Download AP WORLD HISTORY * SCORED DISCUSSION

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AP WORLD HISTORY – SCORED DISCUSSION
Topic: Neo-Confucianism
China’s experience after the fall of the Han dynasty included periods of disunity and chaos that led to the spread
(though not introduction – this happened in the first century CE) of Buddhism throughout China. Buddhism is Indian
and, to the sometimes insular Chinese culture, represented a foreign belief system that threatened the order of Chinese
society by drawing China’s elite sons and daughters away from society and into the monasteries. The near
establishment of Buddhism as the new ideology of state under Empress Wu and others marked a low-point for native
Chinese belief systems such as Confucianism and Daoism. By the end of the Tang a reactionary movement had
developed in China. Daoists and Confucianists sought to reassert traditional Chinese beliefs while incorporating the
more appealing aspects of Buddhism, particularly Buddhism’s angle on personal development while rejecting the
Indian belief in the illusory nature of reality.
-Ways to earn points during a scored discussion1. Making a substantive comment. Your comment is on-topic and contributes something unique to the conversation
– you shouldn’t merely restate what someone else has said (although you should paraphrase what someone said as part
of active listening – as a prelude to making new comments of your own). 1 point.
2. Making a substantive comment that includes a clear textual reference. Your comment is on-topic and
contributes something unique to the conversation, and makes a direct reference to words or phrases in the reading –
either the sidebar reading or the textbook chapter as a whole. 2 points.
3. Asking a clarifying question. You ask the class as a whole to clarify one or more elements of the question (e.g.
What do they mean by interdependent here in paragraph two?) or you ask a specific discussant to clarify what they
said. You could, for instance, ask another discussant to give an example of what they mean, re-state it in different
words, how it applies to something new, etc. 1 point.
4. Signposting. You identify when the conversation has shifted to a new topic or sub-topic, e.g. “It seems we have
shifted to talking about the role of facial hair. This relates to our topic of Romanticism because men adopted more
“natural” and dramatic styles during the Romantic movement.” 1 point.
Discussion questions:
1. In what ways is the Confucianist focus on the “pragmatic” concerns of society better than the metaphysical focus of
Buddhism? Why are salvation doctrines like Christianity and Buddhism inferior from the perspective of Confucianism?
2. How might a Buddhist respond to a neo-Confucian’s criticism?
3. In what ways did Confucianism absorb or co-opt the metaphysical ideas of Daoism? What was the purpose?
4. Who is more correct about how a person can move beyond the material world, Zhu Xi or Wang Yangming? Why?
5. Why did the Chinese government reject Wang Yangming’s version of neo-Confucianism? Was this a wise move?
Why or why not?
Keep track of your own participation here:
I contributed to the discussion by:
Making a substantive
comment
Making a substantive
comment with textual
reference
Asking a clarifying
question
Signposting