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Course: World History Project - 1750 to the Present > Unit 1

Lesson 4: Expanding to a Global Scale | 1.3
Arts and humanities
World History Project - 1750 to the Present
The World in 1750
Expanding to a Global Scale | 1.3
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READ: Qing Shih (Graphic Biography)

Google Classroom
Qing Shih was a pirate queen in eighteenth-century southern China. Her life demonstrates the complexity of community, and networks, in this interconnected era.
The Graphic Biography below uses “Three Close Reads”. If you want to learn more about this strategy, click here.

First read: skimming for gist

This will be your quickest read. It should help you get the general idea of what the graphic biography will be about. Pay attention to the title, headings, images, and layout. Ask yourself: what is this graphic biography going to be about?

Second read: understanding content

For this reading, you should be looking for unfamiliar vocabulary words, the major claim and key supporting details, and analysis and evidence. You should also spend some time looking at the images and the way in which the page is designed.
By the end of the second close read, you should be able to answer the following questions:
  1. How and why did Qing Shih get to Guangzhou?
  2. What was Guangzhou like in 1775, according to the author?
  3. How did Qing Shih become a pirate queen?
  4. How did Qing Shih strengthen the pirate confederacy? What policies did she pursue?
  5. The artist shows Qing Shih at the edge or towards the back of panels at the beginning of the biography, but by the end she is in the middle and front of each panel. What message is she giving through this placement?

Third read: evaluating and corroborating

In this read, you should use the graphic biography as evidence to support, extend, or challenge claims made in the course.
At the end of the third read, you should be able to respond to these questions:
  1. It’s early in the course, but you’ve already learned a little about China, and you’ve been introduced to the three frames. Thinking about the communities frame, does Qing Shih’s story support, extend, or challenge what you have learned about China in this unit? In other words, does it confirm what you know about communities in China (support)? Does it deepen what you already know (extend)? Or does it provide evidence that goes against what you’ve been told (challenge)?
Now that you know what to look for, it’s time to read! Remember to return to these questions once you’ve finished reading.

Qing Shih (Graphic Biography)

Writer: Lindsay Ehrisman
Artist: Liz Clarke
Qing Shih was a pirate queen in eighteenth-century southern China. Her life demonstrates the complexity of community, and networks, in this interconnected era.
Download the Graphic Biography PDF here or click on the image above.

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