The Northern and Southern Dynasties are one of my favorite eras—so much to read! Choose one of the following questions and respond in two paragraphs, then comment on one of your classmates’ posts in 2–3 sentences.
Three Kingdoms is an era widely remembered through Chinese (and East Asian) popular culture, literature, and religion. Choose a character from the era and share what strikes you about their biography. How does this person appear in Chen Shou’s Record of Three Kingdoms? How are they remembered in later centuries? You may have to do some extra digging around the internet if you want to answer this question—but I can assure you there are plenty of resources!
The warfare of the Six Dynasties period produced so many famous characters. The figures of Three Kingdoms are one big group; Hua Mulan is another. Reflect on the appearance of Mulan in the original ballad vis-a-vis her depiction in later works.
Why do you think the Daoist text “Scripture of Great Peace” is so concerned with the trustworthiness of its contents? What might this tell you about the religious landscape of early medieval China?
What challenges did Buddhism face in its introduction in China? How do you think it overcame them?
Compare a Buddhist and Daoist scripture and discuss their similarities and differences.
We will look at Tao Yuanming’s “Peach Blossom Spring” in class, but feel free to offer a close analysis of what you think it means, should you be most interested in that particular text.
