Chinese dynasties song to the tune of “Frère Jacques.”

The order of China’s dynasties can be a complicated puzzle for students of Chinese history. The Harvard professors William Kirby and Peter Bol offer this trick: a song that names the major dynasties, the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China (or as the lyrics have it, “Mao Zedong”) to the tune of “Frère Jacques.”
对于学习中国历史的学生们来说，中国朝代的顺序可谓是终极难题。哈佛大学的两位教授维廉·柯比（中文名柯伟林）和包弼德给大家想出了这个妙招：用法国儿歌《雅克兄弟》的曲子改编歌来记忆中国过去主要的朝代、中华民国和中国人民共和国（视频歌词中用的是“毛泽东”）。
The singing professors are teaching a free course on China through HarvardX, the university’s branch of the nonprofit online learning program edX. “If you sing this song once a day, you will always remember the sequence of Chinese dynasties,” Professor Bol says on the video. “You will also drive your friends and family crazy,” replies Professor Kirby.
视频中这两位唱着歌的教授目前正在HarvardX 网络课程中教授有关中国的公开课，HarvardX是哈佛大学在非盈利在线教育项目edX平台上发布的网络课程。视频中我们可以听到包弼德教授说：“如果你每天唱一遍这首歌，你肯定能记住中国朝代的顺序”。柯伟林教授则回答说：“那你朋友和你家人估计得被你唱疯了吧。”