Part+One+Answers

__ Part One: History of China __ (Everyone Completes this Section.)

The novel, //Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress// is set in the early 1970s, at the height of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The action occurs in a small, village, near the fictional mountain, **Phoenix of the Sky**, where the two main characters are sent to be “reeducated.”

[ A note about Wikipedia: Students are not allowed to cite Wikipedia as a source for research papers.—(after all, it is a Wiki, and can be changed…) However, Wikipedia is a useful tool in research. It is a good first source. Use it to get a quick overview of a topic and to develop ideas for further study. To that end, Wikipedia is used in this webquest. Have fun.

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 * A. ** Go to this Wikipedia page and scroll down to **History**.

1. What happened in 1911? The Republic of China, which ended the Qing Dynasty and ending over two-thousand years of imperial rule and the start of the Xinhai dynasty.

2. What party was formed in July of 1921? The Communist Party of China started forming in 1920 but still went on through 1921.

3. Who led the Nationalist Party (KMT) beginning in 1925? Chiang Kai Shek

4. How did Chiang Kai-shek change the relationship of China and the Soviet Union? He strike first and killed thousands of them.

5. Was Chiang Kai-shek for or against communism? He was against communism.


 * B. ** **Chairman Mao** was the next strong ruler in China. He was the head of the Communist Party (CCP). Look up this website; []

6. How many people were killed under Mao’s leadership? 45 million

7. Scroll down to Mini-biography, and to the year 1962. What changes are made in the school system?

The school system is reorganized to accommodate the work schedule of communes and factories.

8. Scroll to the year 1966. Who are the Red Guards? List three social or cultural changes that happen during this time. Students that are organized into groups and publicly criticize those in the party who are considered by Mao and his supporters to be "Left" in form but 'Right' in essence.”

Respect of learning and elders is lost.

CCP and government crumbles.


 * C. ** Look up this website about the **Cultural Revolution:** []

9- When did it occur? 1966-76

10- What happened to the Red Guards eventually? (paragraphs 4 and 5). They splintered into zealous rival factions

Click on the links for several of the posters.
 * D. ** Look up this **Propaganda** site []

11- What sorts of feelings do you think the people were supposed to get from these posters? (Think color, expressions, slogans, et cetera.) They were supposed to get the feeling of revolution

12. Click on the link called, “Up to the mountains, down to the villages.” What was the purpose of this “Countryside Movement”?

- To encourage educated youth to go to the countryside to recieve re-educated from the poor and lower-middle peasants and help fuel the revolution to be used as a weapon and make China strong under Mao.

13. Scroll down to the paragraph beginning, “In reality.” Did the Countryside Movement achieve its goals? Why or why not?

No because most students would die due to reeducation.

Look up this website: [] Read the Biography section.
 * E. ** The author of //Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress// is **Dai Sijie.**

14. What factors in his life are similar to those in the novel? It is like the story because they both had to go through chinese reeducation camps.

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 * F. ** Look at this map of China:

15. Where is the **Sichuan** province, where Dai Sijie was sent for reeducation?

Look up this website: []
 * G. ** Stories written by Honore de Balzac are very important in Dai Sijie’s novel.

16. Describe his largest work, //La Comedie Humaine.// It is in the midsouth of China.

17. What themes and subjects does Balzac write about? He writes about society and influence on his environment, wealth and love.

19. Approximately how old are Balzac’s writings at the time when the characters in //Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress// find them?


 * H. For Fun: ** Plan a trip across East Asia by listening to five Lonely Planet videos. [] List your locations:

20: 1.

2.

3. 4.

5.