China

A smiling family stands together outdoors in China, with the child holding a certificate; modern city buildings and a flying airplane are visible in the background.

China’s One Child Policy | Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada

This lesson plan explores China’s controversial One Child Policy, introduced in 1979 to limit population growth and improve living standards. It examines the policy’s impacts, including economic growth and social imbalances, and considers differing perspectives on its success and consequences. The plan includes five different activities designed to engage students with the subject matter, encouraging critical analysis and discussion.

Lesson Plan
A computer screen displays a financial chart with candlestick patterns, volume bars, and moving averages, indicating upward price movement—reminiscent of the economic trends often analyzed by Our World in Data and the University of Oxford.

Our World in Data – China | University of Oxford

“Our World in Data” is a comprehensive resource that aims to improve data literacy by making research and data on global issues like poverty, disease, and climate change accessible and understandable. It highlights the progress possible through existing research and focuses on making vital knowledge available to everyone.

Student Resource Teacher Resource
Chinese propaganda poster showing three figures in military uniforms, one holding a red book, with a large portrait of Mao Zedong in the background and Chinese slogans above and below, capturing the fervor of China's Cultural Revolution.

China’s Cultural Revolution | Stanford Education Project

This lesson plan from the Stanford Education Project explores the motivations of Chinese youth in participating in the Cultural Revolution through a series of primary documents, allowing students to consider the experiences of this tumultuous period in Chinese history.

Lesson Plan
A Chinese soldier in uniform holds a book with Mao Zedong’s name; behind him, workers and soldiers are depicted in action on a red background. Chinese Posters Foundation text is featured at the bottom.

Chinese Posters | Chinese Posters Foundation

This resource is an evolving digital archive showcasing over 7,000 authentic Chinese propaganda posters, prints, and other images. The site provides historical context and artist information, enhancing understanding of modern Chinese history through visual propaganda.

Primary Source
Black and white portrait of an East Asian man with a mustache, short hair, and wearing a high-collared traditional garment; often associated with "Madman's Diary" and featured on the Marxists Internet Archive.

A Madman’s Diary | Marxists Internet Archive

Lu Xun presents a diary-style short story where the protagonist imagines being surrounded by cannibals. Through the protagonist’s delusions, Lu Xun delivers a potent critique of conventional Chinese society, specifically targeting the oppressive and dehumanizing aspects of traditionalist and Confucian values.

Primary Source
A large crowd gathers in front of Tiananmen Gate holding banners and signs during the May Fourth Movement in Beijing, China, 1919—a pivotal event explored in Asia for Educators' "Before and After" series.

Before and After the May Fourth Movement | Asia for Educators

This resource examines the New Culture Movement in China, featuring primary sources from Chen Duxiu, Chiang Kai-shek, and Mao Zedong, which highlight the intellectual debates and ideological shifts that shaped China’s modern transformation from 1916 to the 1940s. 

Primary Source Teacher Resource
A group of men, some armed and wearing traditional clothing, walk down a dusty street flanked by buildings in a historical setting, evoking scenes from the Boxer Uprising featured in Visualizing Cultures at MIT.

The Boxer Uprising | MIT Visualizing Cultures

This resource explores the Boxer Rebellion, an anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising in late 19th-century China, where martial arts-practicing peasants known as “Boxers” attacked foreign legations and Christian communities, prompting a multi-national military response and marking a pivotal moment in China’s history and its interactions with global powers.

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A person wearing traditional attire and a large hat stands in a crowd, holding a sign with Tibetan script—a scene reminiscent of Tibet’s 1959 uprising; several people watch in the background.

The Tibetan Uprising

Compiled by students in Dr. Zach Smith’s HIST 2310: Introduction to Asian History course at the University of Central Arkansas, this student-created resource guide examines the Tibetan Uprising within the broader context of colonial encounters in Asia. The guide provides historical background on the 1950 Chinese invasion of Tibet and the 1959 uprising, along with timelines, biographies, key texts, discussion questions, and suggestions for further reading. Designed for classroom use, this resource helps students and educators explore the political, cultural, and human consequences of Chinese expansion and Tibetan resistance.

Teacher Resource
A stone statue of a robed figure, possibly Confucius, stands outdoors before dense leafy trees. This black and white image evokes the ethos of Confucianism and can enhance Asia for Educators class materials.

Class Materials over Confucianism | Asia for Educators

This curated collection from Asia for Educators gathers a wide range of teaching materials on Confucianism. One highlight is the Confucianism lesson plan, which provides strategies for getting students to think more broadly about applying Confucian ideas—fostering both historical understanding and critical thinking. Another useful resource is the DBQs featuring selections from The Analects, which offer accessible primary sources alongside thoughtful discussion prompts that help students engage deeply with Confucian values.

Teacher Resource
Black and white illustration of two figures in traditional Chinese clothing, with one person bending over a third figure lying down, surrounded by decorative patterns and calligraphy, evoking themes from Chinese history and bisexuality.

Bisexuality in Chinese History

The inclusion of queer history in curriculums is integral to teaching about world civilizations. With this featured article, high school students can be introduced to prevalent representations of bisexuality in Han Dynasty China. In the Western Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE) it was common for emperors to have both wives and male companions. Both men and women at the time used intimate relationships to gain favor with the upper court, and this openness to nonheterosexual intimacy led to legendary love stories that are still prevalent as symbols of queer love. 

Teacher Resource
A group of people march outdoors in China, holding a rainbow flag overhead and a red banner, with some waving small rainbow flags—a vibrant scene reflecting LGBT activism in China.

Unfinished Revolution: An Overview of Three Decades of LGBT Activism in China

Within the context of queer activism, perhaps one of the most inspiring movements is that of the Chinese LGBTQ community. In pre-modern times, China had a long history of societally accepted homosexuality, a stark contrast to pre-modern Europe that largely viewed any homosexuality as an abomination. However, in the present period, the Chinese Party-State has suppressed and censored the LGBTQ community, prompting activists to fight back. This article discusses the ups and downs queer activism in China has experienced in the last few decades, the role of nongovernmental organizations as opportunities for change, and the political sensitivity surrounding human rights activism.   

Teacher Resource
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