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THE CHINESE DRAGON: Table of Contents
A Powerful Metaphor in Chinese Cultural History
A Curriculum Unit Developed to Support the
Grade 4 Gifted and Talented Program
By
Judy Botsford, Librarian (Retired), Runkle School, Brookline, MA
Dragon Slide Show
The images below show the many ways in which the dragon appears in present-day China, both as historical artifact, and ongoing cultural phenomenon. Select (click on) the images to enlarge them and to read captions.
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For images of dragons, and of dragon robes on the Web go to www.chinapage.com and www.beifan.com.
I. INTRODUCTION
The folk literature of China could be said to provide a kind of “Natural
History” of this huge country throughout its 4000 year history. These stories,
which have survived the vicissitudes of succeeding dynasties, invasions of barbarian
tribes and the immense upheaval of the Communist revolution, have done so because
their themes continue to engage the Chinese people reflecting the reality of
their lives and the stuff of their dreams as vividly today as they did centuries
ago.
Chinese folk tales have a long history. Collecting and using songs and tales
must have begun as early as the time of Confucius (561-479 BC) who is said to
have chosen from a harvest of 3000 about 300 of the best folk songs and ritual
odes for the Book of Odes (Shih ching) . The Han government (3rd C. BC)
appointed officials to investigate and report on the legends and stories heard
in the marketplace so that the mood of the people could be judged and the effectiveness
of the administration accurately evaluated. In time these same tales became
the sources for the composers of the classical fiction and poetry of the period.
Fiction began in the Han dynasty from the models of oral tales (Eberhard, p.xi).
The collection and utilization of folk literature was undertaken with great
enthusiasm during the early years of Communist state (perhaps influenced by
the Russian folklore movement) by men such as Chung Ching-wen, a professor at
Peking Normal University. Chung believed that folk literature “originated
and developed with the masses of the people during the long process of their
social existence and social struggles. Through their powers of artistic creation,
the masses have genuinely and fruitfully preserved their own historical record
and world-view ...without knowledge of the oral tradition of the people, no
one could understand the real history of the laboring class.” (Eberhard,
p.xiii). Mao himself encouraged the recording of bandit and peasant revolt tales
both because he had accepted the support of bandits in his struggle with the
Kuomintang armies and had adopted their tactics in attacking the rich landowners
and Nationalist troops to feed his followers.
School children in the early grades have a natural affinity for folk tales and
literary tales with folk elements. The clear division between good and evil,
the one dimensionality of characters, the effective resolution of plot and the
lack of ambiguity satisfy their sense of social justice. The tales, in turn,
have much to teach them about the shape of story. Simple literary conventions
and clear demarcations between the beginning, middle and end of a tale reinforce
the teaching of writing in the classroom as they begin to compose their own
stories. In reviewing these takes, older elementary children revisit story structure
and prepare for the writing of more complex pieces. For the purposes of this
unit, however, what may be most important is the amount of information these
folk tales reveal about the concerns, fears, ambitions, injustices, natural
disasters, occupations, food, housing, clothing, customs, amusements and hopes
which fill the lives of the people in them.
One caution: The major difficulty in using written folk tales,
either a compilation or single tale, is that they often reflect the values or
agenda of the recorder as much as, if not more than, the folk who have passed
them on orally. This concept may be difficult for early elementary students
to grasp, but shouldn’t detract from its importance in understanding folk
literature.
II. THE AUDIENCE AND THE READINGS
Love of story engages the child in the process of history in ways which nonfiction
cannot. It is the purpose of this unit, therefore, to introduce students in
the middle elementary grades (3-4) to some of the history and geography of China
through an examination of the dragon motif as it appears in folk literature
and fiction. As reading in the content areas is also crucial in these middle
years, students will also be given practice reading and analyzing nonfiction
readings which will acquaint them with various aspects of Chinese dragon lore.
Conducted by the librarian, each thematic cluster will have background information
and several lessons which extend the student’s understanding of the metaphorical
use of the dragon motif. Assignments will encourage them to extract information
about the history and geography of China from the reading of folk tale and fiction
. Because this unit is designed for specific use with gifted fourth grade gifted
readers, each section will be extended by the reading of a longer work of fiction
in which some aspect of dragon folklore is included. Students should develop
a fuller understanding of how writers use metaphor to enrich and deepen their
writing. Several extension activities, which are optional depending on the time
and inclination of the cooperating staff. Bibliographies are included with each
section to extend the theme even further. This unit can supplement classroom
curriculum materials provided by a system for the teaching of Early or Ancient
culture, but it is designed to provide the Library Media Specialist or Gifted
and Talented Teacher with a self-contained unit on Chinese Folklore which will
extend the thinking of able readers.
The library media specialist occupies a unique position in the school. Some
see scheduled classes on a regular basis, some schedule flexibly, some work
in close association with teachers and can schedule cooperatively with an art
or music teacher. Others share responsibility for several buildings and are
in a single school only part-time. For this reason, the unit is intended to
be flexible allowing for the teaching of a single cluster or several if time
allows. The web version of this unit contains only the first two of four clusters:
The Mythology of the Dragon and The Emperor and the Symbol of the Dragon. The
remaining clusters can be obtained from the Primary Source Library.
III. GOAL FOR UNIT:
Students will explore the history, culture and geography of
China in a variety of periods using the folk motif of the dragon as a focal
point.
IV. OBJECTIVES FOR UNIT:
1. Through the shared reading of nonfiction readings, tales and longer works
of fiction, students will identify some of the ways in which dragon imagery
reflects life in China at various periods in her history.
2. Through the shared reading of the above, students will identify historical
and cultural information about life in China as experienced by the characters.
3. Students will identify story conventions(beginning, middle, end, setting,
plot) and folk tale motifs (numbers, characters).
4. Students will recognize how understanding of a metaphor or symbol enriches
one’s understanding of art and literature.
V. KEY QUESTIONS FOR UNIT:
