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Anonymous21. Alex, your entry about Hiroshima made me think of the parallels between this
museum and the Holocaust museum in Washington D.C. The picture of a room full of Grey shoes is burned into my mind. The knowledge that all of these lives were reduced to a pile of shoes which had all taken on the color of ash, human ash. It is a devastating mental image I will never be able to dismiss.
AnonymousIf you go to http://www.huntington.org/Education/less4bot.html#JG, you will find much information on both the Chinese and Japanese gardens found at the Huntington Library and gardens. Also, if you are looking for lesson plans for grades 4-7 teaching about the Japanese gardens, go to http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/index.html.
AnonymousBowers Museum-Treasures from Shanghai (5000 Year of Art and Culture)
I visited the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, Orange County, on June 21 for its Treasures from Shanghai Exhibition. China, with its rich history last more than 5000 years, must be considered one of the world’s richest and oldest civilizations. However, to most of the western world, China has been a mystery and hasn’t received near the attention afforded to other more classical civilizations, such as Greece, Rome, Egypt, or even Mayas of the America. Now, as we witness China’s extraordinary emergence as an economic marvel, it’s essential for the world to know the history of this great civilization and to understand its culture and to appreciate its many art forms. Therefore, Bowers Museum invites its sister museum, Shanghai Museum, in China to travel to U.S. to give an exhibition of its selected collections. Each piece is selected to illustrate a portion of Chinese rich history, from its Neolithic period to its last dynasty-Qing.
Among all exhibition pieces, the Painted Pottery Tomb Guardian made in Han dynasty (206BC-220AD) caught my eyes right away. Full of imagination, this tomb guardian portrays a vivid ferociousness with head raised high and ready to roar, open mouth baring teeth, and flaring nostrils with the tip of the nose pointed high. Large, round eyes cast an angry glance outward. At the base are four sturdy, muscled legs; the front two touch the ground with the rear legs curled, ready to jump at any time. The tomb guardian was often seen in ancient Chinese tombs as a protector against evil and to protect the soul and burial treasures. A nobleman could also ride this animal to heaven. I like it very much because it was the first time I saw something like this and it’s so vivid and awe-inspiring.
Bowers Museum often has exhibitions about Asian cultures. There will be an exhibition about Terra Cotta Worriers in May 2008. I will definitely bring my students to see it as a field trip next year. Maybe you can plan one for your students in advance too. It will be a great experience for some six graders who will be learning Qin Shi Huang Di and the history of Qin dynasty in their social study class.