October 21 - Dube - Late Imperial China

[Anonymous]

Over the summer I read a novel titled Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. I don't know how historically accurate it is, but it is a compelling read. The way it was described in the novel, mothers bound their daughters' feet to secure a good marriage for them. The smaller her feet, the better match she can make, and the easier her life would be. Social class played a part in the match as well as foot size.

[Anonymous]

The panorama of history that you describe is breathtaking. It is very hard to relate all of the events in Chinese history to what was happening in Europe during the same time period. What was fascinating to me was the the fact that of all the "Chinese" emperors, Kubla Khan should be the one that is most mentioned in Western literature. I wonder if this is because of when he reigned or because of Europe's fascination with opium as portrayed in Coleridge's poem. A discussion of Coleridge's sources is at http://etext.virginia.edu/stc/Coleridge/poems/notes.html.

Susan Dubin

[Anonymous]

I am not as shocked by footbinding as a custom even though it is described as barbaric by most Western writers. There are many "fashion" customs that seem cruel to me-- body piercings? tatoos? cosmetic surgery?

An intersting description of how Chinese men may have looked on bound feet is in Isabel Allende's recent book "Fortune's Daughter." One of the main characters describes his desire for a woman with bound feet in vey peotic terms. I am sure that women endured this painful custom because they wished to be desired.

Susan Dubin

[Anonymous]

My book club read Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, also. I thought it was a powerful story of relationships of women who were sequestered from the outside world (for the most part). Although footbinding was part of the tale, the story was much more. It was fascinating to learn about nu shu - the secret code writing developed in the Hunan Province created by women for their own use.

I definitely reccomend this book.

Kathy

[Anonymous]

Here I am, late as usual. This was another interesting class. There is just so much to cover in such a short time that I know we are missing a lot. Ah well, encouragement to keep reading and learning.

A book I read about the end of this time period was "On Gold Mountain" by Lisa See. It was the story of her great-great-grandfather emigration to California in the 1860's, first to Sacramento and then to Los Angeles where they built up a mercantile business. It was a little long and repetitive, but very interesting about the bigotry her family faced, including mixed marriages.

[Anonymous]

I have to admit I did think you could see the Great Wall from Space. Also thanks Clay for discussing the foot binding and explaining it once and for all. This was a great class. Thanks for keeping it informative and interesting.

[Anonymous]

What a great session. I'm starting to put the pieces together to get a clearer picture of Chinese history. It all seems so overwhelming at first. Thanks to Clay and our other professors for making it less intimidating.

I found the Notes & Voices on Women and Family in Imperial China in our binder very interesting. I knew that many generations of Chinese families often live under one roof (as well as other cultures), but I had no idea that widows remained loyal to their husbands for life. There's a short passage in there about a 21 year old widow who cut off her hair so that her parents would stop pressuring her to get married. (!)

This class also helped me better understand the love and respect the Chinese people show to their ancestors. To me, it seems like the ancestors are respected the same way other cultures respect their gods.

Great class.

[Anonymous]

I was especially impressed with the discussion on the nature and extent of China 's relations with "non-Chinese". The openness characterizing China's years of prosperity really made me think of the universality of that concept. As countries find prosperity, their boarders seem to be more open, while the opposite occurs during less prosperous times.

I was also surprised by the extent of religious tolerance during the Yuan Dynasty. This seems to be a characteristic of prosperity as well if not a key to it.

This makes me wonder about this country's tightening of borders and growing intolerance of non Judeo-Christian religious beliefs. Yet another benefit of historical study?

[Author]

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