1. Using the article “Chinese Civil Service Exam” (Assigned Reading A), explain how the Chinese aimed to c.reate a stable government.
2. How might we understand the Chinese system during the Song Dynasty to be more “democratic” than the European system in the post-classical era?
3. Using examples from “What would Boccaccio say about Covid-19” (Assigned Reading B), explain how Florence dealt with their pandemic.
4. Compare what the article told you about the plague pandemic experience in Florence in 1348 with the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Assigned Reading (A) Chinese Civil Service https://docsend.com/view/286dphrcv8byyq6a
Please answer:
1. The ways this system might make China more “democratic” than the political systems of Western Europe or the Muslim world.
2. How the exam’s purpose changed from the Tang dynasty to the Song dynasty?
3. Like any political system, the civil service system had a major impact on other aspects of life – social, economic, and cultural. Think about how the system affected Chinese families, class, as well as the role of boys and girls.
4. The economic effects of the system.
Assigned Reading (B): What Would Boccaccio Say About Covid-19?
https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/paula-findlen-what-would-boccaccio-say/
Please answer:
1. How the authorities dealt with the plague in 14th century Florence.
2. How the people dealt with the plague.
3. The short-term and long-term effects of the plague.
4. Similarities with today.
