Group presentations: Reconstructing a Song dynasty imperial park.

The first group presentation for this class is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 22. What you will be doing is explaining aspects of the imperial park sponsored by the Northern Song emperor Huizong (r. 1101–25), based on the following reading: James M. Hargett, “Huizong’s Magic Marchmount: The Genyue Pleasure Park of Kaifeng,” Monumenta Serica 38 (1988–89): 1–48. The park was known as the Genyue, and it existed in the early twelfth century in what was then the capital of China, the city of Kaifeng.

You will be divided into four groups. I have conceived of them as follows:

Group 1: TIME. This group focuses on the history of the imperial park (extending to the history of the period if necessary). You might wish to consider what was happening in China in the early twelfth century, the historical prototypes for the Genyue, and what the historical record tells us about the timeline of the park itself. Essentially, your job is to situate the park within its historical context.

Group 2: PEOPLE. This group focuses on the key figures involved with the park. You might wish to consider the resources of the emperor who sponsored the construction of the park, the people directly involved with construction, and the class conflicts that led to the destruction of the park. You may also decide to include people not on this list. Essentially, your job is to situate the park within its social context.

Group 3: PLACE. This group focuses on the placement of the Genyue within the capital of Kaifeng and the layout of the park. Your job is to come up with an account of the spatial elements of the park (including orientation, enclosures, entrances, and locations of different elements) and how it related to its surroundings. Essentially, your job is to consider the park from the perspective of its design and its use of space.

Group 4: THINGS. This group focuses on the elements found within the park and their significance. Your job is to come up with an account of what kinds of things the park contained (buildings, plants, rocks, animals, etc.), and why these were important aspects of the experience of the park. Essentially, your job is to consider the ideas the park might have represented and, potentially, its function.

It is not necessary to do outside research for this presentation; you should be able to address any of the above topics simply through a careful reading of Hargett’s article. The article consists of two parts: first, his very thorough analysis of different aspects of the park, and second, his translation of various early texts concerning the park. I want you to read both his analysis and his translations, focusing on different aspects of the park according to what your group is working on.

For the presentation itself—which should be around 15 minutes long (could be slightly shorter or longer)—you should decide as a group on the best method of conveying the information you have gathered to the entire class. Because many students who take art history classes tend to be visual thinkers, I encourage you to incorporate some visual material into your presentation if possible (though this is not strictly necessary). If you would like to make handouts for the class, I am happy to make copies for you. You can also use the classroom computer in any way that you need to. I expect the presentations to occur in class (between 11:50am and 1:20pm) on Tuesday, Feb. 22.

For the purposes of grading the presentation, I also ask that each member of the group individually submit a short, typed statement—approximately one or two paragraphs—explaining what you contributed to the development of the group presentation. This can be submitted online via Canvas; the due date is Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 11:59pm.

At the end of the day, we should have a much more complete picture of what the Genyue was like.