Thoughts about the 2nd session on Oct. 5

[Anonymous]

It is fascinating to refresh my memories about Chinese history from the perspectives of Westners. For the first time, I learned that the Yellow Sea in China is called West Sea in Korea. And East Sea in Korea is named East Sea of Japan in Japan. I was brought up in the northeast of China- Dalian, a coastal city. However, I didn't know that 94% of the people live on the 45% of the land of China. It is also interesting to learn how much difference between North Korea and South Korea.I am looking forward to learning more about East Asia.

[Anonymous]

By the way, I am a Buddhist. I strongly believe that every action yields Karma, and karmic score determines rebirth. I also worship Confucius, believing in innate goodness of humans and the perfectibility of humans.

[Anonymous]

There is a old Chinese saying: if a prince broke the law, he had to be punished as an ordinary people do. That means whoever violated the law, he/she must face the consequences. However, there would be a different story according to my philosophy. If my father broke the law, I would not turn him in. As a matter of fact, I would protect him as much as I could. I would feel guilty about it, though. After all, he is my father who loves me so much. I would help him and encourage him to become a good person.

[Anonymous]

I too have struggled to teach my students these philosophies in a way they could truly grasp the key concepts. It just so happened that I was teaching these schools of thought the very week that we had the assignment in class. I decided to share this strategy of a debate/panel with my students who seemed enthusiastic about it. I can't wait to see the results.

[Anonymous]

I am very interested in learning more about Korean culture. I find the dynamics between the north and south fascinating. It seems as though there are limited resources to enrich my teachings on this region of the world. I look forward to our upcoming class on the origins of Korea as well as the culture.

[Anonymous]

I have never fully understood the school's of thought till this class. The discussion as well as the debate was very informative, but what stuck out to me the most was the discussion on North and South Korea. Integration would not be impossible, but extremely devastating to the residents of South Korea. The difference in the standard of living between the two countries is astonishing. The picture of Korea at night was prof of how hard integration would be. Maybe they are destined to stay as two separate countries, I really don't know now.

As a fellow legalist, if my father broke the law, I would have to report him and turn him into the authorities. Our loyalties do not lie with the family, but with the state. We all have to be fair, and if anyone, including a prince gets punished for breaking the law, than my father should to.

[Anonymous]

As a member of the Daoism: If My father brakes the law and I know he broke it, What would I do? I not sure. I think I would understand or try to make meaning of what he did. I know no one is perfect and we all make mistakes. Father will learn from his mistakes. I do not believe I will be the judje. He must had a reason and maybe he should be given a chance to be explained.

[Anonymous]

I am reading all the posts and I find it very rewarding -it makes me think in a different way about the sessions we had in the past. My post though is to answer finally the question about the lawbreaking father. As a fellow Taoist I cannot take any action. My teacher tells me that 'action is no action". [Edit by="npetkova on Oct 28, 9:48:49 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

I have been excited about all that I am learning. I teach music so it's interesting how I find ways to bring in the information I am learning and connecting it to the arts of the culture (and still not go above their heads). The essence of Confucianism I find easy to bring in (respect of the family structure and high educational expectations). My kids are learning alot!

[Anonymous]

Since I follow Confucius, I believe my father deserves the highest respect and therefore cannot go against his wishes (even if it means the demise for our family).

[Anonymous]

This course is definitely of value to me. I want to learn more about the history and culture of the students where I work, in order to better understand them and their parents.

With regrads to the session, I learned about the different philosophies and how they are still revelant today. It was also pointed out how united China has been and yet how different it is with respect to culture, customs, language (dialects), and food. The discussion of the importance of each dynasty and what it did and contributed to the overall development of soceity and China as a country. The segment on the inter-relations of Japan, China, and North/ South Korea. In addition, the contrasts of North and South Korea are amazing! I had a flashback of when I visited East Berlin back in 1986. The prime examples of capitalism of West Berlin and the depressing gloomy sommunism of East Berlin. I am looking forward to the rest of the course.

[Anonymous]

If I am a true Mohist, I would commit to the belief of "promot[ing] what is beneficial to the world and to eliminate what is harmful" even if it is
"fathers who are without kindness" (as found in the primary source document - Mohism 470-391 B.C.) In essence, we must be impartial.

On a side note, I felt Legalism is very similar to the beliefs of Thomas Hobbes, who also believed people were evil and justified monarchy was necessary to maintain control.

[Anonymous]

amercado, thank you for sharing the video of the Chinese Dynasties. Quite entertaining and sort of mesmerizing...catchy. It would go well with my 7th graders

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

Hi everyone,

Please reply to this message and share your thoughts about the 2nd session by Clayton Dube.

-Xin

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