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clay dubeAs we read and talk, I hope that all of us might be able to offer at least a few substantial endings to the "I didn't know..." opening.
Was there anything that you "knew" that you discovered to be incorrect or incomplete? I've been studying Asia and especially China for a long time and still frequently find that the "conventional wisdom" or at least what I've assumed to be the case is either wrong, misleading, or at least flawed.
Please take a moment to reflect on the range of topics and materials we've worked on and share your own endings to "I didn't know...." or "I thought ...., but now I ...." While your ideas about Asia almost certainly have been enhanced, revolutionized, or challenged, it may be that studying other peoples and other times have helped clarify your ideas about yourself, our society, and our time.
smiling,
clay
Anonymousclay dubeDiscovered in the late 1920s, the original remains of Beijing Man (about 200,000 years old) disappeared after they were packed in 1941 for shipping to the U.S. (ironically, for safe-keeping in the midst of the Pacific War).
Here's a website with some info about Zhoukoudian, site of the discovery.
AnonymousI didn't know anything about Mohists. I had heard of, and studied to differing degrees of depth, the other three schools of philosphical thought (Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism), but for some reason I had never once encountered Mohism. That's actually why I chose that group for our debate. I wanted to learn something new. I discovered that, while I don't agree with everything the Mohists had to say, there were some good ideas in their thinking.
AnonymousI didn't know...or just didn't pay attention to all the Asian sports people before! Suddenly, I realized there are people from China, Japan and Korea participating in sports other than baseball and basketball. i was just reading the sports page and noticed Chinese and Korean women participating and winning women's golf. By studying Asia or another culture, it opens your eyes a little more.
Larry
AnonymousI agree with Diana about the Mohists... How could such an important group/philosophy have slipped by me? I find them to be the most positive of other thinkers, yet do not have their heads entirely in the clouds. I'd like to know more about them, and the details behind their not being able to "win."
AnonymousI didn’t know that the Vietnamese do and they don’t use Chinese characters.
At our meeting on Tuesday April 27 Clayton asked us which countries use Chinese characters. We all failed to mention Vietnam. I happened to ask my Vietnamese friends if they or their parents use Chinese characters and they answered, no, and then they answered, yes. A bit of research reveals that truth lies in what you mean by the word, use.
The following web page provides a brief review of Vietnamese written language systems:
http://vietcatholic.net/culture/language.htm
3. Systems of writing.
a/ Chöõ Nho
Vietnamese was first written using the Chinese writing system called Chöõ Nho. Beginning sometime around the 9th century, following the period of Chinese domination, all government and official transactions, education, correspondences and literature used the Chinese characters.
This chöõ nho system was still used by scholars until a few decades ago, and in fact, Vietnamese still request the services of scholars skilled in chöõ nho for lettering the banners and placards which are traditionally found at weddings, funerals and festivals.
b/ Chöõ Noâm
Vietnamese writers, however, desired a language of their own in which to transcribe the national history and literature. Gradually a new writing system known as Chöõ Noâm - vulgar or demotic script - was evolved.
Nguyeãn-Thuyeân or Haøn Thuyeân, a poet of the 13th century, is believed to be-if not the inventor, the man responsible for spreading and popularizing chöõ noâm. Haøn Thuyeân was a native of Thanh Laâm district, Haûi Döông province. He received the Thaùi Sinh degree, equivalent of a Ph. D. in letters, in 1256, during the reign of Emperor Traàn Thaùi Toân (1225-1257). In this system, two Chinese characters were usually combined, one of which indicated the meaning of the Vietnamese word, while the other indicated the pronunciation.
The chöõ noâm system however was never accorded recognition as the official language.
c/ Chöõ Quoác Ngöõ
Around the 17th century, catholic missionaries developed a Romanized script to represent the Quoác Ngöõ (national language) in order to translate prayer books and catechisms.
The Quoác ngöõ (Latin alphabet) is generally said to have been invented by Alexandre de Rhodes, a French Jesuit missionary whose, Portugese-Latin-Vietnamese dictionary was published in 1651. Monsignor Pigneau de Behaine (18th century) and Monsignor Tabert (1838) later continued the works of Alexandre de Rhodes.
The Quoác ngöõõ was adopted and was taught in schools, won more and more favour with the public, and officially became popular, especially when Vieät Nam was under French domination (1864-1945). At the beginning of the present century, Nguyeãn Tröôøng Toä, a great Vietnamese reformer, presented to the Royal Court a petition requesting the adoption of the Quoác ngöõ as the official writing. His request was not accepted, because Sholars of the time were reluctant to abandon older traditions. Only after the abolition of the triennal examinations in Chinese characters, 1915 in North Viet Nam, and 1919 in Central Vieät Nam, the Quoác ngöõ became the accepted form of popular and national writing.
Other sources say that Alexandre de Rhodes did not invent Quoac ngoo, rather he compiled it from various existing sources.
In truth my Vietnamese friends can speak and write in Vietnamese, but they have little knowledge of Chinese Characters. Could this fact help define a difference between the Chinese and Vietnamese? Could the present Vietnamese writing system in some way be responsible for the positive outlook on life?
Ronald Walcott
AnonymousI dont know much about Asia. This is the first real class I have taken about the Asian cultures. So to be honest every time we meet I am leaving and every time saying I didnt know that. Am I the only one who feels like this.
Anonymoushi there!
i think there are many people who have had little exposure to the asian culture, so not to worry. the great thing is that it's all new to you and will, hence, be very fascinating. sometimes even i, who grew up with parents who spoke English with an accent, have to strain to understand English words spoken with a different accent. i was just recalling the time when Prof. Ye's words were unintelligible to you. egalicia
Anonymousthat is my experience exactly. mohism is the only religion/philosophy that i had never heard of. i really like their all for one and one for all attitude but the whole practicality notion is where i begin to question the soundness. art, dance,ideas etc. have no place in Mohism. Daoism encompasses more of everything. egalicia
AnonymousI know my group, Confusianism did not win! In terms of lasting impact, it is interesting that his teachings are still quoted today. Confucius had a lot to say on almost everything, but the basis of his philosophy is to raise the values of society and to do what is right for the entire society. This is why I think he had the most impact.
Larry
AnonymousI guess this might be the best place to recommend my Thomas Merton book, The Way of Chuang Tzu. Chuang Tzu wrote in the 5th and 3rd centuries BC as a spokesman for Taoism. It is said that Buddhism was transformed in China into Zen by blending with the Taoist philosophy. A number of the points that I made about Taoism came from the intro of this book, and there are many good translations of poems and stories in the main body of it.
Father Merton, a Trappist monk, also wrote The Asian Journal, compiled and published after his death in 1968 from his notebooks written during his travels through Asia. In it he paints a day to day picture of the people of the time and his reflections on the Eastern religions. He looked at the commonality of teachings and monastic traditions.
Both of these are worthwhile reading for those who have extra time after finishing our class set (well, maybe later this summer).
AnonymousNo....You're not the only one who feels like that. The main reason I'm taking the course is to begin to match my knowledge of Egypt, with a similar information base about China and India. Every day I learn something new about East Asia![Edit by="lshifflett on May 20, 11:29:37 PM"][/Edit]
AnonymousI didn't know that footbinding was practiced in China for about a thousand years. Why didn't anyone hear the little girls crying for such a long time?
AnonymousThis is an answer to syamada. Your entry about foot binding reminded me of one of my earliest recollections. I was visiting my Grandmother’s place and was walking nearby at Echo Park Lake with my family. My father pointed to a Chinese woman who seemed to be walking with some difficulty. He said something like, “Look there, she has bound feet!” I did not know what my Father was talking about, but he explained the grim process of foot binding in vivid detail. My dad’s explanation resulted in many months of very disturbed thoughts in my developing young brain.
This Friday I attended the Official Opening of the Chinese American Museum. In one of their displays depicting the early Chinese settlements in Los Angeles was a photograph of a woman with bound feet.
Ronald Walcott
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