Lesson Plan – Shi Yang (Zheng Yi Sao): The Bloody Rose on the Seas

Collin Campbell

CHY4U

Specific expectations Learning intentions Success criteria Instructional and/or learning strategies Assessment tools

Strand A Today I will... I will be successful Hook (15 minutes) Description

when...

A1.1 – Formulate - Learn about various - I can describe the One Piece (Pirate Cartoon) (15 minutes) Assessment Tools
Questions economies (i.e., compare difference between - First, the class is sorted randomly into Vertical Thinking Groups (four students, each with
A1.3 Assess Sources economies of merchants merchant economies and whiteboard/wipebook space) Group Whiteboards
A1.6 Historical on the South China Seas outlaw/pirate/shadow - Watch a few minutes of Season 1 Episode 1 of One Piece (Link) For ✔
Thinking Concepts to outlaw/pirate economies - Compare to Pirates of the Caribbean (Link) Teacher
(Historical Significance, economies~ early 18th - I can explain the - Brainstorm how piracy is depicted in each: what do we see/hear/feel
Cause and Consequence, C.) relationship between an - Compare genders of the captains in each: what is the effect? Piracy Simulation
Historical Perspective) - Understand what outlaw/pirate and a
A1.7 Formulate makes an outlaw/pirate criminal (similarities and For ✔/As ✔
Conclusions - Investigate problems of differences) Student
A2.3 Apply Knowledge gender and the outlaw - I can understand how
and Skills to Current on the historical record both the outlaw life and
Issues - Assess the relevance of gender oppression can
gender on the piratical impact the historical data
life that survives
Strand D - I can connect the Development (30 minutes)
limitations of gender on
D1.1 Explain Cause and pirates to other examples Vertical Thinking Group Exploration (30 minutes)
Consequence in history Lesson format: Teacher gives information (article, video, graphic) and then asks key
D1.3 Analyze critical questions. Each vertical thinking group is responsible for discussing the question
Economic Issues and then jotting conclusions down. Teacher circulates, adding new critical questions
D2.1 Revolutions and based on the direction of the conversations, and sometimes sends students on “missions”
Rebellions to send a question that came up in their group to other groups.
D2.5 Analyze Gender
Roles Video: The Female Pirate Who Terrorised South China: Zheng Yi Sao (first 6 minutes)
D3.1 Assess the (Link)
Impact of New Ideas - Factual Question: How was Shi Yang (Zheng Yi Sao) able to gain control of the Red
Banner Fleet (the pirate fleet)?
- Critical Question: Consider her surviving name, Zheng Yi Sao (literally, “Zheng Yi’s
Wife”) and the way she was able to gain power (spoiler: husband dies and she takes
control). Does this manner of women gaining power remind us of any other times in
history? (Possible answer: women’s suffrage in Canada in the late 19th C. for widows
who became property owners.) To what extent does gender mediate or influence who has
access to power?

Article: Intro to Elusive Pirates (2010) (Link)

- Focus on page one and page 13
- Critical Question: What problems do the authors note when it comes to constructing
histories about outlaws, pirates, and criminals? What other problems could there be?
- Further Question: Could gender create even more problems?
(After students get a chance to stew in this idea, explain how ship crews, including
pirates, were required to be men, and that women often disguised their identities to
become crewmates—often, we only learn about their real identities after they end their
seafaring careers) New Angle: In light of this information, are there some histories that
could remain unknowable to us forever? What kinds of new discoveries might historians
need in order to uncover these hidden histories?

Article: Canadian Museum of History (on trade between China and the West) (Link)
- Research Exploration: Read the article and then list the main exports from China to the
West
- Critical Question: What types of goods might be moved within China (from port to
port) but would not be exported? Why the difference?

Closure (30 minutes)

Piratical Economy Simulation (30 minutes)

(This is a shortened version of the full simulation so that it will fit in the assignment/presentation
length for our Teach Ed. class. The full simulation takes place over three days so students have
the chance to enact different roles, which they will research previously.)
Roles
- Eight Merchants (Qing Dynasty, Portuguese Empire, East India Company)
- Four Pirates (Shi Yang’s Fleet)
- Four Navy (Qing Dynasty)
- Two Ports (Macao and Canton)
- One Pirate-Friendly Port (Hong Kong/Liyumen)
(Increase as necessary for the number of students at a 2:1:1 ratio, and double up on
students who run the ports)
All roles begin with 800 silver taels (currency)
Each “Day” consists of two stages
1) Docked: Purchasing/Selling at Ports
2) Sailing: Sailing to Ports, Intercepting/Defending
Ports: Each day, receive a sheet with goods that come in from the mainland and their
prices (to be sold to merchants) and prices for goods sought by the mainland (to be
purchased from merchants)
(Goods: tin, opium, tea, silk, iron, grain, cotton, porcelain)
Ports make money by taking a fee from all goods bought and sold between the mainland
and the merchants
Goods are sold in standard size amounts (so each single purchase takes up the same
amount of cargo space)
Pirate Port only buys goods from pirates and sells to mainland
Each day, a new sheet is given with adjusted prices
Merchants: Purchase goods from the port (maximum cargo capacity is six)
May contract a naval vessel as an escort (100 silver) to defend the merchant when sailing
During phase 2, sail to the other port (hope/pray that we avoid pirates)
During the next day, sell all remaining cargo and then begin purchasing anew
Pirates: Sell any stolen goods at the pirate port
During phase 2 (sailing), intercept one merchant vessel and attempt to steal booty
Intercept: Roll and 6-sided die, and the number that comes up is the number of cargo
goods that are stolen (randomly chosen)
Navy: At port, attempt to get hired by a merchant as an escort (keep it discreet so the
pirates aren’t alerted to who is being escorted)
During phase 2, stay back, and if a pirate intercepts your merchant, defend them
Defend: Play rock/paper/scissors against the pirate. Navy has the advantage, and is
successful after two wins, and pirate is successful after three wins. If Navy wins, pirate
retreats empty-handed, and Navy gets a Sea-Defense Token (can be sold at port for 50
silver). If pirate wins, then pirate rolls and steals goods from merchant.
If Navy is not hired, then Navy can patrol and intercept any pirate that attempts to steal
from a merchant. However, an at-sea deal is more costly, so the merchant can pay 200
silver (if they have it) for Navy defense. If they choose not to pay or do not have the
funds, Navy may intercept another pirate. If they pay, then defend the merchant. Navy
no longer has advantage, so the first one to two wins of r/p/s is successful. After a
successful defense, receive a Sea-Defense Token.
Play as many days as possible in the time remaining, with 5 minutes extra to tally final
dollar amounts and discuss conclusions.