Reflections on 19th Century China (3/5)

[clay dube]

Just a quick factual note -- since Manchu's didn't bind the feet of their females, the answer is no. Most other minority ethnic groups did not bind the feet of women, nor did poor families in the rice-growing south.

[Anonymous]

I agree with this reflection in regards to the discussions about feet binding and the Opium Wars. I have always been interested in learning about events in history that are considered so different from today's culture in the United States. It is difficult for me to wrap my mind around the practice of feet binding. Being the father of a daughter myself, the idea of making her live through a life of pain for an idea of beauty is something I would feel very uncomfortable with. Yet many men and women put themselves through painful cosmetic surgery in order to attain what they consider beauty.

As far as the Opium Wars, although it was conducted under an unethical premise and went against any human rights, I am not surprised about how it began and unfolded. Money and power has always been a motivating factor in waging war, and this was no exception.

[Anonymous]

Interesting that the foot binding stands out among the topics. I remember Clay saying it was such a small part of the history and not everyone bound the the feet of females. Yet, it remains the noted by many. The dragon and the phoenix led me to an intense Google search of meanings of the symbols within history and the continuing usage of those symbols. The Empress Cixi must have been a powerful women. Women who rebelled against cultural norms intrigue me.

[Anonymous]

Was the empress, in not having her feet bound, rebelling against cultural norms, or just showing the supposed Manchu superiority - since they did not practice this? It seems as though it was the native Chinese women rebelling by continuing this practice rather than copy the leaders. Perhaps this is just a sign of how deeply entrenched this was within the culture.

[Anonymous]

Interesting point, gsharpe, was the empress rebelling? In my mind, a woman who kept the phoenix over the dragon was rebelling. She catered to some of the norms and rebelled in other ways? I'm not sure.

[Anonymous]

I am really fascinated by topics of this lecture. The politics seem incredibly complex. I found the article from Liang Qichao to be the most enlightening and very amusing. He visited the United States and comments on how America might be a model for the Chinese to consider in their quest for reforms. He describes residential buildings in New York and Central Park--which he says the Chinese would never allow such valuable land to go undeveloped in the interest of recreation and respite. Responding to criticism of the Chinese as "dirty" he notes the filth of New York as well. He also meets with J.P. Morgan and addresses lynching as a form of punishment--which he said, if he hadn't seen the cruel practice for himself, he would have thought the reports to be rumors and he compares it to the pogroms of late 19th century (contemporary) Russia. He also discusses libraries and the "flaws of Chinese." Overall, I found this very entertaining. I'm not sure exactly how it fit into class-but I believe he was under the category of reformer.

[Anonymous]

"The more you read the less you know" -Mao. This quote shows Mao's emphasis on being a revolutionary. It is counterintuitive to what I say all day long as a teacher. Especially to students who treat reading like a punishment. It makes me think of something my dad always said, "Never let school get in the way of your education." I know now he meant that learning is something that takes place all day whether you are in school or not, but at the time I took it to mean that it was ok to get bad grades in school if I could have gotten good grades if I wanted.

[Anonymous]

I had never really had a desire to travel to China, a classic example of I didnt know what I didn't know. Now I am much more intrigued and would like to travel to China and other areas of East Asia.

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Hi Colleagues,

Please share your thoughts and reflections on Clay's lecture on China's 19th century.

Best,
Yingjia

[Author]

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