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clay dubeHi Folks,
East Asia shares some philosophical traditions. At various times the mix has varied, with one school or faith more influential than others, but most of these traditions can still be identified in East Asia today. Attached is a teaching guide that I prepared some years ago. It focuses on early China, but we'll talk about the relevance of these teachings in contemporary East Asia over the course of the week. Because Buddhism is a later arrival in East Asia, it's not part of that teaching guide, but we'll highlight it as well.
Questions to consider include:
What problems did these teachings hope to address? What roles did each envision for the ruler, the state, different social groups, families, and individuals? What values were so essential that they were spelled out and specific folks were charged with transmitting them? What did each school see as the ideal society?
How could you help students identify the presence of the past in today's East Asia? Is this a useful exercise?
Anonymousllived in japan for 3 years..
AnonymousI robot comes to mind with japans problem with robotics. I also wonder about the work force as death rate may out out climb birth rate. China has serious water problems when one is not allowed to throw toilet paper in the toilet and flush that is a serious problem with water works. One would wonder if north korea may be a future mexico and south k a new usa?
AnonymousOf the Three Pillars, Daoism if definitely the most challenging to convey to my students. Confucianism they tend to view as rules, laws, and protocols, whereas most of them take the shortcut of regarding Buddhism as much like their own experiences with Western religion. Neither of these simplifications is completely wrong, but I'd like to push their understanding a bit deeper and figure out how to convey various aspects of Daoism.
AnonymousPopulation growth, immigration, and the many related issues of jobs, cultural shift, and governance all face East Asia and the USA, but I expect the debates within each society are varied internally and compared to one another, though I need to learn more. The self-perceived homogeneity of Japan, Korea, and even China is a contrast with the situation in the USA, while all four nations currently share the the dilemma of who will work low-status, low-paying jobs.
AnonymousThere are some very interesting articles here. During my read I kept wondering if the issues in these articles remain to be true. I posted some interesting findings below. Please note that I am just posting some quick internet search links that look somewhat reputable. The accuracy of these links has not been checked.
Japan's population problem has only gotten worse, but the economy has improved since 2008.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/04/17/national/japans-population-falls-by-record-level/#.UfU4y2TwItA
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/japan/gdp
Since the writing of the "catfish article", Japan has experienced one of their worst national disasters.
http://www.livescience.com/27776-tohoku-two-years-later-geology.html
South Korea seems to catching, and possibly passing, Japan on average income. I had trouble finding sources for this, but it seems to be the trend.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-22/south-korea-household-income-sees-slowest-growth-in-six-quarters.html
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2011-02/01/c_13716098.htm
The water problem in China is just getting worse, but China is taking steps to solve the crisis.
http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2011/05/05/how-china-is-dealing-with-its-water-crisis/
http://www.businessinsider.com/china-water-pollution-2013-3?op=1
Feedback/thoughts are appreciated.
AnonymousHi Steven, Bob Rea here. I wonder what is causing the decline in Japanese population. Are young couples deciding to have designer families of one or two kids and foregoing the larger families of yesteryear? One in four Japanese has joined the retired ranks or are close to it. An aging population might see productivity fall unless technology can compensate for it. Japan is stirring economically after the bottom fell out of the real estate market years ago, but will the population be there to expand it?
AnonymousWow. The Chinese water problem is quite challenging, but no more than the Potomac River was for us back in the 1970s when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was formed during the Nixon administration if I recall correctly. Anyway, whatever China sets its mind to it accomplishes, so I look forward to hearing about the Chinese plan to set things straight. Interesting that the people of the PRC are becoming alarmed and are causing the government to address these issues.
AnonymousIf we were to ask our students what criteria they would use to put a face on any of our monies what might they say?
edited by rdomingo on 7/29/2013
AnonymousI just ran across this article from the Wall Street Journal. It takes a broad look at the many pollution issues today facing China, especially rural China. China has so little land on which to live and farm and build and manufacture and so on and so forth that it seems to intensify the forces that then place all of that growth and prosperity in jeopardy. Clay mentioned Sim City earlier today. Does anyone know any software to simulate some of these issues with real data? I write simulations, but I think this one would be good for a computer processor, and my knowledge about those kinds of games and activities is less.
This article quotes Judith Shapiro to the effect that environmental degradation often crosses borders and has additional, unexpected consequences. I encourage my young students to think about what they do in terms of social and environmental issues. I think it's also important for them to have a sense of what is going on elsewhere, how issues are shared and overlap
AnonymousI find the similarities between the Japanese aging population dynamics and those of Western Europe quite interesting. The comparison of the associated societal issues that arise due to these factors are a real challenge for these advanced economies. However, what stands out is the different approach these regions/countries have taken particularly with the issue of immigration and how to deal with an aging population.
Anonymousit is also amazing that mandatory retirement in china is 55..
AnonymousYMCA baseball......who is with me........
AnonymousI think the point about demographics is interesting, vmarlen. I occasionally have my students Skype with students in China, and a discussion of immigration might be really interesting. Compared to the USA, China has much stronger controls and limits on immigration. I think, and Clay correct me on this, that you basically have to marry into China; actual citizenship must be much harder. I hear more and more about brides coming to China from outside its borders, in part due to the comparative lack of women in China. I don't think you can simply apply to immigrate to China, at least not permanently. Immigration is, of course, such a huge and important issue for the USA, and it would be interesting to have kids discuss together what they think policies ought to be for both countries. It might be messy, but but would surely be enlightening.
edited by dmillians on 7/29/2013
AnonymousThe Korean baseball movie sounds like it's the most difficult to find, so I'd like to see that one. Of course, then I have to track down a copy to share with my students.... That said, I've wanted to watch Twilight Samurai for some time, and while I've seen Farewell My Concubine, it's one of my favorites, and I recommend it highly!