Continuing on the theme of leadership and the same categories that were outlined in the Han-Roman comparison(virtue, discipline, education, obligation to state and people, and role model), this time using Machiavelli and Wang Yang-ming. The Ming Dynasty sees a resurgence of Confucian philosophy. Early Ming philosophers were searching for a return to an orderly Han Chinese society and that meant looking at the classic political and societal models of the Sung Dynasty. After the initial burst of energy many Ming scholar retrench into a rigid orthodox Neo-Confucianism. These are partly to blame for the end of Chinese expeditions abroad. (Note that the new AP exam outline makes much of the Sung Dynasty and it is advisable to cover Neo-Confucianism before this unit.)

Huang Tsunghsi (1610-1695) was a late Ming/early Qing scholar who represents a counter to both the rigid orthodoxy of the Ming and the new rule of the Manchus. The Mings had executed his father. Huang's "A Plan for the Prince" can be read as a criticism as well as advice. He appears nostalgic for early rulers. Because this passage also reads as a criticism, I have included Erasmus' "Julius Excluded (Doc. B-1.)" This makes for a lively criticism of a statesman.

I am sure most World History teachers have their favorite passages of Machiavelli at hand. Our text World History: The Human Experience has a short passage which includes the famous "end is all that counts" on pages 426 - 429.

I teach this course to a mix of ninth and tenth graders of all ability levels and have found that reading many of these works aloud by students taking turns or taking on a part such as in Julius Excluded works very well. These pieces read like Shakespeare(Greek?) to this age group. Vocabulary and idioms can stump even the best of students, I work with the students on the difficult passages or explain events and situations that are assumed knowledge by the author. Once they get the rhythm of the language and the formality, such works are no longer frightening.

Once again, in a similar fashion from the earlier Rome and Han dynasty comparison, ask the students to compare:

The prince's obligation to the state
The prince's obligation to the people
Signs of virtue in a leader
Mistakes or sins of a leader