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Learning Objectives 

Students will: 

• Discuss and examine trade dynamics along the Silk Road, including physical hardships and cultural exchanges.
• Read and discuss the main tenets of Buddhism and the role of Xuanzang in spreading the religion.
• Discuss the role of folktales in understanding and communicating aspects of culture.
• Demonstrate understanding of urbanization and trade in Chinese history during the Han, Tang, and Song dynasties.
• Research and gather information about the history of China. 
• Write, direct, and perform short shadow puppet plays.
• Create shadow puppets.
• Perform a shadow puppet play for an audience.

Standards Alignment

National Core Arts StandardsNational Core Arts Standards

Common Core State StandardsCommon Core State Standards

Recommended Student Materials

Editable Documents: Before sharing these resources with students, you must first save them to your Google account by opening them, and selecting “Make a copy” from the File menu. Check out Sharing Tips or Instructional Benefits when implementing Google Docs and Google Slides with students.

Websites

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Videos

Teacher Background

Teachers should be familiar with cultural diffusion, , and the history of China. All resources and media should be reviewed prior to implementation. This is the second lesson designed to accompany The Science of Shadow Puppetry lesson.

Student Prerequisites 

Students should be familiar with The Science of Shadow Puppetry and have some knowledge of trading goods and services.

Accessibility Notes

Modify handouts, text, and utilize assistive technologies as needed. Provide preferential seating for visual presentations and allow extra time for task completion.

Engage

1. Introduce the concept of trade. Tell students that although we now use money to acquire goods, people have not always done so. In ancient times, people bartered (or traded goods and services for other goods and services) to obtain what they wanted. During the Han Dynasty in China, silk and grain were used to pay taxes.

2. Have students share examples of bartering. Ask students: Have you ever bartered or made a trade with a sibling or friend? For example, trading a pair of headphones for a video game, or completing your siblings’ chores in exchange for an important favor.

3. Generate a class list of fair trades. To help students think of ideas, ask the following questions: What is a good trade for an iPad? A pair of shoes? A candy bar? Then ask students to think about factors that influence their trading. How would they value a trade if they had countless access to an item, such as an iPad? Would they value the item more or less? What if you know that a friend's family owns a candy store - what kind of trade would you expect from this friend that would be different from another friend? How would you know what to offer this friend in exchange?

4. Discuss how objects are valued more when they are not easy to find (i.e., photographs autographed by celebrities, one-of-a-kind art, etc.). Discuss the fact that trade works best when each trading party owns something considered very valuable to the other party.

Build Part I

1. Introduce students to the Silk Road, the series of trade routes stretching across Eurasia. Show video on page 2 of the . Inform students that many goods were exchanged along these routes, including fruit, nuts, paper, horses, medicine, copper, glass, gunpowder, and silk. The process of silk production had been a secret in China for over 2,000 years and people in other countries were eager to obtain the light fabric.

2. Display or share the . Explain that the journey was incredibly difficult due to weather, robbers, the diversity of geography and the thousands of miles merchants had to travel. Camels proved vital to the merchants because they can travel long distances without water and enabled merchants to cross the arid Taklamakan Desert. Ask students: What can you determine about the geographic regions along and around the Silk Road? 

3. Discuss the risks of trading. Ask students: Why did traders risk their lives for particular goods? Why did goods become more valuable as they moved farther away from their city of origin? Allow time for students to research historical events that happened around the world as they study the Silk Road.

4. Inform students that Xuanzang is an icon in Chinese culture. Xuanzang practiced , and after his journey Buddhism became more widespread and understood. His journey has been retold in stories, plays, and films. One of the most famous texts based on Xuanzang's journey is a 16th century novel titled Journey to the West, in which Xuanzang travels with a character called The Monkey King. Show students .

5. Explain to students that Chinese tales and legends are often retold in shadow puppet theater. Share with students that scholars still debate whether shadow puppetry theater originated in China or India. Discuss with students why this remains a mystery (i.e., people relied on the oral tradition to transmit historical information before paper and printing was widespread, and cultures mixed so much on the Silk Road over time that it is difficult to trace what came first).

6. Show students video on page 3 of the . Start the segment at 12:04 and end it at 15:12. On the slide, share the brief description of the video's background.

7. Have students explore . Discuss with students what they learned about the history of shadow art. Ask students to describe events, techniques, and records of shadow puppetry.

Build Part II

1. Introduce the (206 B.C. - 220 A.D.) to students. Explain to students that, although the Silk Road reached its height during the (618 A.D. - 906 A.D.), the Han Dynasty played a major role in the development of the Silk Road in the east. (The expansion of Rome can be credited to the west.) Under Wudi's rule, China was able to conquer regions in Central Asia and subsequently gain control of trade routes to the north and south of the Taklamakan Desert. Explain to students that one of the largest cities in the world during this time was the capital of western Han (now Chang'an in present-day Shaanxi Province), where two huge markets were located. Ask students: How do business opportunities and industrial development lead to the growth of cities?

2. Engage students in a discussion with the following questions: What day of the week are you more likely to watch a movie? When do you have more free time? What cultural activities are available in cities versus rural areas? What would the increase in business opportunities in a city have to do with an increase in cultural activities (i.e., more jobs lead to more income and more leisure time and the ability to pay for entertainment)?

3. Introduce students to the (960 A.D. - 1279 A.D.). Inform students that, although culture flourished in China during the Han Dynasty, it was during The Song Dynasty when China reached one of its highest points in its history—in terms of economic growth, art, culture, and urbanization. 

4. Discuss the connection between urbanization, trade, and the commercialization of Chinese culture. For example, merchants who were traveling wanted to eat food from their home regions, and wealthy people in urban centers wanted to try new foods. A new culture in urban locations involved eating out in restaurants.

5. Have students explore page 4-6 of the . Point out that dramatic arts, including the first shadow shows, also burgeoned during the Song Dynasty. This was partly because literacy increased because of the widespread use of printing during this time. Popular across all social classes, these shows were performed at court, in homes, along roadsides, and between military battles.

Apply

1. Divide students into groups of four to research and gather information about a topic in Chinese history. Introduce and review the . Tell students they are going to write their own shadow puppet depicting facts they gathered. 

2. Each student should pick one of the following roles: puppet maker, script writer, prop maker, and set maker. While everyone should work as a team and can collaborate on ideas, each person will be responsible for leading each role. Each student must also be involved in staging the play and should decide who will manipulate which puppets, who will provide the voice, etc. Students should plan for a play between 5-10 minutes long. 

3. Distribute the . Have students explore the following resources and select a topic to research. At least five of the facts in their play that will teach the class something new about their topic.

, ,

4. Review pages 8-13 from the for instructions on how to develop puppets, scripts, props, music selection, and sets. Provide students with materials to construct their own shadow puppets. 

5. Rehearse the plays as a group. Practice manipulating puppets to practice the events of the play. Have students rehearse to the music once they get comfortable with manipulating the puppets' actions. 

Reflect 

1. Perform shadow plays for an audience. Have the audience interpret the historical events the groups integrated in the plays. 

2. Assess students’ knowledge of shadow puppet plays with the . Provide feedback to students in the “Notes” section.