Title: Family and Religion Do Now Today is “Home Run Day” in honor of baseball great Hank Aaron hitting his first home run in 1954. If someone was.

Title: Family and Religion Do Now Today is “Home Run Day” in honor of baseball

great Hank Aaron hitting his first home run in 1954. If someone was to create a day to honor a first for you, what would that day be called and what event of yours would it honor?

Agenda

Do NowAncient China Family and

Religion LessonCompare and ContrastChinese dragon

Objective

Students will compare and contrast their family structure and roles with those of the Ancient Chinese

VocabularyValue: an ideal thought to be

worthwhile by a person or groupGeneration: a group of family

members born and living at about the same time

Extended family: several generations living together

Ancestor worship: the practice of honoring the spirits of the dead

Family UnitFamilies are important in most cultures

They help to ensure children are protected

In China, loyalty to one’s family was more important than almost any other value

Family UnitThe traditional family

in China included many generations.

It usually consisted of children, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Often a family occupied rooms or houses around a courtyard and lived with their extended family

Family Relationships A person’s position was

based mainly on age and gender

The older you were the more power they had and men were considered more important than women

A father had all the power in the household and his wife and children were expected to obey him in all things

Family Relationships Marriages were arranged by parents to strengthen the family

Many couples did not meet until their wedding day

Some did fall in love even though they knew their parents would disapprove

Family Relationships I beg of you, Chung Tzu,DO not climb into our homestead,Do not break the willows we have planted.Not that I mind about the willowsBut I am afraid of my father and mother.Chung Tzu dearly love.But of what my father and mother sayIndeed I am afraid.”

-Shijing (Book of poetry)

WomenChinese women had and still have little power in the traditional family

Their job is to serve other family members

Chinese tradition and Chinese religious beliefs supported this view.

Women

A woman’s duty is not to control or to take charge…When she is young, she must submit to her parents. After her marriage, she must submit to her husband. When she is widowed, she must submit to her son. These are the rules of correct behavior”

-Liu Hsiang

Traditional Religious BeliefsThe ancient Chinese viewed Earth as a flat

diskAt the center lay the middle kingdomAbove earth stretched the sky (Heaven)Heaven gave Chinese rulers the right to

rule but it was far awayThey were more concerned with the

spirits than Heaven they believed surrounded them every day.

SpiritsThe Chinese

believed the world was alive with spirits

Heaven was home to the sprits of the sun, moon, stars and storms.

On Earth, spirits lived in hills, rivers, rocks and seas and ruled the daily lives of people

SpiritsSome spirits were good (made rain fall/crops grow)

The Chinese dragon was a symbol of these kindly forces of nature

They believed the dragon could bring rain and help sailors travel safely on the ocean

According to legend, the Chinese dragon was created from the

characteristics of several animals. China’s emperors later adopted the

dragon as a symbol of their authority…Why might an emperor want to be

compared to a dragon?

Spirits Not all sprits were good Demons and devils haunted dark and lonely

places and hid in homes During festivals, the people used bonfires, loud

sounds, and paper dragons to frighten evil spirits away.

Spirits of AncestorsThe most important spirits were ancestor spirits

They believed the family members lived on after death in the spirit world

The spirits of ancestors were viewed as part of the family as well

Spirits of AncestorsThe living and dead were tied by

powerful bonds.The dead looked to the living to

keep their memory aliveThey were honored with prayers and

giftsLiving members did this because they

believed that the more honor they paid to their ancestors the more likely the dead would become good spirits

Older family members often performed the

ceremonies for honoring ancestors…why do you

think they did this?

Spirits of AncestorsThe living looked to the dead for help

in ongoing affairs because their spirits were more powerful than the living

The spirits of ancestors protected and guided family members

Ancestor Worship

The Chinese found many ways to honor their ancestors.

Every home had a shrine known as a “red table”

It held tablets with the names of family ancestors

This was the place they would practice ancestor worship

Ancestor Worship

In early times, only powerful noble families may have honored the dead

Over time, ancestor worship became deeply rooted in Chinese culture

Compare and Contrast First, draw this on the left side of your notebook

Chinese Families My Family

Spend the next 10 minutes filling out this chart. Include

specifics of family structure and life of ancient China and your

family

You have the next 20 minutes to write a compare and contrast

essay to show the differences in China’s structure and your own. You can choose to either do it point-by-point or chunking the

information

Compare and ContrastOpen your books to pate 311We are going to read how Confucius

and Wilma Mankiller are similar and different

When we are finished, you will write me a compare and contrast paragraph to show the similarities and differences.

Chinese DragonI will give you a

handout. You need to listen closely and follow directions so your Chinese dragon looks as it is supposed to.