SKILLBUILDERHANDBOOKR13
2.5 Formulating Historical Questions
FORMULATING HISTORICAL QUESTIONS is important as you examine primary
sources—firsthand accounts, documents, letters, and other records of the past. As you
analyze a source, ask questions about what it means and why it is significant. Then,
when you are doing research, write questions that you want your research to answer.
This step will help to guide your research and organize the information you collect.Understanding the Skill
STRATEGY: QUESTION WHAT YOU READ.The Muslim scholar Ibn Battuta published
an account of his journeys in Asia and Africa in the 1300s. The following passage is
part of his description of China. After the passage is a web diagram that organizes
historical questions about it.STRATEGY: MAKE A WEB DIAGRAM.
Applying the Skill
MAKE YOUR OWN WEB DIAGRAM. Turn to the quotation by Bernal Díaz in Chapter
16, page 455. Use a web diagram to write historical questions about the passage.Section 2: Higher-Order Critical Thinking
Ask about the historical record
itself. Who produced it? When
was it produced?Ask about the facts presented.
Who were the main people?
What did they do? What were
they like?Ask about the person who
created the record. What
judgments or opinions does
the author express?Ask about the significance
of the record. How would you
interpret the information pre-
sented? How does it fit in with
the history of this time and place?
What more do you need to know
to answer these questions?4
3
2
1
Investigate a topic in more
depth by asking questions.
Ask a large question and then
ask smaller questions that
explore and develop from the
larger question.2
Ibn Battuta in China, Around 1345
The Chinese themselves are infidels, who worship idols and burn their dead like the Hindus....
In every Chinese city there is a quarter for Muslims in which they live by themselves, and in which
they have mosques both for the Friday services and for other religious purposes. The Muslims are
honored and respected. The Chinese infidels eat the flesh of swine and dogs, and sell it in their
markets. They are wealthy folk and well-to-do, but they make no display either in their food or
their clothes. You will see one of their principal merchants, a man so rich that his wealth cannot be
counted, wearing a coarse cotton tunic. But there is one thing that the Chinese take a pride in, that
is gold and silver plate. Every one of them carries a stick, on which they lean in walking, and which
they call “the third leg.” Silk is very plentiful among them, because the silk-worm attaches itself
to fruits and feeds on them without requiring much care. For that reason, it is so common as to be
worn by even the very poorest there. Were it not for the merchants it would have no value at all, for
a single piece of cotton cloth is sold in their country for the price of many pieces of silk.1
2
3
4
What was the
historical situation in
China at this time?Why did Ibn Battuta go
to China, and who was the
audience for his narrative?How might Ibn Battuta’s
background have influenced
his impressions?Do other sources agree with
Ibn Battuta’s description?What was China
like in the 1300s?