History of Traditional China
Kelsey: I have to know this because -- because what if I'm reading, and it says that Chao Chao went from Turfan to--
James: Hold on a second. I think that was incredibly racist.
Kelsey: What?
James: That name.
Kelsey: Chao Chao?
James: Yes.
Kelsey: Chao Chao was a real person. He was a general who got his own empire. His son was Chao Pei. The empire ended when Chao Pei died.
James: Okay.
Kelsey: The name stuck in my head because it's repeated.
James: Okay.
Whenever someone asks a question in a history class, I always think, "Shoot! That's a good question! Why didn't I think of that question? Why aren't I a more curious person? I'm a terrible historian because I didn't think to ask that!" Every time. It's even worse when the professor says, "That's a good question." Why can't I think of good questions?
To be fair, Prof Chang is very happy to say "That's a good question." Either 80% of our questions are good questions, or someone's being generous (Prof Chang). But anyway.
Prof Chang: So the end result of all of this migration is, from 280 to 460 AD, the population of the Yangzi Valley increased fivefold.
Kelsey: *raises hand*
Prof Chang: Yes?
Kelsey: How do we know the population increased fivefold?
Prof Chang: From the censuses that were taken at that time.
Kelsey: Who took the censuses?
Prof Chang: The administrators of the various local warlords.
Kelsey: Why were the warlords taking censuses?
Prof Chang: In order to increase their legitimacy. You see, in order to be perceived as a government -- in order to have power -- you need to prove that you're ruling over a people, and that those people accept you as their government.
Kelsey: A tax base?
Prof Chang: Yes, exactly. That was an excellent question.
Kelsey: *beam*
I think I aced my geography quiz -- annnnnd -- I'm taking James' tetras home this week!
James: Hold on a second. I think that was incredibly racist.
Kelsey: What?
James: That name.
Kelsey: Chao Chao?
James: Yes.
Kelsey: Chao Chao was a real person. He was a general who got his own empire. His son was Chao Pei. The empire ended when Chao Pei died.
James: Okay.
Kelsey: The name stuck in my head because it's repeated.
James: Okay.
Whenever someone asks a question in a history class, I always think, "Shoot! That's a good question! Why didn't I think of that question? Why aren't I a more curious person? I'm a terrible historian because I didn't think to ask that!" Every time. It's even worse when the professor says, "That's a good question." Why can't I think of good questions?
To be fair, Prof Chang is very happy to say "That's a good question." Either 80% of our questions are good questions, or someone's being generous (Prof Chang). But anyway.
Prof Chang: So the end result of all of this migration is, from 280 to 460 AD, the population of the Yangzi Valley increased fivefold.
Kelsey: *raises hand*
Prof Chang: Yes?
Kelsey: How do we know the population increased fivefold?
Prof Chang: From the censuses that were taken at that time.
Kelsey: Who took the censuses?
Prof Chang: The administrators of the various local warlords.
Kelsey: Why were the warlords taking censuses?
Prof Chang: In order to increase their legitimacy. You see, in order to be perceived as a government -- in order to have power -- you need to prove that you're ruling over a people, and that those people accept you as their government.
Kelsey: A tax base?
Prof Chang: Yes, exactly. That was an excellent question.
Kelsey: *beam*
I think I aced my geography quiz -- annnnnd -- I'm taking James' tetras home this week!