November 3 Chinese History Session With Dr. Morris
November 3rd, 2006
What a great and informative session today! If you see Dr. Morris on campus be sure to thank him for his time.
Today’s session forced me to re-think a number of things about myself, culture, society, history, globalization, China, the US, etc. I found the slide and his discussion re: “Which Wang — the globalized basketball star or the nationalistic fighter pilot — will China promote in the future?” to raise a lot of interesting questions. And I must say that EVERY time I hear about Admiral Zheng He’s armada and his 440 foot Treasure Ships I am blown away. Can you imagine being a farmer or carpenter standing on the coast of East Africa or on the coast of India watching those ships sail by? Amazing. In college I took a number of world history classes (one of them was a military history class in college). Not a single one of these classes or their textbooks even mentioned Admiral Zheng and his armada, not even in a footnote. I think they talked about China for 5 minutes in the course and might have had 7 pages total in one chapter in a textbook on China. Unbelievable. I should ask for a partial refund!
What about you? What where some of the helpful takeaways you learned from today? Is China starting to come to life for you? Try to think a little about, read a little about, and talk a little about China each day between now and when we leave in June and by that time you will be surprised what a solid foundation you have built up for the trip to help you better connect the dots when we arrive — but I emphasize that a stronger ability to connect the dots once we get there and fully get your monies worth depends on the time and effort (and the quality) that you put in between now and then (including making this cental blog a meaningful part of your learning experience and discussions with each other to learn and grow).
FYI — here is Thomas Friedman’s “The Two Wangs” NY Times article [subscription may be required] that Dr. Morris mentioned. Also, click here for a great post on the China Law Blog re: the state of blogging in China that nicely relates to our discussion today about Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, etc. and the accessibility of information in China.
I will also post his presentation on the “Docs” section of this blog (password protected) once I receive them.
Professor Carr July 17, 2007 Addendum: For an excellent modern day follow-up to Dr. Morris’ discussion of Admiral Zheng He’s fleet and Treasure Ships, read this related Wall Street Journal article [subscription may be required], As China Grows, So Does Its Long-Neglected Navy.
Entry Filed under: Pre-Departure, China
14 Comments Add your own
1. Bonnie Morse | November 4th, 2006 at 10:03 am
One of the largest takeaways I had was China’s long term perspective of its future. I was unaware of China’s history and that it was 700 years ahead of European countries in terms of advancement until the 1800s. Furthermore, I found Dr. Morris’ question of “Why don’t we know more about China?” particularly thought provoking. For a country with such a diverse background, China’s history is largely unknown in the United States. For instance, I had never heard about Zheng He or the treasure ships that China sent to Africa and abroad. Yet, the Chinese study the United States’ history and make an effort to understand our culture. It almost relates to the old adage, “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” While the U.S. and China are not necessarily enemies, China has realized that to succeed in the global economy, they must work with the current world power and know their customer. Why isn’t the United States doing the same? Is it ignorance, or something else? Dr. Morris opened my eyes to the Chinese mindset and forced me to ask these tough questions. I hope as the year continues we’ll get closer to answering them!
2. Stacey Westenberger | November 4th, 2006 at 7:40 pm
Although we were only able to scratch the surface of Chinese history, it was beneficial to learn more about the role China once had in the world economy and therefore their motivations for success in the future. I was fascinated with the comment made by Dr. Morris relating the Tributary system from China’s history to its current position in the economy, where once again, the whole world is coming to China (paying tribute) and wanting to do business. China is recreating its place as the Middle Kingdom in the 21st century. Recognizing their hard work and perseverance as a means of reestablishing their place in the world order was enlightening. This lecture just made me even more aware of the importance of this trip to China on more than just a cultural level. Through the readings and further lectures, I also believe we will be able to gain more background and knowledge which will allow us to see China with an open mind.
3. Felipe Hernandez | November 4th, 2006 at 9:12 pm
When hearing about Admiral Zheng He’s Armada, I couldn’t help but think about the parrallels to Teddy Roosevelt and his ‘Great White Fleet.’ The similarities are striking - TR wanted to show the world the impressive potential and might of the fledgling U.S. so he sunk a ton of money, time, and resources into building a massive cutting edge naval fleet to sail around the world and dock at various ports (including China) to ’show off.’
From what I’ve heard it was quite impressive and extremely effective from a PR standpoint. Just another one of those things that the West did about a millenium after the Chinese. It’s also worth noting that this is generally considered to be one of America’s first steps toward becoming a world military power.
4. Chuck Rylant | November 4th, 2006 at 11:34 pm
Yes China is starting to come to life for me! I found the history lecture fascinating. The lecture sparked more questions than it gave answers. Like Dr. Morris said, it is difficult to cover 3700 years in four hours. I am looking forward learning more to get answers to the many questions I have raised from thinking about the lecture. I have never enjoyed history in the past, but ever since the opportunity to visit China has come, I have the desire to learn as much about China’s history as possible.
I drove by Walmart on my way home from the lecture and I remembered that 5000 of Walmart’s 6000 vendors are Chinese companies. That is truly amazing. It is incredible how much of our daily lives are affected by China and disappointing how much we as Americans (me included) do not even know it.
5. Victoria Whelan | November 6th, 2006 at 6:15 pm
The lecture was very helpful for our China studies. It is difficult to talk about the history and culture of a country in four hours, but I walked away knowing so much. Not only did I learn about the factories, the trading, the wars, the environment, etc., I was amazed at how much Dr. Morris loved what he did. He seemed so enchanted with China that it excited me even more.
When he talked about how the Chinese used to arrive at ports in their luxurious boats just to impress people, it reminded me of our culture. People buy huge houses, designer clothes, fancy cars and businesses try to outshow others when not necessary. I am not innocent of this either. We are two different countries with different strengths and weaknesses, but this fact caught my attention and made me think more about the facts I know about China and what more can be learned. I have an image in my mind and his lecture made me question it and look forward to learning more and opening my eyes.
6. Chun-Te Peter Wu | November 7th, 2006 at 12:11 am
Dr. Morris’s lecture on the history of China was very interesting. It brought me new understandings of Chinese history hearing someone who is not Chinese looking at the history from a western perspective. I was born in Taiwan, and had Chinese history during my 5th and 6th grade. As I recall Dr. Morris covered the “greats” of Chinese history very well. There was one thing I found a bit different from what was presented; the Chinese downplayed about opium war and other dark times in the mid-1800; I found it quite different because I remembered the dark times were mentioned in my history books in detail, maybe to serve as purpose for “lessons learned.” Or maybe to “save face,” the Chinese rather not mention it to western people?
When he mentioned the old “kowtow” Tributary system in lecture, I couldn’t help to think: “Are companies like yahoo, google, and microsoft kowtowing to China for trade opportunities?” If this is the case, I wonder who is going to be the next “British” to say “no more kowtow” to China in this modern version of the kowtow tributary system.
The two Wangs slide and also the book by Gavin Menzies about Zeng He finding America was also interesting as they shed light on how nationalistic the Chinese are in knowing that “the 21st century is the Chinese century.” One thing I did find interesting regarding to all this was that the Chinese media in September adopted the third Wang (Chien-Ming Wang, pitcher of New York Yankees) by saying that Wang was the pitcher from China but he was from Taiwan. It was very interesting because baseball was not all that popular in China as Dr. Morris said in class. Yet, from this I sense strong pride and nationalistic views from the Chinese.
Dr. Morris’s lecture was beneficial to me. I found there is still much more for me to learn about China coming from Taiwan. There are still many things unknown to me about China which I look forward to learn about this year.
7. China Law Blog | November 7th, 2006 at 1:02 am
We should all be asking for refunds. I did not hear of Admiral Zheng until long after college. I like Mr. Wu’s comment about the pitcher Wang. Reminds me of the Koreans late “adoption” of Hines Ward as one of their own and their constantly claimiing that various “Japanese” baseball players in the United States are in fact ethnically Korean. I think a lot of this has to do with the tendency of most Asian countries to define people more by race than by citizenship.
8. Erik Slayter | November 7th, 2006 at 6:00 am
The first takeaway that comes to mind from Dr. Morris’ session with us was the question of “why didn’t I ever have a good history professor like Dr. Morris?” One who makes the material come alive and that is truly passionate about his field of study. Dr. Morris spent a fair amount of time on China’s vast history – which I found to be very fascinating. Of course, spending that time came at the expense of having less time available to talk more about the more recent history of China. It will be very interesting to learn more about recent history having the historical backdrop of the past 4,000-5000 years. Given the importance of history to the Chinese, I believe that history has a more significant impact for the Chinese than our history has for us as Americans. Perhaps that is true because our history is so short in comparison and has not had enough time for the relevance to play out.
On another note, I think as American’s we sometimes shortchange ourselves and fail to give ourselves enough credit. I understand that probably not enough attention is being paid to China; but on the otherhand, ours is certainly not the only MBA program focusing time and energy on learning about China. Hopefully there is a groundswell of energy being spent on learning about this important culture and business core that will begin to show itself as our generation becomes more prominent in our society.
9. Mike Johannsen | November 7th, 2006 at 10:58 am
When you look at a map, the center is commonly the US or Europe. This fits how as Americans we see the world and how it developed around us. Dr. Morris’ talk put this Eurocentric view into perspective, challenging the world that we know and shedding light on some common fallacies. Perhaps the most important take away from Friday is that when we look at a map it is off centered. China should be the center of the map. As China is reawaking, the ever growing world focus on the role of China in the global marketplace is becoming the center of attention.
10. Steven Rodger | November 7th, 2006 at 12:21 pm
Dr. Morris’ insightful lecture was beneficial to me in several aspects. First, he presented the material from the perspective of which we rarely view China…from what the Chinese want us to know about their culture. This is enormously beneficial as our views about history are often skewed after growing up learning history from an American perspective, lauding ourselves. I found it interesting how the Chinese have invented so many essential items which western inventors later ‘discovered’ as this is most Americans believe as the truth. I was also pondering how the Chinese did not take individual credit for revolutionary inventions, while Americans are in every history book for a similar feat… Dr. Morris aided our visualization about how the China is currently in a depression and how their nationalistic country is on the rise.
I thought the music played during the presentation, especially from “father of Chinese rock”, Cui Jian was a unique way of presenting how there is a diversity of rebels against the Chinese government and authority. For me, Cui Jian seemed like a cross between the Rolling Stones and Rage against the Machine, singing in Chinese. Additionally, comparing the two Chinese ‘Wang’s’ was a great way for the audience to conceptualize how nationalistic China is…It will be interesting to see how China presents themselves as a country in the 2008 Olympics.
After hearing about Admiral Zheng He’s armada and his 440 foot Treasure Ships I was also, truly, amazed. Growing up in a port city and spending a good deal of time around boats, I’m still amazed by a ship or yacht over 150 feet. It must have seemed like a dream 600 years ago to see these massive 400+ ft. ships cruising the near shore waters. This fact really brought home the point about how rich and dominant China has been before Europe and the United States took the upper hand.
By the way…I was not aware Maaskamp had a twin who works for Cal Poly.
11. Danny Allustiarti | November 7th, 2006 at 1:32 pm
I have not stopped thinking about time relative to the history of China. First, the fact that the history of China is over 15x as long as American history blows my mind. There is much to be learned from a civilization that has not only been around for that long, but dominated the better part of it. I had to take a step back to put into perspective the fact that we have been a powerhouse for just a fraction of the time China has been. And, the fact that this is driving them to make a move back to the top shows their passion to succeed. The second thing that was news to me was hearing Dr. Morris talk about how China was around 800 years ahead of the rest of the world in technological advancements until around 1800. I feel like credit has not been given when deserved. I agree with a lot of the postings that commend Dr. Morris for his knowledge, passion, and passion for knowledge.
12. Patrick McGuire | November 20th, 2006 at 1:38 pm
One of the Things Dr. Morris talked about that stood out most for me was his assessment of the freedoms of speech and association in China.
The biggest surprise was his comment that there is virtually no restriction on individual speech. This runs counter to the image that we are frequently presented with in the media, of a China where one foul word will land a person in the hands of the state police. But it helps to explain the existence of places like English Corner. I had wondered how such a place would be allowed to exist with the active censorship the Chinese government pursues. What is the advantage to restricting Google, Yahoo, MSN, and Wikipedia if one coulod simply speak the same words in English Corner?
His clarification that it is not so much speech but assembly that the Chinese government restricts helps to explain this. One may be free to say anything but once it becomes an organization or a movement is when it becomes a concern. It seems that the Chinese government does not have aims to force a certain line of thinking but does try to maintain its hold on power and strike down any assemblance of people that could challenge the authority. It is the difference between a bee and a hive.
However, this leads me to wonder where the line is between speaking to another and forming a “subversive” group. I think this is where the gray area in “free” speech really shows up. Is one person just speaking his mind or is he starting a movement? Judging from what Dr. Morris talked about, it sounds like the line is where the government detects a challenge to its monopoly on authority and political control.
This image of a police-state-China sounds oppresive but this country has its parallel in the McCarthy trials and Communist blacklists. We’d like to say it’s wrong of China for China to do it, but it’s probably difficult for the Chinese to listen to our moral lessons when we have our own history of restricting political assembly. But I’d like to think we’ve moved past it. Will China?
13. Evelyn Ma | November 25th, 2006 at 9:34 pm
Professor Morris’ presentation gave me a new understanding of Chinese history and culture, and I got two main takeaways.
First was understanding the pride the Chinese have of their history. Being the first to invent paper, gunpowder, and countless technology, I can understand why the Chinese are so proud of their history. As a Chinese American, I related well to this topic because I have experienced first hand people expressing their pride about Chinese history and culture. I was excited to see Dr. Morris present the rich history of the Chinese culture, and it made me much more interested in learning about my culture.
The second take away I had relates to Chinese history. I had understood that there was animosity between the Chinese and Japanese, but never truly understood why. Dr. Morris explained that this animosity was a large result of World War II, and the Japanese invasion of China. After hearing this, I was determined to learn more about this event. I know about the Japanese invasion during WWII, but I do not know any details. A book someone suggested I read was The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II. I will definitely report my findings after I read the book (I plan to Winter Quarter).
Dr. Morris’ presentation made me much more aware and proud of my culture. I am very excited to learn more about the history of China, and especially for this trip.
14. Christopher Arena | November 26th, 2006 at 10:17 pm
My greatest take away was a question that the presentation left me asking myself. Have I been lied to for the past 18 years of education? I had been told time and time again that Small Pox was cured by Western Civilization and that the West had created all kinds of great inventions. The 700 to 1000 year time delay on all kinds of milestones and discoveries left me perplexed. Which is the truth? That the Chinese and eastern Asia had discovered such things as a small pox vaccination over 700 years before the West did. It left me questioning all that I had learned in history and for that matter other subjects as well. I know that the viewpoint on any given situation affects reflection. I had heard the saying that “history is written by those who win the wars.” But was this really true? Have I been blinded by an American society that teaches its children that we are the best and the brightest and that no other country in the world is as great as the USA? Reality check boys and girls. We might not be #1. The point to this rant is it made me realize that we are not invincible like we have been taught. It isn’t are god given right to dominate the world, and if we aren’t careful, countries like China could replace the US on the top of the international totem pole.
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