Lesson plan
Sun Chuanting
Sun Chuanting ( ; 1 January 1593 – 3 November 1643), courtesy name Boya (百雅), art name Baigu (白谷), posthumous name Zhongjing (忠靖), was a politician of the Chinese Ming dynasty, serving as Minister of War (Bingbu Shangshu), and Field Marshal (Dushi). He led 10,000 Ming troops against Li Zicheng's 70,000 troops . He was defeated and killed by Li Zicheng in the Battle of Tongguan in 1643. Sun Chuanting was described by history records as a tall and muscular man who was physically strong and excelled in horseback archery in his early days. Graduating as jinshi in 1619, he rose in 1635 to be Governor of Shaanxi, and by active measures stamped out the existing rebel movement. After an unsatisfactory campaign in Henan against the rebels there, he became Viceroy of Shandong and a part of Zhili. The fall of Jinan in 1639 was made a pretext for imprisoning him; however, in 1642 he was appointed Vice President of the Board of War and hastened with the garrison of Beijing to relieve Kaifeng, long besieged by Li Zicheng. After Sun scored some initial victories, Li retreated his forces while leaving behind mass amounts of valuables. The Ming troops were undisciplined and broke rank to loot the valuables. Li then countered attacked and scattered the Ming troops. Sun had no choice but to retreat to Shaanxi as Viceroy.…
Article summary
Sun Chuanting ( ; 1 January 1593 – 3 November 1643), courtesy name Boya (百雅), art name Baigu (白谷), posthumous name Zhongjing (忠靖), was a politician of the Chinese Ming dynasty, serving as Minister of War (Bingbu Shangshu), and Field Marshal (Dushi). He led 10,000 Ming troops against Li Zicheng's 70,000 troops . He was defeated and killed by Li Zicheng in the Battle of Tongguan in 1643. Sun Chuanting was described by history records as a tall and muscular man who was physically strong and excelled in horseback archery in his early days. Graduating as jinshi in 1619, he rose in 1635 to be Governor of Shaanxi, and by active measures stamped out the existing rebel movement. After an unsatisfactory campaign in Henan against the rebels there, he became Viceroy of Shandong and a part of Zhili. The fall of Jinan in 1639 was made a pretext for imprisoning him; however, in 1642 he was appointed Vice President of the Board of War and hastened with the garrison of Beijing to relieve Kaifeng, long besieged by Li Zicheng. After Sun scored some initial victories, Li retreated his forces while leaving behind mass amounts of valuables. The Ming troops were undisciplined and broke rank to loot the valuables. Li then countered attacked and scattered the Ming troops. Sun had no choice but to retreat to Shaanxi as Viceroy.…
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
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