Tiananmen Square

The interview with Lee Kuan Yew didn't complicate my views on how Deng handled the protests in Tiananmen square.  I think Deng could have handled the protests differently. I don't think it was necessary to kill all those people. The army shouldn't have used military weaponry on the civilizations. There were alternatives to the situations. The interview didn't complicate my views but strengthened them.

Thought and Understanding of the film "To Live"

After watching more of the film “To Live,” I was sad to see the Fugui’s son die. He was forced to awake and go to school to melt steel even though he hadn’t slept in three days. I thought this really showed the dedication of the people to strive for the economic growth of China.  Fugui said his son had to go even though his wife wanted him to sleep. Fugui said they “must not be politically backward.” They were afraid if they started slacking and “moving backward,” they would get in trouble. I think people feared getting in trouble so they worked harder. After the reading about the new 10-year plan, I think China really needed. The backyard steel productions and over work of people were in the end not beneficial. Steel was so poorly made that factories couldn’t even use it and many of the workers were tired that it led to accidents in factories just like what happened with Fugui’s son. The new 10-year plan added to the successful growth of modernization of China.

Life under Mao Zedong in the 50's

During Mao Zedong’s reign in the 1900s, the people of china had to sacrifice a lot. In the movie, “The life” there are many examples that show this.  People were forced to gather their household items made of steel and donate it to the government for military purposes. This included their cooking supplies because they were made of steel. Due to the lack of cooking supplies, there were community food centers created in which everyone had to go to eat.  Landlords or people who were wealthier than the common people were forced to give up their homes because in a communist society, civilization is classless. People who would not give up their home, like Long’er from the movie, were considered to be counter revolutionary and therefore prosecuted. If one was a hard worker that gained more income and therefore was more privileged than most, one was basically forced to give up what they had worked for to be equal to lower class. Even though people had to sacrifice during life under Mao, they still strived for a communist based society. 

My thoughts on the most interesting themes throughout Ming and Qing Dynasties:

Throughout the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Europeans continually oppressed the Chinese. When George MaCartney, a colonial diplomat, came to China in 1793 he wanted to trade with the Chinese but they didn’t want to. They weren’t a commercial country. They had no need to trade with the Europeans. Around the end of the 15^th century, Christianity game to China. At first, the Chinese tolerated it. Even some of the Chinese converted to Christianity but Kangxi, the emperor of China at the time, kicked the Christians out because they wouldn’t allow Confucian practices to mix with traditional Christian worship. They didn’t leave for good though. They came back after the first opium because of the treaty of Nanking. The Chinese were forced to sign the treaty by the Europeans and forced to be open to Christian ideas. That directly led to the Tiaping rebellion then led to the second opium war. The Chinese were forced to sign the Treaty of Tianjin. This allowed missionaries and travelers freedom to be and travel through China. Throughout all these events one can see the Europeans as bullies. They forced the Chinese to sign two treaties that allowed what they wanted to happen in China. This is kind of ironic because a treaty is an agreement between to countries, but these events clearly show it wasn’t an agreement. The Chinese were forced to sign the treaties.

         The influence of Christianity greatly impacted China. The Rites Controversy, the Tiaping rebellion, and the boxer rebellion were all significant times of unrest in China. The Chinese were forced to tolerate Christianity due to the treaty of Nanking and Tianjin. The Chinese eventually wanted to once and for all purge china of Christianity. This occurred in the violent events of the boxer rebellion. Without these disturbances in China, one wonders whether China would have flourished economically, socially and politically, rather than being distracted by these events. Would Confucianism have survived if the west hadn’t imposed on China?

Wave Three: Top Five

Least to Greatest:


1. Paintings
I appreciate art and enjoy art even if if i'm not artistic myself. Many artists, in the Tang dynasty, painted nature which is known as Shanshui. This means mountain water. The painter's goal was to convey an emotion or atmosphere from the place. The beauty and intricacy of these painting successfully portray the "spirit" of the place they are illustrating. 


To continue reading about the art of the Tang dynasty, follow the link below.
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/china/art/tang.htm 


2. Acrobatics
Tang acrobats were highly skilled at pole tricks, pole climbing, and balancing poles on their head. The officials and noble lords of the Tang Dynasty on trips were often preceded by ceremonial processions consisting of singers, dancers, acrobats and artists performing pole tricks. Officials and noble lords used ceremonial processions to show their power and wealth and also to express their willingness to share the performances with common people. Acrobatics is complex and beautiful to witness. 


To continue reading about acrobatics in the Tang dynasty, follow the link below.
http://www.chinaculture.org/library/2008-01/23/content_37719.htm


3. Dancing
There were two types of dances in the Tang dynasty; civil which was gentle and martial,which was vigorous. After watching some of the civil dances on youtube, I've realized these are some of the most beautiful dances i've seen. The women are so graceful and poised. Being a dancer myself, I'm inspired by their emotion and attitude that they give off when they perform.  


To read about dancing in the Tang dynasty, follow the link below.
http://www.china.org.cn/english/travel/53069.htm 


4. Fashion
Personally, I think the chinese fashion is so interesting. The color, design, and especially cut is so intriguing probably because it's so different from western society. The colors of their dress represented what social class they were in. The cut of  women's garments were broad and loose and the width of sleeve was always more than 1.3 meters.


To read more about the fashion of the Tang dynasty, follow the link below. 
http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_chinaway/2003-09/24/content_28399.htm


5. Musical Instruments
Being a flute player myself, I find chinese music can be very relaxing because its so beautiful. In the Tang dynasty, two of the coolest instruments were the lute (pipa) and flute.  The lute was first invented in the Qin Dynasty. By the the Tang Dynasty , the pipa had reached its summit. It was loved by everyone--from the royal court to the common folk--and it occupied the most of the orchestra. Many well known writers and poets created poems and mentioned it in their works. Even thought the flute was made 7,000 years earlier, the people of the Tang dynasty improved on it's structure and design making it available for all people to play. 


To read more about the musical instruments of the Tang dynasty, follow the link below
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/arts/chinese-music.htm

Acrobatics 

Letter describing why we still read Zhuangzi today.

 Helen,

            Hey! How’s life? What’s new? How’s school? You’re in a U.S. history class right? I’m in a history of China class. There’s so much history. We just read some Zhuangzi selections. It’s some old Chinese book written a long time ago by a very old Chinese philosopher. Its kind of weird that after 2,500 years people still read his stuff. I’m going to try to understand why smart scholars care to still read it today.

It’s still relevant to today. Zhuangzi philosophy about death was actually interesting. There was one story that talked about when Zhunagzi’s wife died. Huizi, a friend, came to the funeral and thought Zhunagzi was being really disrespectful because he wasn’t even crying. You’d think after being married for that long he would be really upset right? He was also banging on a tub singing. Yea, that’s definitely a really nice thing to do at his wife’s funeral. I thought he was being really disrespectful until Zhunagzi started talking about death. He said it was unavoidable. He thought why should he be upset. His wife had lived a long happy life. “If you are content with the time and abide by the passing, there’s no room for sorrow or joy.” This is a quote I found that I really liked. I think it means that if a person has lived a long, content life you shouldn’t be sad because death is inevitable so why mourn when crying and being sorrowful will get you no where. We should celebrate that person’s life. It makes me wonder if we should really get upset when are elders die. Yes, we loved them and we will miss them but why get upset when we all know death is going to come at one point. We should’ve been prepared for it by the time they pass.

            Scholors still read this because it’s still relevant to today and the story above is one example. His philosophies make us think and we all interpret them differently. The question is what is the write interpretation and what was he really trying to say? I think we are still trying to figure out what they mean and that’s another reason we read his stuff today. Anyways, not that you really care about this old stuff but I actually thought his philosophy about death was interesting and I’m not just saying that because I’m getting graded on this. :D Hope to talk to you soon.

                       

Laura Doolittle

My understanding/thoughts/interpretations

1.12 Youzi said, “In the application of ritual, it is harmonious ease that is to be valued. It is precisely such harmony that makes the Way of the For- mer Kings so beautiful. If you merely stick rigidly to ritual in all matters, great and small, there will remain that which you cannot accomplish.

This is basically saying that one has to embrace change in ritual practices to accomplish something. I agree with this. Rituals need to change with the times because the values and principles of people can/could change. 

2.3 The Master said, “If you try to lead the common people with govern- mental regulations and keep them in line with punishments, the laws will simply be evaded and the people will have no sense of shame. If, however, you guide them with Virtue, and keep them in line by means of ritual, the people will have a sense of shame and will moreover reform themselves.”

This is stating that a government ruled by virtue and ritual will be successful rather a government ruled by laws and punishments because people won't have or feel shame for the wrong they do. 

2.15 The Master said, “To learn without si 8, ‘thinking,’ will lead to confu- sion. To think without learning, however, will lead to fruitless exhaustion.”21

The master is saying that thinking and learning go hand in hand. One has to do both to acquire knowledge. 

4.5 The Master said, “Wealth and honor are things that all people desire, and yet unless they are acquired in the proper way I will not abide them.

It is true that people desire wealth and honor. If wealth and honor is gained unjustly, the master will not accept or obey them.

5.12 Zigong said, “What I do not wish others to do unto me, I also wish not to do unto others.

This quote stood out to me because it is very similar to a golden rule in the bible stating that you should treat others as you would like to be treated. This golden rule is mentioned twice in the bible. 

                                  "So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for

       this is the law and the prophets." (Matthew 7:12 RSV)
       
       "And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them."
        (Luke 6:31 RSV)

6.11 The Master said, “What a worthy man was Yan Hui! Living in a nar- row alley, subsisting upon meager bits of rice and water—other people could not have borne such hardship, and yet it never spoiled Hui’s joy. What a worthy man was Hui!”

This represented the culture of the chinese people. Even though Yan is shabby and poor, he is still optimistic about life. This shows to me that the chinese don't judge someone on social class or status but on character and personality. They judge people on merit. 

6.22 Fan Chi71 asked about wisdom. The Master said, “Devoting yourself to transforming the values of the

common people, to serving the ghosts and spirits with reverence and yet keeping them at a distance—this might be called wisdom.”

This is saying that by helping people, ghosts, and spirits  directly or indirectly you will find the true meaning of wisdom. 

7.14 When the Master was in the state of Qi he heard the Shao music,80 and for three months after did not even notice the taste of meat. He said, “I never imagined that music could be so sublime.”

This represents how music was such an impact on people's lives and how influential it can be. This passage represents it's significance to the people and it's ability to change people just like how the master "did not even notice the taste of meat."

11.12 Zilu asked about serving the ghosts and spirits. The Master said, “You are not yet able to serve people—how could you be able to serve the ghosts and spirits?”

“May I inquire about death?”

“You do not yet understand life—how could you possibly understand death?”

This passage states that you need to experience the other, whatever it may be, to truly understand its opposite-- life and death, people and ghosts/spirits.