Sample Mid-term Scoring Guidelines

The scoring guideline below provided should be viewed as a reference tool rather than a strict checklist that must be followed to achieve a high mark. Your essay will be evaluated holistically, including the coherence of your arguments, the clarity of your expression, the depth of your insights, and the overall effectiveness in developing the argument.

Xue Fucheng on Reform

High-level Indicators

• Situates Xue Fucheng and his ideas as part of the self-strengthening movement
• Registers Xue’s conclusion about Chinese tradition as a resource for – rather than obstacle to – reform
• Discusses the difference between the “immutable way” and “changeable laws” and considers their relationship
• Notes Xue’s understanding of Confucianism as a universal concept, rather than merely a Chinese tradition (“the utilization of the forces of nature for the benefit of the people”)
• Observes Xue’s understanding of utilitarianism and pragmatic statecraft as part of Confucian tradition and its relevance for Qing China
• Examines the relationship between past and present, noting Xue’s departure from traditional notion of cyclical change (“change the present so as to restore the past”) and embrace of linear time (“change the past system to meet present needs”)
• Compares and contrasts with other thinkers, especially his patrons, Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang, and other thinkers we have read (e.g. Zhang Zhidong)
• Probes Xue’s nationalism as one defined by culture and civilization, as opposed to race or ethnicity
• Considers the audience of the text – more conservative members at court – and its potential reception among intellectuals
• Offers an assessment of the self-strengthening movement, including its successes, limitations, and legacies

Low Level Indicators

• Fails to contextualize Xue Fucheng as part of the self-strengthening movement and its impact on 19th century China
• Makes binary generalizations about China vs. West, tradition vs. modernity
• Dismisses indigenous roots of modernization and intellectual change
• Misses Xue’s understanding of Confucianism as one based on civilization and universal in nature (“the utilization of the forces of nature for the benefit of the people”)
• Has little to say about specificities of Xue Fucheng’s own writing, especially regarding his notion of historical change and/or relationship between China and the West
• Fails to register Xue Fucheng’s interlocutors (namely more conservative members at court) and the potential reception of his writing
• Concludes the self-strengthening movement as “failure” without considering the context of reforms, and/or considering its intellectual legacies
• Overly negative about the value of the text for understanding intellectual, political, and social change in late 19th-century China

Xu Jilin on Tianxia

High-level Indicators

• Registers Xu Jilin’s definition of tianxia (all under heaven) and notes its difference from traditional tianxia (“hirarchical and sino-centric”)
• Notes the Confucian roots of tianxia and tradition of Chinese universalism
• Discusses the motivation of Xu’s writing as one against excessive nationalism and its intended audience
• Examines the inherent tension between universalism and nationalism in Xu’s writing, namely using tianxia, a traditional Chinese concept rooted in hierarchy, to counter sino-centricism and hierarchy
• Compares and contrasts Xu with earlier thinkers calling for Confucianism universalism, such as Kang Youwei
• Considers the efficacy of Xu’s arguments, especially as to whether tianxia (all-under-heaven) offers a viable alternative to the Westphalian world order

Low-level Indicators

• Fails to register Xu’s definition of “tianxia” (all-under-heaven) and its difference from the new tianxia
• Has little to say about universalism in Confucian thinking
• Overlooks the context of Xu Jilin’s writing – a rising and increasingly confident China – and his position vis-à-vis other intellectuals
• Has nothing to say about enduring influence of Confucianism and / or Chinese tradition in contemporary thought
• Makes no attempt to consider the audience of Xu’s writing and potential reception of the text
• Overly dismissive of Xu’s text as nationalistic and its value for understanding Chinese intellectual thought today

Zhou Xuan sings “Songstress at the Ends of the Earth”

High-level Indicators

• Considers the relationship among gender, modernity, and urban experience
• Discusses the city and its ambivalent meanings: symbol of urban modernity vs. moral decline
• Compares Xiao Hong to other female characters in class, especially The Goddess
• Examines the commodification of female sentiment – not just as depicted in the scene, but also through cinema as popular entertainment
• Explores cinema as art form in 1930s China, especially its popularity in urban environments and among left-wing intellectual circles
• Considers the reception of the film by different audiences (GMD officials, left-wing intellectuals, working class women, etc.)
• Registers the leftist critique within the film and connects it to political trends in 1930s China

Low-level Indicators

• Fails to consider Shanghai as urban setting, its conflicted identities, and mixed representations in contemporary culture
• Has little to say about film as genre and its usefulness for understanding urban history
• Treats Xiaohong as representative of all Chinese women and makes no attempt to disaggregate by class, region, native place, etc.
• Tends to be more descriptive of the scene rather than analytical about larger themes
• Spends too much time expressing moral judgment or indignation (about gender inequalities and/or patriarchal oppression)
• Has little to say beyond the immediate plot and character
• Overly dismissive of the film’s intellectual significance and potential value