Chinese news... Panda poop-yrus and other cultural stuff

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  • March 29, 2007 at 4:11 am #5481
    Rob_Hugo@PortNW
    Keymaster

    Listening to NPR Tuesday I heard a brief news piece about a Chinese zoo making paper from Panda poop (it's particularly rich in fiber, all that bamboo, I guess). The final product is intended to be high-end stationery, which will help to pay their bills... More at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17799869/

    This piece got me thinking about the Chinese attitude to wildlife - visiting northern China, I've been struck by the variety of exotic foods (well, exotic to Western palates) - my wife tried to tempt me to sample the fried silkworm (silkmoth coccoons on a stick), which I declined, but I have tried fried silkmoth (they're fried in oil and salt, so basically you're eating a crunchy salt snack) - and struck by the lack, for instance, of local wildlife.

    The seminar has been absolutely fantastic in covering political and cultural history, but I'd love to learn more about East Asian cultural norms and expectations - which, I well understand, is beyond the parameters of such a brief series of presentations.

    Do you know of any source of this kind of more anthropological information?

    In the past I've usually taught Asian Studies from a more historic perspective (dynasties, periods of civil war and political turmoil, warfare, etc.), but last year it followed the first semester class I taught on Introductory Sociology, and the students were much more interested in the different cultural constructs of East Asian society. It would be great if someone could direct me to any books/articles/research/documentaries/movies that examine these in more detail.

    March 29, 2007 at 5:03 am #32921
    Anonymous
    Guest

    To follow up on the cultural norms/panda thing, http://www.einnews.com/china/ has this news story "China Breeders Urge Lifting of Tiger Parts Ban..."

    Given the huge population that China has to support, I understand the need to eke out every last gram of sustenance from the land, and the demand for the various ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine... so I wonder whether culturally and politically China will ever embrace the Western outlook on the natural world - protecting endangered species, for example. Does Daoism extend that far?

    Ray

    March 29, 2007 at 5:35 am #32922
    Anonymous
    Guest

    http://www.topix.net/world/china

    "Beijing cracks down on mobile phone porn"

    One of the interesting (or depressing, depending on your viewpoint) aspects of China's modernization is the extent to which it will include elements of Westernization in the process...
    Talking with my wife, whose had a very traditional confucian (with a small 'c') upbringing, it's apparent that cultural norms are undergoing quite a change. In particular, the "little emperor" syndrome which has appeared as result of single-child families - the sole child becomes the focus of attention and gift-giving that traditionally would have been much less (given the harder life and greatly restricted choice of consumer goods), and spread between several siblings. The result is a growing population of children who have much less of the cooperative spirit previously demanded by the extended family structure, and seem to be much more self-absorbed than past generations.

    It's not all pessimism, though - as a for instance, there's an emerging middle class and, just as hapened in Renaissance Europe, it seeks to distinguish itself by adopting a code of etiquette and good manners (not spitting on the sidewalk, for example).

    I just wonder to what extent will the Chinese pick up on the excesses of what the West has to offer (mobile phone porn and movie culture, for example) as well as such Enlightenment concepts as "natural rights" and a functioning democracy.

    Any thoughts?

    Ray

    March 29, 2007 at 5:44 am #32923
    Anonymous
    Guest

    I guess this whole topic has really got me thinking... another aspect of China's modernization and increasing interaction with the West is the profligation of low-wage factories producing goods in astronomical amounts (the China/U.S. trade deficit is currently running at $300,000,000 - that's one-third of a trillion dollars) and the demanding conditions under which Chinese workers labor.

    The Telegraph newspaper of Great Britain has this story - "The Cost of Fun" - at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/03/24/smtoys24.

    One of the bigger British auto makers recently packed up their complete production line and shipped it off to China, to save of labor costs, and in Britain a couple of years ago several Chinese immigrants were drowned collecting shellfish in Morecambe Bay - they were employed because they had to accept working for much less money than the locals (they were leased out by a "ganger" who collected the lion's share of any profits).

    I asked earlier to what extent China would absorb Enlightenment ideas - maybe another question should be to what extent the Western countries will extend those rights to impoverished Chinese, in China or within our own borders?

    Ray [Edit by="rrobinson on Mar 29, 12:53:32 PM"][/Edit]

    July 8, 2007 at 1:26 pm #32924
    Anonymous
    Guest

    Check out this article below...
    There is some sort of building on top of the emperor's tomb. Some suspect that it might be a kind of a spritual guide to after life.
    ______________________________________________________________

    China: Mysterious building discovered in emperor's tomb (a buried step-pyramid?)
    China Economic Net ^ | 07/01/07

    Posted on 07/01/2007 12:31:24 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster

    Mysterious building discovered in emperor's tomb

    Last Updated(Beijing Time):2007-07-01 10:33

    Chinese archaeologists said that after five years of research they have confirmed that there is a 30-meter-high building buried in the tomb of Qinshihuang, Chinese first emperor more than 2,000 years ago.

    The building, buried in the 51-meter-high, pyramid-like earth above the tomb's main body underground, has four surrounding stair-like walls and each wall with nine steps of platforms, said Duan Qingbo, a researcher with Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology.

    The whole building were buried under the earth, which made it difficult for researchers to get a complete picture of it, according to Duan.

    Duan said he believed the building may have been built for the soul of the emperor to go out.

    Duan said they began to carry out research on the mausoleum's internal structure in 2002 with remote sensing technology, for it has not been allowed to be excavated.

    The Qinshihuang's mausoleum is located near Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

    In the 1970s, about 1,500 terracotta warriors and horses were unearthed from surrounding pits of the mausoleum. Warriors and horses were believed to be buried with Qin in order to safeguard him after his death.

    Qinshihuang, who unified China in 221 BC, became the first emperor of a unified China.

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