School of Chinese Studies

In this interactive workshop children will learn about the largest wooden architectural structure and largest enclosed palace in the world: the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. Students will learn how the inspiration for building the palace came from nature and they will have the chance to design their own palace. Through additional games, movement activities, discussion, and an animated video, children will learn not only how nature influenced and inspires Chinese culture and the building of the Forbidden City, but also how nature can inspire and nurture us in our daily lives.

In “How Are You, Mr. Emperor?” students explore the life of Chinese emperors in the Forbidden City and what it means to be a good leader and citizen. Through discussion and watching an animated video children learn about the emperors' daily life and responsibilities. By playing a game, they will think about the benefits and limits of power. A group writing activity will help students explore the virtues of good leaders (and good people). Through additional group activities, children will think about their own good qualities, what they would do if they had a lot of power, and might realize that an emperor’s life was not as easy as we might think.

In this workshop, students will discover what life was like inside the court of the Forbidden City and how it resembled one big family. Through discussions, a game, and a role-playing exercise, they will learn how the imperial court functioned and exercise problem-solving skills. By learning about the duties of people inside the palace, students will learn to appreciate individual contributions and the importance of collaborative efforts. Finally, by filling out a clever questionnaire, students will reflect on their own talents and interests, and how they can benefit their communities.

By studying the art of Chinese porcelain, students will discover how bowls are made and learn how to appreciate them as works of art. They will learn about auspicious symbols found in Chinese culture (such as bats, butterflies, and peaches) and explore their meanings, which serve as expressions of caring between people. Through group sharing about their love toward nature, an animated video, and a fun game with chopsticks, they will learn about the Chinese language and everyday culture, especially how beautiful elements in nature influenced the designs on Chinese artworks. Lastly, students will learn a short meditation and to reflect things in life with gratitude, followed by coloring auspicious symbols and design their own images that conveys good wishes.

This series of three one-hour workshops incorporates and builds on the materials from the stand-alone workshops “The Palace is like a Big Forest and “Bowls of Happiness” to strengthen the impact and reinforce the ideas of the program. This series explore the role of nature and art within the Forbidden City and Chinese culture generally and how the students can apply it to their own lives.

Session 1: The Palace is like a Big Forest
In this initial workshop children learn about the largest wooden architectural structure and largest enclosed palace in the world: the Forbidden City in Beijing, China. Students learn how the inspiration for building the palace came from nature. Through additional games, movement activities, discussion, and an animated video, children learn not only how nature influenced and inspires Chinese culture and the building of the Forbidden City, but also how nature can inspire and nurture us in our daily lives. They each design their own ideal home or place in nature. They also discuss how to respect and live sustainably within our natural environment. The students have a take-home project to complete their drawing and write about why it is their ideal home or place.

Session 2: Bowls of Happiness
The students present and discuss their take-home projects.

In the first workshop students examined how nature benefits and inspires us in our everyday lives. In this workshop they look at how people create art that reflects their inspiration from nature. By studying the art of Chinese porcelain, students discover how bowls are made and learn how to appreciate them as works of art. They learn about auspicious symbols found in Chinese culture (such as bats, butterflies, and peaches) and explore their meanings, which serve as expressions of caring between people. Through group sharing about their love toward nature, an animated video, and a fun game with chopsticks, they will learn about the Chinese language and everyday culture, especially how beautiful elements in nature influenced the designs on Chinese artworks. Lastly, students will learn a short meditation and to reflect things in life with gratitude, followed by coloring auspicious symbols and design their own images that conveys good wishes.

Session 3: A Home in Nature, Nature in the Home
The students present and discuss their take-home projects and are encouraged to mail their postcard to the person for whom it was designed.

In this final session, students reflect on what they have learned so far in the workshop about Chinese art, architecture, and how nature can inspire us in our lives. Students watch a short video about the Forbidden City and discuss what they learned about Chinese architecture and symbols. Working in groups they design their own palace or city, thinking about how they can work together to create an ideal home for everyone, how they can use and be inspired by nature in its construction, and how it can be sustainable. Each group presents their palace. The class then looks at different buildings and homes from ancient to contemporary times that incorporate and are sustainable within their environment (such as igloos, Falling Water, modern tree houses). Finally the class talks about what they can do to protect nature in their everyday life, how they can give back to nature, and how they can take their inspiration from nature out into the world.