A Case Design On How To Blend The Ancient History Of Tianshui Into The Teaching Of History In Middle School

Aiming at the problem of how to blend the local history into the teaching of history in middle school,and under the guidance of the communication theory,this paper is to analyze the characteristics of the local history of Tianshui and its connection with the Chinese history.Combining the contents of the local history which have local characteristics and can influence the whole country and even the world,and basing on the historical textbooks of Chinese map edition of grade seven,we will adopt the methods of image teaching and story telling,and give a complete and systematic design of a teaching case on how to blend the ancient history of Tianshui into the teaching of history in middle school.Each case is composed of three parts: course analysis,teaching objectives and process design.In the first unit of the first volume of the textbook of grade seven “The origin of Chinese civilization”,we include the fossil skulls of “Wushan people” who lived 20000 years earlier than the Upper Cave Man in the first lesson “A history that Zhoukoudian tells us”;in Lesson 2 “The primitive farming life”,we include the world's first specimen of broomcorn millet and China's earliest specimen of oilseed rape discovered in Tianshui as well as the earliest diversification of Chinese agriculture;in Lesson 3“The legends of the Chinese ancestors”,we include the legends of Fuxi teaching his people to fish and draw the Eight Diagrams in his hometown Tianshui,which can help the students to understand the origin and the evolution process of Chinese civilization from the viewpoints of fossils,agricultural archaeology and legends.In the first lesson“The subrogation of Xia dynasty,Shang dynasty and Western Zhou dynasty” of the second unit “The creation of countries and the social transformation”,we combine the legend of Dayu controlling water on the shore of Jishi Valley on the border of Qinghai and Gansu and the Lajia site in Qinghai as well as the copper-made antiques of the beast mask design in Tianshui,and thus reveal the connection between Gansu and Qinghai regions with Xia dynasty;we also include the story of the ancestors of the Qin people raising horses in the period of Shang and Zhou dynasties,and thus make the students have a deep understanding of the replacement of the two dynasties.In Lesson 2 “Thebrilliant bronzes”,we choose the bronze wares which have the characteristics of both the bronzes of the region of central plains and the bronzes of the northwest region,the aim of which is to highlight the national features and the worldwide significance of bronze art.In Lesson 3 “Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period and Seven Powers in the Warring State Period”,we choose one of the earliest counties in China's history and the story of Lord Mu of the state of Qin dominating Xirong which has the national and international impact,and thus better understand the vassal contending for hegemony and the social changes during the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period.In Unit 3 “The establishment of the united nation”,we include the stories of the following places and people: Longxi county and its subordinate counties;“Qin Regime” of Qinan county;the Tianshui native Jixin who had war exploits as Liubang's subordinate during the period of Chu-Han war;the famous general Liguang who faught against the Huns during the period of Emperor Wu of Han dynasty;the Shanggui native Duanhuizong who twice held the post of Western Regions' governor and visited the Western Regions three times(including the present Tianshui).Thus,the students will have a better understanding of the decline of Qin dynasty and the thriving of Han dynasty as well as the process of the unification of the country and the trend of the times.In the fourth unit “The separation of power and the national integration”,we include the story of Zhu Geliang's northern expedition and the relics of Qi Shan fort,Jieting and Mu Men Dao that he had left in Tianshui,and the Maijishan Grottoes where there are portraits of the peoples of Han,Di,Qiang,the Hu people in the western regions and the Hu people influenced by Han culture in the period of Northern Dynasty,which will highlight the theme of the separation of power and the communication and integration of nations during the period from Three Kingdoms to the Southern and Northern Dynasties.In the first unit of the second volume of grade seven “The prosperous and open society”,we include the stories of the strategist Jiang Mo who helped Li Yuan to conquer the whole country,Quan Gao who became an official through Imperial Examination,the three-colored phoenix-head pot and the tomb figure of Hu people which are famous antiques on the silk road,and the stories which reflect the prosperousness of Longyou in the glorious age of Tang Dynasty;this will make usdeeply understand the era characteristics of Sui and Tang dynasties,namely the economic prosperity and the opening of society at that time;in the second unit “The southward movement of the economic center and the development of ethnic relations”,we include the story of Wu Jie and wu Lin who “created the barricade to prevent the troupes of Jin State” and the achievements of the Wang's family in Gong Chang who made a contribution to the great cause of reunification of the Yuan dynasty,and this highlights the historical process from the national division to the unification during the Song and Yuan dynasty;in Unit 3 “The strengthening of the authoritarian rule in the Ming and Qing dynasties”,we include the deeds of Hu Xin who was the outspoken minor minister of Dalisi in the face of the corrupt and stifling rule,and the corruption case in the name of disaster relief that reflected the collective corruption in Gansu,and this highlights the political corruption and the sharp social contradictions under the background of the strengthening of the absolute monarchy in the Ming and Qing dynasties;in Unit 4 “The brilliant literature with the characteristics of the times”,we include the representative works of the Qinzhou native Hu Zuanzong who was distinguishing in the fields of painting and calligraphy,poetry,local chronicles and engraving books,which complements the brilliant cultural achievements in ancient China.Finally,we present some reflections on the above case from three aspects: the implementation of the case,the instructional mode and the students' evaluation.