Reflections on Session #7 (11/6)

[Anonymous]

What I found to be the most amazing was the fact that the Chinese people all write the same language but they speak in different manners. They can't understand what another Chinese person is saying if they come from a different area in China. Wow! To me that is amazing.
edited by cware on 11/7/2012

[Anonymous]

Yesterday’s enjoyable session (especially the part that focused on “singing vs. chanting”) reminded me of a report I had heard years ago on NPR that had to do with the relationship between intonation of words in certain languages and perfect pitch (i.e. when a person can pinpoint and name a musical tone without any point of reference other than the tone itself). What I understood (and only partially remember) from that report had to do with how in China (Mandarin Chinese) there are subtle differences in how words are pronounced that result in different meanings of words, and so the Chinese ear is relatively much more sensitive to intonation than the Western (/non-Chinese) ear. In the world of music, perfect pitch apparently happens only once per every ten thousand people. Some of the most well-known cases of Western classical musician/composers with this gift have been individuals such as J.S. Bach, Mozart, Chopin, and many other well-known and accomplished musical artists. It turns out that in Western languages, where intonation of a word does not change its meaning, it is quite rare for folks to develop this gift, whereas in Mandarin Chinese, in which intonation can and does change the meaning of words, there is a more natural predisposition to have a refined ear that is capable of developing a skill that people may or may not be “automatically” born with (at least from the westerner’s perspective).
It all makes me wonder about how many other ways we may be crippling ourselves. Obviously, a lack of sensitivity—especially one that we are not even aware of—in and of itself (and not just in regards to language/word intonation) can be quite a hindrance both to one’s internal growth, in addition to one’s external capacity to get along well with others (and the resulting arrogance that stems from that). On the other hand, the development of one’s sensitivity, as can be seen musically, has the capacity to heighten one’s ability to distinguish subtle differences which can then result in being more effective, be it with a musical instrument before an audience, with one’s students in a classroom, and who knows, maybe even a politician with those that s/he is supposed to serve (and no I am NOT talking about the elite/aristocracy!).

[Anonymous]

I really enjoyed this session. The singing and chanting by Porfessor Ye brought a sense of peace and calm to the class. It was interesting to hear him say that the Great Wall had the Chinese conflicted. Some Chinese felt that the wall kept them in and behind it versus protecting them from foreign invasion. Like many ancient other ancient civilizations China was built around the Yellow River and Yangtze. It was during Song China that the three teachings of Confucianism, Taoism, ad Buddhism emerged. As a Buddhist it was interesting to hear the explanation of why Buddhism faded. Religion it seems became an adoption based on convenience. He made a point that is so true and often forgotten. It is not the church, temple, mosque, etc we go to or even the pastor, priest, monk etc who preaches. It is spirit you carry from within your heart because unfortunately if you think about it teachings left to man to interpret may not always be the right representation.

[Anonymous]

After reading your reflection, I ponder for a very short period; and asked myself this question. What about my own interpretation about inner spiritual heart is in question? How do I know what I know is true? Or knowing the voice is true, will I still follow what is truth? Maybe I often yield to my own convenience from any seeming true inner voices. It looks like last Tuesday session in UTLA was a profitable one.

[Anonymous]

I first read Li Po in middle school. I discovered him at the suggestion of a librarian who was tired of giving me recommendations for books and thought I wouldn’t read a Chinese poet. To her surprise I read him and loved him. What I found in Li Po was a romantic soul who was lighthearted and highly imaginative. His poems were full of longing and solitude. I fell in love with Li Po the poet and the legend. My favorite Li Po story was the one of his death. Legend has it that Li Po died trying to embrace the moon. It was late at night and he was drunk, as was his custom when he would write. As he was in his canoe he caught sight of the moon’s reflection in the water and leaped in an attempt to embrace it. Most scholars believe he probably died from either cirrhosis of the liver as a result of his heavy alcohol use or from mercury poisoning due to Taoist longevity elixirs. Here are two poems from Li Po…enjoy.

A Mountain Revelry

To wash and rinse our souls of their age-old sorrows,
We drained a hundred jugs of wine.
A splendid night it was . . . .
In the clear moonlight we were loath to go to bed,
But at last drunkenness overtook us;
And we laid ourselves down on the empty mountain,
The earth for pillow, and the great heaven for coverlet.

A Song Of An Autumn Midnight

A slip of the moon hangs over the capital;
Ten thousand washing-mallets are pounding;
And the autumn wind is blowing my heart
For ever and ever toward the Jade Pass....
Oh, when will the Tartar troops be conquered,
And my husband come back from the long campaign

[Anonymous]

That was a really fun class on Tuesday. What a delight to hear all of those poems sung! A true pleasure

[Anonymous]

The presentation about the concept of “China” as a singular entity and completely centered in one ancient cultural tradition with purity of lineage is unthinkable. Professor Ye’s presentation provides ample evidence to counter the one China concept, impervious to time passage, internal upheavals, intrigues and open warfare to usurp and seize power. China as presented by Professor Ye reveals separate factions in Chinese society striving-each one in their own way- to unify and strengthen their land and become a greater power. The Presentation about “Many China(s)” depicts a picturesque realm of exuberant landscapes and profound reverence for their land encapsulated in the music and poetry of that time. China’s music and poetry within the arts is rarely lauded at the same level as the western tradition. However, after Professor Ye’s amazing presentation about the arts and the inherent disciplines, as well as the clear distinction between reciting vs. chanting, Chinese poetry emerges as powerful medium to behold.
Beyond the poetry, I felt that the many Chinas eventually rediscover their traditional strands of ethnic roots and inevitably put down the 1 China they had carried on their shoulders for too long. The Chinese people seemed to have reached a pinnacle of success and become self-actualized. China’s people and their formidable spirit brought about the reconfiguring/recombining of their cultural DNA as a result the renewed China was built from time tested ; new and old as it continues to evolve to accommodate the needs of its people in this century and beyond. Today China appears to be an equally competitive economic world power full of vitality and technical innovations.

[Anonymous]

This was a great session and I really enjoyed professor Ye lecture on the poetry with his singing and chanting. I really have a new understanding of the chinese poetry and poetry in general. This was a great session.

[Anonymous]

These are my notes if they are useful to anyone:

Prof. Yang Ye

China: One and Many

United States as a plural form. Many Chinas.

Great Wall is a symbol of China. Chinese have mixed feelings because the wall kept the Chinese enclosed within themselves. A prison rather than a defense. Great Wall was no defense for Ming Chinese.

[Star Wars]

Recommend CIA fact book.

China is 4th largest in Area.

Russia
United States
Canada
China

China tropical in south and sub arctic in north.

Taiwan does not recognize Mongolia as independent because it was part of Manchu/Qing China

Population 1.3 Billion people.

Since 2001 China has added 70 million while U.S. added 36 million.

Han Chinese. Hui is a minority group. Many are Muslim. Uighur - live in Xingxiang Caucasian. Mongols, Tibetan, Koreans.

Han 92% All others are 8.5%

China has many ethnic groups.

Romanization systems. Wade Giles was most common in 1990's. Thomas Wade and Herbert Allen Giles in 19th century. This is easy for English speaking people.

Peking/Peiping/Beijing

Pinyin is the system created and used by the PRC. From the mid 1990's the Library of Congress uses pinyin.

English speakers have a problem with

c(ts), q (ch) x (sh)
cats church dish

xie xie

Pang Pu - Professor Development of Chinese Civilization.

Early beginning in Yellow River area.

Early beginning to the Qin -- That was the first the time when the two cultures of the Yellow River and Yangtze merged into on by Shi Huangdi

Zhou 1027-256 Sping and Autumn period aristocratic like fuedal lords in medieval Europe. They still honored the king in the central government but in the Warring States period they lords decided to be Kings. Age of 100 schools of thought. Laozi, Confucius, Mencius, Zhuangzi (tells philosophy by stories.)

In the analects Confucius talked of the Yi (East) and Di (the North) different peoples.
[Why not the South?]

Second stage according to Pang Pu is the Han Dynasty to the Song China. The Han Dynasty created the basis for the idea of one China.

Qin Dynasty was successful in conquests. He was no longer satisfied with being called a King. Instead he needed a knew word. There were legendary kings called Huangs and Di. Put the two words together to become Huangdi which becomes Emperor. Lasted 16 years. Brutal man, burned and buried scholars. Established weights and measures and a unified writing script.

Mandarin speaker cannot understand Cantonese. But Mandarin and Cantonese use same characters for writing.

Xi Huangdi divided country in 96 commanderies that the Han dynasty used. Even today there are provinces (51).

Han Dynasty lasted 4 centuries and the main ethnic group is Han. Hanyue (Language of the Han)

How many different dialects? Too many! North of Yangtze Mandarin works. South of Yangtze it is quite different. They all use the same written language.

Han Wudi 141-87 The Martial Emperor canonized Confucius, established the Silk Road. He made Confucius greatly honored. The Ultimate Sage then Laozi become just one thinker. Confucius had 3000 students but 72 had names that lasted in history. His texts became canonized during Wudi. Diplomats sent abroad to establish the Silk Road to Middle East and Europe. Horses came into China and cultural ideas.

end of 2nd stage was the Song China.

When the Jurchen Jin took the North, the Song moved South.

Established the 3 teachings: Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism.

China was never dominated by one single ideology or one single teachings. The Chinese word for religion means sects or branches of teaching.

The central concern of religion is what happens after death.

Confucius said: "I don't know life well enough, why should I think about death?"

The Last Stage from the Mongol Yuan Dynasty to Today

Yuan Dynasty -
Genghis Khan went west Kublai Khan went South.
3rd stage means Chinese get European influence.

Ming Dynasty -- Matteo Ricci 1552-1610 translated Chinese ideas into Europe.

High Rise building is 13 floors and up. In 2006 Shanghai beats New York in number of high rise buildings.

Focus on Literature and Fine Arts. His focus in Literature and Fine Arts.

Helen Vendler "The Ocean the Bird and the Scholar"

Human uniqueness - individual values of art and literature.

The Middle Period in China. In between what?

Medieval was initiated in the Renaissance, when Europeans discovered Greek and Roman texts rather than being dominated by Christian. Between glory of Classical age and Renaissance.

Middle Period in China: Word of Chung means middle or Central. Since early times there was the concept of five directions. 4 directions and center was a direction and very important.

The Age of Division lasted 220 to 589 Age when Buddhism came into China and became more Chinese.

The 5 hu 's. Many non Chinese states controlled the North. Northern Wei adopted many Chinese words and Chinese language.

After 841 BC there is a year by year record.

477 there are 6,478 Buddhist temples. 77,258 Monks.

Chinese civilization was portable. In southern China 2,846 temples.

Fairbank, John King and Merle Goldman, China: A New History - the founding father of Chinese studies in the United States. Most Chinese historians in American colleges. He paid most attention to China in unified times but ignored age in between.

Yu Ying Shih winner of John W. Kluge Prize for the study of Humanity, Library of Congress. He said we must pay attention to the Age of Division. Many things took shape during this time. Zeitgeist (spirit of the time)

During Han Dynasty they honored Confucius.

When Han comes to an end Daoism grows in influence: The 7 sages of the Bamboo Grove. Ruan Ji and Xi Kang: a legendary Qin Player. Qin was played sitting down. The story of Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi. Yu Boya played alone because no one understood him. The woodcutter heard him and Yu Boya asked the woodcutter what were you playing about. The woodcutter Zhong Ziqi could understand the song and a kindred spirit. Tragic ending. The woodcutter dies and Yu Boya never plays the Qing again.

[Find clip of Qing]

Qing player was executed and asked to play Qing before executed. He played and they said this was the last time they song would be heard.

First Chinese nudist- I take the heaven and earth as my residence. I take the ceiling and the ground as my clothes. Why are you in my pants? Liu Ling "The Virtues of Wine" His wife says he should stop drinking then he makes a pledge: don't listen to a lady. During Han he might be executed but in Age of Division he was admired.

Zeitgeist of the Age of Division.

Tao Yaunming of Tao Qian 365-427
- Great poet of the age. Smelling a chrysanthemum. "Peach Blossom Spring" utopia or dream land. A fisherman goes through a cave in a mountain where the people are living in peace. He was a recluse or hermit.

During Age of Division was and aesthetic consciousness on the rise.

4 tones in Mandarin. More tones in Cantonese.

Chinese writing developement: Before Age of Division the characters were only for meaning. But in Age of Division there was concern for caligraphy - the beauty of the written language.

Wang Xizhi Record of Orchid Pavilion Gathering 353 ad.

Pragmatic to the aesthetic: Piece of cloth put over a coffin.

The Admonitions of the Instructress to the Court Ladies - shows mirror used in 345-406

Valazquez mirror used in 16th century [check this]

****

Buddhism

Siddhartha Gautama c 563- c 483
The Bodhi tree (ficus religioso) Found 4 noble truths. Life is misery, because we have desire, stop desire, in order to stop desire you need to follow 8 fold path
thinking, behaving, meditation preached how to follow 8 fold path.

Mahayana went into China (Big carriage) Bigger missionary spirit.

Hinayana went into SE Asia (Small carriage) Focus on yourself.

Nirvanna is getting out of the cycle of rebirth. Nirvanna is a drop of water getting into the ocean. The faerie tale of the Little Mermaid the mermaid becomes a drop of water in the ocean.

Age of Division Buddhism comes in. It was around during the Han dynasty but in 5th century it became very big. The caves and such were built by the Northern Wei in the 5th century. These caves were modeled on the caves in Afghanistan.

Huiyan - Why Buddhist Monks Do Not Bow Down Before Kings? (404) Might it be offensive? It said Kings should never fear Buddhism because buddhists have no desire for power in this world. This gave Buddhism a lot space to live in society without getting in trouble.

Zen (Chan) Sect dhyana or meditation Shaolin Temple -- Indian Prince or Persian Prince who practiced meditation facing the wall for nine years. Shoalin Temple is very commercial today. Bodhidarma and Huineng patriarchs.

Film where a Christian says do not believe in Church but believe in Jesus in your heart. Zen (Chan) says do not look for buddha in temples but in your own heart. Sometimes they carried sticks and destroyed statues saying those are not buddha but wood and clay.

In middle 9th century was a suppression of Buddhism but no one was kiled. 250,000 monks and nuns were returned to secular life. 150,000 slaves were confiscated. 4600 monasteries and 40,000 chapels were destroyed or converted to other things. Buddhism never regained the strength it had before.

Buddhism declined in India. Buddhism lost the battle to Hinduism. Hinduism believes in the social hierarchy, but Buddhism says.

Travels of Xuanzang - went to India. The India in the 7th century. He saw the decline of Buddhism in India. But Buddhism was very influential in other countries.

In Hinduism you can go and continue your role: In Bagavad Gita the prince can kill but cannot kill in anger. Buddhism is too hard. Hinduism you can be what you want and still be Hindu. If you are Buddhist you can't do it all.

Outside of India, Buddhism provides ideas about afterlife.

3 Teachings- Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism.

Neo-Confucianism- Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao, Zhu Xi take Buddhist principle and examine Confucianism. This is a salad bowl of ideals.

Arnold Toynbee (1889-1975) His basic principle is ages of challenges and responses. Chinese civilization has the ability to absorb and integrate foreign influences. Buddhism goes into China and becomes Zen. Marxism turned into something different in China.

*****

China re united under the Sui which built the Grand Canal that connected the Yellow River to the Yangtze River.

Tang (like Tong)
Tang dynasty sees this as a glorious past.
Tri-color porcellain Dung Huang Cave - important post between China and Central Asia. Golden Age of Poetry. Poetry flourished in this age. Chung in Chinese means central. This was the Central Age.
Tang-ren-jie Streets of the People of the Tang are "China Towns"
Why call them Tang-ren-jie? Qing were Manchu and Han were looked down

Tang Dynasty excercized open door pluralistic society
Openness vs. Xenophobia.
- His sister wrote diary in English which was discovered by a jilted boy who turned it into the Party who put her under house arrest. She jumped from 3rd floor breaking her leg in the mud. Alive in Hawaii today.

Any time that a country does not have enough confidence in its own values it makes foreigners scapegoats. Today there seems to be less confidence.

Capital of Tang was Chang'an 1.9 million people in the city. 5 miles by 6 miles using a checkerboard design. North is Imperial palace. 110 blocks enclosed by tall walls. Six feet thick and 12 feet high. Cosmopolitan city. Nestorian jiangjiao Nostorius 451. Zoroastrianism Xianjiao (Mazda, Mazdean) Zoroaster (628-551 BC)
Magic Flute
Manichaenism Monijiao Manes c 216-276 Central Asian thinker.

Civil Service Examinations in Sui and Tang. Jinshi Presented Scholar, Boxue hongci Poetry included in 690.

Local examination, then provincial exam, then palace exam. Ultimately the emperor would give an oral exam and then you receive an immediate appointment. Before Tang dynasty people are chosen by recommendation but during Tang many poor or foreign could get into high position.

Poor boy who listens in class, uses stick to write when school teacher sees him and the young man

Jinshi 30 out of 1000 in a year.
Boxue hongci 2 out of 717

You needed to write a poem in 690.

Great monarchs of the Tang
The imperial Li family. Wang and Li families are the largest families in China.

In the Age of the Division there were many states. The Li family were descendants of mixed marriages. The Han Chinese were not ethnically pure. Everything was mixed. The imperial family was mixed. In order to be the leaders they claimed to be descendants of Li Er (Lao Tzu). It showed they were not sure of their background. Empress Wu

Emperor Xuanzong - Song of Unending Sorrow. Consort Yang. An Shi Rebellion 755-62. An Lushan had permission to go into the harem and he saw Consort Yang and decided to take over the throne.

The troops blamed the consort and he had to kill her:

[share the poem]

Boy Juyi "Song of Unending Sorrow"

Why did the Tang Dynasty become a Golden Age of Poetry?

Skip ahead to Manchu Qing Dynasty.
Emperor Kangxi 1654-1722 Manchus realized that Yuan Mongol dynasty only ruled 80 years and fell apart because they did not become Chinese. The Manchu decided to out Chinese the Chinese.
Complete Tang Poetry 1703-1707. 50,000 poems by 2,200 authors all sorts of people wrote poetry. Kangxi wrote the title page in his own hand.

Lushi- regulated verse
Jueju - truncated lines

According to some Persian scholars they say no other poet other than Omar Khayyam wrote in the quatrain form. Maybe he learned it from the Chinese who were writing similar poetry.

High Tang Giants
Wang Wei, Li Bo (mixed marriage Tartar and Han, Xiangxiang. he invites the moon and shadow and dance, Du Fu

How was Chinese poetry chanted. That chanting was not originally Chinese

Robert Burns Auld Lang Syne
---The Waterloo Bridge 1940 Robert Taylor and Vivien Leigh

Chant= a kind of short simple melody where things on sung on the same note. Somewhere between speech and song. Widely used in church. Gregorian Chant.

Yeats "The Lake Isle of Innisfree"

Poetry speaks. T.S. Elliot melodious voice and Dylan Thomas.

Yeats hates people reading poems but rather chanted.

In earliest time poetry was accompanied by music. In early beginings there was a marriage between poetry and music. During Age of Division poets wrote poetry to be read. But during the Tang dynasty they began to chant. They learned this from the idea of Chanting sutras.

When the Buddhist monks on the verse part they would chant/sing.

Du Fu "Ascending the Height"

Lived during the reign of Xuanzong. In early part of Xuanzong life was good but Du Fu was exiled during An Lushan rebellion. He was very sad in later life.

Poem has to follow a tonal pattern- antithesis.

head couplet - establishing shot provides background
chin couplet - continues with variation
neck couplet - make a switch. Usually to internal thought.
tail couplet - closes with an image that creates meaning.

Ascending Heights poem

[Anonymous]

In my notes I marked "Star Wars" by the Great Wall because the Great Wall of China reminded me of U.S. strategic defense policy aka "Star Wars" plans to shoot down ICBMs was they approach. A considerable amount of money was spent to make people feel like the government was protecting them even though from any military standpoint the program could not work. Similarly the Great Wall really did not do much to protect the Chinese from northern invaders but it did create a sense the the government was doing something about it and it helped justify the power of the governments. The more amazingly useful project that was mentioned was the Grand Canal of the Sui Dyanasty which connected the Yellow River to the Yangzte River. For much of Chinese history Northern China around the Yellow River and Southern China around the Yangtze were separate but the building of the Grand Canal created a tremendous opportunity for unification and likely helped the Tang Dynasty really create a stable single China for some time.

[Anonymous]

A couple of resources that I have found useful are:

Des Forges, Roger V and John S. Major. _The Asian World: 600-1500_. Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2005.

This is a textbook for 7th graders and part of The Medieval and Early Modern World series edited by Bonnie G. Smith. It offers a more complete view of events in China and India than I have seen in other textbooks. I am able to use it in my classroom but even if you cannot, it is useful as the teacher to ensure you are well informed.

Another source I commonly use is:

The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. I don't have the book in front of me. This is a good general history for adults that does have a pretty good chapter on the Age of Division. The Age of Division period is normally left out of most histories of China so that you lose about 6 centuries between the Han and Sui/Tang dynasties.

[Anonymous]

The presentation about Many Chinas provided a wealth of linguistic information and ample details about the variety of regional dialects spoken by the different populations in China, despite the provinces geographic proximity. Prior to attending the institute, I was unaware of the linguistic challenges native speakers of Chinese have to overcome, not only in communicating, but managing the written characteristics of the language and the linguistic rules consistent with the official adopted Chinese.

[Anonymous]

For centuries the British excelled in codifying and organizing the known world, adhering to the principles of empirical investigation. The Wade and Giles system of transcribing the Chinese language into a convenient Romanized form is a prime example of this imperial confidence. That the People’s Republic of China should choose to introduce and virtually enforce the adoption world-wide of its preferred Romanized spelling system, the Pinyin, is both symbolic and indicative of the country’s desire to assert its independence and control over its destiny. It is an example of the victor mentality that will revise history to suit the aggrandizement of the existing power structure. It was an astute and bold move because it effectively removes another remnant of subservience to the global dominance Anglo-American culture. It is remarkable that the transition has been so pervasive and rapid, but not surprising considering the resources available to the Chinese international agenda. Similarly, the currency fluctuations and trends of the Yuan, the Dollar and Euro will also reflect an economic power struggle over the next few years, with pride, prestige and global influence at stake.

[Anonymous]

I found Professor Ye informative, charming, and entertaining. He’s a storyteller, which is what I aspire to as a teacher. He reminded me of the need for the arts in all fields of study. I’m a History teacher, but I also taught English for a few years. I would play Langston Hughes poetry recited by Hughes accompanied with jazz music (led by Charles Mingus). It not only helped to set the mood, it also engaged the students. When Professor Ye told us the background of “Ascending Heights,” then chanted it in Chinese, it was so much more effective than just reading it. The sorrow in his chanting and gestures moved and inspired me.

[Anonymous]

One of the topics discussed that I enjoyed in last week's class was the discussion of Buddhism. My 6th grade class right now is studying India and my students were surprised to hear that Buddhism began in a country that does not really practice it much. Many other Asian countries have adopted versions of Buddhism to suit their needs as well. It was surprising to see that Buddhism lost favor in India because of the fact that it did not support the caste system. I also enjoyed the chanting at the end of the class and wish that there would be a little more "music" in the course. While there has been a good effort to show visual artwork from these cultures, it is very interesting to "hear" a little Chinese and I wish we could hear a little from each culture.

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