - 5 points made in the article.
- Prepare a small description for the rest of the class about what your beliefs are concerning this discovery.
The Splendors of Imperial China
- Browse through the exhibit presented by the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.
- Choose the image that you like the best, read about it a bit, and then view the larger image of it by clicking on the "thumbnail."
- After looking closely at the image, describe how the details of the piece you selected make it a special work of art.
- Read through the Web site looking for key ideas.
- Decide whether you think people should boycott Chinese products.
- Describe your reasons for saying we should or should not boycott Chinese products.
Conclusion
Conclusion
You have had the opportunity to explore some important aspects of China: its religions, beliefs, arts, and current events. Think about the people you know. Do they ever surprise you with what they do? People have different needs and goals so sometimes they are pleasant and friendly, but sometimes they can be aggressive and mean. If people can be this way, it shouldn't be a surprise that a country made up of billions of people and with a long and changing history might act in surprising ways too.