Hist speech

Game of Sages, Philosophy and Diplomacy in China, 223 BCE Introduction and Schedule for Online Synchronous Class:

I. List of Roles for the Class: King Xiong Fuchu and his long-standing advisors and courtiers are indeterminates on the

question of how to reform Chu.

Xiong Fuchu is the king of the state of Chu and he presides over the council, which is

taking place in his capital city. He is responsible for running all sessions. He

has an opening speech, and will be the center of everyone’s attention during

the fifth session, when he must choose how to handle the Qin army.

Li Yuan is an old advisor of King Xiong, who has been tasked with working with

some of the new persuaders to develop a government reform plan. After the

results of the debates are known, and two finalists are announced, Li Yuan

will develop a reform plan based upon one of those faction’s ideas.

Yan Ju is an old advisor to the King of Xiong, previously employed by the State of

Zhao, by now for many years in King Xiong’s court. He has also been tasked

with working with some of the new persuaders to develop a government

reform plan. After the results of the debates are known, and two finalists are

announced, Yan Ju will develop a reform plan based upon one of those

faction’s ideas

Xiang Yan is an old advisor Chu general responsible for some decisive victories

during the last Qin attacks. He in general advocates for an aggressive stand

against the Qin, and is deeply distrustful of outsiders

Liu Biao is military strategist from the former state Wei, which was overrun by the

Qin two years earlier. He is now a Chu military advisor and advocates for

building defenses.

Wu Ai, Chu Shaman who believes that any important decision should be based upon

consultation with nature and ancestral spirits. She will advocate that Chu

respect the old spiritual ways.

Zhao Liying is one of the consorts to the King of Chu, daughter of King Dai of Zhao.

She is well-versed in Confucian philosophy and was the person responsible

for convincing Xiong Fuchu to try to reform Chu.

Qin Wushuang is a travelling musician, entertainer, and courtier, currently

performing in the court of the King of Chu, but originally from Yan state. He

performs a musical entertainment.

Tian Liang is a Qi hostage at the Chu court. He has won the trust of King Xiong and is

now acting as an informal advisor. Tian Liang is a proponent of the

government of Qi.

Li Weizhi, diplomatic expert of the state of Chu. This role will advocate for reform of

Chu so that the northern states of Zhao, Yan and especially Qi have greater

respect for Chu.

Sun Hao is a former general of the Qi state, and a descendant of the famous Qi

military strategist Sun Bin. He ran afoul of the Qi king…and is now in exile

serving as a minor military advisor to the King of Chu.

Li Mei is the former Queen Dowager of the State of Yan. She was forced into exile by

the King of Yan who believed she had too much influence over some of his

minister. She is now in exile in Chu serving as an informal advisor to the King

of Chu and teacher to Zhao Liying.

Yuan Shu is formerly of Zhao state, who knows first-hand the strength of the Qin

military. Zhao has been mostly conquered by Qin. He is temporarily serving

as an advisor to the King of Chu.

Wang Li is an astrologer formerly employed in Zhou. He has the means to develop

calendars which help plan the year.

Wei Ke is a military specialist and the brother of former king of Wei, one of the

states recently defeated and absorbed by the Qin

Ru Trend Persuaders (Confucians):

Meng Nan is a Mencius trend philosopher, from the state of Qi. He is devoted to the

ethical framework of the Mengzi—which emphasis the basic good nature of

all people.

Zhao Kuang is a Xunzi disciple and persuader who studied with Xunzi himself.

Fang Hongjian is a Xunzi trend philosopher, who is a disciple to Zhao Kuang (the

other Xunzi philosopher)

Wen Cheng is a Mencius trend philosopher

Su Nianzu is a former Jixia academician. He believes scholarly discussion and debate

will bring forth a solution.

Naturalist Trend Persuaders:

Zhou Ke is a follower and persuader of the Zhuangzi tradition, one of the classics of

Daoism.

Li Daoling is a Daoist philosopher, who uses the Laozi text to advocate for a

negotiated surrender.

Xie Wei is a Daoist trend philosopher.

Zhao Gao is the Zou Yan persuader, who promotes Yin-Yang and Five Phases

thinking.

Fu Delun is a Naturalist persuader.

Fa Trend Persuaders (Legalists):

Zheng Jiang is a disciple of Han Fei Zi, a major legalist scholar.

Su Yi is a follower of the Shang Yang Legalist tradition, which emphasizes strong

legal codes.

Gong Yanlin is a a traveling Legalist persuader who came from the state of Qi. Fan

Bo is a Legalist persuader.

Guo Yi is a Legalist persuader.

Mohist Trend Persuaders:

Lu Ban is from the Mohist school.

Liao Song is Mohist trend persuader.

Merchant Qu is a local Chu merchant.

Yan Qiang is a Mohist persuader.

Zheng Xianya is a Mohist Persuader.

Structure and Schedule for the Game 1. Normally, this game is played in 5 sessions. We will do the main speeches and debates during our Zoom meetings and continue the plotting, the debate, and the alliance building on the platform Slack. Using Slack, you can choose to come and go as your schedule permits to participate in the full class debates and in any additional secret group channels created in our Slack Workspace. I will create a few channels (public or private). One will be a public channel for full class debates in character. One channel, “the archives of the state of Chu” will be where the Game Book is located. The other channels will be private for faction members and later for the reform groups created. You will be able to create your own secret channels as well. Do add me, the Game Master, to all of them, so I can see your engagement levels. The requirement is that you post at least twice in 48 hours. (See #2 for the caveats) Your game participation will be based on what you do in Slack. 2. As mentioned above, your participation grade will be based on your posts on Slack. Each post represents a tally mark on my spread sheet. If you post twice in the first forty-eight hours, but a classmate posts 20 times during the same period…One of you will get the A, and one will not. This is like class participation in a face-to-face class. The more you contribute thoughtfully to the class discussion, the more engaged you are, the higher your participation grade is. Do not post to say “I agree, great post.” Those will not be counted for participation. Don’t post the same comment repeatedly. You would not get credit for those either. You can ask questions and challenge the arguments made by your rival characters on Zoom and in Slack. 3. Our Game only requires one Formal speech. See Module 6 for details. 4. The Game Sessions:

In most class sessions, there will be five game sessions Session 1: The introductory session, in which the new and old advisors begin to get to know each other, there are three formal debates. Feb. 15th Session 2: The first of the debates (which will take place during the second class session), will feature presentations and advice from King Xiong’s long-serving advisors and courtiers. They will describe how they think Chu can prosper in this chaotic age of strife and warfare. Feb. 17th Session 3 will feature a debate between the Confucians and the Legalists. They will answer the question: Feb 22nd Session 4, the Naturalists and Mohists will debate. Feb 24th Be aware though that all advisors will participate in three of these debates, by offering commentary and asking questions. As the King’s long-standing advisors, the indeterminates will help the King select the most appropriate philosophy for Chu at the end of Session 4.

Session 5: During the final session, the two factions who did best in the debate will present their political reform. The presentation will be lead by the two advisors in charge of leading the reforms with the help of the chosen factions, Li Yuan and Yan Ju. The king will select one of those plans. The chosen faction (plus some additional advisors) will then become senior ministers to the King of Chu. March 1st. The end game scenario, the Game Master will use the end of scenario template based on the decisions made in the Game to figure out the future of Chu. If time permit, this will be done the last 10 minutes of Session 5. The Game Master will post a lecture on what happened in history on D2L in the contents for Module 7.