Arguments for an Open-Door Policy Arguments for a Closed-Door Policy

IEW 19 Arguments for an Open-Door Policy Arguments for a Closed-Door Policy READING NOTES 19 19.2 Foreign Contacts Under the Tang Dynasty

Step 1: As your teacher plays the recording, follow along below. Underline all details in the dialogue that are found in the reading.

Scene 1: In a Teahouse During the Tang in by those foreigners. I don’t know about Dynasty you, but I just don’t think it’s quite right for

Official Who Welcomes Foreign Contact: women to be riding horses, much less Ahh. Life certainly has become more playing polo. enjoyable now that we’ve reestablished contact with our foreign friends. I find sitting Welcoming Official: Listen. Do you hear in chairs much more comfortable than sitting that amazing music? That is being played on the floor. on a pipa, the likes of which came all the way from Central Asia. In case you’ve Official Who Rejects Foreign Contact: forgotten, you couldn’t have found anything You’re always impressed with foreign like it here in China before we traded with gadgets and geegaws and never think “those foreigners.” Doesn’t that prove my about the problems they bring. Chairs might point? be more comfortable, but it cost me a fortune to redecorate my house! First, all my Rejecting Official: What was wrong with tables were too short. Then I had to raise our musical instruments? Why do we need the height of all my cabinets. And now new ones? I have dozens of floor cushions we don’t use anymore. I can’t give them away. Welcoming Official: Okay then, what about the new religions? I think it’s fascinating to Welcoming Official: But look at all these learn about different beliefs from Jews and delicious foods we didn’t have before! My Christians and Muslims. And Buddhism has favorites are the garlic, peas, and spinach. become especially popular here over the years. Rejecting Official: Garlic has certainly improved my chef’s dishes. But spinach— Rejecting Official: I just have some they can take that back to whatever horrible problems with the special treatment given to place they found it. these new religions. For example, Buddhist monks and nuns don’t have to pay taxes. Welcoming Official: Have you seen the splendid array of products we have in our Welcoming Official: Come on now. Be shops now because of this foreign trade? fair. The Buddhists run good schools and Yesterday I bought the most beautiful ivory hospitals, and I just stayed at one of their box, and I see you have a new pearl ring on travelers’ lodges. It was very nice. your finger. Where do you think that pearl comes from? Not from anywhere in China, I Rejecting Official: Hmm. Do you think they can assure you! need any floor cushions? Because I could get them a great deal…. Rejecting Official: Hmph. Well, I guess READIN some things are worthwhile. But think about the forms of so-called entertainment brought G NOTES 19 Step 2: Work with your group to add to the dialogue by using facts from the reading to create one more argument for and one more argument against foreign contact.

Official Who Welcomes Foreign Contact:

Official Who Rejects Foreign Contact:

Step 3: Discuss the question below with your group. Then circle the set of doors along the spectrum that best indicates your group’s decision. Be ready to defend why you marked the spectrum as you did by explaining which foreign contacts, if any, benefited or hurt China.

Critical Thinking Question 1: If you had been China’s emperor during the Tang dynasty, to what extent would you have welcomed or rejected foreign contact? Reject Foreign Contact Welcome Foreign Contact 19.3 Foreign Contacts Under the Mongols Step 1: As your teacher plays the recording, follow along below. Underline all details in the dialogue that are found in the reading.

Scene 2: At the Khan’s Court During the Yuan Dynasty

Official Who Rejects Foreign Contact: Oh, great. Here they come again. More foreign Rejecting Official: You are so naive. Think barbarians. about those foreigners the khan has appointed to be government officials. They’ll Official Who Welcomes Foreign Contact: Of course. Now that the Silk Road is safer and easier to travel, many more of these intriguing steal the cloak off your back. Honestly, I wasn’t travelers are arriving to learn about our great sorry to hear about the assassination of the country. khan’s Muslim finance minister. It bothers me that these foreign people are appointed to rule Rejecting Official: What’s wrong with their over us. country? Can’t they just stay home? Welcoming Official: What about Marco Welcoming Official: Their ideas are Polo? Isn’t he from… refreshing. Remember that scientist— Rejecting Official: Venice. Rejecting Official: Al-Din. Welcoming Official: Yes. All the way from Welcoming Official: Yes, Jamal al-Din. Venice. I hear he says many nice things From Persia, wasn’t he? The astronomical about us— instruments he brought allow us to enjoy a more accurate calendar. And don’t forget he Rejecting Official: Like? helped to build the new observatory. Wouldn’t you say we have benefited from his ideas? Welcoming Official: Like we’re friendly to strangers and we’re an honest and peace-loving Rejecting Official: And don’t you forget people. He seems like a really nice guy. what we’ve lost because of this “exchange of ideas.” Our people do not think: they’ve Rejecting Official: He might be nice, but shared secrets we should have kept to exactly what has he done for China? The ourselves! Now foreigners know about our khan made him an official, but he doesn’t do printing techniques and I understand they’ve anything but travel around on some kind of learned how we make explosive powder. That “inspection.” He doesn’t even read or write will surely come back to haunt us! Chinese. Some say he’s getting quite wealthy here. I wonder how that’s happening? Selling Welcoming Official: But what about the our secrets, most likely. things we get from foreign experience? Don’t you think the hospitals have improved, Welcoming Official: Frankly, I’m quite thanks to all the new Muslim doctors? pleased that the khan has shown more respect for merchants than the rulers of our READING NOTES 19 other dynasties have. Merchants used to be considered the lowest class in society. I never thought that was very fair. They bring us ivory, beautiful perfumes, and useful medicines from far away places. Why should they be treated so badly?

Rejecting Official: Well, foreign merchants may have gotten a bad deal in the past. But now they travel without restrictions and they don’t pay taxes. Sounds like they’ve got a better deal living in China than we do! Step 2: Work with your group to add to the dialogue by using facts from the reading to create one more argument for and one more argument against foreign contact.

Critical Thinking Question 2: If you had been China’s emperor during the Yuan dynasty, to what extent would you have welcomed or rejected foreign contact? Reject Foreign Contact Welcome Foreign Contact NG NOTES 19 19.4 Foreign Contacts Under the Ming Dynasty

Step 1: As your teacher plays the recording, follow along below. Underline all details in the dialogue that are found in the reading.

Scene 3: On the Dock During the Ming Dynasty

Official Who Welcomes Foreign Contact: become tributaries of China. Wow! We certainly know how to build ships. See those over there? The biggest ones Rejecting Official: These little tiny have 4 decks and, with 12 watertight countries send these ambassadors to compartments, they are virtually unsinkable. kowtow to the emperor— And several hundred men can sail on one ship. Did you know that because they even Welcoming Official: A sign of respect. have cabins, merchants are able to bring their wives along? They can carry enough Rejecting Official: They bring cheap gifts— food for everyone on board. They have tubs of earth for growing fruits and vegetables, Welcoming Official: Your opinion, sir. and aquariums for keeping fresh fish! Rejecting Official: Then our emperor Official Who Rejects Foreign Contact: sends their rulers truly priceless gifts and Merchants—hmmph. They’re the lowest allows them the privilege of trading with us! class of society. They produce nothing. Now I ask you, how exactly do we benefit Why should they travel in such luxury? from all this?

Welcoming Official: Well, there won’t be Welcoming Official: It’s important that any more exotic explorations like that made other countries respect us. We are, of by Zheng He. Those beautiful ships won’t course, the most civilized country in the be going anywhere. world. We lost too much prestige when the Mongols ruled. And remember the fantastic Rejecting Official: I think the officials things Zheng He found. I’d love one of those showed amazingly good judgment in sashes he brought back from India. I heard stopping those silly voyages. Zheng He’s they’re spun from thread made of real gold trips were a terrible waste of money. Name and covered with pearls and precious just one good thing China gained from stones. And those amazing animals.... them. Rejecting Official: Sorry to interrupt you, Welcoming Official: For one thing, but what good is an ostrich? What does one 30 of the places he visited promised to do with a zebra? And lions and leopards? Whatare they good for? We just put them in a zoo, andnow we have to spend good money caring for them.

Welcoming Official: You can’t fool me. I heard about the time you first saw that African giraffe. You were speechless. We didn’t even know these animals existed! But I suppose you’re pleased with the new trade and travel restrictions?

Rejecting Official: Obviously, I thought the restrictions were long overdue. Everyone was attacking us—the Mongols from the north, the Dutch and Portuguese from the sea, and those Japanese pirates made safe trade by sea impossible. It’s for the best that we just close our borders. READING NOTES 19 . Step 2: Work with your group to add to the dialogue by using facts from the reading to create one more argument for and one more argument against foreign contact.

Critical Thinking Question 3: If you had been China’s emperor during the Ming dynasty, to what extent would you have welcomed or rejected foreign contact?

Reject Foreign Contact Welcome Foreign Contact