[clay dube]

Hi Folks,
The Huntington site is rich, but please also check out the US-China Today article about the garden.
http://www.uschina.usc.edu/article@usct?growing_to_new_proportions_chinese_gardens_in_the_u_s_11917.aspx

Be sure to click on the interactive map so that you can check out the five key elements of the garden.

I've attached a photo (which I didn't take) of one of the bridges at the Huntington.

[clay dube]

Hi Joe and Kyle,
I hope both of you are doing better jet-lag-wise. Kyle mentions Formosa Betrayed. Here's an article and video interview our Asia Pacific Arts offered on the film and its creators.
http://asiapacificarts.usc.edu/article@apa?taiwan_conspiracy_interview_with_formosa_betrayeds_will_tiao_and_tzi_ma_14706.aspx

[clay dube]

Hi Adele,

I'm impressed, too, by the many Chinese families who have the wherewithal to send their children to expensive schools in the States. The number of students coming to USC to study as undergrads is rising fast. You're talking though about even younger kids. It is a remarkable trend. For years, though, Taiwanese parents have been buying homes in California and sending their kids to school here. They hire a housekeeper who plays the role of aunt as far as the school authorities are concerned. In some cases this is about escaping the exam culture and in others it is about escaping mandatory military service. These are known as parachute kids.

An article about a worst case story:
1999 http://asianweek.com/070899/news_parachute.html

This article talks about the rise of alternative schools in Taiwan as a way of keeping families from sending kids off:
http://taiwanreview.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xitem=99562&ctnode=1359&mp=1

And here's a boarding school that's opened in Massachusetts expressly for Chinese students:
http://www.wbur.org/2009/06/25/mass-intl-academy

[clay dube]

Minh - congrats on a fun entry. I like the job advertisement and the way you pound home how long the wall is. Danny Way did jump the wall, here's a US-China Today article that touches on that and has a video of the jump: http://www.uschina.usc.edu/article@usct?skateboarding_with_chinese_characteristics_12079.aspx

It's worth noting that the Wall was first connected during the Qin dynasty (ca. 221 bce) and rebuilt during the Ming (early 1400s).

Here's a PBS page focusing on David Splinder, an American who simply taught himself and has become one of the top experts on the Wall anywhere:
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/blog/2009/09/china_wall_scho.html

[clay dube]

Hi Adele, Nice entry -- I liked the point you made at the conclusion of your piece. What was authentic on our trip? Who gets to decide these matters? What can we get from seeing/consuming authentic and inauthentic places/things? Is there a sliding scale of authenticity? The two shopping areas we strolled through were Liulichang and Qianmen. Our guide, Jean, had once had a shop in Liulichang.

Some might want to post photos from the day? What websites are available to introduce these two districts? Any news coverage of them?

[clay dube]

Caroline, thanks for reviving our memories of Bodi and other stops. I'm curious what you and others think about the prevalence of boarding schools among the elite in China (and the necessity of such schools for some at the other end of the social ladder). What advantages do you see? Disadvantages? Please think about what boarding might mean for the school, for the children, and for their families.

[clay dube]

Nice work, Stephanie. I found the discussion of Lai Shyh-bao (the Kuomintang legislator) interesting. I agree that it's always interesting to hear others discuss the US and our government's policies. What was especially interesting was his explanation of why the KMT-dominated legislature balked at buying US weapons during the Chen Shui-bian administration. You might want to look to newspaper accounts, which offer a different perspective of what motivated the KMT's "just say no" policies in those days.

[clay dube]

Hi Kyle, Nice entry -- I think everyone had trouble keeping up with Joe Wu 伍泉林 (Wu Quanlin) that day. I think that Shanghai's rise will be of interest to many students. There's a lot of literature produced in and about Shanghai. Leo Lee, for a couple of years based at UCLA, produced a wonderful study Shanghai Modern on just this subject. Some might find Ding Ling's The Diary of Miss Sophie of interest.

[clay dube]

Jackie, Wonderful entry -- no need to apologize for the length. We are grateful for the details and the analysis. With luck, we'll be able to share the ppt.

[clay dube]

Another useful blog entry. I think many enjoyed Xi'an. In part this could be attributed to Zhou Li 周丽, our Ellen.

[clay dube]

Hi Joseph and all,

Thanks for popping some Chinese into the mix. Taiwan's formal name is 中華民國 (Chinese Republic or Republic of China). Using the Wade Giles romanization: Chung-hua min-kuo. Using the pinyin romanization: Zhonghua minguo. You've got an interesting hybrid: Taiwan republic (using the PRC's gongheguo 共和国 for republic).

You may be interested to see how business cards and other printed matter lists the name of the place. We received cards from people which listed, in English:

Taiwan (R.O.C.)
or
Republic of China (Taiwan)

Names, of course, matter. Many folks could discuss this sort of thing with students. During the 2000-2008 Chen Shui-bian era, the government even revived the name Formosa as part of an attempt to deemphasize the China links....

[clay dube]

little girl

[clay dube]

To make a link hot, is to be kind.

USC US-China Institute

You may change or add to your own posts.
[Edit by="Clay Dube on Aug 2, 1:51:17 PM"][/Edit]

[clay dube]

Clay, this is a reply. I want to be noticed.

[clay dube]

United Nations Cyberschoolbus
http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/

World Bank (many different collections, human development indicators quite useful)
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,menuPK:232599~pagePK:64133170~piPK:64133498~theSitePK:239419,00.html

International Monetary Fund statistics
http://www.imfstatistics.org/imf/

World Health Organization statistics
http://www.who.int/whosis/en/

Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development statistics portal
http://www.oecd.org/statsportal/0,3352,en_2825_293564_1_1_1_1_1,00.html

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