SOURCE4 From ‘Qin Shi Huang’ entry, New World Encyclopedia website
Because of this systematic Confucian bias on the part of the Han scholars, some of the stories recorded about Qin Shi Huang are doubtful . . . Some of the stories are plainly ýctitious . . . This makes it difýcult to know the truth about other stories . . . Only in modern times were historians able to penetrate beyond the limitations of traditional Chinese historiography . . . there emerged a new appreciation of the man who had uniýed China . . . In the new era [since 1972] Qin Shi Huang has been seen as a farsighted ruler who destroyed the forces of division and established the ýrst uniýed, centralised state in Chinese history by rejecting the past.
Before you begin Access the Inquiry rubric in the digital documents section of the Resources panel to guide you in completing this task at your level. At the end of the inquiry task you can use this rubric to self-assess.
Inquiry steps Step 1: Questioning and researching For each of the provided sources, discuss the following:
Is the writer’s dominant judgement about Qin Shihuang and the Qin dynasty favourable or unfavourable? State your inquiry question. Your question could be based on anything — for example, one of the following issues: a. How signiýcant were the changes made under Qin Shihuang to people living at the time? b. How many people were affected? c. To what extent were people’s lives changed? d. What is Qin Shihuang’s legacy, and should he be remembered as an especially cruel ruler or as a far- sighted ruler who brought signiýcant change to his country? Investigate your inquiry question. Step 2: Using historical sources Analyse the sources you ýnd. Some may be biased, so separate fact from opinion. Look for reasons behind Qin Shihuang’s actions and their effects. Step 3: Historical perspectives and interpretations Evaluate the signiýcance of the changes and how many people were affected by them. Step 4: Communicating What is your answer to your inquiry question? Present your ýndings in a way you like. Use examples from your research to support your answer. Then, complete your self-assessment using the Inquiry rubric .
220 Jacaranda Humanities Alive 7 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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