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Judi -- thanks for the suggestion. Are there particular lessons on East Asia that you're impressed by?

Here are some modern East Asia materials:
http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/lessons/grades/?u=145

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Judi and others,
Thanks for diving into the readings. They have much to offer those who spend a bit of time with them. Judi's absolutely right about how matter-of-fact they are. This is generally true of all family-related legal documents. Household division documents are similarly detailed, in some cases down to the last bowl and set of chopsticks.

The issues surrounding concubines are exceedingly complex. The first point to keep in mind is that only a small portion of households were sufficiently affluent to have more than one woman attached to one man. The second point is that all male off-spring of a concubine were "legitimate", that is to say, equally entitled to inherit names and property as those of the primary wife. And a third point is that this purchase contract emphasizes that the joining is an agreement between two families, not two individuals. This was true of marriages as well as the bringing in of a concubine.

From literature and legal cases, we see that while the acquisition agreement treats the woman as an object, they were very much subjects, in the sense of being actors, taking action, and doing much to determine their own circumstances. Polygamy, of course, catches our eye and its complications fascinated writers and those eager to share gossip in the market and elsewhere. In China's oral tradition and its literature, concubines are often depicted as the an indication of moral failings on the part of the husband or a reasonable response to a cold (arranged) marriage. The American writer Pearl Buck mimicked this in her The Good Earth with the former poor farmer Wang Lung squandering some of the family's resources (as it happens luckily acquired by his kind and loving wife O-lan) on another woman.

Much has been written about families and concubines. One contemporary film with battling wives at its center is Zhang Yimou's Raise the Red Lantern. It depicts a household that is in no way typical, but it is a compelling drama.

Ray Moser will be discussing family structures in East Asia at our 12/8 session.

I hope others will join this discussion now and will also take up other readings.

[by the way, footbinding was among the topics I lacked time to cover, we'll take this up as well at the 12/8 session -- this presentation will be given to you on disc]

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Jia Hongsheng was a rising actor who had roles in films and television series when he began to experience psychological problems. His family sticks with him despite his many difficulties and his sometimes abusive behavior. Jia recovers his ability to function and wrote and stars in this film. The Chinese name of the film is Zuotian 昨天 or Yesterday. Jia becomes addicted to the Beatles and is especially fascinated by John Lennon.

This is a great film exploring obligations among family members.

Quitting will screen at 5:30 am on 11/13/07 on IFC (Direct TV 550), so set your recorder up.

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Here's an article by a person who scans, translates manga, and publishes the "scanlation" to the web:

http://www.tcj.com/269/n_scan.html

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If I had more time, I'd write more.

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Please DO NOT post your film reviews to this forum. Instead, please post your film reviews to the Film Festival thread in the Asia in My Classroom forum.

UCSD's Yingjin Zhang has compiled a list of recommended Chinese films.

http://chinesecinema.ucsd.edu/recommend_film_ccwlc.html

Please see the Film Festival thread in the Asia in My Classroom forum for other websites with recommended films, including Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese films.

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Lisa mentioned Rob Gifford's China Road. If you are interested in seeing the interview, you can at:
http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/index.jhtml?ml_video=90433&ml_collection=&ml_gateway=&ml_comedian=none&ml_context=show

The NPR correspondent will be speaking at the USC U.S.-China Institute in October. Please sign up for our newsletter at http://china.usc.edu to make sure that you get advance word. Gifford did stellar work in China and has written a great book.

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In fact, the Chinese government is able to block much of what it wants to keep out. There are elaborate filters in place on the cables carrying websites into China. The government, though, is much less concerned with English language sites than those in Chinese.

Here are some resources:
Berkeley 2004 conference (panel 2 on censorship)
http://journalism.berkeley.edu/conf/chinadf/schedule.html

Rebecca MacKinnon, formerly of CNN, writing for YaleGlobal
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=5928

2006 Washington Post graphic illustrating control
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2006/02/18/GR2006021801603.html

This graphic was part of Philip Pan's great series on the Great Firewall of China
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/18/AR2006021801389.html

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A recent Reuters report noted that hotels in China are now being required to provide condoms in each room.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUKPEK27213320070727

AIDS is a large problem in China (and elsewhere in Asia, especially India). Teachers on a study tour in spring 2006 were surprised to find condoms and other items among the toiletries supplied by the hotel (note: the condoms were not free, the toothbrush, comb, etc. were). I explained that Henan Province (where this particular hotel was located) was particularly hard hit by AIDS because of sloppy blood plasma collection practices. Entire villages have been decimated by the disease.

Here's an English language website from the Chinese government:
http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/aids/112999.htm

The WHO AIDS office's website is at:
http://www.wpro.who.int/china/sites/hsi/

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AIDS is a large problem in China (and elsewhere in Asia, especially India). Teachers on a study tour in spring 2006 were surprised to find condoms and other items among the toiletries supplied by the hotel (note: the condoms were not free, the toothbrush, comb, etc. were). I explained that Henan Province (where this particular hotel was located) was particularly hard hit by AIDS because of sloppy blood plasma collection practices. Entire villages have been decimated by the disease.

Here's an English language website from the Chinese government:
http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/aids/112999.htm

The WHO AIDS office's website is at:
http://www.wpro.who.int/china/sites/hsi/

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On Oct. 1, 2007, the USC U.S.-China Institute will screen a dramatic documentary. My Dream is about a performing arts troupe where all the performers have overcome some disability in order to express themselves through music or dance. The troupe has performed at Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center. Prior to the screening, we'll feature a discussion among specialists about the perceptions toward the disabled in China and efforts to meet their needs.

To be sure that you get reminders about this screening, please go to the USC U.S.-China Institute website (http://china.usc.edu) and sign up for the newsletter. You can also sign up by sending your contact information to mailto:[email protected]

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Robyn Meredith of Forbes Magazine has written The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China, and What It Means for All of Us. She'll be speaking at USC later this year, but you can get a sense of her ideas from this interview with Charlie Rose:

http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2007/07/19/2/a-conversation-with-author-robyn-meredith

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Several of our study tours have included visits to Kunming, in China's Yunnan province. Participants in those tours and others interested in temples and Kunming will appreciate Jeffrey Taylor's narrated slide show for The Atlantic Monthly:

http://www.theatlantic.com/slideshows/kunming/

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Hi JC,

Yes -- the USC US-China Institute provides each NCTA participant with a year's subscription to Education about Asia. You'll get three issues. Please put any comments you have about the contents of the magazine into the "Asia in My Classroom" forum. Many other teachers will be interested in your thoughts about what might work and what might not.

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University of Washington historian David Waugh has written about British machinations in the extreme Western Xinjiang city of Kashgar. Here's his description:

Daniel C. Waugh, Etherton at Kashgar: Rhetoric and Reality in the History of the "Great Game" (Seattle: Bactrian Press, 2007), 76 pp. This is a reassessment of British Intelligence activity and in particular the career of the British Consul P. T. Etherton at Kashgar (Xinjiang) in the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Here's the link -- I'd love to hear what you think. The pdf file is 1.8 mb.

http://faculty.washington.edu/dwaugh/ethertonatkashgar2007.pdf

Site contents:
* Introduction 1; * Etherton's Career 3; * The Challenges of Being British Consul in Kashgar 6; * The Origins of the Kashgar Mission 8; * The Consulate's Intelligence and Communications Networks 15; * Confusion in the British Government's Policies Toward the Bolsheviks 24; * Etherton's Intelligence Activity 30; * How Serious Was the Bolshevik Threat? 40; * The Denouement of Etherton's Kashgar Career 50; * Etherton's Book as Political Discourse and Self-Serving Propaganda 55; * Selected Bibliography 68; * Map 72

Incidentally, when I visited Kashgar (Kashi in mandarin) in 1985. Foreigners such as myself were only allowed to stay in a large hotel that had been the Russian consulate there. Across the street was the British consulate. Muslim pilgrims stayed there as they prepared to cross the border to Pakistan and then on to Mecca for the Haj.

I have attached a photo I took back then of Uyghur women in the market.

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