Looking at the poem this morning, Wang Wei's "To the Assistant Prefect Chang", it reminded me very much of transcendentalism: the connection with nature, the simplicity, the anti-materialism. I think it would be neat to share this poem (or some others from The Anthology Of Chinese Literature) in connection with teaching Thoreau and Emerson. If nothing else, it would show students that these Transcendental leaders weren't really revolutionaries--their ideas were really old.

I have just finished Helie Lee's Still Life With Rice. It is written by a Korean American woman: she is telling her grandmother's story; she tells the story from her grandmother's point of view. The grandmother was born into a traditional family in Korea; she was married through the help of a matchmaker, and initially, she lives in the role of the traditional Korean woman--serving her husband, and caring for his children. But the Japanese occupation during World War II, then the division of Korea that followed due to American and Russian intervention, turned her into someone new. Lee's grandmother constantly has to reinvent herself to survive, and to help her family survive: she starts an opium business, a restaurant, and eventually learns ch'iryo, a healing art. She becomes a Christian along the way, and eventually a Californian. She loses so much, and suffers many illnesses, yet she survives. The memoir (I guess it's a memoir; her grandmother told her the stories, then she transcribed them) is inspirational: if she can survive all that she's been through, my troubles seem pretty petty in comparison. Also, the memoir traces Korea's history in the 20th Century--from a unified Korea, to the Japanese occupation, to the split between the North and the South. I love when I can get a history lesson in the middle of an engaging read!

Here's what is truly sad. I just finished reading Pu Song Ling's Liao Liao Zhai Yi, translated four stories from Chinese to English, and wrote a paper about the structural differences.

AND I DID IT FOR MY OWN ENTERTAINMENT!

Is that not truly sad?

聯通 The Context:
The tenuous border between the so called real world and the also elusively recognized spirit world forms the narrative template for Lao Zhai Zhi Yi written by Pu Song-Ling. The link of the spirit to reality, whether it be in the practical form of belief (that takes its form in Taoist priests), or the more fantastic magical manifestation of reincarnative spirits (such as the fox spirit tales, or the magical creatures, or magical world tales) is the basis for all of the elaborated 'zhiguai' that populate the collection. The stories, some five-hundred in total, winnowed down to an essential few in the Mair translation, are separated into three distinct genres: biji (notes/journal entries), zhiguai (tales of the supernatural and/or phenomenal happenings), and zhuanqi (prose romances). 1

有一個道士在一個鄉下人家門口兒要東西吃
Once, a taoist priest went to the gate of a family in the country to ask for some alms, or food to eat.

This is my translation.

Yet I must reply to my own post to be "sadder than sad"!

Why the great concern about Sparknotes?

Ii've just finished reading the memoir, Wild Swans, Three Daughters of China, by Jung Chang, which traces Jung's grandmother's, mother's and her own life through the tumult of 20th century China. It's a compelling history. For students(probably high school and above) or teachers who want to know China's 20th century history, as revealed through individual lives, this book delivers. The ancient philosophies coursed through the century, with various leaders proclaiming a new way to rid the country of corruption, to bring about a decent life for all. By the time of the Cultural Revolution, Mao's Communist state sounded remarkably like Legalism. Neighbors spied on neighbors, allegiance to the state reigned supreme, harsh punishments fell on anyone who dared to oppose the ruling edicts. Jung shows how she and her communist parents tried to make sense of what ultimately became senseless; their Confucian ties to family and the basic human desire to protect their loved ones, ultimately prevailed. However, family loyalty couldn't be shown openly for a long time. She details the fear of sharing honest opinions about what was happening, even parents to children. The century was a remarkable time of struggle, vivdly portrayed in this book . [Edit by="ctchir on Nov 13, 1:47:51 PM"][/Edit]

This (Stewar David Ikeda's book) reminds me of a story Terry Kuwahara (Gary Kuwahara's wife) told me several years ago. Her parents and grandparents also kept their internment quiet, never revealing that chapter of their lives to their children. Terry recalled that at family gatherings, her parents would sometimes refer something happening at "camp" and she just assumed they were talking about a vacation camping trip. She, too, first learned of the Japanese internment in college (how sadly lacking high school textbooks can be!). Suspicion about her family's "camp" references grew, and she confronted them with what she had found. She was blown away to learn that they had been locked up with all the other Japanese, AND that they never told their children about it. It was shameful, to be forgotten. That was the beginning of Terry's research, which became her senior thesis. [Edit by="ctchir on Nov 13, 2:03:26 PM"][/Edit]

I have a question for everyone. As a Drama teacher, I am looking for an Asian show to do next year. I have read a few but does anyone have a good idea? I've read "Rashomon" and that seems to be the frontrunner, but I've also read "Shogun Macbeth" and Japanese ghost stories. I remember a Korean folk tale about an honorable girl who throws herself out of a ship to save her father (?) but I can't remember the name.
Also, what is your take on Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado?" Is that too non-PC these days? It was actually spoofing British society and using the Japanese as a vehicle, but I think it might ruffle some feathers. I read a couple of theatre standards that downright embarrassed me in their stereotypical treatment of Asians and I'm at a loss. Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks.