The memorial, "Memorial outlining policies for the frontier (1499)," is available on the CLAS 2110 course webpage, at http://www.classics.uga.edu/courses/clas2110/online_reading/memorial%20policies.pdf.

Just to clear something up, some topics have been assigned to several people not so that everyone will necessarily collaborate, but so that the Emperor can hear several viewpoints on the same subject. I apologize for not explaining that more clearly.

-First Grand Secretary

Nick,

Please contact me via email, kcmorel@uga.edu, so we can discuss the memorial. ASAP.

Below are the topic assignments for memorials. Please be prepared to present about a five-minute speech (2-3 written pages) regarding your topic on Thursday.

Christine and Mike:
Is the present examination system the best means of recruiting effective officials? Do the Confucian texts prepare one well to serve as an official? Is the system truly meritocratic? Are the best men being found? Should the present examination system be entirely – or in part- replaced by a system of recommendation? Is there another system that might work better?

David, Emily, and John:
In recent years state revenue has been falling. Is the government monopoly on salt a legitimate way to raise revenue? (See Discourse on Salt and Iron in the appendix; see also “State and Society under the Ming,” in China: Tradition and Transformation.) What do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of government monopolies? What other methods might be employed to raise government revenue? Should there be a more aggressive tax on commerce? How do you propose it work? Could there be a tax on foreign trade? Should the government sell licenses to those engaging in foreign trade? On what grounds would the government determine who should receive a license? Consider these questions and others and then propose means by which the government could strengthen its fiscal conditions.

Katie and Melissa:
Banditry and peasant revolts have sprung up throughout the empire. In your opinion, what is their cause? What can and should be done to bring an end to them?

Tasha and Drew:
What makes for a good, effective ruler?

Erin and Marie:
The Yellow River continues to be an enormous problem, breaking through its dykes and flooding much of the surrounding countryside. Famine, death, and banditry have become widespread. What can be done to improve control of the Yellow River? And, at what cost?

Kainen and Nick:
Propose the main question for the metropolitan examination of the civil service examination to be held next month in Beijing. Pick a passage from a Confucian text (e.g. the Analects or The Book of History), pose a question, and then present a model answer.

Shannon:
Interpret the Confucian Analect found in Book 2, Analect 3.


The Son of the Most High awaits your words. Prepare with wisdom.

-First Grand Secretary

Grand Secretaries of the Wanli Emperor take note:

All must conduct themselves with the utmost seriousness and focus. Grand Secretaries who do not attend scheduled audiences, who fail to comply with the ritual proscriptions of the court or who fail to provide comprehensive and accurate responses to queries from the Emperor should expect to be dealt with most harshly. While benevolence is a virtue, order and balance in bureaucratic affairs must be maintained. If Wanli is to maintain the Mandate, it may be necessary to make an example of one who neglects his duties. Punishments may range from banishment, to execution, to something much worse. Grand Secretaries! Apply yourselves to your studies! The fate of the empire hangs in the balance!

The Mandate of Heaven (a.k.a. gamemaster)

Welcome back all!!
Tuesday on our return with spring break we will continuing with Confucius and background basics in Ming history in preparation for the China game.
By now at a minimum you should have:
1) read the game manual, pp 1-30
2) read through the Analects
Before class tomorrow review the Analects once again and note two or three passages which you believe best define the following Confucian precepts: benevolence (仁 ren), righteousness (義yi), ritual or propriety (禮 li), wisdom or knowledge (智 zhi) and trustworthiness (信 xin). Be ready to tell us why you think the passages you chose best describe the relevant concepts. What other important concepts are there? Make a list two or three. Find several passages that best define these ideas too. Be ready to explain to us why these are the concepts fundamental to Confucian thought.

I am posting this in class. The blog has been lonely since the destruction of Athens. Hello! How are you?

Melissa Williams
3.1.2007

I must truly say the Athens game was fascinating. I have never had the opportunity to engage in a class which had a debate format like this one. I have never been involved in debate up to this point. Nor have I ever had the opportunity to be in a role playing capacity. The landscape was ever changing and it was a lot of fun.
When class began I had decided that I wanted to be an oligarch because that seemed to be easier for me to argue since it is closer to my actual beliefs. When I was assigned the role of a radical democrat I was at first afraid because I knew that it was very contradictory to my own thoughts. I did not think that I could make very good arguments for something that I did not already feel in my gut. However, I found the exercise of arguing an opposing view of my own invigorating, and enlightening. Furthermore, when for example my character was developing arguments against Socrates just how full of hot air many of the charges were. I really thought about how difficult it must be to be a politician whether in ancient Athens or anywhere.
When I went into the class I had no idea how much work would be involved outside of the classroom. We were meeting in faction almost every day before school and after class almost everyday as well. There were also many late night phone calls between Juliana and myself trying to figure out what our next move should be. There was a lot of research that was necessary for the process to come up with proposals as well. Already having a Classics degree I thought I knew every thing there was to know about ancient Greece. Goodness was I wrong. When we were having all of these late night conversations we would think we had found a solution and then there would be an exception to a problem we thought we had answered.
The ever evolving plot kept the game quite interesting. The lack of intelligence which we suffered towards the end of the game about the Spartan invasion was slightly frustrating as well. In ancient Athens they probably had the situation not knowing who to trust with intelligence information. I wondered at times if I could even trust myself. It was a great way to experience the frustration and lack of technology in the ancient world.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I cannot wait for the China game. I must admit I did not realize that I should have been focusing more on fulfilling my historical role than on trying to accomplish objectives. Also, I wish I had realized that compromising was not what I should have done, for example in the trial against Socrates. I learned a lot and I look forward to the next game in eager anticipation.

Melissa Williams
3.1.2007

I must truly say the Athens game was fascinating. I have never had the opportunity to engage in a class which had a debate format like this one. I have never been involved in debate up to this point. Nor have I ever had the opportunity to be in a role playing capacity. The landscape was ever changing and it was a lot of fun.
When class began I had decided that I wanted to be an oligarch because that seemed to be easier for me to argue since it is closer to my actual beliefs. When I was assigned the role of a radical democrat I was at first afraid because I knew that it was very contradictory to my own thoughts. I did not think that I could make very good arguments for something that I did not already feel in my gut. However, I found the exercise of arguing an opposing view of my own invigorating, and enlightening. Furthermore, when for example my character was developing arguments against Socrates just how full of hot air many of the charges were. I really thought about how difficult it must be to be a politician whether in ancient Athens or anywhere.
When I went into the class I had no idea how much work would be involved outside of the classroom. We were meeting in faction almost every day before school and after class almost everyday as well. There were also many late night phone calls between Juliana and myself trying to figure out what our next move should be. There was a lot of research that was necessary for the process to come up with proposals as well. Already having a Classics degree I thought I knew every thing there was to know about ancient Greece. Goodness was I wrong. When we were having all of these late night conversations we would think we had found a solution and then there would be an exception to a problem we thought we had answered.
The ever evolving plot kept the game quite interesting. The lack of intelligence which we suffered towards the end of the game about the Spartan invasion was slightly frustrating as well. In ancient Athens they probably had the situation not knowing who to trust with intelligence information. I wondered at times if I could even trust myself. It was a great way to experience the frustration and lack of technology in the ancient world.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I cannot wait for the China game. I must admit I did not realize that I should have been focusing more on fulfilling my historical role than on trying to accomplish objectives. Also, I wish I had realized that compromising was not what I should have done, for example in the trial against Socrates. I learned a lot and I look forward to the next game in eager anticipation.

Heralds notes from Thursday:
Athena please guide us in our descisons and not be swayed by golden tounged orators.
The vote was called to order for the three proposals which were on the board. The military council was struck down. There was a vote as well for the rich athlete to be made the general and to replace the aging Thrasybulus. The vote was not voted on as in the middle of the Assembly a Theban garrison marched into the Assembly. Temporary control was yielded to the oligarch faction. Then a call to arms was made by all democrats to raise an army outside of the city. Thrasybulus was arrested for speaking out of order in the Assembly. The Rich Athlete escaped and raised an army and marched on Athens. The Democrat and Theban garrison clashed and the outcome was inconclusive according to a role of the dice. The gods were not smiling upon the Democrats today. Sparta returned to Athens leaving the city in the state which it started. All remaining members of the Assembly were asked to come up with a proposeal to appeal to the Spartans. The Democrat proposal was accpeted as the majority but was not popular with the Spartans. The final outcome will be determined soon.

Herlad's Notes From Tuesday,
Oligarch David proposed a military counsel. He wished to include anyone who had military experience, this included the middling farmer, the impoverished farmer, Thrasybulus, the rich athlete, two socratics, two oligarchs as well.
The rich Athelete (Nick) proposed a grain expedition to Persia to secure the grain route in the event of an invasion.
The radical democrat (Kannan) proposed paying the assembly members.
The Assembly was thrown into chaos when there were possible rumors of an invading Spartan army.

John Nelson
Moderate Democrat
February 28, 2007

The Reacting Class is a very fun experience, and it is also an effective way to motivate me to really learn about ancient history. I am glad that I decided to sign up for this class, because this class is likely the only course that I will ever take where I can say that women are not fit to be educated and not get slapped! I feel that the class blog is a very effective tool to be caught up on what is going on both in and out of class.
The last three or four sessions of class were definitely the most exciting and informative. The trial of Socrates and the proposals of the Rich Athlete and the Oligarchs made the game come alive for me. I did not trust anyone in the game, and I was convinced that some type of military overthrow had to occur, which actually came to fruition.
Although the paranoia and the politics of the game are enjoyable, there are things that I did not particularly like. I did not enjoy the extensive amount of research that went into each session, but I realize that the research is necessary for me to accurately legislate as they did in antiquity. I also did not like the hours of group meetings, but again it is vital that the factions are always on the same page to be effective in the Assembly.
Before I go into my performance in the game, I would like to say that my faction member Juliana plays the game better than anyone else, and she makes my performance in the game better because she is so involved and effective. There are two main components in the game: what goes on inside the classroom and what goes on outside the classroom. While Juliana excels in both aspects, the classroom setting is a much more challenging area for me.
To excel in the classroom setting of the Reacting Class, one has to be able to think well on his or her feet, clearly express his or her ideas in a persuasive manner, and not be afraid to speak in public. I gave my share of speeches and proposed several laws, but I only argued my cause once or twice. I definitely could have been more challenging and outspoken to other teams’ proposals as well. Hours after class I would think up good questions and arguments, but I could never get comfortable articulating my debates.
On the other hand, I think I did well in the work done outside class. Our faction met once a week and we also met with the Radical Democrats once or twice a week. We did a lot of brainstorming and scheming on actions and precautions for the game. I did a lot of research both for the paper topics and for the general purposes of the Assembly. I met with some of the Indeterminates and members of the opposing factions in order to see what they thought about the different proposals set forth in class. There was a lot of politicking done outside of the classroom’s walls as well. The proceedings of the Assembly were never over my head, and I feel I had a good handle about what was going on both inside and outside the class. I also made sure to check the blog regularly so I knew what was happening or what was about to happen. All in all I would say that I was very involved, but I need to step it up inside the classroom.
The Reacting Class for the Athens game was a very enlightening experience. I learned a great deal about ancient Athens, which I do not think would be the case if I took a regular lecture course. I wish that the events of the game could have faired better for my faction, but it is interesting, to say the least, to see a military coup by the Oligarchs and a Spartan invasion.

The Athens Game was both engaging and very, very, frustrating. It served as an affective teaching tool, but I wince at the voluminous background information required for one to really manipulate the game’s logistics to a singularly advantageous outcome.
The competition, to me, hit high and low points intermittently. The first session was filled with circular arguments and much squabbling between factions. It seemed ironical to me that it was over the “Reconciliation Agreement,” as little to nothing was ever reconciled and even less agreed upon. The game was at its best to me whenever the student’s modern mind finally met in a confluence with the mind and personality of his or her historical role. Much fun in the game was derived from how each student decoded their role from the information given them in the packet. While the game did convey a sense of verisimilitude, I would have liked to see a little more complexity in the motivations of these historical “characters.”
I was fortunate to be given a more complex (or, in the least, more shapeable) set of directives. I chose to play my role in a way that subdued aspects of the character that would surely have resulted with my name being written on the ostrakon in a single session. A diplomatic and divertive approach to the character, one who despises political discourse and virtually everyone in the game, seemed the only appropriate move I could make without being arrested or murdered. That I died after defending the city against those effeminate, fluting Thebans was a tragedy in itself. My motives were not so pure, however, and had the dice rolled differently there would have been enough double-crossing to shadow the entire polis with a khīazein.
Over all, I found the intrigue that went on outside of class to be hilariously riveting. The game is set up so that no one character should really trust another, yet due to the nature of having diametrically opposed goals between factions, the floor split into a virtual two-dimensional partisan argument. The Socratics and the Indeterminates were the “wild cards,” so to speak, but there weren’t enough players in general to make the game unpredictable. I sided with the Democratic factions because they had a more unified voting effort than the Oligarchs and Socratics, and because they were willing to acknowledge my prominence in the Athenian society. The Oligarchs were historically more aligned with my character, and I’m surprised that I wasn’t approached by them earlier with a strategy for identifying and accomplishing mutual objectives.
I would like to note that the one flaw in the game was that the Socratics were disarmed from the beginning. I thought many of their speeches were very good, especially considering the vast nature of Plato’s argument in The Republic, but it was with only a perfunctory regard that my character heard them. I would say this inability to acknowledge good ideas not aligned with a player’s own personal agenda was probably a problem for everyone (except the Middling Farmer!).
My greatest peeve in the game was that most speeches sounded like they were obligatory and mechanical regurgitations of the objective packets—I would have like to see more scheming, betrayal, or discord within factions. That said, this was a most interesting and interactive history lesson. It makes you want to show off your knowledge at the next Assembly meeting, or catch a player off guard by revealing an otherwise trivial piece of history that could change the game. I am really looking forward to the China Game (not the movie, but that was good too).