China Zeal

Shenzen in Fall for Opera

2011-05-17T11:29:00.001-07:00

I decided to go to Shenzhen this Thanksgiving as part of a US Opera delegation

My teacher was in China in April!

Pictures from his show

Video from his show

I'll be practicing The Drunken Concubine over summer while getting my TEFL certification and selling on E-bay for my parents ^^;
I am very nervous, very excited, and very happy!

Here's the e-mail that's got me smiling:

I am really glad that you can make the trip. Hope you would be ready for performing 贵妃醉酒 on stage. But for some reason, if you can't get ready, I still hope you can go with us. Shenzhen Cultrural Society will host the delegation and will guide some intereting sightseeings. And you can check out this fastest growing city (3 times the LA populaiton now I think) for possible teaching opportunities. Also we will do some off-stage singing with local fans (a lot of fun). What I mean is you don't have to feel pressured for the performance. We'd like you to be a part of the delegation anyway. If your parents are interested in going, they are welcome as well.

Not sure if I have told you that the trip will be during Thanksgiving week when a lot of us can get some time off. Hope it will work with you.

Chinese Painting - Brushstokes

2011-04-23T23:26:00.000-07:00

Cun & Miao

Great website detailing differences between cun and miao brushstrokes

Yay!

2011-04-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

"Dear Elizabeth:

The Faculty Advisory Committee has received and accepted your Abstract, submitted for participation in the Fifth Annual Symposium for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity to be held on the UCR campus, Thursday, May 5 and Friday, May 6, 2011. Currently we are reviewing your abstract and accompanying information; therefore if there are any specific questions related to your submission, we will e-mail you individually to inform you."

HUGE Museums and Asian Art Research Guide

2011-04-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

The following text is a research guide I did for an Art History class I have that looks from art dating for the Chinese Song to the Yuan dynasties. I looked through a few museums sites the specifically have major or impressive Asian Art Collections - and most of these collections are searchable online. I also looked for some scholarly journals that may have articles in them about Asian/Chinese art. If you'd like to look through it all, feel free ^_^ > > >

Elizabeth Paich
April 12, 2011
History of Chinese Art: Song to Yuan Dynasty

Paper Assignment Part One
Museum

List three museums in the United States that have substantial collections of Chinese art. Do these museums publish journals? What are the titles of these journals?

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York City, New York. Yes, they publish a journal titled Metropolitan Museum Journal, along with many other publications.

http://www.jstor.org/journals/00778958.html

http://www.metmuseum.org/education/er_publication.asp

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. Yes, they appeared to have had a journal publication titled Journal of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston – but there are no recent publications of it. They do however continue to publish other works too.

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=jmusfineartsbos

http://www.mfa.org/news/mfa-in-the-news

The Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. No, they do not appear to publish a journal. However, they do publish other works.

http://www.philamuseum.org/publications/

List three important Chinese art collections (museums) in Asia and three in Europe.

The Tokyo National Museum (TNM) in Tokyo, Japan

The National Palace Museum located in Taipei, Taiwan

The Palace Museum at the Forbidden City in Beijing, China

The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology (Ashmolean Museum) in Oxford, England.

The Guimet Museum (Musée Guimet) in Paris, France.

The British Museum in London, England.

Do these museums (in the US, Asia and Europe) have online databases of images that are open to the public? List what you could find.

All of the museums listed have online databases of their Asian and Chinese art that are searchable by the general public through the Internet. Most of the collections prized by the museums in Europe are of Chinese Porcelain. However, all of these museums house Chinese calligraphy, paintings, ceramics, sculptures, and other various art pieces that differ museum to museum.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)

http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/asian_art

The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston

http://www.mfa.org/collections/asia

The Philadelphia Museum of Art

http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/216-426-335.html

The Tokyo National Museum (TNM)

http://www.tnm.go.jp/en/gallery/region/china.html#

The National Palace Museum

http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/collection/selections_01.htm

The Palace Museum in the Forbidden City

http://www.dpm.org.cn/shtml/2/@/8797.html#145

The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology (Ashmolean Museum)

http://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/

The Guimet Museum (Musée Guimet)

http://www.guimet.fr/-Chine-

The British Museum

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/about_the_database/what_is_currently_available.aspx
Library

Try doing a search on Harvard Hollis Classic Online catalogue, Stanford Socrates, Melvyl, and the WorldCat (http://www.worldcat.org/) on a topic of your choice. Briefly compare the difference of results from these online catalogues.

I searched each site using the artist Gu Kaizhi.

Hollis – I got a list of texts and images (no actual images, just information about them) along with links the allowed to me check where the piece was located and its complete information. You are also about to adjust the search preferences with a preference bar.

Socrates – I got a list of different works with their complete information, but I had the ability to make a list of preferred references if I was collection a bunch of them.

Melvyl – I got a list of texts and images (with actual images, like book covers) and I was able to search through all the University of California’s libraries or search using the WorldCat engine. I only searched through the UC Libraries.

Worldcat – My favorite search engine – it searches a multitude of the world’s libraries and is very similar to the Melvyl site but with multiple ways to adjust the search in order to look for more specific pieces with a preference bar.

Explore UCR’s online databases. List three databases where you could find articles on Chinese art.

The China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database:

http://china.eastview.com/kns50/

古今圖書集成 (Gujin Tushu Jicheng - “Ancient and Modern Books Collection”):

http://greatman.eastview.com/Chinesebookweb/home/index.asp
ARTstor Digital Library:

http://library.artstor.org/library/welcome.html
Journal

What are the most important journals of Asian art in the English language? List three.

Archives of Asian Art:

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=archasiaart

Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America:

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=archchiartsocam

Ars Orientalis:

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=arsorie

Are there journals on the art/culture/history of a specific Chinese dynasty?

While there are multiple journals about happenings and art from various Chinese dynasties, I was unable to find journals specifically dedicated to single dynasties.

Describe three major methods you could use to find journal articles related to your topic. Compare the strength and weakness of each approach.

I can search through various museum websites to find out whether or not the museums publish journals with recent research based on hands-on-studies with the actual pieces – however, museums have to be fairly successful o be able to afford publications of their own research journals, so many museums often discontinue their publications or simple do not have journals.

I can use Jstor.com or other various journal archives to search for journals online – while this is an easy way to find journals, each site various on its level and variety of information available, and each archive produces different search results.

I can go to the University’s library and check out the journals they have available on campus – I can also order them to be delivered for checkout via the Internet. Sometimes though, the library can only provide limited resources on specific subjects, and ordering pieces to be shipped to a particular campus is time consuming.

Blue Lotus Oral Presentation Abstract

2011-04-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

*Here is my abstract for my oral presentation in May - I hope it is accepted - such a project would be a great experience and show of my accumulated knowledge from attending UCR ;o;

Student Researcher Information
Name: Elizabeth Paich
Academic Institution: UC, Riverside - CHASS
Major: Asian Studies
Status: Senior – Undergraduate

Faculty Mentor Information
Faculty Mentor name: Michelle Bloom
Academic Title: Associate Professor of French & Comparative Literature
Department: Comparative Literature & Foreign Languages
Current College: College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

Abstract Information
Paper Title: When Bias Shows: Comparing Accurate and Racist Portrayals in The Blue Lotus
Area of Study: French and Asian Studies, Comparative Literature
Type of Presentation: Oral Presentation

Abstract
When Bias Shows: Comparing Accurate and Racist Portrayals in The Blue Lotus
Elizabeth Paich, Asian Studies, University of California, Riverside
Michelle Bloom, Associate Professor of French & Comparative Literature, University of California, Riverside

The Blue Lotus is a turning point in the Tintin series, as Hergé’s research of Mainland China and Chinese culture with his colleague Zhang Chongren would lead to candid portrayals of foreign peoples and lands for the rest of the graphic novel’s series instead of through Eurocentric misconceptions and stereotypes. However, after researching the creative process behind the graphic novel and examine the work itself, it is clear that while the album strives for accurate portrayals of China, it is still not without racist caricature. As the protagonists Tintin and Chang bond, representing a comradery between East and West, there is still racist caricature inspired by the Japanese occupation of Shanghai and eventual exiting of the Japanese from the League of Nations during the 1930s. Thus, Hergé does not combine the appearances of the Chinese and the Japanese into an indistinguishable group of “Asians”, but maintains racist portrayals of both Asians (specifically the Japanese) and Westerners because they are supporters of governments that maintain Imperialistic ideology. Thus, The Blue Lotus contains characters that are a combination of both accurateness and racist exaggeration – displaying Hergé and Zhang’s disdain for the Japanese actions in China during the 1930s and the bigotry of Caucasian white supremacists.

A Move 'Against Ostentation'

2011-04-07T02:36:00.000-07:00

In China, certain words — like "Tiananmen Square" and "democracy" — have been politically sensitive for decades.

But that list seems to be growing ever longer. Now, words like "regal" and "luxury" have fallen foul of political correctness, and are being removed from billboards in the Chinese capital, Beijing.

But Beijing's attitude toward luxury is somewhat contradictory — only the ads, not the products themselves, are being restricted.

Read more here

2011-04-04T13:02:00.000-07:00

My Tintin paper on accurate and racist portrayals in The Blue Lotus was nominated by my professor for the UC Riverside Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity Symposium for May - I have to write up my abstract for it ASAP, and it'll be an oral presentation if it's accepted ^____^

More About the Symposium

My Selected Paper

Wish me luck!

Miss Tepler's Adventures: A Disappointed Star Wars Fan

2011-03-12T21:08:00.000-08:00

Miss Tepler's Adventures: A Disappointed Star Wars Fan: "That fan is me. I am disappointed. I am not disappointed because I just remembered that I used to have a 'Star Wars: A New Hope' lunch box ..."

Whoa - Star Wars goes to Mongolia for costume ideas :D

Norse Mythos

2011-03-05T13:49:00.000-08:00

I'm including this essay because there is a theory that the Aesir of Norse mythos are "Asians" or Indo-Europeans invading Old Europe (the Balkans area) during an ancient mass migration and intermingling their "Aesir" gods with the local fertility gods the "Vanir" - In Norse mythology, this religious development is recorded in myth (rewritten by Christian converts in Iceland) as the first war in the history of the universe - between the Aesir and the Vanir - the Aesir became the superior gods.

Paich Elizabeth Paich Prof. Thuerwaechter GER124 February 4, 2011
Gods and Giants: The Struggle Between Order and Chaos

The relationship between the gods and the giants in Nordic mythos is a complex demonstration of a dynamic struggle between the dual forces of order and chaos. This essay will examine how the myths of Nordic gods and the giants, as retold and examined by Kevin Crossley-Holland, portray the fluid forces of good and evil battling back and forth within the universe, especially in the form of the symbolic geography of the Nordic cosmos. The struggles and relationships between the gods and giants, good or bad, embodies the natural fluctuation of order and disorder in the universe as the Norsemen saw it that changes through time and is but part of a period of a universal series of ages, beginning anew after the key character Loki, giant and god, sparks the start of Ragnarok.

The Nordic cosmos is portrayed with the gods, being Aesir and Vanir, dwelling above the lands of mortals, dwarves, and most importantly for this essay, the giants (xx-xxxi). Thus, there is always this sense of superiority of the gods over the giants laid out in the structuring of the universe. The Norse cosmos is shown to be nine worlds rooted to the mystic ash tree Yggdrasill, in which the gods, giants, and other creatures of the worlds dwell (xx-xxxi). This cosmos was formed from fire and ice, and ultimately shaped by Odin and his two brothers Vili and Ve (1: The Creation, 3). Odin and his brothers are said to have despised the evil frost giant Ymir, one of the first living beings in the universe – so they dispose of him. As the godly brothers shape the universe out of body of the cruel frost giant, it is said that the giants are doled out their own homeland of Jotunheim. Crossley-Holland explains: “The giants largely represent the forces of chaos, attempting through physical force, trickery and magic to upset the order of the universe” (xxxii). Thus, Crossley-Holland explains how Odin and his brothers separate Jotunheim from Midgard in an effort to isolate and control the giants:
The earth was round and lay within a ring of deep sea. Along the strand the sons of Bor [Odin, Vili, and Ve] marked out tracts of land and gave them to the frost giants and the rock giants; and there, in Jotunheim, the giants settled and remained. They were so hostile that three brothers built an enclosure further inland around a vast area of earth [Midgard]. (1: The Creation, 4-5) In the myth of Thor’s journey to Utgard, Jutonheim is said to be separated from Midgard by an ocean referred to as a “girdle of water” – which Crossley-Holland notes conflicts with Snorri Sturluson’s creation myth, but nonetheless shows that the giants separation from the rest of the lands is a key feature in Norse myth logic. (16: Thor’s Journey to Utgard, 81, 207-208). The building of Asgard’s wall is another myth that deals with the division between the gods and the giants. Such separation between the two races is key; as such a division represents the divide between stability and disorder - Crossley-Holland explains:
The building of Asgard’s wall is. the first of the myths devoted to the enmity of gods and giants – the theme that dominates the entire cycle [of existence] and only resolves itself at Ragnarok. The gods were far from unblemished and the giants were not totally destructive. but in the end the antagonism of gods and giants can only be seen as the conflict of good and evil. The gods embody aspects of natural and social order; the giants subvert that order and seek to overthrow it. (185, emphasis added) However, it must be stressed that while the many major and popular myths in Norse mythology portray the giants as antagonists to the gods, giants are not a purely evil entity in Norse mythology, just as the gods are not always pure and amicable. This flux between good and evil, order and chaos is a motif throughout the Nordic cosmos. Take for example, Yggdrasill, the great ash that stands half verdant and half dead – thriving with its roots in the springs of Urd, Mimir, and Hvergelmir and yet being chewed to death upon by a myriad of creatures living within it (4: Lord of the Gallows, 15). This fluid duality is portrayed as a natural order in the Norse cosmos, and just as Yggdrasill plays its role, so to do the gods and giants embody the struggle between chaos and disorder - Crossely-Holland explains:
Some gods have bad qualities, some giants have good; and the gods and giants do not only fight one another, but [also] form friendships and embark on love relationships. Perhaps it is legitimate, indeed, to see the gods and giants not as polarized opposites but rather as opposing aspects of one character. (xxxii) This cycle of good and evil, life and death is part of the Nordic mythos that eventually leads into Ragnarok. In the chronology of the myths, Crossley-Holland notes that after the creation of the cosmos and the Golden Age, the myths afterwards focus on the recurring motif of “the antagonism of the gods and giants” along with “[a motif] of love and friendship” between them (xxxvii). Time and time again, the gods and giants battle or bond – when “[in] the last phase of the cycle, the gods’ greatest concern is not with the giants, but with the enemy within” - Loki, being recognized as both giant and god, full of charisma and chicanery (214).
Loki’s part in the death of Balder begins Ragnarok, the end of a universal cycle. He is a fitting to begin the new cycle. This is because Loki is “the son of two giants and yet the foster-brother of Odin, [he] embodies the ambiguous and darkening relationship between the gods and the giants” (xxix). Because Loki can be “dynamic and unpredictable”, he acts as the disorder that must exist in to maintain balance with order. Crossley-Holland notes that “the conflict between gods and giants is all the more tragic because they are. drawn to one another and, in many respects, resemble one another; because, in a sense, they are fighting a civil war in which both sides are inevitably losers” (xxxvii). Loki is key as the ultimate combination of the two races – thus both can races can be blamed for Ragnarok’s destruction.
The gods and the giants and their experiences as told in Nordic myths are a representation of a dynamic binary of order and turmoil. The myths of gods and the giants show the ebb and flow between the forces of good and evil in the universe, even in how the nine worlds of the Norse cosmos are laid out. The gods and giants lead lives that mirror the struggles within existence between order and disorder, and the myths that portrayed their deeds and misfortunes were tales that helped men understand that such struggles were natural forces in the universe.

Works Cited
Crossley-Holland, Kevin. The Norse myths. New York: Pantheon Books, 1980. Print.

Tintin, China, Japan, and Imperialism

2011-03-05T13:39:00.000-08:00

Essay Question 3 – Word Count: 1698 - Grade: 188/200 points

Elizabeth Paich Professor Bloom CPLT143 February 23, 2011

When Bias Shows: Comparing Accurate and Racist Portrayals in The Blue Lotus

This essay will examine Hergé’s portrayal of Chinese, Japanese, and Western peoples in his graphic novel The Blue Lotus. The characters of Tintin and Chang, in both actions and appearance, show camaraderie established between East and West as they bond in The Blue Lotus – discussing and refuting misleading stereotypes about their respective cultures. However, it is apparent that the Japanese occupation of Shanghai and eventual exiting of the Japanese from the League of Nations during the 1930s influenced Hergé and Zhang Chongren, Hergé’s confrere for the album. While Hergé does not combine the appearances of the Chinese and the Japanese into an indistinguishable group of “Asians”, racist portrayals of both Asians and Westerners are still intentionally perceptible, especially in characters who are supporters of governments that tote Imperialistic ideology like that of Mr Gibbons, the Chief of Police of the Shanghai International Settlement, and the majority of Japanese officials including Mr Mitsuhirato. Thus, The Blue Lotus contains characters that are a combination of both accurateness and racist exaggeration.

After Tintin rescues Chang Chong-chen from drowning, the two young men take time to share exaggerated misconceptions about their respective cultures and come to form a bond shaped from new understandings within the panels found on page 43. This bonding happens in the two central rows of the page as Tintin and Chang dry themselves on the riverbank. Between panels 6 and 7, a dumbfounded Chang questions Tintin as to why he would even consider rescuing a Chinese person, assuming that all Caucasians are “white devils” (Hergé, 43/7). Chang explains his feelings about Westerners to Tintin: “I thought all white devils were wicked, like those who killed my grandfather and grandmother long ago.” (Hergé, 43/6-7). Chang mentions that his opinions originate from his father - an interesting note that denotes the “hearsay” of prejudices, and also how such biases can be passed from generation to generation until such views become intolerance (Hergé, 43/7). Tintin is shocked to hear Chang’s reasoning, but assures him that such beliefs come from a lack of cultural understanding (Hergé, 43/6, 8). As Tintin explains the negative consequences of ignorance and stereotypes, he points out that Westerners also have misconceptions about the Chinese. From panels 9 through 11, examples of Western stereotypes about the Chinese are shown: a cunning and malicious-looking man, adorned in Manchurian garb including a queue and deadly fingernails, Chinese women sobbing in pain because of their bound feet, and also Chinese infants being discarded into a river. Tintin’s explanation of such imagery follows thusly:
Lots of Europeans still believe that all Chinese are cunning and cruel and wear pigtails, are always inventing tortures, and eating rotten eggs and swallows’ nests. The same stupid Europeans are quite convinced that all Chinese have tiny feet, and even now little Chinese girls suffer agonies with bandages designed to prevent feet from developing normally. They’re even convinced that Chinese rivers are full of unwanted babies, thrown in when they are born. (Hergé, 43/9-11) After such descriptions of erroneousness beliefs about Chinese culture, Chang and Tintin share a laugh – displaying how ridiculous such exaggerated assumptions about other cultures can become. Chang and Tintin form a bond on this philosophy and learn to successfully work together throughout the rest of the adventure as partners.
In addition, it is impossible not to notice the similarities in Tintin and Chang’s appearances throughout the panels on page 43. They are both of similar heights and builds, especially visible in panel 18 as Tintin and Chang begin walking to Hukow (Hergé, 43). In addition, it is evident that the two characters have uniquely flipped bangs, an intentional and endearing parallel between the two of them, especially when Tintin’s iconic cowlick is dampened and hanging downwards as he rescues the drowning Chang between panels 2 and 3 (Hergé, 43). Such similarities are pushed even further on page 62, when Mr Wang officially recognizes Chang and Tintin as brothers during Tintin’s farewell banquet (Hergé, panel 2). In the first panel on the page, it is almost impossible to distinguish the teary-eyed Tintin from the other capped and black haired Chinese guests at the table because of Tintin’s own Chinese costume and black skullcap (Hergé, 62). Tintin’s appearance shows his successful assimilation into the Chinese culture by the end of his adventure.
However, Hergé’s work is not without racist portrayals of both Asians and Europeans – specifically those who support Imperialism in The Blue Lotus. Such characters include the Westerners Mr Gibbons, the Police Chief of the Shanghai International Settlement and the Japanese Mr Mitsuhirato along with other various Japanese officials. Theses characters’ appearances are warped into racist caricatures because they all support Imperialism – an ideology Hergé began to frown upon as he did his detailed research with Zhang for The Blue Lotus and learned about the supposed Japanese sabotage of a South Manchurian Railway (see Hergé, Historical Note, 60/1-2, 4-5; Jühne, Mar, Remick, Durrant, Chevalier, and Masami).
Because of their racist and imperialistic beliefs, Mr Gibbons and the Police Chief are two Westerners who are negatively portrayed as arrogant and uncouth. In pages 6 and 7, Mr Gibbons is introduced after an accident with a rickshaw driver in last row on page 6. Immediately, it is apparent that Gibbons is racist as he assumes the rickshaw driver is fully to blame for the accident and declares, while threatening to beat the driver barbarically with his walking cane: “Dirty little China-man! To barge into a white man” (Hergé, 6/7). Gibbons then proceeds into the Occidental Private Club where he ironically meets up with his other white comrades, including the Chief of Police of the Shanghai International Settlement. Gibbons then begins his tirade, irate from his run-in with the rickshaw driver: “What’s the world coming to? Can’t we even teach that yellow rabble [the Chinese] to mind their manners now? It’s up to us to [civilize] the savages. and look what we’ve done for them, all the benefits of our superb western civilization. ” (Hergé, 7/7-8). As Gibbons gesticulates during his rant, he slaps the tray out of a Chinese waiter’s hands – and does not cease to begin belittling him as he did the rickshaw driver. Gibbons’ actions and words carry with them an air of white supremacy and Western imperialistic ideology.
However, the Police Chief, who has been listening to Gibbons diatribe, does not even need to speak for the readers to understand that he is sinister and corrupt. He is introduced in 5 on page 7 with bared teeth clenching a pipe and a malicious brow as he welcomes his friend Gibbons into the Occidental Private Club (Hergé). It is shocking to learn in panel 12 on the same page that he is a police chief, who should stand for order and safety for all citizens, and yet is willing to catch Tintin solely on the grounds that he defended the scapegoat rickshaw driver Gibbons bumped into, a native Chinese (Hergé). With his agreement to catch Tintin on that basis alone, it is clear the Police Chief is not only a racist caricature of a Westerner but also a racist himself.
In addition, Hergé’s emphasis on accuracy for his portrayal of the native Chinese population in Shanghai is contrasted by his racist portrayals of Japanese officials throughout The Blue Lotus. An interesting example of the contrast is easily seen on between the pages of 59 and 60. The large gauche panel at the bottom of page 59 depicts Tintin peering into the Blue Lotus opium den – filled with accurate Chinese script on scrolls, colorful lanterns, beautiful wall scrolls, and opium smokers lounging in what appears to be a very well run establishment. Two men on the left of the panel, and a waiter carrying a tray, appear to be native Chinese, while the man on the right with his back turned and his face obstructed by the angle appears to be either Western or Chinese (there is no reason it could not be either, as Mr Mitsuhirato ships opium to Western nations as well) (Hergé, 18/2). While the smokers lounge and take hits of their pipes, they each look like unique and identifiable individuals with no racist stereotyping of their faces or dress – when it could be very easily drawn and portrayed in much more negative manner (Hergé, 59/8). On page 60, panel 6 shows three Japanese officials storming out of the League of Nations – each one a toothy, haughty and racist caricature and each barely indistinguishable from one another – especially in their uniform Western clothes (Hergé). Their appearances match that of Mr Mitsuhirato – seen on page 61 for the final time in an article that details how he commits hara-kiri – otherwise known as seppuku, the ritual suicide made famous the by samurai warriors (Hergé, 61/7). The self-admitted “true Japanese” is portrayed as pug-nosed, spectacle wearing, high-cheeked, and bucktoothed – just like the Japanese delegates storming of the League of Nations (Hergé, 8/5, 61/7). Aside from build and height, the majority of Japanese officials in The Blue Lotus are made into scowling and goofy villains that are recognizably similar to one another. This is racist caricature, as it separates the Japanese, bundled into a single type, from the Chinese, each drawn as an individual person – even in crowds (take for example the gauche panels on pages 6, 45, and the final image in the news article panel on page 60).
Hergé’s representations of characters in The Blue Lotus are a mix of accurate and racist portrayals of Asians and Westerners. Misunderstandings between cultures are settled as the characters of Tintin and Chang appear similar in appearance and mindset after meeting one another – and in the end become brothers. Their bond represents the meeting of East and West, along with the dispelling of misconceptions about both cultures. But Hergé also presents Japanese and Western Imperialists as racist caricatures, displaying a dislike, along with his Chinese colleague Zhang Chongren, for imperialism and the Japanese actions in China during the Manchurian Incident. Thus, while Hergé does not combine the appearances of the Chinese and Japanese into single group of “Asians”, as Orientalists have in the past, there are still racist portrayals of both Asians and Westerners in The Blue Lotus.

Works Cited:

Ellis, Allen. "Comic Art in Scholarly Writing: A Citation Guide." ComicsResearch.org. Comic Art & Comics Area of the Popular Culture Association, 15 Sept. 2002. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. . This site was referenced in order to better understand how to cite graphic novel panels.

Hergé. The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus. Trans. Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper and Michael Turner. 6th ed. Boston: Little, Brown and (Inc.), 1984. Print.

Jühne, Jesper, Irene Mar, Aaron Remick, Anthony Durrant, Etienne Chevalier, and Chikahiro Masami. "The Blue Lotus." Tintinologist.org: The Tintin Fan's Resource. Tintinologist.org, 26 Apr. 2009. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. .

For an French/Asian Film/Lit class...

2011-03-05T13:36:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth Paich Prof. Bloom CPLT143 January 31, 2011

The Character of Rain and Fear and Trembling: Nationality and Language

This essay will examine the relationship between language and nationality as portrayed in Amelie Nothomb's The Character of Rain and Alain Corneau's film Fear and Trembling, an adaptation of Nothomb's novel of that name. In The Character of Rain, the narrator refers to herself as God and believes that she can understand all languages – thus allowing her to choose not only her spoken tongue but also her nationality – which she claims is Japanese. God’s ability to speak multiple languages in the novel allows her to better understand Japanese customs through her nanny, Nishio-san. However, while God proclaims herself to be Japanese, those around her regard her as Belgian. God eventually discovers she will have to leave Japan because of her father’s work as a diplomat, so she struggles to remember all she can about the country before she is taken away from it. In the film Fear and Trembling, the protagonist’s identity is encountered in a different way. Even though Amelie-san chooses to be Japanese as a young girl, she discovers that while she behaves with proper Japanese etiquette, she is still regarded as a foreigner by others. This happens especially when she makes mistakes, because she is a Caucasian woman. Amelie-san then feels conflicted between her Belgian and Japanese mannerisms as she tries to find her place in the Yumimoto Company where she works. Her superiors in the company see her bilingualism as a bad trait and she is considered mentally disabled as she tries to appear Japanese. Unfortunately, everyone in the company regards her as a Western foreigner. Eventually, she leaves the company being viewed by her coworkers as an inferior Westerner, only to regain face by finding success as an author, while her rival Fubuki-san remains unmarried and ashamed.

In The Character of Rain, God’s growth from infant to toddler mirrors her learning of language. God believes that with sound, there is life. The reader discovers this as God focuses on Nishio-san’s tale of being buried alive from World War II bombings: “I must head towards the noise. That is where there is life” (Nothomb 43, emphasis author). At first, God is unable to communicate because she is only an infant. Until the age of two and a half, she is silent - but then she begins to scream, marking what she deems her birth – yet she is frustrated that she cannot communicate: “They [God’s family] move their lips and words come out. God moves its lips and all that comes out is noise. This is not fair. It will yell and scream until noise turns into language” (Nothomb 19, emphasis author). God combines the sweetness of Belgian white chocolate with sentience as she proclaims mentally after a bite: “It is I! I’m talking! I’m not an ‘it’ I’m a ‘me’! You can no longer say ‘it’ when you talk about yourself. You have to say ‘me’. And I am your best friend. I’m the one who gives you pleasure” (Nothomb 24, emphasis author). It is not until God is able to communicate and identify herself that she finally claims to be born “in Japan at the age of two and a half, in February of 1970. ” after a taste of her grandmother’s Belgian white chocolate – a hint at the sweetness and beauty of her European heritage to which she also belongs, even if she herself does not recognize her Belgian heritage (Nothomb 24). She states that this way of thinking has been with her ever since that moment in Japan, and states that “[the] voice in my head has never died since that day, and it still speaks in my head” (Nothomb 24). This mental voice is above and beyond language as God explains: “I hadn’t known there were such things as separate languages, only that there was one great big language and that one could choose either the Japanese version of it or the French version, which ever you preferred. I had not yet heard a language I couldn’t understand” (Nothomb 42). This belief on God’s part allows her to believe that she has ability to decide to be Japanese – and God thusly claims: “. at the age of two and half, in the province of Kansai, in the village of Shukugawa, I became Japanese” (Nothomb 49, emphasis added). Her reasoning behind the choice was very simple: “Choosing between my parents, who treated me like the others, and my nanny, who treated me like a god, was not a real choice. I would become Japanese” (Nothomb 48). However, it is stated that, “God’s parents were of Belgian nationality, meaning that it, too was Belgian” (Nothomb 9). Her family ultimately explains to her that she is in fact Belgian, and not Japanese, though she proclaims herself to be Japanese. When she eventually discovers that she will leave Japan because of her father’s work, she cries to her mother, “I can’t leave! I have to live here! This is my country – and this my house!” – a statement which her mother is quick to refute (Nothomb 105). She struggles to remember all she can about the country before she is taken away from it – possibly deciding to become an author while sealing away thoughts of Japan in her memories simultaneously:
You must remember because you will not always live in Japan, Because you will be thrown out of the garden, because you will lose Nishio-san and the mountain because that which is given to you will be taken back. Memory has the same power as writing. When you see the word ‘cat’ in a book it looks very different from the neighbor’s cat with the beautiful eyes. Yet to the word written gives you a pleasure like the one the cat gave you when its golden gaze was fixed upon you. (Nothomb 108) God ultimately declares to herself: “If you could write of the marvels of the paradise in your head, you would forever carry in your mind, if not their miraculous nature, then at least something of their power” (Nothomb 108). God decides she will hold onto Japan in her thoughts if she must be forced to move away as the daughter of a Belgian diplomat, showing that while she chooses to be Japanese, she is nonetheless Belgian.
In the film Fear and Trembling, Amelie-san realizes that despite self-identifying as Japanese, others still view her as an outsider. Amelie-san is hired as an interpreter for the Yumimoto Company but is never truly assigned actual interpretive work. She is berated for letter writing by Saito-san, which marks the beginning of her trials of never knowing how to act or what to say, although she knows Japanese customs. She is scolded for speaking proper Japanese while serving coffee at a high power meeting – being told that she makes clients feel uncomfortable with her being a foreigner. At this point in the film, she is practically considered a traitor for her appearance and speaking abilities. Amelie-san then feels a sense of difficulty finding a place within the company as she struggles between her Japanese and Belgian customs. When she tries to confide in Fubuki-san, she is compelled to explain that her mindset and mannerisms are both Western and Japanese. Her superiors in the company see her individuality as a threat to the company and a conflict with her self-proclaimed “Japanese“ mannerisms. She leaves the company at the end of her contract humiliated but nonetheless “saving face” and returns to Europe. While in Belgium, after the success of her novel, she receives a letter from her former superior, Fubuki-san in Japanese that shows an acceptance of Amelie-san’s identity as worthy of the Japanese language. In addition, the portrayal of young Fubuki-san and young Amelie-sanin the rock garden at the end of the film also symbolizes this acceptance of Amelie-san’s assumed Japanese heritage by Fubuki-san. As Nothomb comments in The Character of Rain: “To be Japanese meant living among beauty and adoration. To be Japanese meant inhaling the intoxicating odor of flowers in a garden moistened from rain; sitting on the edge of a pool, gazing at distant mountains as large as the heart they contained; and feeling rapture at the mystical song of the yam seller who passed through the neighborhood at twilight” (49).

Works Cited
Nothomb, Amelie, and Timothy Bent. The Character of Rain: A Novel. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2002. Print.
Fear and Trembling. Dir. Alain Corneau. Perf. Sylvie Testud, Kaori Tsuji, Taro Suwa. Homevision, 2003. Film.

Word Count: 1373
Grade: 140/150 points

Updating soon!

2011-03-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

Glad to be able to update this page with some new papers. Some eh grades, some good grades. ^_^ Figure I'd put my work up so I have something to be proud about it. Might delete my China Zeal tumblr soon too...

Want something more interesting??

2011-02-02T11:50:00.001-08:00

Check out these websites of mine - they're far more active than this page! :D

> My Deviant Art Page

> Doodle Zeal - My Facebook Page

> Booming By - My Tumblr

Moving to Tumblr

2010-10-05T20:36:00.000-07:00

I am going to start running this site off of tumblr now. Click here to follow!

I Heart Chaos: Beijing Punk

2010-09-01T20:14:00.000-07:00

Trailer for Beijing Punk: Banned in China

An Australian filmmaker goes behind the facade of China's 2008 Olympic fervor to discover China's skinhead and punk scene.

The Daily Beast: Chinese Women, Suicide, and Killer Pesticides

2010-08-30T17:49:00.000-07:00

Up to 60 percent of Chinese suicides could be caused by a toxic pesticide banned in many countries.

Pesticide ingestion is involved in 60 percent of Chinese suicides, according to the World Health Organization, which published a 2009 report suggesting a link between exposure to organophosphate pesticides, the type commonly used in China, and suicidal thoughts. Rural Chinese women—with their easy access to toxic pesticides, social isolation, and unique burden of feudal obligations and modern stresses—have been particularly susceptible.

"Character Amnesia"

2010-08-27T22:09:00.000-07:00

Wired youth forget how to write in China and Japan

Surveys indicate the phenomenon, dubbed "character amnesia", is widespread across China, causing young Chinese to fear for the future of their ancient writing system.
Young Japanese people also report the problem, which is caused by the constant use of computers and mobile phones with alphabet-based input systems.

via I Heart Chaos

- My HS Chinese teacher supported this trend - said there wouldn't be any need for us modern students to write - instead, she stressed reading comprehension so we could type and read more vocabulary instead of spending so much time writing and rewriting.

Hawaii News Now: Vietnam and US

2010-08-19T13:28:00.000-07:00

Vietnam, US hold first ever defense talks - Hawaii News Now - KGMB and KHNL Home

Vietnam views U.S. influence in the region as a counterweight to China, which claims disputed islands in the South China Sea. Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines also have staked claims on all or some of the territory, which straddles vital shipping lanes, important fishing grounds and is believed rich in oil and natural gas reserves.

(via Justin)

The New York Times' China Section in World News

2010-08-16T20:29:00.000-07:00

China - The New York Times

"World news about China, including breaking news and archival articles published in The New York Times."

I just switched to Google Chrome and I love it! It makes blogging pretty simple. :D

Change.org: The Truth About the Asian-American Model Minority

2010-08-15T03:18:00.000-07:00

The Truth About the Asian-American Model Minority | Race in America | Change.org

"...the image of Asian-Americans as a homogeneous group of high achievers ignores the diversity of Asian-American experiences. Statistics like those above mostly help to perpetuate the model minority myth, when in fact there are as many Asian-Americans above the curve as there are below it."

Discovery News: China Top of Orbital Garbage Heap, Study Shows

2010-08-13T14:06:00.000-07:00

"Who’s the biggest space polluter on the planet? Why that would be China, a relative newcomer to the space age, which now tops the list of countries contributing to space debris, according to a study by the Russian space agency, Roscosmos." - Read More Here

The Original Meaning of My Chinese Name

2010-08-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

Wow - I just got the most amazing e-mail from my friend in Beijing Xu Qing ("Unclouded") and she's a Chinese Linguistics major. She sent me scanned images of my Chinese name's original meaning.

Here's her email to me:

"...I refer to the book 说文解字, which was written in Han Dynasty and considered the oldest dictionary of China and explains the original meaning of many Chinese characters.

As you can see, 彭（彭）means the beat of drum;艺（藝）meas sowing(now it means "art";丽（麗）[means traveling] or experiencing(now means "beautiful". As you can see, both the appearance and the meaning have changed a lot. Is it interesting? :)"

I sure as hell think it is!! This whole time, my name Chinese name Peng Yili (彭艺丽) simply meant "Beautiful Art/Skill" to me - which is beautiful yes, but now there is such a richer and deeper meaning in it - and I can see how yi - sowing has come to mean skill/art and how li - traveling, experiencing has come to mean beautiful - Chinese is a wonderful language.

彭 - Peng - The beat of a drum

艺（藝）- Yi - Sowing

丽（麗）- Li - Traveling and Experiencing

Su Daji

2010-07-29T01:10:00.000-07:00

Presentation on Su Daji from Beijing Zeal

My final presentation for my Chinese Folklore class was on Su Daji - the "Last Woman of the Shang" - famed for destroying the empire with her treachery and seduction - she was demonized as having the soul of a fox spirit.

**Update**

Here is a paper on Su Daji and Fox Spirits - please ignore typos, it was written in haste. :(

Su Daji and Fox Spirits in China

Modernization in India leads to a polluted Ganges

2010-07-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

How India's Success Is Killing Its Holy River

I consider this news far too late - they should have been working on this years ago. The Ganges is so important for Indians who live along it - the Nile in Cairo is in a sad state too.

Links to wordy things from Beijing Zeal

2010-07-08T10:07:00.001-07:00

Here are some links to some wordier posts (HW, essays, etc.) from my other blog (Beijing Zeal) that I feel belong on this page too.

Beijing and Kunqu Opera - homework from my Traditional Chinese Music class.

Law Reform, Ethnic Minorities, and Population Policy in China - from an exam.

Project on display in class

2010-06-27T11:29:00.001-07:00

Sorry these are so delayed! This is my project as displayed in class! - the teacher liked it so much, she's keeping the board to teach zen art in summer sessions

I'm in China!

2010-06-22T07:51:00.001-07:00

I'm studying at Peking University for a month! Check out my new blog!
Photos, diary entries, etc. - - I'm havin' a ball!
Beijing Zeal

Chen Village and its Sent-Down Youth - 1964-1974

2010-06-12T04:13:00.000-07:00

I spent all night writing this. Enjoy /).u;

Ao and Chen Village: The Sent-Down Youth of China
Chen Village: Revolution to Globalization documents fifty Cantonese adolescents who decided to embark on a decade-long life-changing experience in the spring of 1964 that would forever label them as sent-down youth. The majority of the voluntary youth that went to live in Chen Village before the Cultural Revolution were high school students in their mid-teens who excelled in their studies and sought prove their “redness”, or commitment to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman Mao Zedong’s socialist ideology, by laboring alongside the peasant masses in the countryside. Ao, a recurrent interviewee in Chen Village, was one of these idealistic youths. During her stay in the village, she promoted Mao’s ideology as a Mao Thought counselor, propagandist, and broadcaster during the proliferation of the Mao Cult in the Four Cleanup campaign. She was a successful Communist Youth League member who remained in the village and fiercely scolded rebellious youth during the Cultural Revolution. In addition, Ao was also a vicious interrogator during the Cleansing of the Class Ranks. However, because of her bad class origins she was repeatedly held back from gaining party membership. This frustration along with learning about the shaky politics in the top echelons of the CCP between Chairman Mao and Vice Chairman Lin Biao coupled with a free-thinking younger sister, forced Ao to question her own beliefs while in Chen Village. Ao’s story echoes the lives of many urban youths who were sent down to the countryside in order to learn from the peasant masses and expound Mao’s teaching to illiterate farmers and laborers between 1964 and 1974.

Ao, along with a majority of other youths in her group, “insisted on the sacrifice and ‘tempering’ of a tough life in the countryside” in order to show their commitment Communist ideology that had been taught in their schools (9, 10). These students had to seek their parents’ permission in order to be sent to the countryside. However, this was usually denied, despite the students’ ardor for the experience. Nonetheless, about a dozen students were able to gain their parents’ permission to be sent to Chen Village (11). All together, the group that was sent to Chen Village was a “contingent of fifty young people” (11). The group decided to venture to “the commune’s Siberia” – Chen Village, because “the whole group was carried along by idealistic feelings. and opted for the tougher location” (11).
Neighboring villages knew that “Chens had to toil for longer hours and less reward than most other peasants in the district” (14). Chen Village’s buildings “were dilapidated, dank, and reeked of the sows and poultry that shared the quarters with their owners.” (13). The village had a local population of “just under one thousand” that it could barely support with its own crops (14). This was because the village only had “about five hundred acres of arable lands” with some located in the mountains that could only be reached after am arduous three-hour hike (14). But by the time the youths had arrived, Chen Village had experienced many changes under earlier village leaders. Class struggles and land reform had been accomplished in the early 1950s. Then the village had been collectivized into a cooperative, which quickly lead to it becoming part of a people’s commune during the Great Leap Forward during the mid-1950s. The village had felt successful development until the Great Leap Forward “degenerated into bureaucratic blundering and organizational chaos” (25). Afterwards, production brigades were established and new leaders elected to manage smaller numbers of people in the early 1960s to repair the damages of the Great Leap Forward (26). As the youths entered Chen Village, students would quickly learn of the complex internal political struggles in the small community during the Four Cleanups campaign, which was aimed at “cleansing the rural villages of corruption” while also “transforming the ideology, social mores, and economy of China’s villages” (74). Thus, the Mao Cult would begin its spread throughout Chen Village during the fall of 1965, and Ao would be its voice.
During the Four Cleanups campaign, otherwise known as the Socialist Education campaign, the Mao Zedong Thought Counselor Corps was developed in order to piece together the Chen Village peasants’ “spotty and fragmented” understanding of Communist ideology by teaching them thoroughly through Mao study (74). The workteam that had orchestrated the Big Four Cleanups in the winter of 1965 decided that in the fall of that same year, “the best recruits for [the Mao Zedong Thought Counselor Corps] were the village sent-down urban youths” because “such youths excelled in book learning” (75.) In addition, the youths were “idealistically intent upon dedicating their own lives to Maoist principles. And because [the sent-down youths] had not yet developed any close personal ties in the village, they would be in a better position to criticize villagers for failing to live up to Mao’s teachings” (75).
Ao, a dutiful Mao Thought counselor, became the brigade broadcaster and timekeeper when Chen Village got electricity in 1966 and set up a broadcasting system with thirty high-volume loudspeakers installed and placed throughout the communal areas in the village (85). Ao also assisted the work team in collecting information on local cadres and peasants, learning much about the village’s history, internal politics, social networks, and local drama – “the kind of knowledge an astute Mao Thought counselor and broadcaster could use to good effect” (85). She would use “the peasants’ pride in their team to spur them to race against other teams” in order to increase the community’s production output with an effective mix of compliments and criticisms, blared over the loudspeakers (86). Ao and a majority of the other sent-down youths counselors were “disciples of Mao and the party” and “believed in the submission of the individual to the collective and subordination of the smaller unit to the good of the greater whole”, and we able to carry out these criticisms and compliments unreservedly (87). Ao performed her tasks enthusiastically, because “[she] believed that ideological change was the leading factor in the construction of a socialist countryside and felt the broadcasting system was an effective instrument to bring about this change” (86).
Ao remained dutiful to her work as one of the branch leaders of the Communist Youth League in Chen Village but was in danger of appearing as a careerist rather than genuine to the Communist cause because of her many responsibilities as a Mao Thought counselor, broadcaster, and information and materials gatherer for the workteam (104, 107). Other youths became envious of Ao’s elite position in the community and Youth League because how much work she was accomplishing on her own, instead of divvying up the workload with other youths. However, Ao defensively pointed out that “others didn’t know how to manage anything” (107). It was this attitude that fueled other youths’ aggressions towards Ao and other Youth League leaders would still “insensitively lectured and prodded their less successful peers from the city” with an air of righteousness concerning Maoist ideology (110). But during this time, the Cultural Revolution was gaining momentum in the cities, and envious youths looking to rebel against the condescending youth elite and brigade heads took action by becoming members of the Red Guard in 1966.
The Red Guards would strive to “prove the superiority of their political devotion” in feverish struggles against bad class members. However, the rebellious youths ended up unleashing their own personal grievances in their struggles against village and youth authorities. Ao recalls that “[the rebellious youths] didn’t like us to be their commanders” (110). However, Ao remained in the village despite the difficulties that the Cultural Revolution and Red Guards brought, even when the idea was passed around that the youths should return to Canton – defending herself on the grounds that “the youths’ revolutionary dedication would be placed seriously in doubt if they had left” (123). The Cultural Revolution quickly led to the decay in Chen Village’s political and economic system in early 1967, which had to be reinstituted by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) (129). Eventually, the Red Guards of Chen Village had lost their enthusiasm due to inaccurate accusations, limited knowledge of political terminology, and limited village support (113, 116, 118, 121, 126). With the return of a political structure, Ao returned to “broadcasting the glory of Mao’s thought over the loudspeakers” which she had ceased doing during the heat of the local Red Guards zealous attempts at gaining power (132). Ao could not have realized that her diligence and work as a cadre during the years before and during the beginning Cultural Revolution would not earn her fitting rewards. Instead, she would be held back because of her class origins.
Ao sought to become a committee member in Chen Village’s new governing body in 1968 (141). However, her position appointment was vetoed on the basis of her class background, because of her father (142). Ao’s father “had worked under the Guomindang as a physician in the army medical corps” and thus sullied Ao’s class origins. In her place, local youths of better standing from poor peasant backgrounds were selected. Ao would not easily forget this turn of events in her life, and would later use it to fuel her zealousness as the head of a special cases small group for the village’s public security committee during the Cleansing of the Class Ranks campaign (145). Her power in this position would allow her to display “how competent a ‘red’ she really was” (151). In her position in the public security committee, Ao was in charge of questionings and “had the power to initiate interrogations and to extend them for as long as she wished” to acquire any material she deemed anti-Maoist from villagers, youths, and cadres (155). Ao could also place people into the village’s “cowshed” – “a makeshift jail of a type that sprung up all over China during the Cultural Revolution” where people Ao deemed political enemies of who were anti-Maoist thought could be locked up (150).
Ao had serious belief in Maoist thought to the point of zealous religiousness and she sought “to invoke the thought of the Chairman against anyone who deviated from orthodoxy and local order” – her reason for opposing the rebellious Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution (156). She, along with other leaders in the Cleansing of the Class Ranks campaign, held firmly to the belief “that every person inevitably is part of a family unit and should be identified as such” thus making it easier for her to proceed with her intense interrogations (166). She and other youths pledged devotion to the “three loyalties” which included “loyalty to Mao, to Mao’s thought, and to his revolutionary line” (169). But Ao’s ideological and political dedication would be cast aside for the technical expertise of new youths during the upcoming era of forced sent-down youth.
The turn of events for Ao began after the Cultural Revolution began to work on stabilization. Ao was forced to make public apologies in 1969 for her “exaggerated attacks against the urban-born youths” along with attacks against other village heads. (179) At the same time, she was denied party membership when the workteam was selecting new members because of her father’s work with the Guomindang (227). As she got older, and other urban-born and local youths came of age in the village with better educations, “even the posts she already held seemed threatened” (227). Ao began to contest the significance of her own class background’s compared to her own personal work towards Maoist ideology. Eventually, urban-born youths were forced to the countryside, including Ao’s sister, who came in with new ideas and an alien skepticism toward authority and government that at first left Ao feeling appalled, but then curious towards this new wave of thought (229). Eventually, the controversial death of Vice Chairman Lin Biao, once a supposed heir to Chairman Mao, but then labeled treasonous by the party, would throw Ao along with many hardcore supporters of the CCP into serious doubt about the party’s internal strength (229). With Lin’s death, there was no more need to study Mao thought, which sent-down youths had spent a decade promoting. Many were left with little faith in the political system (231). The final blow would be dealt when a village-supported campaign was devised to force youths like Ao to the remote jungle-island of Hainan, which Ao protested against (232). Ao’s sister explains: “[Ao and I] really felt abused by the village because it had tried to force us to leave” (235). So, after Ao and her sister were forced to sign up for the program, they decided to escape to Hong Kong in 1974 (235). In my opinion, I believe she made the right decision to leave because she would have no way of knowing whether or not future policies would force her into a lower status again because of her class background, casting aside once again all of her dedication and work towards the Communist cause in the countryside.
Chen Village’s focus on the sent-down Cantonese youth during 1964 to 1974 shows the life changing experiences they endured. The youths went to the countryside in order to prove their commitment CCP and Maoist thought. Ao was one of these youths, who promoted Maoist ideology while at the same time being held back because of her class background. This setback along with the controversial incidents like Lin Biao’s death and controversial policies in the CCP led her to ultimately question her beliefs. Ao’s experiences mirror the lives and ideological developments of many other youths who lived in the countryside during the intense decade in China’s history.

works cited:
Chan, Anita, Richard Madsen, Jonathan Unger. Chen Village: Revolution to Globalization. Berkeley: University of California, 2009. Print.

Written for Prof. Bell's Hist182 - June 2, 2010

*Update*

Teacher's Comments: Liz—you write (and read) very well, and have done an excellent job with all of the details of Ao’s life and understanding her changing mindset. My only complaint is that I would have liked just a bit more explanation at the outset about why Mao believed it was so necessary for everyone to espouse revolutionary principles in this post-Great Leap Forward period. [the answer here to is to fight again bureaucratization in the upper echelons of the urban-located CCP - a separation of party from the common masses due to elitist technocrats]

Theme paragraph, organization, overall presentation	Ao’s motivations and the general pattern of the sent-down youth	Ao’s specific roles and the beliefs behind them	Why did Ao leave? Assessment of her decision and its meaning
4.5/5	5/5	5/5	5/5

Total score: 19.5/20 [YAY!]

Bodhidharma

2010-06-10T01:40:00.000-07:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhidharma

Sent to me from my friend Gao Ge - 高歌

My Modern China Final's terms

2010-06-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

Gathered from Wikipedia, various websites, and my notes

First Five-Year Plan, 1953-57

Having restored a viable economic base, the leadership under Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and other revolutionary veterans was prepared to embark on an intensive program of industrial growth and socialization. For this purpose the administration adopted the Soviet economic model, based on state ownership in the modern sector, large collective units in agriculture, and centralized economic planning. The Soviet approach to economic development was manifested in the First Five-Year Plan (1953-57). As in the Soviet economy, the main objective was a high rate of economic growth, with primary emphasis on industrial development at the expense of agriculture and particular concentration on heavy industry and capital-intensive technology. Soviet planners helped their Chinese counterparts formulate the plan. Large numbers of Soviet engineers, technicians, and scientists assisted in developing and installing new heavy industrial facilities, including many entire plants and pieces of equipment purchased from the Soviet Union. Government control over industry was increased during this period by applying financial pressures and inducements to convince owners of private, modern firms to sell them to the state or convert them into joint public-private enterprises under state control.

Concrete problems of the First Five Year Plan

Though capitalism took years to evolve, other countries trying to utilize socialist means felt that they could catch up quickly

Inequalities between city and countryside

The 1st 5 yr. plan focused on heavy industry, which took place in cities

Unemployment in cities

Too many people try to get jobs in these funded factories, and their ends up being a serge of unemployment because of a flooding migrant population

Inadequate capital for continuing investment

China simply doesn’t have enough surplus capital to venture into new industry

Nor can the industries it invests in develop instant revenue – it takes hundreds of years to make heavy industry evolve to utilize its full potential

There needs to be a better use of labor power - - especially in the country side

So they tax the peasantry à exporting grain

Stages of Agricultural Collectivization:
Agriculture also underwent extensive organizational changes.

1) Mutual Aid Teams, 1953-54

To facilitate the mobilization of agricultural resources, improve the efficiency of farming, and increase government access to agricultural products, the authorities encouraged farmers to organize increasingly large and socialized collective units.
2) Elementary Agricultural Producers' Cooperatives, 1955-56

From the loosely structured, tiny mutual aid teams, villages were to advance first to lower-stage, agricultural producers' cooperatives, in which families still received some income on the basis of the amount of land they contributed, and eventually to advanced cooperatives, or collectives.
3) Advanced Agricultural Producers' Cooperatives, 1956-57

In the agricultural producers' cooperatives, income shares were based only on the amount of labor contributed. In addition, each family was allowed to retain a small private plot on which to grow vegetables, fruit, and livestock for its own use. The collectivization process began slowly but accelerated in 1955 and 1956. In 1957 about 93.5 percent of all farm households had joined advanced producers' cooperatives.
4) People's Communes, 1958 onward (The Great Leap Forward)

An economic and social plan used from 1958 to 1961 which ostensibly aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern communist society through the process of agriculturalization, industrialization, and collectivization. Chief changes in the lives of rural Chinese included the introduction of a mandatory process of agricultural collectivization, which was introduced incrementally. Private farming was prohibited, and those engaged in it were labeled as counter revolutionaries and persecuted. Restrictions on rural people were enforced through public struggle sessions, social pressure, and violence.

Structural aspects and problems of the People's Communes

Built on collectives pre-established in countryside

Takes many of the collectives and binds them together in a huge scale à a commune

The first level is referred to as a production team

It was also a view of countryside politics à the commune leader would be the main leader, etc. à commune heads had lots of authority à everything was centrally planned

Work point system à points allocated for certain types of work

But some have more animals, better tools, and different types of quality of land

But the size of these units was mammoth

Too large for inexperienced leadership

Administrative chaos

Many are illiterate

Many also exaggerate their statistics because of competitive air with other rural leaders and the cities

Famine and its aftermath

Exaggerated numbers leaves little to no grain left in rural areas

Enthusiasm for the Great Leap Forward is dashed by feminine

Environmental problems

But the communes are not dismantled à rather restructured

Their size is reduced

Production brigades still exist à along with production teams

Authority problems become easier to manage

Industry in countryside is never abandoned

People want to hear less about politics, but it continues in waves à Cultural Revolution

Bureaucratism/bureaucratization
Mao à worries about creating a huge state bureaucracy

It creates a top heavy party of a different type than during the revolutionary period à when the revolutionary period party fought against a bureaucracy in the first place

Recreating systems of the past

Insulated technically specialize class

Divisions between bureaucrats and common citizens

Most highly educated take bureaucratic jobs

Permanent revolution

Engineering the soul

Focusing on developing a consciousness into the people to constantly combat inequality

Concrete manifestation of ideological “permanent revolution” leads to the institutional manifestation of people’s commune

Work points

the "lower" or "semi socialist" agricultural producers' cooperative (APC). An APC usually encompassed a small village or section of a village (twenty to forty households on average). Members of the APC pooled their lands and large agricultural tools and draft animals and worked the land together. A management committee kept records, usually measuring in daily "work points," of the amount of labor done by each family. At the end of a year, the crop and other income (after taxes had been paid and reserve funds had been subtracted) would be divided among the members of the APC according to the accumulated work points of each family and the land and tools they had contributed. Fifteen thousand APCs were established when the CCP began to encourage peasants to replace MATs with APCs at the end of 1953.

Mao Zedong

a Chinese revolutionary, political theorist and communist leader. He led the People's Republic of China (PRC) from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976. His theoretical contribution to Marxism-Leninism, military strategies, and his brand of Communist policies are now collectively known as Maoism.

Mao remains a controversial figure to this day, with a contentious and ever-evolving legacy. He is officially held in high regard in China as a great revolutionary, political strategist, military mastermind, and savior of the nation. Many Chinese also believe that through his policies, he laid the economic, technological and cultural foundations of modern China, transforming the country from an agrarian society into a major world power. Additionally, Mao is viewed as a poet, philosopher, and visionary, owing the latter primarily to the cult of personality fostered during his time in power.[1] Mao's portrait continues to be featured prominently on Tiananmen and on all Renminbi bills.

Conversely, Mao's social-political programs, such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, are blamed for costing millions of lives, causing severe famine and damage to the culture, society and economy of China. Mao's policies and political purges from 1949 to 1976 are widely believed to have caused the deaths of between 50 to 70 million people.[2][3][4] Since Deng Xiaoping assumed power in 1978, many Maoist policies have been abandoned in favour of economic reforms.

Liu Shaoqi – Vice Chairman of the CCP

a Chinese revolutionary, statesman, and theorist. He was Chairman of the People's Republic of China, China's head of state, from 27 April 1959 to 31 October 1968, during which he implemented policies of economic reconstruction in China. He fell out of favour in the later 1960s during the Cultural Revolution because of his perceived 'right-wing' viewpoints and, it is theorised, because Mao viewed Liu as a threat to his power. He disappeared from public life in 1968 and was labelled China's premier 'Capitalist-roader' and a traitor.

From 1945 to his downfall in 1966, Liu ranked as the First Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party.[7] In 1949, he was Vice Chairman of the Central People's Government, and later First Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress (1955-59).[7] He succeeded Mao as Government Chairman (essentially President of the People's Republic of China) in 1958, and was publicly acknowledged as Mao's chosen successor in 1961.[1]

Liu worked mainly in party organizational and theoretical affairs.[8] An orthodox Soviet-style Communist, he favored state planning and the development of heavy industry. He was the first to announce the Great Leap Forward, at the Second Session of the 8th CCP National Congress, in May 1958,[9] and together with Deng Xiaoping and Peng Zhen stood at odds with moderates led by Chen Yun and Zhou Enlai. The first indication of concern came at the August 1959 Lushan Plenum.[9]

Amid growing disenchantment with Mao's Great Leap Forward, Deng and Liu gained influence within the CCP. They embarked on economic reforms that bolstered their prestige among the party apparatus and the national populace. Deng and Liu advocated more liberal economic policies, as opposed to Mao's radical ideas.

Halfway through the 1960s, however, Mao rebuilt his position in the Party and in 1966 he launched the Cultural Revolution as a means of destroying his enemies in the Party. Liu and Deng Xiaoping, along with many others, were denounced as "capitalist roaders." Liu was labeled as a "traitor," and "the biggest capitalist roader in the Party." In July 1966 he was displaced as Party Deputy Chairman by Lin Biao. By 1967 Liu and his wife Wang Guangmei were under house arrest in Beijing.

Deng Xiaoping – CCP General Secretary (after the Great Leap Forward); from 1978 onward, “supreme leader” (leader of the Reform Era)

a Chinese politician, statesman, theorist, and diplomat.[1] As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng became a reformer who led China towards a market economy. While Deng never held office as the head of state, head of government or General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (historically the highest position in Communist China), he nonetheless served as the Paramount leader of the People's Republic of China from 1978 to the early 1990s.

As a supporter of Mao Zedong, Deng was named by Mao to several important posts in the new government.

After officially supporting Mao Zedong in his Anti-Rightist Campaign of 1957, Deng became General Secretary of the Secretariat and ran the country's daily affairs with then President Liu Shaoqi. Having failed to advance the “social productive forces” in the Great Leap Forward through the “communist wind” and the “exaggeration wind”, Liu and Deng moved from an “ultra-leftist” approach to a “pragmatic” or right opportunist approach.

In the rural areas, they allowed the peasants to have bigger private plots and sell their outputs on free markets, diverting peasants’ labour effort away from the collective work. The collective work itself was partially privatised as a result of the “contracting production to the family” policy. This new partial privatisation had led to rising inequality among peasants as well as growing corruption among the rural cadres.

In the cities, the industrial sector was reorganised to concentrate power and authority in the hands of managerial and technical experts. Bonuses and piece rates were widely introduced to promote economic efficiency, leading to a rising economic and social inequality. Then, Deng and Liu used growing disenchantment with Great Leap Forward, and gained influence within the CCP. They embarked on economic reforms that bolstered their prestige among the party technocrats and apparatus bureaucrats. Deng and Liu advocated more rightist policies, as opposed to Mao's leftist ideas.

In 1961, at the Guangzhou conference, Deng uttered what is perhaps his most famous quotation: "I don't care if it's a white cat or a black cat. It's a good cat so long as it catches mice."[13] This was interpreted to mean that being productive in life is more important than whether one follows a communist or capitalist ideology.

Improving relations with the outside world was the second of two important philosophical shifts outlined in Deng's program of reform termed Gaige Kaifang (lit. Reforms and Openness). The domestic social, political, and most notably, economic systems would undergo significant changes during Deng's time as leader. The goals of Deng's reforms were summed up by the Four Modernizations, those of agriculture, industry, science and technology and the military.

The strategy for achieving these aims of becoming a modern, industrial nation was the socialist market economy. Deng argued that China was in the primary stage of socialism and that the duty of the party was to perfect so-called "socialism with Chinese characteristics", and "seek truth from facts". (This somewhat resembles the Leninist theoretical justification of the NEP in the 20s, which argued that Russia hadn't gone deeply enough in to the capitalist phase and therefore needed limited capitalism in order to fully evolve its means of production) This interpretation of Maoism reduced the role of ideology in economic decision-making and deciding policies of proven effectiveness. Downgrading communitarian values but not necessarily the ideology of Marxism-Leninism himself, Deng emphasized that "socialism does not mean shared poverty". His theoretical justification for allowing market forces was given as such:

Planning and market forces are not the essential difference between socialism and capitalism. A planned economy is not the definition of socialism, because there is planning under capitalism; the market economy happens under socialism, too. Planning and market forces are both ways of controlling economic activity."[18]

Unlike Hua Guofeng, Deng believed that no policy should be rejected outright simply because it was not associated with Mao. Unlike more conservative leaders such as Chen Yun, Deng did not object to policies on the grounds that they were similar to ones which were found in capitalist nations.

This political flexibility towards the foundations of socialism is strongly supported by quotes such as:

We mustn't fear to adopt the advanced management methods applied in capitalist countries (...) The very essence of socialism is the liberation and development of the productive systems (...) Socialism and market economy are not incompatible (...) We should be concerned about right-wing deviations, but most of all, we must be concerned about left-wing deviations.[19]

Material and moral incentives

Big-character posters

Big character posters – puts forward a political position – shows movement in CCP
handwritten, wall-mounted posters using large-sized Chinese characters, used as a means of protest, propaganda, and popular communication.

Red Guards

were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in China, who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.

the Cultural Revolution Group directed the Red Guards to attack the 'Four Olds' of Chinese society (old customs, old culture, old habits and old ideas). For the rest of the year, Red Guards marched across China in a campaign to eradicate the 'Four Olds'. Old books and art was destroyed, museums were ransacked, and streets were renamed with new revolutionary names and adorned with pictures and the sayings of Mao.[7] Many famous temples, shrines, and other heritage sites were attacked and, in total, 4,922 out of 6,843 were destroyed.[8].

However, attacks on culture quickly descended into attacks on people. Ignoring guidelines in the 'Sixteen Articles' that stipulated that persuasion rather than force were to be used to bring about the Cultural Revolution, officials in positions of authority and perceived 'bourgeois elements' were denounced and suffered physical and psychological attacks.[9] Intellectuals were to suffer the brunt of these attacks. Many were ousted from official posts such as university teaching and allocated manual tasks such as "sweeping courtyards, building walls and cleaning toilets from 7am to 5pm daily" which would encourage them to dwell on past "mistakes".[10] An official report in October of 1966 reported that the Red Guards had already arrested 22000 'counterrevolutionaries'.[11]

The Red Guards were also tasked with rooting out 'capitalist roaders' (those with supposed 'right wing' views) in positions of authority, This search was to extend to the very highest echelons of the CCP, with many top party officials, such as Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping and Peng Dehuai being attacked both verbally and physically by the Red Guards

By February 1967 political opinion at the centre had now decided on the removal of the Red Guards from the Cultural Revolution scene in the interests of stability.[17] In February and March the People's Liberation Army (PLA) forcibly suppressed the more radical Red Guard groups in Sichuan, Anhui, Hunan, Fujian and Hubei provinces. Students were also ordered to return to schools, student radicalism was branded 'counterrevolutionary' and banned.[18] However, in the spring, there was a wide backlash against the suppressions, with student attacks on any symbol of authority and PLA units. As a result, on September 5th 1967, an order from Mao himself, the Cultural Revolution Group, the State Council and the Central Military Affairs Committee of the PLA instructed the PLA to restore order to China.[19]

PLA (People’s Liberation Army

Revolutionary Committees

The result of the unfettered criticism of established organs of control by China's exuberant youth was massive civil disorder, punctuated also by clashes among rival Red Guard gangs and between the gangs and local security authorities. The party organization was shattered from top to bottom. (The Central Committee's Secretariat ceased functioning in late 1966.) The resources of the public security organs were severely strained. Faced with imminent anarchy, the PLA--the only organization whose ranks for the most part had not been radicalized by Red Guard-style activities--emerged as the principal guarantor of law and order and the de facto political authority. And although the PLA was under Mao's rallying call to "support the left," PLA regional military commanders ordered their forces to restrain the leftist radicals, thus restoring order throughout much of China. The PLA also was responsible for the appearance in early 1967 of the revolutionary committees, a new form of local control that replaced local party committees and administrative bodies. The revolutionary committees were staffed with Cultural Revolution activists, trusted cadres, and military commanders, the latter frequently holding the greatest power.

Lin Biao

a Chinese Communist military leader who was instrumental in the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, especially in Northeastern China, and was the General who led the People's Liberation Army into Beijing in 1949. He abstained from becoming a major player in politics until he rose to prominence during the Cultural Revolution, climbing as high as second-in-charge and Mao Zedong's designated and constitutional successor and comrade-in-arms.

He died in a 'plane crash' in September 1971 in Mongolia after what appeared to be a failed coup to oust Mao. After his death, he was officially condemned as a traitor

Hua Guofeng

Mao Zedong's designated successor as the paramount leader of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China. Upon Zhou Enlai's death in 1976, he succeeded him as the second Premier of the People's Republic of China. Months later, Mao died, and Hua succeeded Mao as the Chairman of the Communist Party of China, to the surprise and dismay of Jiang Qing and the rest of the Gang of Four. He brought the Cultural Revolution to an end and ousted the Gang of Four from political power, but because of his insistence on continuing the Maoist line, he was himself outmaneuvered a few years later by Deng Xiaoping, who forced Hua into early retirement. Hua, as Hunan Party Secretary, was credited for his 1968 use of the PLA to quell the red guards and restore order, though at the cost of many deaths.

The Gang of Four

The name given to a leftist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) and were subsequently charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The members consisted of Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong's last wife and the leading figure of the group, and her close associates Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen.

The Gang of Four effectively controlled the power organs of the Communist Party of China through the latter stages of the Cultural Revolution, although it remains unclear which major decisions were made through Mao Zedong and carried out by the Gang, and which were the result of the Gang of Four's own planning. The Gang of Four, together with disgraced Communist general Lin Biao, were labeled the two major "counter-revolutionary forces" of the Cultural Revolution and officially blamed for the worst excesses of the societal chaos that ensued during the ten years of turmoil. Their downfall in a coup d'état on October 6, 1976, a mere month after Mao's death, brought about major celebrations on the streets of Beijing and marked the end of a turbulent political era in China.

Zhou Enlai

The first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976 - Zhou was instrumental in the Communist Party's rise to power, and subsequently in the development of the Chinese economy and restructuring of Chinese society.

A skilled and able diplomat, Zhou served as the Chinese foreign minister from 1949 to 1958. Advocating peaceful coexistence with the West, he participated in the 1954 Geneva Conference and helped orchestrate Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to China. Due to his expertise, Zhou was largely able to survive the purges of high-level Chinese Communist Party officials during the Cultural Revolution. His attempts at mitigating the Red Guards' damage and his efforts to protect others from their wrath made him immensely popular in the Revolution's later stages.

As Mao Zedong's health began to decline in 1971 and 1972, Zhou and the Gang of Four struggled internally over leadership of China. Zhou's health was also failing however, and he died eight months before Mao on 8 January 1976. The massive public outpouring of grief in Beijing turned to anger towards the Gang of Four, leading to the Tiananmen Incident. Deng Xiaoping, Zhou's ally and successor as Premier, was able to outmaneuver the Gang of Four politically and eventually take Mao's place as Paramount Leader.

"Responsibility system"

First adopted in agriculture in 1981 and later extended to other sectors of the economy, by which local managers are held responsible for the profits and losses of the enterprise. This system partially supplanted the egalitarian distribution method, whereby the state assumed all profits and losses.

In traditional Maoist organization of the rural economy, and that of other collectivized programs, farmers are given a quota of goods to produce. They were compensated for meeting the quota. Going beyond the quota rarely produced a sizeable economic reward. In the early 1980s peasants were given drastically reduced quotas. What food they grew beyond the quota was sold on a free market at unregulated prices. This was an instant success, quickly causing one of the largest increases in standard of living for such a large number of people in such a very small space of time.

Village and township enterprises

TVEs are economic units which are either collectively owned by local
residents in the rural areas of China or mainly owned and controlled by the
peasants.3 The broad concept of TVEs includes, in addition to the
collectively-owned enterprises, other rural non-state enterprises such as the
enterprises owned and run by individual peasants

Democratic centralism

the principles of internal organization used by Leninist political parties, and the term is sometimes used as a synonym for any Leninist policy inside a political party. The democratic aspect of this organizational method describes the freedom of members of the political party to discuss and debate matters of policy and direction, but once the decision of the party is made by majority vote, all members are expected to uphold that decision. This latter aspect represents the centralism. As Lenin described it, democratic centralism consisted of "freedom of discussion, unity of action."

Democracy Wall

became the focus for democratic dissent. Beginning in December 1978, in line with the Communist Party of China's policy of "seeking truth from facts," activists in the Democracy movement — such as Xu Wenli — recorded news and ideas, often in the form of big-character posters (dazibao), during a period known as the "Beijing Spring". The first posting on the Wall was by a poet from Guizhou province, Huang Xiang. These activists were initially encouraged to criticize the Gang of Four and previous failed government policies as part of Deng Xiaoping's struggle to gain power but the wall was closed in December 1979 when the leadership and the communist party system were being criticized along with acknowledged mistakes and previous leaders. The shutdown coincided with suppression of political dissent. The Democracy Wall was moved to Ritan Park prior to being closed down. As visitors to the wall then had to show identification to enter the park, the open and free access to the wall was curtailed.

During the Beijing Spring, the general public was allowed greater freedom to criticize the government than the Chinese people had previously been allowed under the government of the People's Republic of China. Most of this criticism was directed towards the Cultural Revolution and the government's behavior during that time; it was made public with the Democracy Wall Movement.

Tiananmen Square Massacre

The Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989, commonly referred to as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, were a series of demonstrations led by students, intellectuals, and labor activists in the People's Republic of China between April 15 and June 4, 1989. While the protests lacked a unified cause or leadership, participants were generally critical of the ruling Chinese Communist Party and voiced complaints ranging from minor criticisms to calls for full-fledged democracy and the establishment of broader freedoms. The demonstrations centered on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, but large-scale protests ... occurred in cities throughout China, including Shanghai, which stayed peaceful throughout the protests. In Beijing, the resulting military crackdown on the protesters by the PRC government left many civilians dead or injured.

Completing the series...

2010-06-07T03:33:00.000-07:00

The Fat Buddha Series Completed

The first one is a Daruma-like silhouette and enso-halo being combined

The second painting is the remaining enso

Transporting the paintings in my car - letting them dry - lol :D

original text from the flier for the Peking Opera show I was in (found in forum)

2010-06-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

中华之声国剧社秋季大公演

贵妃醉酒全本乌龙院

彭艺丽 Elizabeth Paich 宋江闹院

美国中学生 16岁坐楼杀惜

扮相雍容华贵活捉三郎

嗓音清脆甜美

海峡两岸名伶名票通力合作

阎惜姣张裕东洛城名票

松江叶复润台湾戏专剧团第一老生

张文远刘强河北省京剧院文武名丑

文场领导阎一川

武场领导赵春祺

中华之声国剧社主办伟博文化公司协办

时间：2005 年10 月16日（星期日）下午 2：00 （准时开演）

地点：圣盖博市立剧场 [San Gabriel Civic Auditorium]

320 S. Mission Dr., San Gabriel, CA 91776

协助券： 10元（不对号）30 元（中座对号）50元（前座对号）

售票处：长青书局，中华之声（ 626）289-0001

联络电话：[626]576-5055，[626]376-3514

http://www.newcssa.com/bbs/read.php?tid=3535

A Chinese article mentioning that I'm a "foreign" concubine

2010-06-03T07:35:00.001-07:00

體驗不同人生美國少女將現“洋貴妃”醉酒
時間：2005-10-12 來源：星島日報洛杉磯分社

【星島網訊】對於在美國土生土長、現年16歲的彭藝麗(Elizabeth Paich)即將可用“楊貴妃”的身份公開表演。她10日表示，她希望透過自己的演出，告訴大家像她如此一個“普通的年輕人”，也可以擁有獨特的經歷和遭遇，體驗與眾不同的人生。

現時在Viewpoint學校唸書的彭藝麗，15歲那年隨父母到北京旅遊，看了一場京劇後便對它一見鍾情，迷戀不已。為了加深與京劇“戀人”的關係，彭藝麗不但購買大堆CD與之“朝夕相對”，更跑去拜師學藝，其清脆的嗓音還得到中華之聲國劇社社長張裕東看中，安排她在16日舉行的“京劇大公演”上，單獨演出《貴妃醉酒》，讓觀眾可以看看這位扮相雍容、音感極佳，唱四平調時帶有點梅味的“洋貴妃”，如何獨斟獨飲，大醉而歸。

穿上戲服的彭藝麗坦言，從服飾、化粧到音樂，京劇毫無疑問是一門博大精深的藝術，令她這個平時喜歡作男性化的打扮和聽流行音樂的“普通女孩”，可以從學習唱、念、走路、神態、手勢的過程裏，擁有另類的戲劇體驗，感覺十分新鮮，也為她帶來很多豐富的經歷。

彭藝麗說，京劇最難的地方在於如何將不同的動作和神態整合起來，帶出人物的性格和味道，而為了演繹楊貴妃妒恨交加的面貌，她花了很多時間排練，並突破了很多難關。雖然有著首度在大型場合公開演出的壓力，然而彭藝麗表示“將會盡力而為”，加上老師、爸媽和男友的百分百的支援，她相信當天可以做到最好。

彭藝麗媽媽Lorraine說受到女兒的影響，自己也跟她一起學習中文，從中了解京劇是什麼一回事。張裕東認為，彭藝麗擁有與生俱來的天份，是一塊不可多得的京劇材料，她相信其表現將可以引起主流社會的注意，有助把京劇進一步推廣開去，讓這個中國優秀的傳統文化發揚光大。

中華之聲國劇社“京劇大公演”將於16日下午2時，在聖蓋博大劇院（320 South Mission Drive, San Gabriel, CA 91776 ）舉行，屆時除了有彭藝麗的獨腳戲《貴妃醉酒》外，還有由張裕東聯同台灣戲專劇團第一老生葉復潤，以及河北省京劇院文武名丑劉強合演的《烏龍院》全本。(記者：馬爾婷）

Links to this article:

http://www.singtaonet.com:82/city/LA/t20051012_13454.html

http://www.stnn.cc/city/LA/t20051012_13454.html

Another article talking about my short career in Peking Opera

2010-06-03T07:33:00.000-07:00

In tune with Chinese opera
16-year-old to take starring role Sunday
By Patricia Jiayi Ho, Staff Writer

SAN GABRIEL -- Her favorite band is Slipknot, but when Elizabeth Paich heard the sounds of Chinese opera wafting through the Summer Palace in Beijing, it captured her imagination like no heavy metal band had.

"I fell in love with it," said the 16-year-old, who visited China on a school trip the summer of 2004. "The music and the voices -- Chinese music is just really interesting and beautiful to me."

Back home, the 16-year-old Paich found a teacher of Chinese opera and, one year later, will give her first public performance at the San Gabriel Civic Auditorium on Sunday.

What first struck her teacher, Wei Wang, was Paich's youth and ethnic background, as the audience for Chinese opera tends to be older and, well, Chinese.

Then, he was impressed by her dedication and the quality of her voice.

"I thought I would just teach her one piece for interest and that would be it. What I didn't realize was she loved this thing so much she just kept practicing," Wang said. "Once she's on, she's really good. Her voice is beautiful."

Sunday's performance will be the first formal stage setting for Paich. She will be accompanied by a live orchestra and other cast members. Previously, she's sung at Viewpoint School in Calabasas, where she is in her senior year, and at the Lotus Festival in Echo Park in Los Angeles.

"I've always wanted to perform but everyone does jazz and piano. Going halfway across the world and finding this is unique," Paich said.

She began studying the Chinese language three years ago almost by default, after becoming frustrated with verb conjugation in her Spanish class. Since that day at the Summer Palace, Paich has listened repeatedly to a CD of Beijing-style opera.

"Singing along, I found that I could actually hit the notes," said Paich, who is no stranger to the world of music and performance.

Her father is David Paich, the pianist and songwriter for Grammy award-winning band Toto, most famous for songs such as "Africa" and "Rosanna."

For Sunday's opera, she will play the title role in "Guifei Zuijiu," or "The Tipsy Concubine."

The 20-minute-long opera is about the legendary beauty and concubine, Yang Guifei, who waits eagerly for a visit from the emperor, only to be disappointed when he doesn't show.

Wendy Chang, president of the Chinese Opera Association, said she hopes Paich's performance will help generate more cross-cultural, cross-generational interest in the art form, which dates back more than 1000 years to the Tang dynasty.

She expects Paich's performance will help draw a crowd of 700 to 800 Sunday night. The Alhambra-based nonprofit was founded in 1997 and puts on two to four shows a year.

Unlike contemporary pop music, Wang said the taste for Chinese opera is an acquired one.

"You have to have the mood, you have to have the background," he said. "It's not easy to get in, but once you're in, it's not easy to get out. I think for Elizabeth, the opera will be in her life forever."

Patricia Jiayi Ho can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4461, or by e-mail at patricia.ho@sgvn.com.

http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?showtopic=7844

An article about my old Peking Opera teacher Xue Yaping that mentions me

2010-06-03T07:30:00.001-07:00

Peking Opera Actress Xue Yaping

Peking Opera Actress Xue Yaping
2008-10-28 15:07:36 CRIENGLISH.com

Earlier this month, Xue Yaping, a well-known Peking Opera actress, performed at the Mei Lanfang Grand Theater after a 16-year hiatus. Many Peking Opera fans who have been awaiting her performance for years were thrilled to see her back on stage.

During her years abroad, Xue Yaping made many efforts to introduce Peking Opera, a traditional Chinese art form, to a wider audience. Our reporter Chen Zhe has the story.

Believe or not, the Peking Opera song you just heard was performed not by a professional actress, but an American student named Elizabeth.

As one of Xue Yaping's foreign students, Elizabeth Paich began studying Peking Opera at the age 15 and progressed quickly. Just a month later, she debuted at her high school. Elizabeth says she could not have done it without the help of her teacher, Xue Yaping, despite their difficulty communicating due to the language barrier.

Elizabeth talks about her experiences under Xue Yaping's tutelage.

"When I was studying with her, I was focused on Gui Fei Zui Jiu, the Drunken Concubine and she really helped me out. The music and mood and dancing really broke the language boundary, so I just had to follow and learn. She is definitely very friendly. She is also very encouraging. If you need to slow down, she will slow down and go through it again and again. She never gets annoyed. She is always willing to help."

Influenced by her mother and grandfather, who are both famous Peking Opera actors, Xue Yaping has been interested in the art form since childhood. She started practicing at a very young age, and later studied under the renowned Peking Opera artist Zhang Junqiu.

With her talent and devoted studies, Xue Yaping soon became one of the most promising young Peking Opera actresses in China. In the 1990s, she won the 8th Plum Blossom Award and Mei Lanfang Gold Prize, the highest honor in the field of Peking Opera. However, Xue Yaping was not satisfied with these achievements.

"I always set new standards for myself. After winning so many prizes at home, I thought I could do something to promote traditional Chinese art worldwide, so I decided to go abroad."

Xue Yaping left China for the United States, where she worked as a college lecturer and Peking Opera instructor.

"Surprisingly, I found that a lot of overseas Chinese love Peking Opera. For them, Peking Opera is a way of reconnecting with their homeland. Actually, many of them are very good at it."

Xue Yaping later opened a school in the United States and another in Taiwan, where there are also lots of Peking Opera fans.
Xue Yaping often joined her students onstage. Together, they have performed at the Lincoln Center in New York, and her student, Sophie Chen, was even invited to perform in Broadway.

Sophie appreciates Xue Yaping's coach a lot.

"She knows how to teach you to sing, and has some different way than other teachers that I know. First she coach your voice, tell you how to get your voice out and she has some sings to guild your voice to go down or go up. For me, her way is very effective so I picked it up pretty fast."

Xue Yaping won the Most Outstanding Asian Artist Award presented by the Lincoln Arts Center and won the American Chinese Art Association award.

Loaded with awards, Xue Yaping is back in China, continuing her quest to promote Peking Opera. She now has adapted some singing methods from opera to her performance.

"The traditional way of singing Peking Opera is like this. (Sing) But now I changed that way of singing by combining both Chinese and western singing methods like this. (Sing) In this way, I hope the Peking Opera can be accepted by the modern world."

For Beyond Beijing, I'm Chen Zhe.

http://english.cri.cn/4406/2008/10/28/1942s418747.htm

Fragmented Essays 2 - Gender and Chinese Medicine

2010-06-03T06:49:00.000-07:00

This is a fragmented messy essay that I was lucky enough to find thanks to my computer's recovery system - it's very messy, jumbled, and incoherent - and this is only a draft of the lost finished version - but I decided to post it in order to be able to revisit the ideas. - - Once again, it is very messy, incomplete, and not very good.

Gender and the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon

Gender in traditional Chinese medicine is a multifaceted question of theory and time. Certainly, one must remember that the academics and medical practitioners who produced classical medical theories and texts viewed the human body and its functions differently than today’s Western biomedical models. But, when it comes to gender and sex-specific medicine, people often search for simple answers of Yes or No to the question of whether or not such notions existed in early China. Examining the works of Raphals and Furth, I found that early Chinese medicine had no notion of sex-specific medicine, like gynecology as it is known today in the West, but it did, in its own way, acknowledge gender. However, a realization of gender does not imply a bodily difference between the sexes, excepting the reproductive organs. The reproductive organs of women were very difficult to understand because the uterus is internal and human dissection was frowned upon.[1] However, in extreme cases like pregnancy, sex-specific remedies were utilized but not classified as a different or unique field of medicine.[2] The basis of differentiation in medicine based on gender would be inspired by the theory of a woman’s major vital fluid being blood, especially because of visible examples like menstruation.[3] However, these developments would not be utilized until the development of Fuke with the Song Dynasty.[4] I believe it is misleading to think that the Chinese had no notions of gender, for one would have to be isolated from others to not notice differences between males and females. I believe that the Chinese were more sophisticated and egalitarian in early physiological and anatomical thought than Western scholars have shown them to be. In the West, where gender is an important and differentiating aspect of a person’s individual identity, the Chinese saw gender as the manifestation of a single androgynous human body, as theorized in the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon, which interprets yin-yang energy in order to express gender.[5] However, even the early notions of gender take time to develop, and it should be noted that it was not until the 2nd century BC that yin and yang began to embody “female” and “male” as genders in their meanings.[6] The terms may not have created an explicit separation between the sexes before the finalization of their meanings. However, they certainly were terms that denoted opposites with a focus on gender.

The theory of the human body as Chinese medical practitioners understood it was that of the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon’s design. The date of the Inner Canon’s compilation is debated among scholars, but it is undoubtedly an early text containing even earlier ideas and theories. Debates sparked by the years of the Inner Canon’s publication are heated because of the text’s multiple authors and multiple recompilations through China’s war-torn history.[7] However, it is generally agreed upon by Western scholars that the Inner Canon’s language and ideas were shaped between 400 BCE and 260 CE.[8] In addition, one must take note that the Inner Canon compilations examined today are not exact copies of versions from the Han because of the many revisions made to the anthology in the past.[9] Nonetheless, by the Inner Canon’s finalization in 260 CE, during the tremulous Six Dynasties period, there were still 700 years before the development of Fuke in the Song Dynasty.[10] The importance of the Inner Canon’s medical and cosmological theories to early thinkers and practitioners is explained by Furth:
During the centuries when the textual tradition of the Inner Canon was being formed, philosophers… were coming to imagine the world in terms of a universal system by which all phenomena of Heaven, Earth and Humanity could be categorized and their transformations known… philosophers elaborated various superstructures of symbolic correlations that patterned the relationship of a vast range of phenomena… the Inner Canon became a germinal text… because it drew upon basic features of this cosmology—qi, yin yang and Five Phase theory—to explain health and disease, firmly establishing correlative relationships between the cosmos and the microcosm of the body; (21).
Of the theories described, yin-yang theory is central to this discussion. So fundamental was this theory that “the [Inner Canon made] analogies between the body, the cosmos, and the state [were] based on the polarity between yin and yang” (Raphals 183). Raphals emphasizes that “depending on the exact analogy, the hierarchy of yin and yang may or may not be stressed” (183). Early thinkers interpreted yin-yang theory as an important aspect of their cosmos. In a sense, yin and yang represented the universe’s transformative aspects, for the early Chinese view of the universe was that it was in a constant flux that flowed naturally. The Inner Canon speaks highly of the dualistic theory, saying: “… it is the dao of heaven and earth. It is the warp that weaves together the myriad creatures, it is the father and mother of transformation and change. It is the root and origin of life and death, and it is the storehouse of deamonic brilliance.” [11] Raphals emphasizes that when the Inner Canon describes yin and yang, it “stresses their mutual interactions more then their hierarchical relations. It is not strongly evaluative in the sense that the qualities ascribed to yin and yang are not consistently negative or positive” (184). Thus, Raphals shows that the Inner Canon was not focused on whether or not men where higher in standing than women, but rather that the focus was on how yin and yang acted as opposing transformative forces.
Yin-yang theory is the first of the theoretical forces to create gender in the androgynous human body presented by the Inner Canon. As the “[Inner Canon] contains no generalized description of differences between men and women or differences in the application of yin-yang vessel theory to men and women”, one must then wonder how they function in the body as opposing forces (Raphals 187). Sexual maturation as portrayed in the Inner Canon is an excellent example of the androgynous human body interpreting these energies:
At seven years of age… a girl's Kidney qi is flourishing; her adult teeth come in and her hair grows long. At fourteen she comes into her reproductive capacities … her Conception pulse moves and her Highway pulse is abundant; her menses flow regularly and she can bear young. At twenty-one her Kidney qi is stabilized, and so her wisdom teeth come in and her growth has reached its apogee. … At eight [sui] a boy's Kidney qi is replete; his adult teeth come in and his hair grows long. At sixteen his Kidney qi is abundant, and he comes into his reproductive capacities [tiangui zhi]; his seminal essence overflows and drains; he can unite yin and yang and so beget young. At twenty-four his Kidney qi is stabilized and so his bones and sinews are strong, his wisdom teeth come in and his growth has reached an apogee.[12]
This passage is interpreted by Furth thusly:
[Sexual maturation of girls and boys is] portrayed as the work of a single human body of dynamically interpenetrating yin yang vitalities. At the same time male and female are homologous partners in generative function; their complementarity as a yin yang pair is evoked through the convention of correlative cosmology that odd numbers are yang in resonance and even numbers are yin; (45).
In the maturation process of males and females, yin and yang are not explicitly mentioned. However, they are still present in the passage, as yin and yang are evoked through the difference in years of maturation between males and females. One also notices that the differences in aging and ability to reproduce do not mention the sexual organs. This is explained by Furth:
The Yellow Emperor's body has no morphological sex, but only gender. Yin and yang do not get their meaning because they are attributes of something else, in bodies or in nature. Rather than labeling a gender which is defined on other grounds, yin and yang are the foundations on which the language of gender rests. In the language of literary theory, yin and yang are the signified, not the signifiers (Furth).
I agree with Furth on this notion. While yin and yang may not have meant female and male, that they were evoked in a passage focusing on differences in human aging concerning gender implies that they may have embodied gender without beings words specifically meaning gender. However, I also agree with Raphals that this idea would take a long time to finalize and that women would not come to explicit embody yin aspects until the end of the 2nd century BCE.
One must now question how the previously mentioned androgynous body expresses gender while remaining androgynous. As Furth stated, the Inner Canon does not detail “morphological sex”, but rather gender. This is because it was difficult for early medical practitioners to understand the female uterus. For men, there need not be a focus on their external genitals. Male sexual functions are associated with the channels that governed circulation of qi in the body.[13] For female sexuality, the womb could not be known because it was internal, and dissection was considered taboo. Any explanation of internal anatomy was often covered up with a story, or else it would be highly scrutinized. [14] Therefore, the descriptions of female internal organs in the Inner Canon were “reduced to an irrelevancy” (Furth, qtd. by Raphals 44).

In a work by Wang Qingren, Correcting Errors in Medical Literature, he witnesses an execution of a woman via dismemberment:
“… since she was not a man, it would be unbefitting for me to go up to the front [to get a close look]. When they had been cut out, the executioner lifted up the heart together with the liver. The lungs had already been removed from the front, and I [was able to] examine them carefully against [my memory of] those I had previously seen [e.g. the organs of men], and I saw that they were the same; (qtd. in Raphals 192)
Raphals’text Sharing the Light, where she focuses on women from 8th to 1st century BCE emphasizes the importance of such dating. She concludes that while there was yin essence that was feminine in nature in early cosmological thought, it was not until the end of the 2nd century BC that women came to embody yin and its aspects. However, her graph “Yin-Yang in Warring States Texts”, mentions two interpretations of dualistic thought comparable to yin-yang theory. They are nonanalogous, and they are not variations of yin-yang theory as applied in the Inner Canon, but an interesting note must be made about them: the Mohist Canon’s yin-yang nan-nv, and the Boshu’s Cock and hen mode. It is not what these theories represent, but rather the titles they bear that interest me in furthering my argument.
“In both the body and the state the regulation of offices or functions and the control of disorder are of the utmost importance.” (Raphals 183)
“Both the theoretical discussions of the [Inner Canon] and the actual diagnoses of the Shi ji are consistent in that the same diagnostic techniques, particular remedies, and explanations of disease are used for both women and men” (Raphals 193).
Raphals insists that the Inner Canon’s medical prescriptions for ailments are considered for ren, a genderless word for “person”, and recipes are not specified as different for men or women. Raphals work focuses on 8th to 1st century BCE. While there was yin essence that was feminine in nature, it wasn’t until the end of the 2nd c. BC that women came to embody yin. Raphals believes that the Inner Canon is technically genderless because of how the majority of illnesses maintain that they are not gender-specific. She mentions that there are 26 references to women in the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon, with more than half of those referring to the differences between the sexes. She then goes on to discuss how maturation occurs in different time stages between men and women. She also mentions how pulses occur on opposites sides of the body between the sexes. Raphals work focuses on 8th to 1st century BCE. While there was yin essence that was feminine in nature, it wasn’t until the end of the 2nd c. bce that women came to embody yin. In ancient medical texts, yin was not linked to women, although it was negative. The Han and Warring states period did not hold these seperations, but then the song and ming did. This could be linked to the publishing boom of the ming dynasty, were books could be made, and images imprinted in the texts.
However, Furth claims that females and males are yin and yang energies respectfully cultivated differently in each body. yin-yang cosmology. Furth’s has created a rather dense text that examines Chinese medicine between the Song and Ming periods as a feminist, using a historical and cultural perspective. “With this as background we can turn to the Inner Canon's classic account of the sexual growth and development of boys and girls. They are portrayed as the work of a single human body of dynamically interpenetrating yin yang vitalities ... In this way the two sexes develop parallel and equivalent bodies and capacities.” (Furth 45) Furth focuses on the 700 years of the Song, Yuan, and Ming focuses on the development of Fuke. But, while Fuke is existant now, the question is: was it always around in China? The Huangdineijing does not agree. The “Yellow Emperor’s Body” and Furth describes it, is largely androgynous. Written between the 1st and 7th c. bce, it was written by medical practitioners and scholars of the Warring States and Han. The song dynasty brings about a formalized fuke, or gynecology, but this was nonexistent in earlier times. The Yellow Emperor’s body represents an androgynous idealization for both sexes with a balancing of yin and yang energy. This body is abstract. It is ascribed a male-gendered social and medical understanding. Visceral functions were based on a non-hierarchical model of yin-yang complimentarily, but sexual functions of blood and essence were nested in a hierarchy of yin and yang pairs were yin is encompassed by yang. (raphals, furth 28, 28) However, Furth’s focus is not on gender in the Inner Canon, but rather on Fuke as a late imperial invention.
Neither the Fifty-two Ailments, the [Inner Canon] nor later texts that explicitly claim to be based on it make a distinction of essential difference between men and women… [Raphals found that] over and over again the assertion [in medical texts] that men and women are medically identical, with few and specified exceptions involving sexuality and childbirth; (Raphals 192).
“…in the medical theories of the second century, the influence of yin, is, overall, negative. However, negativity is not linked to gender or attached to a negative view of women” (Raphals 192).
Raphals mentions two separate scholars who take note that women and men do not differ in body. Xu Dachun notes in his work, Forgotten Traditions of Ancient Chinese Medicine: “There is no difference between the illnesses affecting females and those affecting males, except for illnesses related to the monthly period, to pregnancy, and delivery” (qtd. in Raphals 191).
While the bodies of females and males are similar, they are nonetheless gendered. Though what female organs did remained seemingly an untouched facet of the female body, because the male reproductive organs are easier to see, while the female organs involve dissection to truly study.
While the later imperial dynasties utilized a specific field of medicine for women, known as Fuke[15], this was not until the Song Dynasty in the late 10th century CE. However, earlier dynasties had no similar notion of a specified field of medicine for women. This is because
“In the Song period physicians said—using their favored medical idiom, political action—"In women. Blood is the leader" (Furen yi xue wei zhu)” (Furth 26)

[1] In Raphals’ summary of Wang Qingren’s account of examining an executed woman’s internal organs, she implies that his description is lengthy and might be “disingenuous”, suggesting he might have been covering up an autopsy by falsifying the execution story.
[2] Raphals 187
[3] Furth 26, 60
[4] Furth 60
[5] Furth
[6] Consult Raphals Appendix Six “Yin-Yang In Warring States”, 291-292.
[7] Unschuld, 1
[8] Unschuld
[9] David Keegan as quoted by Unschuld, Paul U. (2003). Huang Di nei jing su wen: Nature, Knowledge, Imagery in an Ancient Chinese Medical Text. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Pg. 2-3
[10] Furth
[11] HDNJ, SW 5.1.1.18 qtd in Raphals sharing the light
[12] Su wen 1.3:8–9.
[13] Raphals
[14] See footnote 1
[15] Often translated as “Gynecology” (Furth).

Works Cited not included for this essay

Written for Prof. Raphals' AST 132 - March 9, 2010

Fragmented Essays 1 - Huang-Lao Thought

2010-06-03T06:29:00.001-07:00

This is a fragmented messy essay that I was lucky enough to find thanks to my computer's recovery system - it's very messy, jumbled, and incoherent - and this is only a draft of the lost finished version - but I decided to post it in order to be able to revisit the ideas. - - Once again, it is very messy, incomplete, and not very good. The graded essay got a B. e.e;

Huang-Lao: More Complex Than Daoist Legalism

I was driven to research Huang-Lao Daoism because the notion of rulers who utilized statecraft in accordance with the notion of Dao fascinated me. But, when the concepts of Huang-Lao thought were condensed for encyclopedic definitions, the philosophy is simply described as a possible school of Legalism, and basically a combination of Daoism and Legalism, and some scholars agree that this is a satisfactory description.[1] But, diving deeper into research texts on Huang-Lao philosophy, I came to find that major researchers of early Chinese philosophical thought shared major opinions about Huang-Lao thought through their own research.[2] Examining classical texts generally agreed upon to be associated with Huang-Lao thought, modern researchers came to similar viewpoints that Huang-Lao was far more complex in its structure and unique in its concepts than a simple amalgam of Daoism and Legalism.[3] They shared the view that Huang-Lao thought was fundamentally different than Legalism, for a Huang-Lao ruler was bound to govern in accordance with Dao with a keen insight (guan).[4] This is compared to Legalism’s theory where the human ruler’s edict was ultimate law. It is also important to consider the idea of law and the use of the term fa. Between the schools of thought, its interpretation can differ. The fa of Huang-Lao is not the fa of Legalism; in the same way Huang-Lao’s interpretations of the terms Dao and wu-wei are different in meaning than that of Daoism’s. Such concepts show that Huang-Lao thought of the late 3rd century to early 2nd century BC, used by the early Han rulers of China as a political tool, was more complex than a black and white combination of Daoist ideology and use of Legalist law.[5]
First, Legalism must be described so that comparisons can be made later on. Legalism is a retrospective term coined by the lord grand astrologer of the Han court Sima Tan, father of Sima Qian[6]. In Tan’s piece, Essential Points of the Six Schools, he labeled a school of thought as “Fa-jia”, which can be translated to “School of Law”.[7] This was a retrospective terming, as Sima Tan created it in order to systematically analyze various schools of thoughts and their effectiveness in his text.[8] The Legalist theories described for this essay are accredited to Master Han Fei (Han Fei-zi). Han Fei is believed to have lived sometime between 280 and 233 BCE and “ was… a member of the ruling family [of the Han] and an aristocrat…” (Schwartz 342).[9] Han Fei’s interpretation of Legalist ideology provides the essential position of positive law that can be contrasted with Huang-Lao thought. The term positive law implies that law (fa) is made by man (i.e. rulers), and not limited by morality (i.e. Dao). Tu emphasizes how Legalism’s fa, or “government by law” (fa-zhi) is unique to Legalism itself (104). While “his entire system is ultimately designed to eliminate the need for [“men of worth” and “enlightened rulers”]”, Han Fei’s view was that a successful ruler would be worthy enough to bear the title and the responsibility of governing a state, and would be respected because of his authority.[10] Han Fei believed that “[a] sage or “man of worth” can, it is true, do nothing without authority, just as dragons cannot soar without the support of clouds and mist.”[11] There would be no advising ministers, bickering officials, or contradicting theories on Dao interpretation, rather only “one sovereign with ultimate authority over the law” (Peerenboom 142, emphasis added). There would be no need to consider others opinions, because Han Fei believed that “…law is what the ruler says it is; it is what pleases the ruler” (Peerenboom 143). While “Han Fei confers on the ruler the ultimate authority to determine what the laws will be, how they ought to be applied, and whether or not they should be changed”, he also “condones the subordination of morality to the practical demands of political realities” (Peerenboom 143, emphasis added). And though Han Fei had a difficult career in politics, “he finally [gained] access to the young ruler of the [Qin] – the incomparable [Qin Shi Huang-di] – whom he evidently [regarded] as the living embodiment of his ideal of the ‘enlightened ruler’” (Schwartz 342).
It was then that the First Emperor of Qin would come to favor Han Fei’s theory of Legalism. The Qin Dynasty’s use Legalism was a form of harsh jurisdiction, comparable to Hammurabi’s code of laws.[12] After the collapse of the Zhou Dynasty, scholars and government officials all sought unity, creating many various theories on how to master the Dao, or way, in order to try and establish cosmic and political order. While these theories generally agreed that balance and harmony were necessary, it was their ways and means that differed and often contradicted each other. However, the Qin had a simple and straightforward solution for how to handle contradicting schools of thought. It was decided by those in authority, needless to say, that “conformity to the emperor’s view” was the most direct and obvious method for success (Smith). This form of law, developed by Han Fei and utilized by Qin Shi Huang-di is what I refer to as Legalism. From this school of thought, Huang-Lao thinkers adopted their own version of fa.
The notion of fa for Huang-Lao philosophers is very different than that of Legalism’s. While the word fa is used, its meaning is different because Huang-Lao thinkers believe that if the ruler is skilled enough to know the Dao with his guan, than he can understand the laws that need to be applied. This is compared Han Fei’s Legalism and its belief that the ruler determins law as he sees fit. For Huang-Lao rulers who implemented law, they could not do so on whims or fancies. Rather, they had to apply laws in accordance with the natural way of things, or Dao. Tu Wei-Ming explains this thusly:
A rhythmical pattern of governmental activities is set in motion, the king must refrain from excising his personal likes and dislikes in ways that would upset it. He should transcend his own will and conform to the natural turn of events in a disinterested and emotionless manner. It is necessary for the king to establish the “model” (fa)… so that the people as well as the officials can clearly know what is expected of them. (Tu 104)
When Tu refers to the “natural turn of events”, he is referring to Huang-Lao’s Daoist aspects. Daoism is a term also retrospectively created by Sima Tan for his analysis of the schools of thought in his time.[13] Often, Huang-Lao thought is referred to as Huang-Lao Daoism, because how important the Dao is in its theories.[14] And while Huang-Lao thought does apply Daoist principles and terminology, I refrain from giving it a Daoist label as well as a Legalist Label. This is because Huang-Lao thinkers did not consider the Daoist principles as the Daodejing intended. Rather, Huang-Lao put its own twist on the ideas it adopted from Daoism, just as it took a different approach to fa from Legalism. From Daoism, two terms emerge that are adopted into Huang-Lao thought: the ideas of Dao and wu-wei.
Dao represents a mystical essence that permeates everything in the cosmos. It existed before anything, and shall exist afterwards for it is timeless. Tu summarizes the power and influence of the Dao:
It is undifferentiated, indeterminate, and ineffable. Yet it is generative, autonomous, unchangeable, and complete. As the inexhaustible source of the cosmos, [Dao] can neither be delimited by material things nor delineated by words. It is the One, alone and matchless. It is also the wholeness from which all the divergent beings come into existence; Tu 103.
For Huang-Lao thinkers, Dao could be applied to the political word and interpreted as a way of statecraft. Indeed, even the Daodejing can be interpreted as a guide to statecraft, promoting “the general spirit of noninterventionism and laissez fair” attitudes towards government.[15] These attitudes were absorbed by Huang-Lao thinkers and adapted for their use.[16]
Thus, Tu concludes that “[the] teachings of Huang-Lao are not Legalistic; the idea of “government by law” [fa-zhi], as it is usually understood, is incompatible with the spirit of “pure tranquility and nonpurposeful action” [qing-jing wu-wei]” (Tu 104).
Major, drawing on Peerenboom and Tu, lays out the unique tenets of Huang-Lao thought as follows:
1. Dao is the highest and most primary expression of universal potentiality, order, and potency…
2. Dao is expressed in cosmic order, which embraces both the world of nature and the human world; the human order is a subset of the natural order…
3. The human order presupposes the existence of royal government. But royal government must conform to natural order. For a king to act “contrary to nature” is both futile and wrong; the proper stance of a king is [wu-wei], “non-striving” or “taking no action contrary to nature.”
4. … The king must learn all that can be learned about the natural order, so as to make his actions conform to it.
5. The government if the true king is neither sentimental nor vacillating, and neither arbitrary nor domineering. Being in all respects in conformity with the patterns of the Dao as expressed in the natural order, it is balanced, moderate, and irresistibly strong; (12).
“Tao is… the real source of authority, for it is the ultimate basis on which the fa (model of law) and li (pattern) essential for conducting government affairs are established.” (Tu 103)
The true king, through direct apprehension, can see and hear its subtle manifestations. This unusual perception enables him to reign not by imposing arbitrary rules of conduct upon the people, but by luring them, gradually and without conscious purpose, to a mode of life with regularity and naturalness reminiscent of the evolution of the four seasons. [Dao] is, according to this view, the real source of authority, for it is the ultimate basis on which the fa (model or law) and li (pattern) essential for conducting government affairs is established; Tu 103.
The Huang-Lao School was a product of the late Warring States period, even if it reached its full flowering in the early Han… It asked the question, How (sic) is a ruler to prevail in a world of small kingdoms locked in a mutual, and deadly, struggle for survival? It rejected… the Legalist solution – arms and grain… the Huang-Lao prescription was rather for the ruler to align himself with the power of the Dao itself, to make his actions so conform to the patterns of the natural order as to be irresistible; (Major 51-52).
The term fa in Huang-Lao thought is more complex the the simplicity of the monosyllabic word lets on. The term often used in translation of fa as “law” can misleading. Schwartz suggests that a more accurate translation of fa is derived from Mohist use, where fa is interpreted as “model” or “standard”. However, it can also imply a prescriptive method, or techne for the rules of a craft (Schwartz). Or fa could have refered to penal law, as it is often associated with the term xing. Legalist Law: meaning of fa in legalism, penal law, punishment, strictness, ruler’s word.[17]
Major refers to sections the Huainanzi in his text, Heaven and Earth in Early Han Thought. He proposes that Huang-Lao thought was more than traits of Legalism and Daoism combined, because The Huang Di focus of Huang-lao needed to include an understanding that there was an “integration of cosmology into political theory” (9), which could be understood from examining relevant portions of the Guanzi and the Huainanzi that refer to Huang Di.
He mentions that Huang-Lao lacks “the mechanistic despotism of Legalism”, and that it was a syncretic school, “willing to mine any and all other schools of philosophy congenial to [Huang-Lao practitioners].” (12) The rule of the true king proceeds from natural order.
Peerenboom’s boom focuses on the texts excavated from the Mawangdui tombs in Changsha during the 70s. These texts are known as the Huang Di Boshu. When comparing Legalism to Huang-Lao, he notices how Legalism gives a ruler free reign, while the Huang Lao rulers has restrictions. He must follow the dao. He must also use a noninterventionist style, known as qing jing wu wei. Legalism is rule by law, while Huang-Lao Daoism is Rule of law. It is because people follow what they feel is the right way, not the law, that Huang-Lao Daoism is able to be successful. It does not play the ruler above law in the way that legalism’s ruler is the law. (270). It is this moral order in the way of things that Peerenboom calls “natural law”.
Schwartz prefers to refer to Huang-Lao as “instrumental” Daoism, similar to Creel calling it “purposive Daoism.” (237). What makes Huang-Lao different than legalism in his view is that it “lacks the urge to implement Draconian law.” He also refers to Sima Dan’s view on the importance of non-intervention of the ruler.. The terms Huang-Lao and Legalism are retrospectively given to these schools of thought by Han doxographers <(Schwartz 321)>.
The fa of legalism most likely refers to xing, or severly punishment, penal law. <(Schwartz 322)> Even though Huang-Lao texts focus on fa (law) in a manner similar to Legalism, he maintains the Huang-Lao is fundamentally unique. (peerenboom)
The "Thought of Huang-Lao": A Reflection on the Lao Tzu and Huang Ti Texts in the Silk Manuscripts o... more
Tu Wei-Ming
The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 39, No. 1 (Nov., 1979), pp. 95-110
Published by: Association for Asian Studies

[1] Schwartz, 237
[2] Du, Peerenboom, Schwartz, and Major
[3] Texts include the Silk Manuscripts of Huang-Lao and relevant sections of the Huainanzi.
[4] Tu translates guan as “penetrating insight”, 104.
[5] Theories shared by Schwartz (237) and Tu (103)
[6] Sima Tan and the Invention of Daoism, "Legalism," "et cetera". Kidder Smith and Sima Tan. The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 62, No. 1 (Feb., 2003), pp. 129-156. Published by: Association for Asian Studies
[7] Peerenboom
[8] Schwartz ch. 8 321
[9] Dates qtd. from Schwartz’s notes from Qian Mu, p. 477
[10] Schwartz 342
[11] Schwartz paraphrasing Han Fei zi chi chieh, cap. 40, p. 297. (343)
[12] Schwartz
[13] Sima Tan and the Invention of Daoism, "Legalism," "et cetera". Kidder Smith and Sima Tan. The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 62, No. 1 (Feb., 2003), pp. 129-156. Published by: Association for Asian Studies
[14] Consult Major’s tenets of Daoism.
[15] Schwartz 252
[16]Major speaks of Huang-Lao’s pluralism in his text.
[17] Sima Tan and the Invention of Daoism, "Legalism," "et cetera"
Kidder Smith and Sima Tan
The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 62, No. 1 (Feb., 2003), pp. 129-156
Published by: Association for Asian Studies

Works Cited Not included for this essay

Written for Prof. Raphals' AST107 Daoist Traditions - March 9th 2010

Pillow Book

2010-06-03T06:14:00.000-07:00

This is my own Pillow Book, inspired by Sei Shōnagon's famous Makura no Sōshi - written during the Heian period while in she served in the court of Empress Consort Teishi. The book was possibly transcribed in a competition against Murasaki Shikibu's work The Tale of Genji.

The Pillow Book of Elizabeth Paich
1. The Freshness of the New Season
In the middle of the first month, if one awakens before the sunrise, it is such a delight to witness the thin layer of frozen dew on a freshly trimmed grass field. The morning frost seems like sugar crystals, delicately powdering the deep emerald underneath it. As the sun rises over the mountains, the morning begins to warm up and the sky’s hues slowly turn from the dark indigo of night into the warm glowing peach shades of dawn. I alone enjoyed such a refreshing scene before I would head to school.
But there are other girls, those who attended the same school as I, who spent their idle time dreaming of becoming mothers and raising their own families. Though not yet women, they nonetheless knew what their future sons and daughters would be named. How presumptuous! Such girls speak as if they are going to be great entrepreneurs on the one hand, yet they believe they are able to handle such a task with little children grabbing and crying for them, begging to suckle! I knew myself that I would never dare share the same fantasies as these rambunctious girls so desired. Such girls still pester me, asking how I can possibly live without clinging to the dream that in the future I will become a mother and bear children. After their persistent interrogations, I still refuse to agree with them. Flustered, they all agree amongst themselves that with time, I will eventually change my mind about the entire matter. How deplorable! I shudder to think that so many young girls cannot keep their minds quiet and enjoy the freshness of the new season. Rather, they warm themselves with frivolous thoughts of families they do not yet have. Most unbecoming! Young girls must learn to be more grateful for the world around them, rather than dreaming how they will produce perfect families. How cold and ugly the world must be for them, that they can only think of the great pains of child birth making their lives complete. After such days, I would return from school only to go alone into the field of grass. At dusk, the grass smells fresh, renewed by the melted frost of the early morning. The sky’s colors change from the warm orange of sunset into the dark blue of night, and I alone take in the splendid scene. Moments of such beauty never fail to escape my enjoyment.

2. Awkward Things
− Small rooms.
− A first kiss.
− When one spills something, especially something sticky. When there is no easy way to clean up the mess, how awkward one must feel!

3. Things that Make One’s Heart Beat Faster
− Opening a letter. If the letter is from someone unknown, of course one’s heart must beat quickly, but when expecting something, how one’s heart beats even faster!
− Crossing a busy street.
− Realizing that one is another year older. Truly this makes one’s heart beat faster!
− Hearing the words “I love you” from someone who is not a member of one’s family.

4. Depressing Things
− A night sky with no stars. Dark grey clouds that swallow the sky on spring day.
− When one waits patiently for a long period of time, having their patience tried. However, if the person is certain that what they are waiting for will arrive, they continue to wait. How truly downtrodden one must feel if what they are waiting for never arrives!
− When one loses a pet that one treated as an equal member of one’s family. Truly depressing.
− When one craves something to eat, yet such a flavor is nowhere to be found in one’s kitchen. How upsetting!

5. Things that Give A Clean Feeling
− To catch the glimmering shine of one’s own hair in a reflection after bathing. How clean one must feel!
− Holding a cool piece of polished jade in one’s hand.
− Newly cleaned windows. If one happens to look out of a large glass window that has recently been cleaned on a summer’s day, how lovely one must feel! Perhaps one has planted a garden beneath the window. One can see begin to see the ripened buds of flowers trying to look back into the very room! So delightful!

6. Enviable People
− Those who appear to know everything about everything, and actually do! How enviable!
− When one is alone and longs for company, yet all one can see are amorous couples all about, how one must envy those couples!
− People who have many close friends and appear to be amiable with anyone. Those same people never suffer from disagreements or petty conflicts of interest! How enviable!
− When one studies diligently because they are passionate and strive to genuinely understand the subject. Yet everyone else studying the same subject around that person does very little, or perhaps nothing, and yet they receive lavish praise or gifts for their ‘efforts’. How one must envy those people and their luck!

7. A Treasure Trove
It was a warm evening and rather than sleep, my mother was awake sorting through old boxes and small chests in her bedroom. I had heard her shuffling about and making comments to herself as she went through box after box. I decided I would join her and discovered a treasure trove of jewelry. My grandmother had recently passed away, and now my mother was sorting through all her mother’s fabulous jewelry that my grandmother had been trying to sell. It turned out that the baubles and necklaces actually had actually belonged to my great grandmother, and my mother was delighted to sort out the precious pieces from the costume jewelry. My mother and I delighted in trying to remember whether either of us had any recollection of any pieces, but whether or not we could remember, we found ourselves trying on the jewelry! Some pieces were recent, and showed a lack of quality in their creation. Yet, how interesting that the oldest pieces were true gems! They maintained their beauty and style with only a little bit of tarnishing that could be easily cleaned. To think that mother and daughter appeared as two young girls in their hearts, accessorizing with pieces of jewelry! It was truly such a delightful time! My mother would explain how the mix of true gems and costume jewelry would give my foremothers such an air about them that no one could ignore their presence! They would be lavished with gifts and compliments by many men. Then she generously offered me select pieces that she knew would catch my eye, to which I graciously accepted! How honored I felt that my mother granted me such sentimental pieces!

Written for Prof. Long's JPN034 - April 21, 2009

Fat Buddha Showing "No Fear" Mudra - Progression

2010-06-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

- The original sketch

- Penciled on the canvas, and starting the painting

- Completed!
- (acrylic paint on white primed canvas)

- Shots of my Poster Project
- The teacher liked it so much, she's keeping it to teach in summer sessions! :D

- Term Project for Prof. Nyitray's Cplt144 - Buddhist Literature - 6/1/2010
- Click here to read what was on the poster board!

China's Land Reform, First 5 Yr. Plan, and the Great Leap Forward

2010-06-01T04:53:00.000-07:00

Creating a Socialist Economy in China: Policies and Failures
China tried to establish a socialist economy with policies including land reform, its First Five Year Plan, and the intense Great Leap Forward between the 1940s until the 1960s. While there was intense output from China in this period, there was also massive failure from rapid planning and poorly executed leadership.

Justification behind land reform was straightforward: help increase agricultural production in order to help fuel urban industrialization while promoting a “class struggle” against landlords. The CCP believed the destruction of the ancient ruling class of landlords was needed in order to insure they would never gain power again (87). This was accomplished by the divvying up of land among peasants. While the process had begun in the 1940s, the reform was completed around 1952. In the end, “the whole process leveled out Chinese society considerably. and led to a system of small privately owned farms throughout China” (88). However, land reform had serious ideological and political consequences. By promoting the land reform process, the CCP was able to rally peasants for the Communist Party’s cause while at the same time establishing branches within rural villages (87).
After the land reform, China began massive collectivization of farms to fuel rapid industrialization with the First Five Year Plan between 1953 and 1957. The First Five Year Plan's focus was to nationalize industry in urban areas and collectivize farming in the rural countryside. The CCP believed that this would fuel rapid economic growth to help the country catch up with foreign capitalist powers. This plan towards industrialization was inspired by China’s only model: the Soviet Union. After isolating itself following the Korean War, China could only turn to its “elder socialist brother” in order to devise a quick system to turn its economically backwards nation into a modern superpower in a short amount of time (91).
The small privately owned farms that peasants possessed after the completion of land reform was “hardly socialism as the CCP leaders understood it” (91). Socialism was pushed in the countryside through collectivization of farms in stages. The process began with Mutual Aid Teams of 5 to 6 were joined together followed by semisocialist cooperatives were installed, enlisting groups of 30 to 50 families to work together. Finally, fully socialist collectives were installed with hundreds of families joined, utilizing a system of work points for rewards (92). However, the First Five Year Plan's focus was nonetheless urban industrialization (93-94).
Industrialization in urban sectors of China was guided by Soviet models. Private enterprises in heavy industries were given priority and absorbed in a nationalized system that put the economy completely under state control (95). Light industry focusing on consumer goods, along with agriculture, got very little of this state aid. In the end, “[this] meant that the agricultural sector of the economy subsidized the industrialization drive” because of fixed grain prices fueling modernization, with little state investment retuning to the countryside (95).
Mao Zedong’s would take a divergent path towards rapid economic growth for China that moved away from the Soviet model and opted instead for a unique Chinese approach. Mao’s insisted that the motivation to fuel the Chinese ardor for the unique form of development would come from “[the peasants] own socialist consciousness, nurtured by the Communist Party” (96). China’s development would differ from the Soviet Union’s because “the social and cultural transformation of China [would have to] occur together with its economic development” (96). While the Soviets had pushed for industrialization and allowed socialism's ideological development to stagnate, Mao decided that the focus should be placed on “mobilizing China's huge labor force for the enormous task of modern economic growth rather than relying on technology” (96). Mao termed this idea “engineering the soul” (97). This method would mean an individual would be “studying Marxist-Leninist-Maoist literature... openly criticizing one's own ideas and behavior.... accepting criticism from others.... [and] working with ordinary people” to develop a “socialist consciousness”, before the development of the a socialist economy (97).
Between 1958 and 1961, the Great Leap Forward represented China's distinctive take at rapid modernization, diverting from the Soviet model it had originally followed in the First Five Year Plan. When Mao came to the assertion that the countryside's lack of development was caused by exploitation from China’s rapidly growing cities, he decided to implement People's Communes. The communes would supposedly lead to greater output from the countryside by bringing together the already large collectivized farms. Communes “containing typically 25,000 people, 10,000 acres, and 100,000 animals” were created (100). It was also suggested that these communes could be utopias, and “would become a major unit of government and military organization, replacing many functions that had been performed by the central state and party bureaucracy”, which by this time, Mao claimed, had grown too large and elitist (101).
However, while the Great Leap Forward had optimistic goals, it did accumulate severe failures. It caused a major split in the Communist Party (96, 103). Disorder in the communes happened because of the speed which at which they were established, along with unqualified leadership managing huge masses of people (102). Leaders also exaggerated production figures in order to appear more successful, when famine was actually killing peasants caused by poor farming policies and terrible weather (102). Mao never fully acknowledged the failures of the Great Leap Forward, and it forever tarnished the Communist Party’s image in the eyes of the peasantry (103).

Works Cited
Strayer, Robert W. The Communist Experiment: Revolution, Socialism and Global Conflict in the Twentieth Century. Boston, Mass.: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Print. - Chapter 4 "Mao's Path: Building Socialism in China"

For Prof. Bell's HIST182 - May 14, 2010

Chan and Zen influence in painting - my poster project for Buddhist Literature

2010-06-01T04:50:00.001-07:00

Chan & Zen Buddhism’s Influence in Painting
Chan and Zen Buddhism’s unique style, because of the traditions’ straightforwardness and distinctive sense of humor, has influenced classical Japanese and Chinese artists alike. Chan and Zen’s limited use of color produces images with an eye-catching high contrast and the fluidity of the brushwork is instantaneous – with the stroke being a spontaneous and quick motion from wrist to brush. Brushwork in Chan and Zen-inspired paintings is not only an immediate action of the artist, but also mirrors the calligraphic writing style of China and Japan. Chan and Zen-inspired artists focus on landscapes, figure-studies, and even objects that represent visual koans – or unanswerable riddles. Figure-studies usually include Daoist and Buddhist immortals, classical poets, and Buddhist monks and patriarchs.

Spontaneous Mode and Splashed Ink Style
The two styles of painting that inspired me to create my series are known as Spontaneous Mode and Splashed Ink Style. Both styles originate from China, and were further developed by both Chinese and Japanese artists interested in Chan and Zen Buddhism. Both styles are considered an extreme form of Chinese monochromatic painting.
My Painting
Unfortunately, I am not a master of Zen thought or painting. It takes years of training to become a master at using a calligraphy brush to paint on silk or paper with ink. It is an art form that demands total control of the artist’s hand because little to no mistakes can be made with the black ink on plain silk or paper. I only tried to mirror the style on a primed white canvas with acrylic paint. However, I did not paint any black line more than once - to keep with the feeling of spontaneity in the Chan and Zen painting style.

Notable Chan/Zen-inspired Artists
Yu Jian (Early 13th c. CE)
Yu Jian was a Chinese Buddhist painter-monk who was active in the Southern Song Dynasty. While he was truly influential in the development of Spontaneous Mode, he is not as famous as Mu Qi.
Mu Qi (Early 13th c. CE)
Mu Qi was Chinese Buddhist painter-monk. He is also known as Fa Chang during his time as a monk. One of the greatest exponents of Spontaneous Mode, he is famous for his Six Persimmons.
Liang Kai (~late 12th – Early 13th c. CE)
A Chinese artist highly influence by Chan Buddhism. He learned his craft in traditional art academies in China. He is renowned for his famous piece: Shakyammuni Leaving His Mountain Retreat.
Josetsu (~1400 CE)
A Japanese Buddhist painter-monk who is famous for his piece: Catching a Catfish with a Gourd. He taught Tensho Shubun who would later teach Sesshu Toyo, two master painters in Japan’s history.
Sesshu Toyo (1420-1506 CE)
Toyo was a painter influenced by Rinzai Zen Buddhism, even though he was born into the Oda samurai clan. He is very renowned for his work in both China and Japan, and is considered one of Japan’s best artists. He has many famous pieces, including Huike Offering His Arm to Bodhidharma.

Enlightened Fat Buddha Shows “Fear Not” Mudra
I decided to depict the lovingly termed Fat Buddha in my series of paintings for many reasons. Firstly, he is easily recognizable by Westerners. His image inspires hope as he claims to be the incarnation of Maitreya, the Buddha of the Coming Age. His shape not only reminds me of an enso, but I have also portrayed him with a halo that resembles a Zen enso - to show his understanding of emptiness, or sunyata. His flowing cloud-robes – his only material possession, appear as illusory because of their whimsical appearance. I portray him as a Buddha, even though he is actually a bodhisattva – so, I thought it fitting to adorn him with characteristics usually depicted on Siddhartha Gautama in separate images. These include the topknot, hanging ear lobes (hinting at royal lineage), and the 3rd eye. He displays the Abhaya mudra – “Fear Not”. His face also hints at his feeling of ease and peace. In the first image of the series, he is dressed in his robes, sitting near a cliff side with a lone tree – symbolizing the material world.
The second image in the series will be a simplified outline of his round seated form, much like that of the silhouette of Daruma, easily recognizable in Japanese paintings.
The third image will combine the halo- and the simplified silhouette to make one single enso – signifying the attainment of enlightenment - like in the famous Ox Herder series.
The last two images of the series have yet to be completed.

Works Cited
"Buddhist Deities: Description of Mi-Lo-Fwo / Maitreya Buddha." BuddhaNet - Worldwide Buddhist Information and Education Network. 2008. Web. 01 June 2010. .
Dumoulin, Heinrich. Zen Buddhism: A History. Trans. James W. Heisig and Paul Knitter. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Company, 1994. Print.
Ferguson, Andrew E. Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2000. Print.
Hershock, Peter D. Chan Buddhism. Honolulu: University of Hawaii, 2005. Print.
Lee, Sherman E. A History of Far Eastern Art. Ed. Naomi Noble. Richard. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall, 1994. Print.

Click here to see the finished Project!

My EAP essay to travel to Beijing - PKU Summer 2010

2010-06-01T04:47:00.000-07:00

The heat of the air rising from the grey streets of Beijing in the sticky, rainy summer months will be of little worry to me. Simply returning to China’s capital, to study on my own for the first time as a young adult, would be enough to help me to tough out the heat of the classrooms in the summer weather. As an Asian Literature and Culture major on the Chinese track, going to China and taking programs over the summer at Peking University will benefit my studies by diving into Chinese society.

Chinese culture has been a major focus in my life since I began learning the language in high school. When I entered high school, the course was new and I jumped on the opportunity to study the Far East. I satisfied my language requirements and beyond by studying Mandarin for four years there.
I also became enamored with Peking Opera, and had the amazing opportunity to study the theater form in my later high school years. I became proficient enough to study with Xue Ya-ping, a famous traditional theater actress from Mainland China. With her help, I was able to perform arias from the famous opera “The Drunken Concubine” for the annual Lotus Festival in Echo Park in Los Angeles and at the San Gabriel Civic Auditorium for an audience of 750 people.
In college, studies forced my focus away from the stage and into the classroom. I continued to study Mandarin Chinese at a 3rd-year level during my first quarters at UC, Riverside. During my college career, I have studied ancient Chinese literature, religion, and customs and I continue to take classes with China as my focus. Such classes include Taoist Traditions and Ancient Greek and Chinese Medical Traditions. However, while focusing on my general education here, my language skills have noticeably become rusty in my senior year of college since my senior year of high school. I hope that studying abroad in China, even though I would be taking programs taught in English, will offer me a world outside the classroom that will be an amazing chance for full-language immersion.
In my previous trips to China, I was able to experience a majority of the popular historical sites. I traveled to China twice with my High School and learned about the palaces of Beijing, Harbin’s Russian influences, Qin Shi Huang Di’s tomb in Xi’an, Shanghai’s teahouses, Suzhou’s embroidery, and Hong Kong’s city life. When I traveled to China with my parents for my third and most recent trip, I was able to experience even more. With my parents, I visited various sections of the Great Wall, held Chengdu’s Giant and Lesser Pandas, ate delicious hotpots from Chongqing, and cruised down the Yangzi River to the Three Gorges Dam.
Between fall of 2007 until spring of 2008, I experienced difficult times with my family and friends which are noticeable on my transcript. The first incident occurred when my best friend from high school became very ill. He was hospitalized and there was little I could do for him, but it was only a crack in the dam. Following his hospitalization, my mother informed me that my grandmother had passed away. During that time, I had to focus on my family and my own mental health, withdrawing in winter of 2008 for a short hiatus from study. As an only child, my parents needed their daughter, and I needed their support during this very difficult time in my life. After realizing how severely these events had affected my grades and GPA, I decided to set studying abroad in China as a goal for myself. If I could raise my GPA to fulfill the requirement, I would not only save myself from academic probation, but I would have a chance to return to China; returning to China feels more like going home than studying abroad.

Confucian Exams

2010-05-31T16:06:00.000-07:00

Confucian Ideology and Traditional Chinese Politics[1]

In traditional Chinese politics, the autocracy was maintained by Confucian ideology, which preached filial piety. Filial piety promoted a hierarchy of loyalty and respect from younger to elder, and the emperor sat at the top of this system. Filial piety was stressed in official education, which prepared male citizens for the civil service examination. In order to become a bureaucrat and serve in the government, intense memorization and study of Confucian classics was necessary in order to succeed in exams and climb through the degree ranks to secure a bureaucratic position in the government. This process was time consuming and meant those who spent their lives striving for excellence in the system did not wish to see it falter in any way. For those who did not do as well as they wished in exams, dissenting views would of course emerge towards the system, but those who did well nonetheless retained the status, power, and wealth needed to ensure the system’s stability.

In the autocratic system of China, the emperor was the zenith of power and status. In his position, the emperor was “surrounded by relatives and trusted councillors [sic]” (Wakeman, 19). In addition, a vast bureaucratic network functioned beneath the emperor, which “was staffed with scholar-officials who had achieved a [high-degree] in the state civil service examination” (Wakeman, 19). The emperor and the imperial advisers were part of the highest echelons in the imperial central government. In the lower levels of local government, the shenshi, or gentry, worked in informal government and dealt with social services in their communities in service of the emperor. Wakeman states that the term English-term gentry is not accurate compared to the “the binomial Chinese term… [which attests] to the gentry’s bureaucratic and aristocratic tendencies alike” (19-20). The characters in the term, says Wakeman, “[denote] the meritocratic quality of gentry status” with the character shi, while shen describes “one who assumed an administrative position” (20, 25). The gentry’s status was above that of the peasants as the gentry managed daily community tasks that included “mediation of legal disputes… supervision of local schools and academies… supervision of irrigation works… recruiting and training of local militia… [and the] proxy remittance… of the peasants’ taxes to the yamen clerks” (Wakeman, 31). The gentry’s roles in such tasks “were honored… because the imperial government realized that it could not govern the fifteen hundred districts of the empire without the informal help of the gentry” (Wakeman, 29).

However, the empire was able to manage the gentry by utilizing civil service examinations. Wakeman argues “through its control of the content, frequency and difficulty of the examinations the central government could manipulate the ideology, size, and caliber of the influential elite that governed the empire on its behalf” (21). Thus, by pushing Confucian ideals in the its exams, the central government could maintain its prestige because of the philosophy’s stressed hierarchy that was internalized by the exam candidates through memorization of the Confucian canon.

The exam system implemented by the Qing government originated from the Ming dynasty. Wakeman asserts “the [Ming] monarchy encouraged mobility in and out of the bureaucratic gentry by vastly expanding a civil service examination system which was available to men of all by the meanest social background” (21). Undeniably, excellence in the exams meant one would need the time and funds for expensive tutoring, which could begin as early as the age of 5 and last until a student’s mid-teens (Wakeman, 23, 25). The foci of the civil service exams were literature and philosophy. Questions on the exam “had to be answered in a prescribed and formulaic [eight-legged] essay style which was exceedingly difficult to master” (Wakeman, 23). In addition to this difficult essay style, exam candidates had to master writing poetry and were expected to memorize the Confucian classics (Wakeman, 23). Thus, Confucian ideology flooded the focus of the exams where they were constantly reflected on and employed as candidates toiled to earn their degrees.

The civil service exam basically consisted of three-degree levels, which included prefectural, provincial, and national (Wakeman, 21). While a degree-holder could be eligible for a government post no matter what degree he possessed, only those who earned the highest level of degrees were guaranteed positions in the government (Wakeman, 22). Thus, the possession of a degree, or lack there of, created distinctions within the gentry itself because of the difficulty involved in lifelong study in order to attain the higher-level degrees. As a result, such degrees “conferred immense social prestige” (Wakeman, 22). Wakeman states: “The upper gentry [who succeeded at provincial and national level exams] were notably distinguished from lower degree holders [who only passed the prefectural level exam]” (22). These lower degree holders “were often referred to as ‘gentry commoners’” (Wakeman, 22-23).

Indeed, high-level degrees were respected because they were so difficult to earn. It was common knowledge that “each of the two million students waiting outside the prefectural examination halls of the empire in any given year knew that he had only one chance in six thousand of ever reaching the top rank where a bureaucratic post would be would be guaranteed him” (Wakeman, 22, 24). Even if one was to attain a high-level degree, “the degree-holder had to take examinations every three years until old age just to maintain his gentry status” (Wakeman, 24). Nonetheless, there was a high culture maintained among all the members of the gentry. Being able to read classical Chinese, write calligraphy, and possess knowledge of the Confucian canon united the gentry in their mindset and differentiated them from peasants because of their specialized abilities (Wakeman, 23).

But for those who did not succeed in exams, anomie and frustration could result. With studying so intensive and the odds stacked against examination candidates, unsatisfied low-level degree holders could be motivated to stage revolts or rebellions (Wakeman, 24). But such dissent against the system could be often quelled by the central government via the awarding of titles to senior degree-holders of lower standing (Wakeman, 24). On the other hand, the possibility of social mobility, a rare occurrence in classical civilizations, which entailed the earning of a degree that could rocket one from rags to riches, had a strong influence in traditional China (Wakeman, 23). Degrees offered a “social recognition [that] satisfied even the lowliest degree-holder and set him apart from simple commoners” (Wakeman, 24). Thus, the exam system was stable overall as “the possibility of success, however unlikely, alleviated social discontent and gave the civilization tenacious staying-power” (Wakeman, 23).

Conclusively, the traditional Chinese political system was autocratic and utilized a civil service examination that remained stabilized by candidates dedicating their lives to Confucian education and earning high-level degrees. Confucianism’s filial piety promoted the hierarchy involved in the autocratic government. Education infused Confucian ideals in officials and promoted a high gentry culture among the educated, uniting them in their knowledge. The arduous studying for exams was a lifelong process that promoted dedication to the system, where the possibility of upward mobility proved motivation enough to keep the system stable.

________________________________

[1] The Romanization of Chinese used in the essay is the Pinyin system.

Works Cited:
Wakeman, Frederic. The Fall of Imperial China. New York: The Free Press, 1975. 19-37. Print.

Written for Prof. Bell's HIST182 (Modern China) on April 19, 2010.

Daoism and Nature

2009-03-10T22:41:00.001-07:00

The Role of the Natural Environment in the Shaping of Daoism[1]

While the majority of Asian religions and philosophies reference nature, none make nature and naturalness their fundamental focus as Daoism does. Daoism is built upon the belief that the Dao, or the Way, is in harmony with the natural environment and that ziran, naturalness, is the ideal behavior for humans. In the Dao De Jing and Zhuangzi, nature and natural elements are woven into the texts to illustrate Daoist virtues, values, and practices. The Taijitu, yin-yang symbol, is an important Daoist image that portrays the continuous transformations and harmonious balance believed to be way of the natural world. Knowledge of nature and natural ingredients are important for the Daoist practice of alchemy and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In addition, Daoist beliefs criticize development and modernization, because such things are not in harmony with wu wei, non-action. Instead, Daoism promotes simple rural life and suggests that a return to primitive natural times is the ultimate utopia Daoists should strive for. Thus, the natural environment plays a fundamental role in the shaping of Daoism.

The fundamental Daoist belief that the Dao is in harmony with nature and naturalness developed in response to the Confucian view that harmony comes from strict ritual and social decorum. The Dao De Jing even states: “Great Dao rejected:/ Benevolence and Righteousness [the principal virtues of Confucianism] appear.”

While the idea of the Dao has been passed down through Chinese history and referenced in different philosophical and religious texts, Daoism used the term and developed into a mysterious universal force which cannot be properly described or conceptualized. It is an essence believed to have created the world, and thus possibly predates the world. Yet, it is of this world, and it permeates all within this world. It is truly the unnamable, and yet humans can live in harmony with the Dao. The Dao is literally believed to be the Way of Natural Environment. With the Dao being the Way of Nature, the idea of ziran, or naturalness of the self, became an important characteristic of the Dao that can be experienced by humans. Ziran is “the quality of [a person or object] just being itself”, or acting spontaneously and naturally. The harmony found in nature and naturalness is a different path on the road towards a better society, compared to Confucianism which sought the betterment of society from “ritualized behavior patterns”.

The Dao De Jing and Zhuangzi are considered the two most important and popular texts in Daoism. The popularity of the texts possibly lies in their own unique styles. The Dao De Jing is commonly attributed to Laozi, the mysterious claimed founder of Daoism. It is cryptic, poetic, and full of mystical imagery that gives it a timeless quality. Zhuangzi, named after its own author, views Daoism is a different light. The text in Zhuangzi is more playful, allegorical, and anecdotal, and strives to help the reader realize and experience the Dao with this style, much as Zen Buddhists hope to experience enlightenment.

The Dao De Jing focuses on how to understand and live in accordance with the Dao. Natural elements are used in the poetic verse to help portray the Dao and Daoist virtues. The two major natural elements used symbolically include water as the ultimate force and natural wood as the ideal state. In the Dao De Jing, water is mentioned thusly: “There is nothing softer and weaker than water,/ And yet there is nothing better for attacking hard and strong things.” Water is considered the ideal force because of how it yields, and is soft and gentle when cupped in the hands, while on the other hand, if water passed over rock, it could carve through it. As a result, the use of water is used to relate to the Daoist practice of wu wei, non-action. The use and meaning of wood in the Dao De Jing is best explained by Religions of Asia: “The wise should be like an uncarved block of wood: pure, unpretentious, and without ego…” And “A tree that has been shaped by wind and climate is natural; one that has been pruned into the shape of a swan is not” (Burford 174). As a result, the use of wood is used to relate to the Daoist practice of ziran, naturalness of the self.

In Zhuangzi, a more philosophical approach is used in parables and anecdotes compared to the poetry used in the Dao De Jing. The text was an attempt to revise Daoism and apply Zhuangzi’s own ideas focusing on the importance of balance, embracing change (especially death), freeing oneself from the conventional and being more spontaneous, and the how language limits human knowledge (and why Daoists should strive for silence). In the text, Zhuangzi can often appear as himself, explaining to disciples and contemporaries the ways of the Dao. Yet, nature is still used to illustrate Daoist virtues in this later text. Here, a quote on naturalness a wood carver uses to find the perfect tree: “I go to the mountain forest and examine the Heavenly nature of the trees” (Burford 175). Another example shows the omnipresence of the Dao: “Dong Guozi asked Zhuangzi, saying, “Where is what you call the Dao to be found?” Zhuangzi replied, “Everywhere.” The other said, “Specify an instance of it…” “It is here in this ant.” And describing the Dao again in the same anecdote, Zhuangzi says, “It produces the root and branches, but is neither root nor branch…” (Van Voorst 204). Thus, the natural environment and naturalness of the self are not only Daoist virtues, but tools Daoist thinkers could use to help illustrate the way of the Dao.

The Taijitu, Daoist Alchemy, and TCM became more popular amongst ordinary citizens when philosophical Daoism sparked the development of Popular Daoism. They are images and practices that can be seen and experienced by those who treat Daoism more religiously.

The Taijitu became a symbol that is be used to help Daoists visualize the balance and flux of the universe. The Taijitu is literally “Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate” in Chinese. Yin is feminine, dark, and cold, while yang is masculine, light, and warm. Though they are opposites, they are complementary to each other, and thus show the balance of nature and the Dao. The Dao De Jing comments: “The ten thousand things carry shade/ And embrace sunlight./ Shade and sunlight, yin and yang,/ Breath [Qi] blending into harmony” (Van Voorst 205). Thus, the universe and its nature are portrayed by the Taijitu.

Because Laozi and Zhuangzi dismissed strict ritual as unnatural and therefore unnecessary, alchemy and TCM became the means where Daoists could practice their beliefs physically. Alchemy was used to create immortality elixirs. These elixirs would supposedly increase the lifespan of anyone who drank it. Alchemists could meditate on their concoctions and ingredients while brewing the elixir or after sipping it. Meditation is also acceptable before, during, and after TCM practices like acupuncture, qigong (breathing exercises), Tai Chi, and massage. Alchemy and TCM uses herbal ingredients found in nature, from plant matter to dangerous metals that were nonetheless popularly consumed in ancient times, such as mercury and sulfurs. Thus, knowledge of nature, and natural ingredients found in nature along with their properties was important for Daoist alchemists and TCM practitioners.

Religions of Asia comments on Laozi’s position on development and society: “…he located ultimacy not in social life [as Confucius did], but in nature itself” (Burford 172). In addition, the same text later goes on to say that “Daoism would also object to other societies, not just Confucian ones: compared to the natural world, almost any human society would seem unnatural.” This is because development is the product of human thought, and “when humans begin to think, they also begin to scheme and calculate selfish ends” (174). As a result, Daoism focuses on a utopia that is a simple rural society, and the importance of wu wei, or non-action to prevent selfish destructive action. The idea of wu wei is that one should not exert oneself into performing actions, as they may be tainted by impure human desire, but rather, to only act naturally, and thusly in accordance with the Dao. In the Dao De Jing, the following verses capture the essence of returning to naturalness, whether applied to the self or society: “Things grow and grow,/ But each goes back to its root./ Going back to the root is stillness. This means retuning to what is./ Returning to what is/ Means going back to the ordinary” (Van Voorst 206-7). It is an incredibly close or complete return (in the case of Daoist hermits who seek isolation) to nature that encompasses what the Dao De Jing proposes as the ultimate harmonious society. In this sense, it is obvious how fundamental the natural environment is in Daoism, since it promotes nature and natural ways as the essence of harmonious existence with the natural world and in the human world.

Daoism, whether philosophical or religious, is profoundly inspired by the natural environment. A return to nature has become the Daoist goal and spontaneous naturalness the ideal behavior. While other religions in Asia may have references nature, Daoism not only emphasizes the natural environment in its beliefs, but makes it a key aspect of the beliefs. Elements of the natural environment are also found throughout Daoist beliefs, texts, and practices. As a result, the natural environment is fundamental in the shaping of Daoism.

Works Cited

Ali, Muhamad. "Taoism: Practices and Ethics." Introduction to Asian Relgions Lecture. University of California, Riverside. CHASS Interdisciplinary Building, Riverside. 2 Mar. 2009.

Ali, Muhamad. "Taoism: The Way of Nature and Immortality." Introduction to Asian Relgions Lecture. University of California, Riverside. CHASS Interdisciplinary Building, Riverside. 4 Mar. 2009.

Burford, Grace G., John Y. Fenton, Norvin Hein, Alan L. Miller, Niels C. Nielson, and Frank E. Reynolds. Religions of Asia. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1993.

Van Voorst, Robert E.. Anthology of Asian Scriptures. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 2000.

[1] The Pinyin system of Romanization has been used throughout this essay for consistency.

Written for Prof. Ali's Intro to Asian Religions - March '09.

China's Development - Power Over People

2009-03-10T22:39:00.000-07:00

China’s Economy and Development

This essay will look at the role of the state in development by applying the neo-utilitarian and Gerschenkron models of states to China’s current economic circumstances and its government’s decision for nationalization in order to show how China’s decision may be harmful for its development.

The Economist stated that China “remains a place where companies face heavy direct and indirect state control… China has prospered as broader economic freedoms contributed to growth… But over the past year this reticence has begun to wane… one domestic industry after another has, as in the West, gone back to the government for support.” This is because China is succumbing to criticisms of capitalism as Western economies breakdown in the current economic crisis. However, the Chinese government is supporting this return, and suggests further nationalization of its economy. However, if China proceeds with this nationalization, China will resemble the Gerschenkron state model, which in turn would lead it to become a neo-utilitarian state model. These two state models carry risks and are not ideal for development.

China may develop into a Gerschenkron state if it decides to nationalize. The Gerschenkron state model suggests that a lack of state development is because private actors lack the resources necessary to invest in development. Therefore, the state itself must invest in development. In order to implement this, the state takes a major role by investing in the economy and building up a bureaucracy. However, this can eventually lead to the neo-utilitarian problem of greedy officials.

If the Gerschenkron state model becomes corrupt with greedy officials, it evolves into the neo-utilitarian state. The neo-utilitarian state model explains that a lack of state development is caused by profit-seeking state officials who cut deals with private actors. This bribery can become a constant cycle between the official and different private actors because it can form a profitable relationship. However, this situation is terrible for citizens because the private actors, usually large institutions with numerous members, have the control, and not the individual citizen. In addition, the larger the state is, the more predatory the state appears because more institutions ask for more money from more officials. Thus, the neo-utilitarian solution was to shrink the state, to limit the number of corrupt officials and private actors. China’s problem has been that it has maintained its massive size and its cycle of nationalization and then neo-utilitarian corruption without succumbing to solution.

China’s major concern should be avoiding the neo-utilitarian state model; however, this appears impossible because of China’s history of corruption. The Economist notes: “In a state-controlled system, it is good to have the state’s explicit endorsement and protection. But it comes at a cost. The reason China initially backed away from state control was because companies were inefficient and corrupt, and ultimately people suffered.” China’s prime minister Wen Jiabao is focused on economic growth. The Economist reports: “With the help of massive government spending, China was still aiming for economic growth of 8% this year [despite the recent economic crisis].” The Economist says that China’s budget will be spent padding the military and public-security budgets. However, China should not focus on economic growth. It should instead focus on bettering the average Chinese citizen’s quality of life. There would be far less protest against how the government used its money if more funds were given to health care reform and welfare matters, issues that could lead China on path to better development. If China continues down its current path, it will never learn from its own mistakes.

Works Cited

The Economist. "Renationalisation in China: So much for capitalism." Economist.com. 5 Mar. 2009. 9 Mar. 2009 .

The Economist. "The state of the Chinese nation: Yes, prime minister." Economist.com. 5 Mar. 2009. 10 Mar. 2009 .

Written for a Poli. Sci. class in March '09.

Du Fu - 春望

2009-02-25T13:47:00.000-08:00

春望

国破山河在
城春草木深
感时花溅泪
恨别鸟惊心
烽火连三月
家书抵万金
白头搔更短
浑欲不胜簪

Spring View

The country is broken
The mountains and rivers are here
The city's spring is deep with grass and trees
Moved by the moment, flowers are splashed with tears
Detesting parting - A bird startles the heart.
The flame of the beacon fires has continued for three months.
Family letters are worth ten thousand gold
Scratching the white hair on my head,
it's thinning,
and cannot bear a hairpin.

Original composed by Du Fu.
Translated by Ouija.

Du Fu - 绝句 - 江碧鸟逾白

2009-02-24T16:39:00.000-08:00

江碧鸟逾白
山青花欲燃
今春看又过
何日是归年

jiāng bì niǎo yú bái
shān qīng huā yù rán
jīn chūn kàn yòu guò
hé rì shì guī nián

The river, green-blue like jade.
The bird, perfectly white.
The mountain, green.
Flowers yearn to burst open.
This spring, I watch it pass again
Which day shall I return?

Original poem composed by Du Fu.
Translation by Elizabeth Paich.

Du Fu - 绝句 - 迟日江山丽

2009-02-24T16:25:00.000-08:00

Mountains and rivers - Beautiful under the slow sun
Spring breeze - The fragrance of flowers and grasses
The mud has thawed - Sparrows fly
Warm sand - Mandarin ducks sleep

Translation by Elizabeth Paich

迟日江山丽

春风花草香
泥融飞燕子
沙暖睡鸳鸯

chí rì jiāng shān lì
chūn fēng huā cǎo xiāng
ní róng fēi yàn zǐ
shā nuǎn shuì yuān yāng

Original Poem Composed by Du Fu

Chinese Curtailed Verse - Jue Ju - 绝句

2009-02-24T15:41:00.000-08:00

In class, we read Matsuo Bashō's work, Oku no Hosomichi (Narrow Road to the Interior) (1694). He is a famous Japanese Edo period poet, and considered a master of haiku poetry. His work is truly beautiful, capturing amazing scenes and feelings in his verse. However, this lead our (Chinese) Comparative Lit teacher to talk about the origin of haiku poetry and how Chinese poetry influenced the style. Haiku originated from Chinese jue ju, or curtailed verse in its form. And this is how jue ju came about:

"China in the post-Han era also absorbed inspiration from Buddhism and writings from India that were translated from Sanskrit into Chinese. Buddhism gained strength in China as disorder increased and the domination of Confucian thought diminished. The first major sign of this influence on literature was the adoption of elements of Sanskrit poetic structure, which resulted in two new Chinese verse forms: jue ju (curtailed verse) and lü shi (regulated verse). Both of the verse forms have lines of five or seven characters, or syllables, and each line has a prescribed tonal pattern and alternating rhyme. Curtailed verse is organized in four lines, and regulated verse in eight lines. Too short to tell a story, curtailed verse seeks instead to create a mood in an economical manner. The longer regulated verse is based on coupled lines that are parallel in sound, thought, and tone."
"Chinese Literature," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2008
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

So now I am simply obsessed with the form! I want to find clips and snippets and full forms, and simply translate them for my own pleasure...