Lesson Title: A Poem (Ci 词) of the Song Dynasty
Country: China
Class: World Language (Chinese)
Grades level(s): 9th – 12th
Goals and Objectives:
The student will:
1.
1. Learn about the Song Dynasty and Chinese poetry and gain a deeper understanding of
and appreciation for Song dynasty poems through the reading of “Remembering Su Che on
the Mid-Autumn Festival” (“Shui Diao Ge Tou”).
2. Gain knowledge of key Daoist and Buddhist ideas and how the poem reflects the
influence of Daoism and Buddhism during Song dynasty.
3. Learn new Chinese vocabulary for describing nature and personal thoughts.
4. Recite the poem.
Time required/class periods needed:
Three or four 50-minute class periods depending on the levels of the class
Primary source bibliography:
Poem in Chinese “Shui Diao Ge Tou” http://www.chinapage.com/sushi2n.html#008
Poem in English “Remembering Su Che on the Mid-Autumn Festival”
http://www.chinese.cn/people/en/article/2009-10/03/content_68674_2.htm
Other resources used:
Pop Song version of poem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCrGu-5ThgE
Chinese poetry website http://history.cultural-china.com/en/61History7833.html
Chinese history website http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html
Chinese scholar/official website http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/china_600ce_scholar.htm
Timeline of Chinese history http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/timelines/china_timeline.htm
Images of the poet Su Shi http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html
Images of Mid-Autumn Festival at Night: http://traditions.culturalchina.com/en/17Traditions9285.html
Required materials/supplies:
Youtube video of the pop song version of the poem
Handout of the poem “Shui Diao Ge Tou”
A painting of the poet Su Shi
A painting/photoof the night of Mid-Autumn Festival
A poster or handout of the timeline of Chinese history
Vocabulary (in English and Chinese):
Tang shi Song ci 唐诗宋词
scholar-gentry 学者士绅
civil service examination 科举考试
Confucianism 儒家
Buddhism 佛家
Daoism 道家
Neo-Confucianism 新儒学
Shui Diao Ge Tou 水调歌头
bright moon 明月
blue sky 青天
palace 宫阙
ride the wind 乘风
high altitudes 高处
cold 寒
rise and dance 起舞
human world 人间
sleepness 无眠
hatred, ill-will 恨
round 圆
grieves and joys, separation and togetherness 悲欢离合
dark and clear times, and waxings and wanings (of the moon)阴晴圆缺
long-lasting, long lives 长久
thousand miles 千里
Procedure:
1.
Tell students that they are going to read a very popular Mid-Autumn Festival poem
written by a master of the ci, a type of poem that was unique to the Song Dynasty.
Then display the timeline of Chinese history to show the time frame of the Song
Dynasty。
Procedure Continued:
1.
Give students a brief introduction of the Song history and its outstanding cultural, social
and technological developments. Explain the importance of poetry and how the Song
poets and painters climbed up the social ladder to become government officials by taking
the civil service exam.
2.
Explain that Tang shi (a type of poetry popular in the Tang Dynasty) and Song ci are the
two most popular patterns of Chinese poetry and how they often reflect Buddhist,
Confucian and Daoist thoughts.
3.
Point out that during Tang Dynasty, Buddhism became popular in China via the Silk Road.
During the Song Dynasty, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism were integrated to
become Neo-Confucianism. Introduce the characteristics of each philosophy and list them
in a three-column chart.
4.
Read the poem to students. Then distribute the poem handout (in Chinese characters),
and have students read it alone and then in pairs. Have them translate as well as they
can.
5.
Project a copy of the poem along with a painting/picture on screen.
6.
For upper intermediate and advanced levels, ask questions to check understanding of
the meaning of the poem, and have students make inferences on the meaning of poem
and the painting. Have the class share their ideas.
7.
For beginning and lower intermediate levels, have students underline characters that they
recognize and guess the feeling and thoughts the poet wanted to convey in the poem and
the painting. Have the class share their ideas.
8.
Go over key words and phrases. Explain the meaning of every line in the poem.
9.
Hand out the poem in English or show the translation on the website. Have the entire class
read the poem out loud first in English and then in Chinese, paying attention to the sound
of the poem in its original language.
10. Refer to the three-column chart and remind students of the characteristics of the
philosophies that had major influences on the Song Dynasty. Have students find elements
in the poem that reflect the influence.
11. Show a painting of the poet, Su Shi. Give background information on the poet to help
students better understand the hidden meaning of the poem. Explain that Song poems
always conveyed dual meanings: Many poets used poetry to reflect their discontent with
current political situations as well as their ideas about man's place in nature and the
universe.
12. Find the figurative language in the poem and explain.
13. Play the song for the class on you tube and have students sing along.
Assessment/evaluation:
1. Intermediate and advanced students will create a simple drawing of a moonlit night and
compose a short poem in Chinese to illustrate the drawing.
2. Beginning students will recite the poem in Chinese or sing the song in front of class either
solo or in a group.