Secondary School Chinese
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Is Chinese/China history taught during secondary school Chinese lesson? Is it helpful/ necessary to know and in which components particularly?
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Hmmm, actually I don't think it's nec to learn from 上古、夏商四周、春秋战国、秦朝、汉朝、魏晋南北朝、隋唐五代、宋辽金 to 元朝。Even Taiwan's newest History textbook syllabi for Junior High Years 123 and Senior High Years 456 have been drastically cut. Some 00后 secondary school pupils in Taiwan don't know who 岳飞 is! Srsly, you won't fail GCE CL/HCL papers if you don't know Chinese history
I mean, if you want to read up on your own out of interest, that's fine. Like, knowing that 岳飞、包拯=宋朝. But even if you know everything about Tang and Song, you probably won't understand what https://www.moh.gov.sg/news-highlights/details/speech-by-mr-ong-ye-kung-minister-for-health-at-singapore-perspectives-2022-13-january-2022-9.00am at the \"Cities\" forum organised by IPS! He probably doesn't even know the history of 长安 and 开封 when he compared Singapore to these ancient capitals! :faint: :siao: :slapshead: :scratchhead:
It is however nice to know the following:
明朝 - 郑和下西洋、郑成功收复台湾、工艺术法发达、《本草纲目》
Ming is useful because some of our Chinese ancestors migrated to SEA during that period (Malacca) and became Peranakans in the Malay Archipelago region. Ming was the period when the Middle Kingdom was open to sea voyage, maritime trade & shipbuilding. China also had many tributary/vassal states including Korea, Vietnam, etc. during Ming. You'll understand why Korea and China are always bickering over that Winter Olympics opening ceremony Korean 'hanbok' girl, kimchi, etc. You'll understand why Vietnam is so anti-China today and smashing up Chinese factories in Vietnam. You'll begin to know why China is trying to make Melaka its vassal state via the Belt Road thingie. If you're into TCM, you should read up《本草纲目》and argue with the Koreans that it was the Chinese who invented acupuncture, not 大长今, as many Korean drama viewers had thought so.
郑成功 is important if your kid wants to understand the connection between Mainland and Taiwan. You can take them to visit the museum in Tainan. Many Taiwanese Chinese 本省人 in the south migrated to Taiwan with 郑成功 from Fujian.
清朝 - 努尔哈赤建立后金
康熙平定“三藩” （Yunnan/Guizhou, Fujian, Guangdong rebellions 反清复明) - Same for this if you wish to know what the historical quarrel about Taiwan and Mainland is all about.
太平天国 - basically a Hakka Han Christian uprising; continuation of the 反清复明 movement that lasted till Boxer Rebellion & 1911 Revolution to overthrow the Manchus. Most of the rebels' descendants are rumoured to have gone south to GD/HK.
火烧圆明园 - Good to know if you visit museums in Europe as the treasures plundered are all blatantly exhibited there. Also enables you to understand why Chinese patriots are buying back all the Zodiac animal bronze sculptures in auctions.
八国联军 - Helps you understand the revanchist mindset of the CCP today, i.e. to reclaim what she's lost in the last 200 years to Imperial Powers. You'll understand why the PRC spokesperson recently mocked the G7 \"bullies\" using a 八国联军 comic.
武昌起义 - This is the precursor to the 1911 Revolution, plotted and led by Tongmenhui (Headquartered in British Singapore, 晚晴园）. Some Singaporean Chinese died in the various uprisings.
鸦片战争 - 1st Opium War is important because it helps you understand the history of Hong Kong Island (freehold), how Shanghai / Ningpo / Xiamen / Fuzhou ports came about. The original \"Treaty of Nanking\" is held by the ROC in Taiwan's 故宫 museum today.
2nd Opium War helps you understand how Kowloon peninsula (99 year leasehold) was further lost and ceded to the British, and the genesis of Tianjin port. Singapore thrived as an entrepot in the 1800s because of the 2 opium wars. The British used Singapore as a transshipment hub to transport opium amongst other goods to China.
垂帘听政 ) OK to know cos most of our migrant coolies left China during the late Qing era. The 'Push' factors that caused immigrants to migrate to Singapore.
辛亥革命 )
What is not taught : the 1st Sino-Japanese War 甲午战争 (1894) and 2nd Sino-Japanese War (1937) 八年抗战. They should because the 1st Sino-Jap War that was how and why Taiwan was ceded to the Japanese until 1945 (until the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki). Because our pupils don't learn about the \"Treaty of Shimonoseki\", when they join the workforce, they will ask why they cannot include \"Taiwan\" on the corporate websites under \"Countries\" list and risk offending their host country China.
Anyway, if you have studied this, you would be able to answer the recent \"University Challenge\" (Kings vs Imperial) question on the JPY5,000 note cos the year given by the quiz host was 1896! I got the answer correct. LOL!!
The 2nd Sino-Japanese War is mentioned in the lower sec History Books. It led to the Japanese taking vengeance on Nanyang Chinese thru the Sook Ching massacre. -
Thanks for sharing so much information! Glad to know there is no need to learn these for the CL exams.
Yeah, indeeed Max Zeng did us proud! I had an A1 for history years ago, but still couldn’t recollect much of these. -
Zeal mummy\" post_id=\"2059129\" time=\"1645211583\" user_id=\"58173:[quote=\"Zeal mummy\" post_id=2059129 time=1645211583 user_id=58173]
Goodness... Zeal mummy... you need to go to Zzzzzzzzz already!
Thanks for sharing so much information! Glad to know there is no need to learn these for the CL exams.
Yeah, indeeed Max Zeng did us proud! I had an A1 for history years ago, but still couldn’t recollect much of these.[/quote] -
Reenie\" post_id=\"2058966\" time=\"1645087972\" user_id=\"7078:
Hi Reenie,
Hi Chen lao shi,
May I know how the child should go about answering this type of question in Compre? Is there a particular answering technique for these kind of questions? The allocated marks seems a lot. Thanks!
Sorry wanted to post image but keep having error when uploading the images.
1. 试写出这篇文章的主题 。（4m）
2. 作者在第三段说：“此时，我心中有了答案\"。 你认为作者的答案是什么？（5m）
Thank you!!
For 主题 related questions, firstly you have to identify what is the main theme. Next, you have to go deeper into the explanation after analysis. Here's an example based on excerpts from a compre passage I covered with my students:![](\"https://i.imgur.com/S1bI52V.jpg\")
https://i.imgur.com/S1bI52V.jpg\">
![](\"https://i.imgur.com/HlaNhhm.jpg\")
![](\"https://i.imgur.com/qD6lH8y.jpg\")
![](\"https://i.imgur.com/YsiT62p.jpg\")
The 主题 would be 母子情 （1） - for stricter marking scheme, 亲情 won't earn you full marks .
Next elaboration:
- what about 母子情? Based on the evidences underlined in blue, the author was emphasizing 珍惜彼此相处的时光（1）
- how was it portrayed/delivered？通过作者在决定是否走大路或小路时，最终选择了妈妈建议的大路（1）以及作者和妻子分别小心翼翼地背着母亲和儿子（1）表现出/强调了这个主题
As for the 2nd question you listed, you will have to infer based on the context of the passage. I guess in the original passage you were referring to, the author witnessed an incident or heard someone's words. Logically (and ethically), what should the author do (in terms of correcting his previously wrong action or in terms of making a decision; and why - pros and cons; advantages and disadvantages). -
ChiefKiasu\" post_id=\"2059143\" time=\"1645240218\" user_id=\"3:
It’s the weekend! .. catching up on all the new dramas!
Goodness... Zeal mummy... you need to go to Zzzzzzzzz already! -
chenlaoshi\" post_id=\"2058924\" time=\"1645073216\" user_id=\"162894:
Thank you for the information! Appreciate it!
Yeah. How in depth their answers are and how comfortable they are in expressing themselves.
There won't be a change in exam format for the forseeable future. Syllabus wise, this year's Year 2 students are the first batch using the new syllabus. However, syllabus doesn't really matter as much in O'Level as compared to PSLE as the examinable scope is much wider (i.e. goes beyond syllabus text).
If time is not an issue, I would suggest practicing
- CL 10 year series (cloze passage component and OE compre) for Year 2
- HCL 10 year series from Year 3 onwards -
chenlaoshi\" post_id=\"2059152\" time=\"1645242715\" user_id=\"162894:
Thank you so much! I’ll go “digest” your advices! Haha
Hi Reenie,
For 主题 related questions, firstly you have to identify what is the main theme. Next, you have to go deeper into the explanation after analysis. Here's an example based on excerpts from a compre passage I covered with my students:
The 主题 would be 母子情 （1） - for stricter marking scheme, 亲情 won't earn you full marks .
Next elaboration:
- what about 母子情? Based on the evidences underlined in blue, the author was emphasizing 珍惜彼此相处的时光（1）
- how was it portrayed/delivered？通过作者在决定是否走大路或小路时，最终选择了妈妈建议的大路（1）以及作者和妻子分别小心翼翼地背着母亲和儿子（1）表现出/强调了这个主题
As for the 2nd question you listed, you will have to infer based on the context of the passage. I guess in the original passage you were referring to, the author witnessed an incident or heard someone's words. Logically (and ethically), what should the author do (in terms of correcting his previously wrong action or in terms of making a decision; and why - pros and cons; advantages and disadvantages). -
Zeal mummy\" post_id=\"2059079\" time=\"1645168858\" user_id=\"58173:[quote=\"Zeal mummy\" post_id=2059079 time=1645168858 user_id=58173]
Is Chinese/China history taught during secondary school Chinese lesson? Is it helpful/ necessary to know and in which components particularly?[/quote]zeit.\" post_id=\"2059108\" time=\"1645180517\" user_id=\"194295:
Of cos la, otherwise majority of our kids will fare badly.Hmmm, actually I don't think it's nec to learn from 上古、夏商四周、春秋战国、秦朝、汉朝、魏晋南北朝、隋唐五代、宋辽金 to 元朝。Even Taiwan's newest History textbook syllabi for Junior High Years 123 and Senior High Years 456 have been drastically cut. Some 00后 secondary school pupils in Taiwan don't know who 岳飞 is! Srsly, you won't fail GCE CL/HCL papers if you don't know Chinese history
I mean, if you want to read up on your own out of interest, that's fine. Like, knowing that 岳飞、包拯=宋朝. But even if you know everything about Tang and Song, you probably won't understand what https://www.moh.gov.sg/news-highlights/details/speech-by-mr-ong-ye-kung-minister-for-health-at-singapore-perspectives-2022-13-january-2022-9.00am at the \"Cities\" forum organised by IPS! He probably doesn't even know the history of 长安 and 开封 when he compared Singapore to these ancient capitals! :faint: :siao: :slapshead: :scratchhead:
The context of discussion in earlier posts was how some basic knowledge of culture/famous ppl/incidents will aid in appreciating/comprehending passage content which can in turn make the assignments / learning of the language more authentic and purposeful. 
I was covering this discussion about 母语教育/双语教育 for Paper 1 forum discussion component last week and in one of the articles（https://www.zaobao.com.sg/forum/views/story20211225-1226377）that was shared, we touched on this “为考而学华文” mentality.
So as zeit mentioned, the best way is to just gradually learn/expand relevant knowledge through reading and exposure. For example, when we came across \"天生我才必有用\" in one of the cloze passages, I introduced 李白 to the students (so that they can also use it as 论据 in discursive essay too) and when the idiom 破釜沉舟 was taught, I briefed them regarding 项羽 when covering the story behind the idiom. Parents/students can apply similar ways to explore more too.
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Zeal mummy\" post_id=\"2059154\" time=\"1645243176\" user_id=\"58173:[quote=\"Zeal mummy\" post_id=2059154 time=1645243176 user_id=58173]
Long time haven't watched any dramas....I will feel boring when I watch TV drama now. :frustrated:
It’s the weekend! .. catching up on all the new dramas![/quote]
I accidentally watched a 15 min \"家族荣耀\" because it was in my Starhub TVB channel. I remembered there was the 3rd daughter in law thinking whether to delay giving medicine to her MIL who was suffering from heart problem. The daughter in law want to retaliate her MIL who didn't let her to step in the Ma house when she was small....I immediately off my TV because I never retaliate against others and don't think other should do this. Then it is no point for me to continue watching.
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