21H.151 | Fall 2024 | Undergraduate

# Dynastic China

## Week 2 Discussion Post Prompts

Please pick one question, write at least two paragraphs in response (in accordance with the guidelines for posts), and then also respond to one of your classmates with 1–2 sentences.

1. What are some of the concerns of the Shang elite as reflected in the oracle bone inscriptions? Are any of their concerns surprising to you?
2. What are the advantages/disadvantages of a character-based writing system versus an alphabetic-based writing system?
3. What does “feudal” mean in the Zhou “feudal system”? Where else have you heard this term used?
4. Pick one hexagram from the Classic of Changes and analyze it in light of this week’s readings. Why do you think the hexagrams were written down and analyzed for posterity? How do we even know what they mean?
5. Are emojis a script in your view? Reflecting on the readings and lecture, do you see any parallels between contemporary use of emojis, on the one hand, and Sumerian cuneiform (c. 3,500 BCE), Egyptian hieroglyphs (c. 3,200–3,250 BCE), Chinese oracle bone scripts during the reign of Wu Ding (c. 1,200 BCE), and Olmec/proto-Mayan (c. 650 BCE), on the other?

## Course Info

### Instructor

- Prof. Tristan G. Brown

### Departments

- History

### As Taught In

Fall 2024

### Level

Undergraduate

### Topics

- Humanities
  - History
    - Asian History
    - World History

### Learning Resource Types

This course includes the following types of learning materials.

Activity Assignments
Lecture Videos
Readings
Student Work
Written Assignments
Browse Resources
Browse Resources

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