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Names Across Cultures / Classroom pack 01

How evidence changed the study of China

A 60–90 minute, source-aware seminar route. Designed for secondary school, undergraduate survey courses, reading groups, and museum education.

Reviewed 2026-07-20 · 12 people · 5 transformations

Learning goal

Distinguish a person, a name form, a claim, and a source.

Materials

The trail below, two source pages, sticky notes, and a shared timeline.

Assessment

A claim card that states evidence, confidence, and what remains unknown.

Lesson sequence

Five moves

  1. 01

    Open: inspect a name

    Compare 宇文所安 and 史景迁. Ask which claims come from the characters themselves and which require historical testimony.

  2. 02

    Build the timeline

    Place the 12 people in order. Mark changes in evidence: classical texts, institutional archives, manuscripts, sound reconstruction, social science, and global comparison.

  3. 03

    Read a source against a summary

    Choose one institutional biography and one interview. Identify what each source is strong enough to establish.

  4. 04

    Revise a claim

    Turn an overconfident sentence such as ‘the name means…’ into a sourced statement that separates literal gloss from historical intent.

  5. 05

    Exit ticket

    Write one verified claim, its source, confidence, and one open question for future research.

Student handout

The 12-stop trail

  1. 01利玛窦

    Matteo Ricci

    Matteo Ricci is a major figure in the history of Chinese studies, with work spanning religion and philosophy, language and philology, history, material culture. This dossier distinguishes the person's scholarship from what can—and cannot—yet be verified about the Chinese name.

    Open sources online →
  2. 02雷慕沙

    Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat

    Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat is a major figure in the history of Chinese studies, with work spanning literature, language and philology, history. This dossier distinguishes the person's scholarship from what can—and cannot—yet be verified about the Chinese name.

    Open sources online →
  3. 03理雅各

    James Legge

    James Legge is a major figure in the history of Chinese studies, with work spanning translation, literature, religion and philosophy. This dossier distinguishes the person's scholarship from what can—and cannot—yet be verified about the Chinese name.

    Open sources online →
  4. 04沙畹

    Édouard Chavannes

    Édouard Chavannes is a major figure in the history of Chinese studies, with work spanning translation, religion and philosophy, language and philology, history. This dossier distinguishes the person's scholarship from what can—and cannot—yet be verified about the Chinese name.

    Open sources online →
  5. 05内藤湖南

    Naitō Konan

    Naitō Konan is a major figure in the history of Chinese studies, with work spanning history, social history. This dossier distinguishes the person's scholarship from what can—and cannot—yet be verified about the Chinese name.

    Open sources online →
  6. 06伯希和

    Paul Pelliot

    Paul Pelliot is a major figure in the history of Chinese studies, with work spanning religion and philosophy, language and philology, history, global connections. This dossier distinguishes the person's scholarship from what can—and cannot—yet be verified about the Chinese name.

    Open sources online →
  7. 07高本汉

    Bernhard Karlgren

    Bernhard Karlgren is a major figure in the history of Chinese studies, with work spanning literature, language and philology, history. This dossier distinguishes the person's scholarship from what can—and cannot—yet be verified about the Chinese name.

    Open sources online →
  8. 08李约瑟

    Joseph Needham

    Joseph Needham is a major figure in the history of Chinese studies, with work spanning science and technology, global connections, social history. This dossier distinguishes the person's scholarship from what can—and cannot—yet be verified about the Chinese name.

    Open sources online →
  9. 09费正清

    John King Fairbank

    John King Fairbank is a major figure in the history of Chinese studies, with work spanning history, science and technology, global connections, social history. This dossier distinguishes the person's scholarship from what can—and cannot—yet be verified about the Chinese name.

    Open sources online →
  10. 10狄百瑞

    Wm. Theodore de Bary

    Wm. Theodore de Bary is a major figure in the history of Chinese studies, with work spanning religion and philosophy, social history. This dossier distinguishes the person's scholarship from what can—and cannot—yet be verified about the Chinese name.

    Open sources online →
  11. 11霍克思

    David Hawkes

    David Hawkes is a major figure in the history of Chinese studies, with work spanning translation, literature. This dossier distinguishes the person's scholarship from what can—and cannot—yet be verified about the Chinese name.

    Open sources online →
  12. 12彭慕兰

    Kenneth Pomeranz

    Kenneth Pomeranz is a major figure in the history of Chinese studies, with work spanning global connections, social history. This dossier distinguishes the person's scholarship from what can—and cannot—yet be verified about the Chinese name.

    Open sources online →

Selected bibliography

Start with institutions and original records

  1. [1]
    Editorial dossier reference 3cambridge.org · accessed 2026-07-21
  2. [2]
    Editorial dossier reference 7college-de-france.fr · accessed 2026-07-21
  3. [3]
    Editorial dossier reference 9bu.edu · accessed 2026-07-21
  4. [4]
    Editorial dossier reference 11cambridge.org · accessed 2026-07-21
  5. [5]
    Editorial dossier reference 13college-de-france.fr · accessed 2026-07-21
  6. [6]
    Editorial dossier reference 15www1.ihp.sinica.edu.tw · accessed 2026-07-21
  7. [7]
    Editorial dossier reference 18nri.cam.ac.uk · accessed 2026-07-21
  8. [8]
    Editorial dossier reference 19fairbank.fas.harvard.edu · accessed 2026-07-21
  9. [9]
    The Life of John King FairbankHarvard University · accessed 2026-07-21
  10. [10]
    Fairbank's Chinese name and Liang SichengPeople.cn · accessed 2026-07-21
  11. [11]
    Editorial dossier reference 20magazine.columbia.edu · accessed 2026-07-21
  12. [12]
    Editorial dossier reference 23cuhk.edu.hk · accessed 2026-07-21
  13. [13]
    Editorial dossier reference 31ceas.uchicago.edu · accessed 2026-07-21

Editorial note: this pack does not imply that all 112 index entries have equal source depth. It uses only published profile records; seed records remain searchable for discovery but are excluded from the lesson claims.