H.I.P.P Sourcing Documents

H.I.P.P Sourcing Documents

Source: Emperor Tang Wu, Edict on Buddhism, 845 C.E. Now if even one man fails to work the fields, someone must go hungry; if one woman does not tend her silkworms, someone will go cold. At present there are an inestimable number of monks and nuns in the empire, all of them waiting for the farmers to feed them and the silkworms to clothe them while the Buddhist public temples and private chapels have reached boundless numbers, sufficient to outshine the imperial palace itself. Having thoroughly examined all earlier reports and consulted public opinion on all sides, there no longer remains the slightest doubt in Our mind that this evil should be eradicated.

What information did you acquire from this document? There were a lot of Buddhist monks and nuns, and they were not working for agricultural output. These Buddhist monks were relying on public assistance for food and clothing. Emperor Wu saw this practice of Buddhist monks not working for their own keep as an evil that should be done away with.

Historical Context? Tang Dynasty established the equal-field system. This allotted agricultural land to families in an equitable fashion. This was to avoid the problems of the Han Dynasty where large plots of land ended up in the hands of a few, creating huge social problems. During the second half of the Tang Dynasty, large parcels of land fell out of the system into the hands of Buddhist monasteries. Emperor Wu wanted to correct this.

Intended Audience? The intended audience of this edict was to the general population of the Tang Dynasty, to justify his action of trying to eradicate the Buddhist monks and nuns. However, a second audience could be to the administrators within the Tang bureaucracy as orders to have them take action against the monks and nuns.

Point of View? Emperor Wu saw the Buddhist monks and nuns as a burden to society. He saw them as evil and wanted to do away with them because they didn t produce food or clothing for themselves.

Purpose? The growing Chinese population put a strain on the economic welfare of the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Wu saw that large plots of land were falling out of the equal field system and into the hands of the Buddhist monks and nuns. To address this strain, and provide greater economic stability to the population at large, he wanted to get rid of these monks and nuns. That way he could give more land to people for agriculture production, and not have these monks and nuns as a social welfare burden to them.

How does this affect the content? This helps explain why government persecution broke out against Buddhist monks during the second part of the Tang Dynasty.

Source: Chilean woman speaking at the First National Meeting of the Female Temporary Agricultural Workers, Santiago, Chile, June 1993. Compañeras [Sisters], it is all fine to talk about solidarity with men, but how many of you have husbands who wash dishes or take care of children? How many of you have husbands who let you go to meetings or like the fact that you work? And I know none of us wants to talk about this but how many of you have husbands who are abusive, who beat you at whatever whim?

What information did you acquire from this document? Women have experienced a double burden and inequity within their households for a long time. There was a gathering of women in Santiago, Chile in June 1993 to try to address and correct some of these inequities.

Historical Context? There has been gender inequities in households since before classical times. Women s suffrage movements began in the 19th century and grew out of the Enlightenment principles of the 18th & 19th centuries. These suffrage and equality movements grew at different rates in different places and found a voice in Santiago, Chili at a women s conference in 1993.

Intended Audience? The intended audience of this speech was to Latin American females attending a conference in Chile in 1993. This gathering of women were probably sympathetic to the speaker s message of gender inequality within households.

Point of View? This speaker was trying to express her disapproval of the gender inequalities and potential abuses within the households of these Latin American women. She was trying to bring about changes to these inequities.

Purpose? This speaker was trying to promote more equality and safety to Latin American women. She wanted to expose the inequities and bring about social and political change for the good.

How does this affect the content? This helps explain that women s equality was still an issue as recently as 1993 in Latin American locations.

Source: Ye Chunji, county official during the Ming dynasty, order issued to limit wedding expenses, 1570 s. The frugal man with only one bar of silver currency can have something left over, whereas the extravagant man with a thousand can still not have enough.

What information did you acquire from this document? This county official took action to legislate frugality by passing a law that limited what could be spent on weddings.

Historical Context? During the Ming Dynasty the Chinese government required that taxes be paid in silver. Silver was the economic backbone of China.

Intended Audience? The intended audience of this law were the people living under Ye Chunji s jurisdiction in China. While the law was specifically about wedding expenses, there is a more general message about being frugal, and that riches cannot bring satisfaction.

Point of View? As a county official, Ye Chunji certainly might have an agenda. Since silver was required for taxes, he would want to be sure that people living in his jurisdiction had enough to pay. However, if he followed the Confucian principles of filial piety, he would want to promote practices within the family of economic prudence and benevolence.

Purpose? Ye Chunji s purpose was to promote economic responsibility within one s family. He did this by passing a law that limited what could be spent for a wedding. However, the bigger issue here is that he wanted to promote the idea that money cannot bring fulfillment and happiness and illustrated that with this comparison of a frugal man and an extravagant man s spending on a wedding.

How does this affect the content? I would like to believe that Ye Chunji had the best interest of the people living in his province at heart. Having silver can produce greed and pride, which would erode the strength of the family and the society in which he lived.

Source: Frontinus, Roman general, governor of Britain, and water commissioner for the city of Rome, first century C.E. All the aqueducts reach the city at different elevations. Six of these streams flow into covered containers, where they lose their sediment. Their volume is measured by means of calibrated scales. The abundance of water is sufficient not only for public and private uses and applications but truly even for pleasure. The water is distributed to various regions inside and outside the city, to basins, fountains, and public buildings, and to multiple public uses. Compare such numerous and indispensable structures for carrying so much water with the idle pyramids, or the useless but famous works of the Greeks.

What information did you acquire from this document? There were numerous water sources for the city of Rome in the first century. There was so much water that it not only provided for the essential needs of the people living there, but it was also used for private and recreational purposes.

Historical Context? The city of Rome attracted many people in the first century and was the seat of government for the Roman Empire. Water was needed for essential life, but it was also used for recreation and entertainment purposes. The Romans prided themselves as being superior to other empires and used this example of the multiple purposes of water to prove their point.

Intended Audience? The intended audience of this writing was to those outside of the Roman Empire, or those who hadn t visited the city of Rome. He wanted to brag about the superiority of Rome compared to other empires.

Point of View? As the water commissioner, Frontinus bragged about how great and wonderful the water services were for the city of Rome. He was very proud of both meeting the essential water needs of the people, but also of the extravagant use of water in fountains and recreational use.

Purpose? Frontinus wanted to make an argument for how superior the Roman water system was in comparison to other famous public works. Since he was the water commissioner, he was also bragging about himself and what a great job he had done to meet essential and recreational needs.

How does this affect the content? This promotes the idea that Rome was a sophisticated and elite city. Romans considered themselves to be superior to empires that predated them. It also causes one to raise doubt that things were as good as Frontinus depicted them to be. Is there a differing point of view?