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Time permitting, we'll debate these questions from the perspectives of the four schools discussed in the curriculum guide.

Hundred Schools Debate
When we cover the “hundred schools of thought” era, we usually have seminar participants join a
particular school of thought and then participate in a four sided debate. In the debate, the moderator asks
questions of each school and permits participants to ask questions of each other. In general, we
encourage speakers to accent the positive in their doctrines, though we recognize that it is sometimes
essential to draw contrasts with the way other schools deal with particular issues. Complete details,
background readings, and student handouts are available in Dube, Early Chinese History: The Hundred
Schools Period. China's Golden Age of Philosophy. Los Angeles: National Center for History in the
Schools, 1999. (A pdf version is available in the seminar forum, to order a print version, go to:
http://nchs.ucla.edu/World-Era3.html.)

Among the questions we discuss are:

EDUCATION:
Is education necessary? Define a "well-educated" person. What would such a person know and be able
to do? Who should provide this training?

LOYALTY:
To which people/institutions should a person owe his/her loyalty? What is the nature and what are the
limits (if any) of these obligations?

SOCIETY/GOVERNMENT:
Describe the ideal society and government's role (if any) in that society. Be sure to address issues such
as stratification, relations between people, and qualifications/responsibilities of leaders.

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Copies of this were distributed in class.

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Originally written for high school students, now used by middle school teachers.

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I've attached a compressed version of part 2 of the presentation.

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Key point on longer life expectancy -- initially it comes simply by reducing infant mortality. (Click here to read Judith Bannister's discussion of how demographers have reconstructed past population patterns.) Infant mortality was likely 11-14% in the mid-1950s. It had been perhaps 16-30% in the 1930s-40s. This is a dramatic drop and radically affects life expectancy at birth calculations.

What this meant was that more children survived in the 1950s than had been the case in the past. This is what helped push the population to double by the early 1980s, despite the famine of 1959-62. The impact of education and women working outside the home wasn't really felt until the late 1960s, when the population growth rate dropped.

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Chen reminds us of how hard it is to lose a child, especially when you can only have one. A NYT article this week looks at surrogacy. That's an answer but only for the rich. For most, there aren't many options. This came up after the big 2008 earthquake in Sichuan. And it has come up in discussions about the 2012 and 2014 murders of USC students from China.

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I'm a big fan of using quotes our factoids to launch discussions. Could you come up with a set of quotes, one for each session?

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I agree with Cynthia. I think we need to include more math in classes besides math. It is useful, but it also reinforces the utility of understanding a bit of math. One reason we make dumb choices as a society, I think, is because of a fear of big numbers and statistics. Go for it. Use that rule of 72.

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Sarah and others, there is quite a lot on bound feet in the Asia in my Classroom forum. I've recommended a few books there as well. D. KO has a famous study, but you may find Splendid Slippers useful as well. It is important to note that perhaps only half of Chinese women ever bound their feet. Geography, social class, and ethnicity were major factors in who bound their daughters feet. Remember that while we see it as cruel, the mother's, aunts, and sisters who did this did so out of love and social expectation. They usually wanted a girl to have the best possible marriage opportunities and in some communities that meant having bound feet.

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I don't know what caused Linda to mention it, but the film A Taxing Woman is outstanding. Imagine making a film with an IRS agent as a hero? The female lead is the wife of the director and a great comedic actress. The film has a jazzy soundtrack that I like, but students don't. It involves cracking down on a gangsters unreported income, but leads to an interesting friendship. Check it out.

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Trailer on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8bj1uDCUA0 There are quite a few pages devoted to this film on the web. One interesting read is: http://www.brns.com/pages4/comed169.html

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Charles mentioned the influence of martial arts films on artists such as the wu tang clan. We've been on this at APA since 2005. Check it out:

http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/article@apa?this_that_and_the_other_the_rza_on_the_miscegenation_of_hip-hop_9609.aspx interview with Chi Tung

Brian Hu: http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/article@apa?cinema_as_the_36th_chamber_9552.aspx

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Hi Folks,
Want to read some of the reviews Brian wrote for Asia Pacific Arts? Here you are:
http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/fulllist@apa?author_brian%20hu_11.aspx

You might like his essay, "Roger (Ebert) and Me"

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We've hosted a number of events focusing on Chinese film, including a panel discussion on US-China film co-production. See it here at the USCI website or at our YouTube channel. It features a producer, a director, a studio executive, and a banker!

The first speaker is Janet Yang, producer of The Joy Luck Club. She also produced Shanghai Calling. We screened it and had her respond to questions from our Asia Pacific Arts editor Ada Tseng and our audience. See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICBfy9LgT9M The film is on Netflix and you can see the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVXSvLIj-tw

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I heartily endorse watching Please Vote for Me, but I've also got some reservations about it. Charles thanks for providing the link to the YouTube version. Here are some comments I've written about the film:
http://china.usc.edu/ShowArticle.aspx?articleID=1201

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