The vast collection of the Metropolitan Museum is effectively arranged and integrated on the www.metmuseum.org website. Navigation of the site is straightforward, enabling efficient browsing or research. Although no specific essays or exhibits on children and youth are found on the site, several hundred artworks relevant to the topic can be located by searching the Collection Database or the Timeline of Art History (TOAH)—more than sites dedicated to the subject.

The Collection Database of 129,022 objects can be searched as a whole, by subject, by curatorial department, or by exhibit. The collection database search is comprehensive, and returned 3629 entries under "children." Childe Hassam is a distracter in this keyword search, but the search "Children NOT Childe" reduced the return to 319 items. "Boy" returned many distracters, but "girl" returned 954 items, and "infant" returned 252 items. "Toys" returned only 21 items, indicating a limitation of the museum's collection in that area. "Youth" returned 186 works and "young" 1741 items. The biggest drawback of the collection search was that many of the works are associated with placeholder images, although the metadata may help locate images elsewhere. As digitization of the collection proceeds, this may improve.

The TOAH is an unmatched resource for educators. The 6,000 included artworks are organized by three integrated elements: maps, timelines, and thematic essays. World and regional maps correlate artwork to eleven world eras and locate it in ten world regions. Timelines place the artworks in historical context, and include key events, political, stylistic and technological periodization. Eight hundred thematic essays provide historical context for groups of artwork and discuss characteristics, techniques, and significance. The essays reveal connections among civilizations and regions, and provide material for comparative study.

Educators searching for information on children in art can locate artworks featuring children and youth by a search of the TOAH, which seems more rewarding than the database search because all of the works are associated with images, and they are easily placed in context by TOAH's features. The searches are conveniently shown by category, so the user can bring up all relevant artworks, essays, timelines or other occurrences with one click.

A TOAH search of "children" found the term in 23 timelines, 153 thematic essays, and 396 works of art. "Figure, Child" in the Subject Index returned 21 essays and 80 works of art, each shown as a thumbnail image with titles. On the subject of childbirth, 15 artworks can be viewed. Terms such as "girl" (97 works), "boy" (9) and "young" or "youth" (4) returned artworks from across the globe and the eras.

An activity using the 97 artworks under "girl" might compare the relative age connoted by the term in various cultures and periods. Some depict small children, while others are clearly young women. A selection of western European drawings and paintings could focus on the changing definition of girlhood over time or explore symbols and objects associated with girlhood. Some of the artworks show girls in active social roles, playing sports and games, fulfilling ritual roles, or being mourned in funerary works. Some of the works are expressions of girls' work in various societies, such as needlework, preparation of trousseaus, or manual labor at home. In short, the collection can be used to gather ideas about girlhood over time and across cultures. Similar explorations about youth and boys could be made. Educators will find many ways to place childhood in historical context using this website.

THE TAOIST PRIEST OF LAO-SHAN

There lived in our village a Mr. Want, the seventh son in an old family. This gentleman had a penchant for the Taoist religion; and hearing that at Lao-shan there were plenty of Immortals, 1 shouldered his knapsack and went off for a tour thither. Ascending a peak of the mountain he reached a secluded monastery, where he found a priest sitting on a rush mat, with long hair flowing over his neck, and a pleasant expression on his face. Making a low bow, Wang addressed him thus: "Mysterious indeed is the doctrine: I pray you, Sir, instruct me therein." "Delicately nurtured and wanting in energy as you are," replied the priest, "I fear you could not support the fatigue." "Try me," said Wang. So when the disciples who were very many in number collected together at dusk, Wang joined them in making obeisance to the priest, and remained with them in the monastery. Very early next morning the priest summoned Wang, and giving him a hatchet sent him out with the others to cut firewood. Wang respectfully obeyed, continuing to work for over a month until his hands and feet were so swollen and blistered that he secretly meditated returning home. One evening when he came back he found two strangers sitting drinking with his master. It being already dark, and no lamp or candles having been brought in, the old priest took some scissors and cut out a circular piece of paper like a mirror, which he proceeded to stick against the wall. Immediately it became a dazzling moon, by the light of which you could have seen a hair or a beard of corn. The disciples all came crowding round to wait upon them, but one of the strangers said, "On a festive occasion like this we out all to enjoy ourselves together." Accordingly he took a kettle of wine from the table and presented it to the disciples, bidding them to drink each his fill; whereupon our friend Wang began to wonder how seven or eight of them could all be served out of a single kettle. The disciples, too, rushed about in search of cups, each struggling to get the first drink for fear the wine would be exhausted. Nevertheless, all the candidates failed to empty the kettle, at which they were very much astonished, when suddenly one of the strangers said, "You have given us a fight bright moon; but it's dull work drinking by ourselves. Why not call Ch'ang-ngo 2 to join us?" He then seized a chop-stick and threw it into the moon, whereupon a lovely girl stepped forth from its beams. At first she was only a foot high, but on reaching the ground lengthened to the ordinary size of woman. She had a slender waist and a beautiful neck, and went most gracefully through the Red Garment figure. 3 When this was finished she sang the following words:–

Ye fairies! ye fairies! I'm coming back soon,
Too lonely and cold is my home in the moon.

Her voice was clear and well sustained, ringing like the notes of a flageolet, and when she had concluded her song she pirouetted round and jumped up on the table, where, with every eye fixed in astonishment upon her, she once more became a chop-stick. The three friends laughed loudly, and one of them said, "We are very jolly to-night, but I have hardly room for any more wine. Will you drink a parting glass with me in the palace of the moon?" They then took up the table and walked into the moon, where they could be seen drinking so plainly that their eyebrows and beards appeared like reflections in a looking-glass. By-and-by the moon became obscured; and when the disciples brought a lighted candle they found the priest sitting in the dark alone. The viands, however, were still upon the table and the mirror-like piece of paper on the wall. "Have you all had enough to drink?" asked the priest; to which they answered that they had. "In that case," said he, "you had better get to bed so as not to be behind-hand with your wood-cutting in the morning." So they all went off, and among them Wang, who was delighted at what he had seen, and thought no more of returning home. But after a time he could not stand it any longer; and as the priest taught him no magical arts he determined not to wait, but went to him and said, "Sir, I have traveled many long miles for the benefit of your instruction. If you will not teach me the secret of Immortality, let me at any rate learn some trifling trick, and thus soothe my cravings for a knowledge of your art. I have now been here two or three months, doing nothing but chopping firewood, out of in the morning and back at night, work to which I was never accustomed in my own home." "Did I not tell you," replied the priest, "that you would never support the fatigue? To-morrow I will start you on your way home." "Sir," said Wang, "I have worked for you a long time. Teach me some small art, that my coming here may not have been wholly in vain." "What art?" asked the priest. "Well," answered Wang, "I have noticed that whenever you walk about anywhere, walls and so on are no obstacle to you. Teach me this, and I'll be satisfied." The priest laughingly assented, and taught Wang a formula which he bade him recite. When he had done so he told him to walk through the wall; but Wang, seeing the wall in front of him, didn't like to walk at it. As, however, the priest bade him try, he walked quietly up to it and was there stopped. The priest here called out, "Don't go so slowly. Put your head down and rush at it." So Wang stepped back a few paces and went at it full speed; and the wall yielding to him as he passed, in a moment he found himself outside. Delighted at this, he went back to thank the priest, who told him to be careful in the use of his power, or otherwise there would be no response, handing him at the same time some money for his expenses on the way. When Wang got home, he went about bragging of his Taoist friends and his contempt for walls in general; but as his wife disbelieved his story, he set about going through the performance as before. Stepping back form the wall, he rushed at it full speed with his head down; but coming in contact with the hard bricks, finished up in a heap on the floor. His wife picked him up and found he had a bump on his forehead as big as a large egg, at which she roared with laughter; but Wang was overwhelmed with rage and shame, and cursed the old priest for his base ingratitude.

Why I Taught the Source

It is likely that the last time many American high school students were exposed to folktales was in their childhood when at bedtime they heard stories such as "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Princess and the Pea." In my AP World History class, I reintroduce students to folktales along with a method for comparing and contrasting the European and Asian cultures that produced them. Focusing on folktales from 1750 to 1850 provides an opportunity to shed light on the dynamic relationship between culture, childhood, and children.

For this particular lesson we examined two classic tales that while similar in many respects, highlight regional cultural differences especially in regard to childhood ideals. In Hans Christian Andersen's "The Red Shoes" (1845) the protagonist gives into temptation but is able to redeem herself in the end. Though temptation is at the center of P'u Sung-ling's "The Taoist Priest of Lao-Shan" (1766), the end result is humiliation rather than redemption.

How I Introduce the Source

The two-day lesson began with an examination of the cultural contexts relevant to each historical source: Imperial China and industrializing Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. We defined "culture" and discussed its components and meanings. Rather than seeing culture as a catchall term for societal institutions such as religion and government, I encouraged my students to consider the ways in which attitudes, prejudices, and folklore also influenced everyday life. Defining culture in this way helped students to think about folktales as a method for influencing children's ideas and behaviors.

Building upon our prior discussions about methods of analyses in previous classes, I suggested that the students read these primary sources comparatively in order to analyze how the two tales were similar and how they differed.

Reading the Source

For homework, students read the two stories and took notes on the themes, ideas, and topics. I asked each student to answer two questions on their personal blog:

1. How are these two folktales similar? How are they different?
2. How would each folktale influence a child's cultural worldview?

Throughout the year students blog on Ning Ning, a social network that serves as a central location for student communication, reflection, and collaboration. Each student has their own blog where they routinely write entries, answer questions, and post relevant videos or world music that they find. The use of the Ning provides a central location and an interactive method of communication outside of class.

In addition to posting their own blog entry, students were asked to write a substantive comment on at least one of their classmates' blog entries in an attempt to offer a new approach or raise an issue for discussion. I graded the students on the value that they added to the discussion in both their own blog entry and in their peer commentary. As students posted their entries and comments, I noted the dominant themes and salient ideas in preparation for our next class meeting.

The next day, students met in groups of three for five minutes to discuss what they had discovered the night before. After the small group discussion, the class as a whole discussed the sources and what folktales might tell us about cultural values.

Reflections

In their discussion, students noted the emphasis on a belief system in both folktales. They mentioned that while "The Red Shoes" was a violent tale, the protagonist was able to repent and redeem herself because she was a Christian. While "The Taoist Priest of Lao-Shan" was not as violent, the protagonist's temptation left him in a state of humiliation.

Students determined that the two stories shared temptation as a common theme but noted the different results of that temptation. They concluded that both Mr. Wang from "The Taoist Priest of Lao-Shan" and Karen from "The Red Shoes" are both tempted by vanity. Whether it is for a pair of shoes or the secret of immortality, the theme is similar. While both characters are tempted, the students believed that their fates are vastly different. They recognized that redemption is found only in "The Red Shoes," where as Mr. Wang from "The Taoist Priest of Lao-Shan" is shamed for his temptation. The class decided that the regional differences in the folktales are based upon that fact. In the end, my students concluded that the emphasis on redemption in Christianity and the lack of redemption in Taoism helped define European and Chinese cultures during the 18th and 19th centuries and, in turn, influenced the development of the region’s children.

Analyzing these two tales provided students with an opportunity to understand one way in which cultural values were transmitted, that is, via childhood. This lesson was also designed to improve students' critical thinking and writing skills by demonstrating that while some childhood lessons are similar across cultures, there are also many important cross-cultural differences.

In examining the two regional folktales, my students discussed how these stories may have been used to teach moral lessons. By critically reading and analyzing similarities and differences, students' ability to compare and contrast showed improvement. This lesson on children, morals, and culture works well because it connects students to the stories that they read in their youth while helping them develop a better understanding of how literature can enhance our understanding of the meaning of childhood in culture and history.

Li Shan, whose courtesy name was Cisun, came from Yuyang in Nanyang. He had once worked as a servant for Li Yuan, who came from the same county. In the Jianwu era (25-55 CE), there was a plague to which the members of Li Yuan's family, one after another, all fell victim. The only one to survive was an infant named Xu, who had been born several weeks earlier. The family fortune amounted to one million cash. The servants therefore plotted to murder Xu and divide the property among themselves. But Li Shan was deeply grieved by the situation and since he did not have the power to take charge, he secretly fled carrying Xu on his back. He hid in the Xiaqu area of Shanyang and fed the child with cows milk. He gave the child a dry place to lay and while he had only damp ground to lay upon. In all of his ministrations to the child, he was diligent and long suffering. Though Xu was but a babe in arms, Li Shan served him no differently than his elder master. When there was business at hand, Li kneeled for a long while before the infant reporting on the matter and only then would he act. The entire village was moved by his conduct so that all of them were inspired to cultivate virtuous behavior. When Xu was ten years old, Shan returned with him to their native village, where they rebuilt the household. They reported the servants to the magistrate and all of them were arrested and put to death. Later, when Zhongli Yi was in charge of Xiaqiu, he recommended Li Shan to the emperor as worthy of recognition for his extraordinary strength of character. Emperor Guangwu thereupon honored both Li Shan and Xu with the position of members of the Heir Apparent's suite.1

Now the spirit is that which is received from Heaven, and the physical form is that which is endowed by Earth. Thus one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to the ten thousand things.1 The ten thousand things carry yin and enfold yang; the mingling of qi creates harmony. Thus it is said: In the first month there is a speck of fertile grease; in the second month there is a globule; in the third month, an embryo; in the fourth month, flesh; in the fifth month, sinews; in the sixth month, bones; in the seventh month, complete form; in the eighth month, quickening; in the ninth month, agitated movement, and in the tenth month, birth. . . . The roundness of the head imitates Heaven, and the squareness of the foot imitates Earth. . . . Thus human beings form a trinity with Heaven and Earth. 1

Mourning Rituals for Deceased Children

In the Han era of Jianning,
In the third year of our emperor's reign,
On this fifteenth day of the third month,
We pour out our grief for Xu Aqu.

You were only five years old
When you departed life's glory.
You entered a night without end,
Never again to see the sun or stars.

Now your spirit dwells all alone,
Underground, returned to eternal darkness.
You have left your home forever.
There is no way to ever look upon your face again.

We reported to our ancestors,
Anxiously thinking of you,
We increased our offerings and incense three times,
All to mourn the departed.

You, alas, did not recognize your ancestors,
But darted east and west, weeping and crying.
Finally you left with them,
Turning back to gaze on us from time to time.

Full of emotion, we, your father and mother…(inscription damaged).
All delicacies are tasteless to us.
Pale and gaunt, we have depleted our savings to build this shrine for you,
In the hope that your spirit will live on forever… (inscription damaged).

Visitors:
When you see dust on this grave
Please sweep it clean.
Your kindness will make the departed one happy.

Tairen was the mother of King Wen (11th cen. BCE) and a middle daughter of the Zhiren clan. Wang Ji took her as his wife. By nature Tairen was devoted and reverent, completely virtuous was her conduct. When she was with child her eyes beheld no evil sights, her ears heard no perverse sounds, her mouth uttered no careless words. She was able to teach her child in the womb. When she went to relieve herself in the [privy over] the pigpen, she gave birth to King Wen. At birth King Wen was brilliant and sagacious.

The Gentleman says, “Tairen may be considered as one who was capable at fetal instruction. In ancient times, a woman with child did not lie on her side as she slept; neither would she sit sideways or stand on one foot. She would not eat dishes having harmful flavors; if the food was cut awry, she would not eat it; if the mat was not placed straight, she would not sit on it. She did not let her eyes gaze on lewd sights or let her ears listen to depraved sounds. At night she ordered blind musicians to chant the Odes; she spoke only of proper things. 1 In this way she gave birth to children of correct physical form who excelled others in talent and virtue.”

When the child was able to take its own food, it was taught to use the right hand. When it was able to speak, a boy was taught to respond boldly and clearly; a girl, submissively and low. The former was fitted with a belt of leather; the latter, with one of silk.

At six years, they were taught the numbers and the names of the cardinal points; at the age of seven, boys and girls did not occupy the same mat nor eat together; at eight, when going out or coming in at a gate or door, and going to their mats to eat and drink, they were required to follow their elders: the teaching of yielding to others was now begun; at nine, they were taught how to number the days. At ten, the boy went to a master outside, and stayed with him even over the night. He learned the different classes of characters and calculation; he did not wear his jacket or trousers of silk; in his manners he followed his early lessons; morning and evening he learned the behavior of a youth; he would ask to be exercised in reading the tablets, and in the forms of polite conversation.

At thirteen, he learned music, and to repeat the odes, and to dance the civil dance of the Duke of Zhou.1 When a full-grown lad, he performed the martial dance of King Wu and learned archery and chariot-driving. At twenty, he was capped, and first learned the different classes of ceremonies and might wear furs and silk. He performed the Great Xia dance, and attended sedulously to filial and fraternal duties. He might become very learned, but did not teach others, his object being still to receive and not to give out. At thirty, he had a wife, and began to attend to the business proper to a man. . . .

A girl at the age of ten ceased to go out from the women's apartments. Her governess taught her the arts of pleasing speech and manners, to be docile and obedient, to handle the hempen fibers, to deal with the cocoons, to weave silks and form fillets, to learn all woman's work, how to furnish garments, to watch the sacrifices, to supply the liquors and sauces, to fill the various stands and dishes with pickles and brine, and to assist in setting forth the appurtenances for the ceremonies.

At fifteen, she assumed the hair-pin; at twenty, she was married, or, if there were occasion for the delay, at twenty-three. If there were the betrothal rites, she became a wife; and if she went without these, a concubine.

The Birth of a Child

When a wife was about to have a child, and the month of her confinement had arrived, she occupied one of the side apartments, where her husband sent twice a day to ask for her. If he so desired, and came himself to ask about her, she did not presume to see him, but made her governess dress herself and reply to him. When the child was born, the husband again sent twice a day to inquire for her. He fasted now, and did not enter the door of the side apartment. If the child were a boy, a bow was placed on the left of the door; and if a girl, a handkerchief on the right of it. After three days the child began to be carried, and some archery was practiced for a boy, but not for a girl.

When a son and heir to the ruler of a state was born, and information of the fact was carried to him, he made arrangements to receive him at a feast where the three animals should all be provided; and the cook took in hand the necessary preparations. On the third day the tortoise-shell was consulted for a good man to carry the child; and he who was the lucky choice, kept a vigil over night, and then in his court robes, received him in his arms outside the chamber. The master of the archers then took a bow of mulberry wood, and six arrows of the wild rubus, and shot towards heaven, earth, and the four cardinal points. After this the nurse received the child and carried it in her arms. The cook at the same time gave a cup of sweet wine to the man who had carried the child, and presented him with a bundle of silks, and the tortoise-shell was again employed to determine the wife of an officer, or the concubine of a Great officer, who should be nurse.

In all cases of receiving a son, a day was chosen; and if it were the eldest son of the king, the three sacrificial animals were killed for the occasion. For the son of a common man, a sucking-pig was killed; for the son of an officer, a single pig; for the son of a Great officer, the two smaller animals; and for the son of the ruler of a state, all the three. If it were not the eldest son, the provision was diminished in every case one degree.

A special apartment was prepared in the palace for the child, and from all the concubines and other likely individuals there was sought one distinguished for her generosity of mind, her gentle kindness, her mild integrity, her respectful bearing, her carefulness and freedom from talkativeness, who should be appointed the boy's teacher; one was next chosen who should be his indulgent mother, and a third who should be his guardian mother. These all lived in his apartment, which others did not enter unless on some special business.

At the end of the third month a day was chosen for shaving off the hair of the child, excepting certain portions,–the horn-like tufts of a boy, and the circlet on the crown of a girl. If another fashion were adopted, a portion was left on the left of the boy's head, and on the right of the girl's. On that day the wife with the son appeared before the father. If they were of noble families, they were both in full dress. From the commissioned officer downwards, all rinsed their mouths and washed their heads. Husband and wife rose early, bathed and dressed as for the feast of the first day of the month. The husband entered the door, going up by the steps on the east, and stood at the top of them with his face to the west. The wife with the boy in her arms came forth from her room and stood beneath the lintel with her face to the east.

The governess then went forward and said for the lady, 'The mother, So and So, ventures today reverently to present to you the child!' The husband replied, 'Reverently teach him to follow the right way.' He then took hold of the right hand of his son, and named him with the smile and voice of a child. The wife responded, 'We will remember. May your words be fulfilled!' She then turned to the left, and delivered the child to his teacher, who on her part told the name all round to the wives of the relatives of all ranks who were present. The wife forthwith proceeded to the festal chamber.

The husband informed his principal officer of the name, and he in turn informed all the young males of the same surname of it. A record was made to the effect--'In such a year, in such a month, on such a day, So and So was born,' and deposited. The officer also informed the secretaries of the hamlets, who made out two copies of it. One of these was deposited in the office of the village, and the other was presented to the secretary of the larger circuit, who showed it to the chief of the circuit; he again ordered it to be deposited in the office of the circuit. The husband meanwhile had gone into the festal chamber, and a feast was celebrated with the ceremonies of that with which a wife first entertains her parents-in-law.

When an heir-son has been born, the ruler washed his head and whole body, and put on his court robes. His wife did the same, and then they both took their station at the top of the stairs on the east with their faces towards the west. One of the ladies of quality, with the child in her arms, ascended by the steps on the west. The ruler then named the child; and the lady went down with it.

A second son or any other son by the wife proper was presented in the outer chamber, when the ruler laid his hand on its head, and with gentle voice named it. The other observances were as before, but without any words.

In naming a son, the name should not be that of a day or a month or of any state, or of any hidden ailment. Sons of Great and other officers must not be called by the same name as the heir-son of the ruler.

When a concubine was about to have a child, and the month of her confinement had arrived, the husband sent once a day to ask for her. When the son was born, at the end of three months, she washed her mouth and feet, adjusted herself early in the morning and appeared in the inner chamber belonging to the wife proper. There she was received with the ceremonies of her first entrance into the harem. When the husband had eaten, a special portion of what was left was given to her by herself; and forthwith she entered on her duties of attendance.

When the child of an inferior member of the ruler's harem was about to be born, the mother went to one of the side apartments, and at the end of three months, having washed her head and person, and put on her court robes, she appeared before the ruler. One of her waiting women also appeared with the child in her arms. If the mother was one to whom the ruler had given special favors, he himself named the son. In the case of such children generally, an officer was employed to name them.

Among the common people who had no side chambers, when the month of confinement was come, the husband left his bed-chamber, and occupied a common apartment. In his inquiries for his wife, however, and on his son's being presented to him, there was no difference from the observances that have been detailed.

In all cases though the father is alive, the grandson is presented to the grandfather, who also names him. The ceremonies are the same as when the son is presented to the father; but there is no interchange of words between the mother and him.

The nurse of the ruler's boy quitted the palace after three years, and, when she appeared before the ruler, was rewarded for her toilsome work. The son of a Great officer had a nurse. The wife of an ordinary officer nourished her child herself.

The son of a commissioned officer and others above him on to the Great officer was presented to the father once in ten days. The eldest son of a ruler was presented to him before he had eaten, when he took him by the right hand; his second or any other son by the wife proper was presented after he had eaten, when he laid his hand on his head.