October 28 - Pitelka - Women in East Asian History

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Hello everyone,

Please share your thoughts about our October 28 session - Women in East Asian History by Morgan Pitelka - by replying to this post.

-Miranda

[Anonymous]

I really enjoyed this class. I am really fascinated by the development of women's rights, culture and their power or lack their of. I thought it was really interesting that in regards to the conversation about the binding of the feet we automatically assume that it was inflicted on women. The argument that the professor had was that women actually inflicted this upon themselves. I thought that was interesting because the physical aspect of the tradition/ ritual was in fact inflicted upon women by women. But the society at large that was male dominated certainly had a role to play in developing the impetus for this ritual.
it was a great class and i enjoyed the information!

[Anonymous]

I also found this class very useful and informative. It moved rapidly, but the information was well organized, and presented clearly and engagingly. Most important for me was that it was all at a level I could understand, so I didn't feel at sea.

I found the information about the "floating world" extremely interesting, but will probably be able to make more use in my classes of some of the earlier material--the excerpts from the Pillow Book, the diary of Lady Hong, and the confessions of Lady Nijo, and perhaps some of the poems.

--Becca

[Anonymous]

Ms. Ko and Classmates:
Regarding the presentation by Mr. Pitelka, I found it interesting to note that the rise and fall cycle of female influence in Asian societies was dictated by the prevailing Zeitgeist or philosophy of the period or region. Adherence to Confucianism seemed to play a major role; however, politics and the societal mores were also influential. China(the Middle Kingdom) and the satellite regions of Korea, Japan, etc. seemed to follow similar patterns or cycles of female influence. Much of this influence came through writing or the ability to exert psychological influence on near-proximity males(even those males that seemed to live separate lives within the same house/home setting). It might be worthy of note that even when women were subjugated or their influence seemed small(i.e. - Samurai Period/Warring House Period in Japan), there was "some" influence and independent assertion by women through the idea of the Tomoe(woman warrior), which, in turn seems linked to the Mulan legend or history in China.
The idea of "Competitive Grooming" (and the practices associated therewith) was also intriguing. The connection between foot binding and plasic surgery was something I had never considered. "Grooming" and "Competition": I see it daily in class with teenagers, but I never would have thought of it as a type of competition - so much for an old man without daughters(or sons?) in his home. I'm still mystified at how "showing-off" one's underwear and keaster is attractive or appealing. What would the Chinese have thought?
Lastly, because I will be starting a unit in/on Expository Writing with my tenth grade class, it might be possible to build the unit plan, required for successful completion of this extension course, around the idea of the lessons for women as referenced by Ban Zhao. I suspicion that her ideas might generate a few "red hot rebuttals" from students. Now, of course, comes the problem of where does one obtain a copy of her writings? Can it be ordered from Amazon, do college book stores stock it, or is her work available in a regular book store(i.e. - Borders)?
Respectfully submitted,
Walt Banta

[Anonymous]

I would like to back up other folks. I saw other graphics related to similar topics -- "floating world". But this is the first time I have a glimpse of the history of these art forms. It is amazing to look at the history through the angle of female members of the society.

[Anonymous]

This class with Professor Pitelka was very interesting. I like the association of competitive grooming with the current epidemic of plastic surgery. It's unfortunate that people have to go through the pains of self mutilation in the name of beauty. The question is, beauty in who's eyes? What's considered beautiful today may be out of style tomorrow. When I think back to the permanent eyeliner tatoos, and how that look eventually went out of style, I think of the millions of young people who are getting a multitude of tattoos that they may later regret. I think that any permanent markings to the body should be done with great care. This is the only body that we have for the rest of our lives.
When I think of the millions of women who have that same puffy cheek and lip look, in the spirit of holding on to their youth, it saddens me, because for many it draws more attention to what they are trying to hide. I'm all for looking your best and feeling good about the way that you look, but the question is where does one draw the line? When I hear of people being deformed by plastic surgery or even dying from it, like in the case of famous rapper Kayne West's mother, it saddens me to think that some people will go to any length in the name of beauty. I think that as a society we should be more supportive of aging gacefully. Take care, we only have one body to last us our lifetime.

Dawn

[clay dube]

Hi Folks,
I couldn't resist jumping in to note that plastic surgery is also taking off in China. Nancy Chen, a USC student, has written of the phenomenon in the most recent issue of US-China Today.

http://uschina.usc.edu/ShowFeature.aspx?articleID=2750

And if you want to see Chinese/Japanese tatoos gone wrong (sometimes horribly wrong), you've got to check out Hanzi Smatter.

[Anonymous]

This was such an interesting class...I felt engaged the entire time. It was one of the few times that I immediately began taking notes as if I were in a class, not as if I were a teacher refreshing my memory on lessons.

Understanding the history of women in the East has also helped me in teaching my English classes. We read much of the 18th/19th century European literature, and it was intriguing to see so many similar issues. I enjoyed hearing about the strong women who rose above their proposed station, either by chance or by wits (the Queen!), and I know I will pass on much of this information to my students. We study such literature as The Handmaid's Tale, and A Doll House, and study the role of women in Shakespearen literature, too. As I have so many students who are Pilipino, with a smattering of Chinese, Korean and other East Asians, I think they will find the connections to these women as intriguing and enlightening as I have.

[Anonymous]

Clay,
I took a look at the article you referenced, and I was both amazed and gratified by what I read.

On the one hand, it seems as if many Chinese women are trying to look Western and going to great lengths(expense) to do so. This may just be a phase that the country in general is going through with greater opportunities and access to Western media. I am not at all sure that this facet of Westernization is healthy.

On the other hand, there seem to be an increasing number of young women who are content to be Chinese in appearance, so long as their looks will allow them to advance. The Olympic Hostesses and the airline stewardesses are what caught my eye, along with the great number of applicants and the small number of openings.

The sales of cosmetics and the idea of beauty contests is something I cannot understand or comment on. The motivations must be for beauty and recognition.

As strange as all of these trends must seem to an older Chinese person, they do not come close to the idea of foot binding.

Respectfully submitted,
Walt Banta

[Anonymous]

The tattoos are hysterical! I am going to try to remember to email the link to our Japanese teachers!

Many thanks!

B

[Anonymous]

I too found this topic interesting and enlightening. Sad to say, I had never heard of the whole concept of footbinding; I don't know where I have been if everyone else is aware of it. However, I have heard of the idea that many Asian women were getting plastic surgery to adjust the amount of flesh that appears above the eyelid - I watch too much Oprah. I can't wait to incorporate the information about women in Asia into my lessons. I know for a fact that my students will google this topic more than any other. It is just so perplexing.

[Anonymous]

Thats what happens when people get tattoos in languages they don't understand. This was a very popular thing throughout the 1990s. I wonder how many of these people are regretting it now.

[Anonymous]

I especially liked the discussion on Ban Zhau the first woman Chinese Historian. Now I have some primary sources from her to use in the classroom. Our textbook makes a fleeting reference but does not provide enough information or detail to support a lesson. Good sources make all the difference in the world.

[Anonymous]

This session with Prof. Pitelka was REALLY fascinating. I had no idea that women were so influential and important in Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean societies, especially since my perception was that women were second class citizens to the point of being invisible.

Beyond bearing children, Prof. Pitelka, however, taught me that women were central to religious practices, agriculture (especially rice farming), educating the aristocracy, and literary development (through writing books and poetry), for example. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that women served as Samurai in warrior Japan too.

I was really impressed with Emperess Wu Zeitan and (pleasantly) shocked to learn that a woman ruled China during her time. I was even more favorably impressed to learn that two women ruled Korea (Queen Sondok and her successor-cousin).

Of course, I was disappointed to learn facts that support the familiar view of women as second-class citizens: footbinding and the theory of chaste widows and chaste concubines, as well as how widespread the practice of concubines was in ancient East Asian societies.

This was a very fascinating class; I enjoyed it very much.

[Anonymous]

Naturally, i suppose, as a woman I am interested in story of women in history. In learning about Women in East Asian History I was really intrigued by the political status of women and in particular the various ways in which held power and their role in the family and within the hierarchical structures within various societies. The introduction of Confucianism had an especially interesting impact on women and their relative political power. Also, with all the discussion of feet binding, i thought it was really interesting the Professor Pitelka clarified that women inflicted foot binding- not men!

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