Thoughts about China session

[Anonymous]

Early in today's lecture, Clay raised the point of centuries of history sometimes being distilled into a single, digestible formula that is oversimplified and often incorrect. I found this compelling as it is something I have to be aware of constantly in my teaching. Since 7th grade history (or any history class, for that matter) covers so much material from so many cultures, there is often little time for in-depth exploration of topics. I have to make sure that my students see that what we cover in a few days actually lasted for centuries and that millions of people were players in the story, not just the three names listed in bold. Preteaching background, developing the history that we are studying and connecting it to previous lessons, and setting up lessons to come hopefully helps me allow my students see the larger context. Primary sources, maps, anecdotes also help breathe life into the material. Early in my teaching, a student told me, "This class should be called Rise, Height, and Fall." I was so concerned with getting through the book that those three areas were what I was hitting hardest, and I suppose to the students each chapter was just that: a sort of fill in the blank for what caused the rise, what happened at the height, and what led to the fall of each empire. A good formula, but not necessarily good teaching.

[Anonymous]

While I appreciate the tremendous quanity of information that was intended to be covered today, the time was wholly insufficient for the material covered. I would have liked to have a full 3 hour session on philosophy. While some of the photos of artwork were interesting, I believe that took time away that could have been spent on the chronological evolution of chinese society. Finally, the Korea readings should have been handed out before we departed at 4 pm, in order to catch all the students.

[Anonymous]

A lot of information was covered today. Clay started the session by asking weather geography was relevant in covering the history of China. Over the last two days through the maps and particularly the overlays, it is abundantly clear that geography plays a huge role in the history of any peoples. Climate, topography, and boundaries determine a countries economic, geopolitical, financial, and military make-up. I wish that we had more time in this section, as it helps uncover and explain China's current worldwide personalty.

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed the movie and felt that it was worthwhile. The film was very well done and I think may have been more successful to American audiences if it was promoted as a Chinese historical film. I do believe in the philosophy that individual sacrifices are to be made for the good of the larger whole. After all aren't these kinds of compromises being made on a daily bases. When we had a military draft, individuals were drafted and sent off to war for the good of the larger population.

[Anonymous]

It's interesting to know that Xia is not considered as a dynasty but a legend instead. When I tried to find some information on using extreme climate change and the mandate of Heaven as justification to overthrow a dynasty, I came across the information that Mozi actually gives the legendary account. If interested, here is the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shang_Dynasty

[Anonymous]

The afternoon seminar introduced the philosophies of the four schools. While the handout on "China's Major Philosophical Traditions" is very helpful in getting key ideas about the philosophy of each school, I wonder what "threefold test and fourfold standard for policies" on the front page of the handout mean.

[Anonymous]

It was a sweeping overview of the different schools of thought that have shaped Chinese culture to this day. I appreciate how the essence of these philosophies was succinctly explained. Though I have taught these ideas to my students before, I found myself jotting down excellent illustrations Prof. Dube used to explain the rationale and spirit of each school. Here are some pointers that stood out:
Confucianism: the power of rituals to help master understanding and shape the order of things; rituals help remind us and internalize what ought to take place; Mencius vs. Xun Zi in their divergent take of human nature; Mencius’s subversive quality
Daoism: the woodblock illustration and stories from Zhuang Zi (fish & butterfly), Historian Sima Qian’s claim that Daoism’s intolerance being responsible for Shi Huangdi’s burying alive hundreds of sages
Legalism: the rabbit and farmer story to illustrate Legalist disdain for Confucian attachment to the past

[Anonymous]

The culture heroes in Chinese history caught my attention. Like many other cultures and religions, these heroes helped to build up or to repair the world of chaos. Thees heroes possess the super power than the normal human beings. I grew up in China. When I was little, I was always amazed by the heroes when I read the stories from the children's book or when I listened them from my grandma. Here are some of the famous legends:

Pan Gu (盘古）： made the heaven and earth
Nu wa（女娲）： fixed the leaking heaven (storms damaged the heaven)
shen nong（神农): introduced agriculture and the use of medical herbs
huang di（黄帝）：thought to be the ancestor of the Chinese people. Also a famous herb doctor.
hou yi（后羿）： shut down eight of the nine existing suns to prevent the soil from burning out.

[Anonymous]

The scenery and pageantry in the movie are outstanding. The images are powerful through the beautiful colors and mountains. The plot of the story is simple. What makes this story so impressive to me is that it reminds me about the Daoism. Prior to Emperor Qin Shi Huang, much of China was divided, including the writing (characters) , the currency, and the weight system. Under his rule, for the first time, China had a consolidated form which was applied across all of his empire. After he conquered his enemies, what had the Qin Shi Huang left? He was so lonely. He had no trust to anyone. If, like Daoism suggested, wu wei - or Doing nothing, then nothing could be done wrong. Qin Shi Huang could enjoy a peaceful life with his family and friends, but not be happily buried under ground. If, he had the chance to have a second life, he probably would think it again!

[Anonymous]

The cinematography and lighting was fantastic, each scene was a master piece of composition and design. The symbolism was strong and powerful. I would like to have the opportunity to discuss the film. I don't understand some of the character developments, the cultural significance behind the deep symbolism and the history behind the phrase "our land".

[Anonymous]

I am having a problem filtering the different philosophies through my cultural filter. I don't understand swings between the four schools of thought. Each one has a start and end date, as if one replaced the other. How does a thought have an end date?

I will post more when I have a chance to think about this.

[Anonymous]

I woke up this morning thinking about last night's film. I was struck almost equally by the use of color and by the theme of duty. I began wondering how the two worked together, and then I flashed on Confucius saying that it wasn't until he was seventy that the will to do what was right was synthesized in him so deeply that he did not have to think about it. In a way, the film's use of color symbolizes a similar progression. Early on, the dominant color is red-- the passion of youth, impulsiveness, anger. It is here that assassins battle to the death, the sword is dominant, lovers kill each other out of jealousy. But, by the film's conclusion, the dominant color has changed to white-- pureness of thought and reason. It is here that the 20th character for the sword is deciphered, the sword is put down, and reason reigns. I will have to see the movie again with this and other elements of Confucian thought in mind.

[Anonymous]

When the film first came out, I remember thinking about using the clip toward the end ("execute, persmission to execute") to illustrate the philosophy of legalism. Li Si was forcefully urging the Qin ruler to execute the assassin because if not, it'd defy the law. The ministers were closing in on the king to "force" the king to uphold the law. By portraying the king as a conscientious ruler with a cause and reluctant in ordering the execution order, the film made the king into a sympathetic figure. The bias is clear and the controversy over it understandable. It's shocking to paint someone Confucians have condemned for millennia in such positive light.

[Anonymous]

I had a better understanding of "The 100 schools of thoughts", It represented the golden age of Chinese philosophy. The 100 schools of thoughts were called "Zhu Zi Bai Jia" in Chinese (诸子百家). It created a great philosophical debate atmosphere during the Spring/Autum Period and Warring States period known as "Bai Jia Zheng Min" (百家争鸣), in which different school carried out debate on the best thoughts to resolve the violent and turbulent period in chinese history.

In today's Micro Wave Syndrome era, It felt so refresh by learning the Chinese Old Wisdom:
"夫君子之行：靜以修身，儉以養德；非淡泊無以明志，非寧靜無以致遠。" - 諸葛亮
One should seek serenity to cultivate the body, thriftiness to cultivate the morals. If you are not simple and frugal, your ambition will not sparkle. If you are not calm and cool, you will not reach far. - Zhu Geliang

[Anonymous]

To respond to Joe's comments from 8/3, I too, have a hard time wrapping my head around some of these philosophies, especially Daoism, but I think that is just the nature of philosophy and why it makes it so interesting to discuss. In regards to your question about certain philosophies having an end date, I don't look at those dates so much as an end date, but when their influence and popularity began to wane. You can compare it to different political movements in the U.S. or the different ideas of Romanticism, Realism, etc. It's not that those schools of thought have disappeared, it's more that they have merged with other schools of thought or circumstances, innovations, or discoveries have changed what each society values at that time.

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