A Simulation of the Opium War Negotiations

Abstract

THIS BRIEF ARTICLE presents a simulation of the Opium War negotiations recently completed in my Modern China course. It was designed for sixteen students and a maximum of five hours, but the idea can be modified to fit different circumstances. As with an earlier simulation of mine, on the Chinese Civil Service Examination,' my intent was to stimulate active student involvement in the learning process. I was gratified to find the students so intensely absorbed in the simulation that they lost all track of time. How often can one say that about a classroom lecture or discussion? And the post-simulation reports from students revealed a high level of historical insight and understanding. Of course, careful preparation is necessary for a successful simulation; this one occurred after six weeks of classwork on nineteenth-century China.