Movies and Books

[Anonymous]

In the author's afterward to Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See explained that her initial interest was in the nu shu language, which was denied by the police during the Cultural Revolution. She traveled to China to research the language first hand, and referred to the Yang Yueqing book. She also listed several people who have researched the language.

In the novel, the written materials were burned when a person died, in order for that person to have something to comfort them in the afterworld.

While the language was nearly wiped out in the 1900's, it is now being taught in China.

I hope you enjoy the novel and your research into this subject.
Courtney Lockwood
Venice High School

[Anonymous]

River of Stars: Selected Poems of Yosano Akiko
Translated by Sue Hamill and Keiko Matsui Gibson

What an amazingly beautiful book for anyone who loves poetry--especially beautiful love poetry. In searching the internet for Asian poetry, I came across a site of translations by Kenneth Rexroth. He translated some of the most famous female poets from the Heian era, but he also translated Yosano Akiko (1878-1942). After reading a few of his translations, I wanted to read more, and I ordered this book online.

First of all, the poetry in this book is wonderful to read purely for pleasure. But, if one wanted to use it in the classroom, there are several ways in which to do so. First of all, the story of Akiko's personal life is fascinating in itself and it gives a good glimpse into Japanese culture of her time. She was raised by an aunt for the first three years of her life because her father wanted a son. Eventually she was allowed to come home, and her father educated her because she was bright and curious. He observed strict traditions with her, however. For example, he wouldn't let her leave the house without a servant to chaperone. She began writing poetry in high school, when she first published tanka. She fell in love with Yosano Hiroshi (pen name "Tekekan"), and their tumultuous love affair supposedly spawned thirteen children! She was the first poet in Japanese history to publicly criticize the emperor, her poems were considered by many to be too personal and private to be published, but she wrote 75 books, including 17,000 tanka and 500 poems in free verse. Wow! The time of her poetry is often called "The Age of Akiko."

Second, another thing that makes Akiko so amazing is that her writing style was revolutionary. She was writing in the "modern" style Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot and William Carlos Williams several years before they were. She believed in writing "raw" poetry--poetry that is full of emotion. Like Williams, she favored verse without figurative language of similes and metaphors. She kept the language simple, yet personal. She felt that this made the poem as close to the experience as possible, thereby making it more authentic. It would be fun to have students compare her poetry to those of our American modernists and see what she was doing well before her American counterparts.

I highly recommend checking out Akiko's work. She has some of the simplest, yet most beautiful poems I have ever read.

[Anonymous]

A good novel for MS students is the one written by the Danish writer Erik Haugaard. 'The Samurai's Tale' is about a young teenage boy who was a samurai's son but after the defeat of his tribe he is forced to become a servant and describes the various incidents that he has deal with. The story has a happy ending. It is easy reading and the MS students can easily relate to the young samurai.

[Anonymous]

I finally got around to viewing this movie and, personally, I liked it. It is too long to be shown in class and some scenes might have to be edited for class. Since the story is set in pre and post WWII era, I think it would be better suited to be shown to HS - WHG class than to MS class. Though, some short clips could be shown to MS grades for costume and music.
As an example of Japanese culture, it is best suited for mature audience.

[Anonymous]

A great book that I recently ordered is The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi, Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan. $14.00, Vintage Classics. Translated by Jane Hirshfield and Mariko Aratani.

As I stated in an earlier post, Sam Yamashita's lecture made me want to seek out more Japanese love poetry. This is the book to own if you enjoy love poems from the Heian era. There is a wonderful introduction about Heian verse and the purpose it served in courtship. This intro also details the lives of both women and explains that they were wonderful poets not just because they mastered the tanka, but also because they wrote such simple yet beautiful poems of reflection and introspection. To me, it is fascinating that these women could take something that was part of their everyday lives and ritual (writing courtship poems) but elevate it to an artform. The ritual of these courtships is so intriguing, and one gets a feeling of eavesdropping on these liasons from reading the poems. Another thing that is probably more interesting to me as one who studies and loves to write poetry than it would be to any of my students is the lengthy appendix (p. 161-208) titled "On Japanese Poetry and the Process of Translation." This appendix points out that even subtle differences in translations can change the mood of a poem drastically. Pillow words (similar to epithets) are examined in depth as well. An example of differences in translations is made with one of Komachi's poems. It talks about her missing a lover and wanting to see him in her dreams. She turns her bed clothes inside out, as this is supposed to help one see his or her beloved in dreams.

Version in this book:

When my desire
grows too fierce
I wear by bed clothes
inside out,
dark as the night's rough husk.

An alternate version is:

Longing,
fiercely longing--
To dream of him
I turn my bed clothes inside out
this dark-husked night.

I think it would be an interesting exercise to have students examine differences in translations and compare what is lost and gained in each.

Here's a couple of beautiful poems by Shikibu (who also wrote The Tale of the Genji) that I wanted to share:

Why haven't I
thought of it before?
This body,
remembering yours,
is the keepsake you left.

and

In this world
love has no color--
yet how deeply
my body
is stained by yours.

[Anonymous]

One more book about Japanese love poems--wow, am I addicted!

Ariake: Poems of Love and Longing by the Women Courtiers of Ancient Japan
$14.95, Chronicle Books.

This book is not as inclusive as The Ink Dark Moon, which I discussed in a previous post. If I were to buy only one, I'd by The Ink Dark Moon, but since I really like these poems, I bought them both. This is a hardcover book, and it does have some beautiful illustrations. Because of the beauty of the cover and artwork, this book would make a wonderful gift for a loved one.

The women poets included in this book are: Princess Shokushi, Lady Kasa, Lady Otomo of Sakanoue, Shunzei's Daughter, Lady Tse, Otogami, Ono no Komachi, The Elder Maiden of the Otomo of Sakanoue, Izumi Shikibu, Shrine Prietess of Tse, The Maiden Oyake, The Maiden Ato no Tobira, and several anonymous poems.

As with The Ink Dark Moon, there is a good introduction that explains the background of poetry of the Heian era and courtly love affairs. It explains that "ariake," the title of the book, means "the waning moon at dawn," which was an image associated with love in the ancient courts of Japan, because it was at dawn that the lovers had to part.

One anonymous poem that I like echoes Komachi's desire to see her lover in dreams. In this poem, the poet wonders how her pillow was arranged the last time she dreamt of her lover, and she attempts to rearrange it the same was so as to dream of him again:

As night succeeds night,
I seek in vain to decide
Where my pillow should go.
How did I sleep on the night
When you appeared in my dream?

And, there is yet another translation of the Komachi poem referred to above and in a previous post:

When longing for you
Torments me beyond my strength,
I reverse my robe,
Raiment of seed-black night,
And put it on inside out.

This book is a good overall introduction to the poetry of this era, but as stated before, I prefer the more in-depth study of the masters--Komachi and Shikibu--offered in The Ink Dark Moon.

[Anonymous]

I think there is one important book to read whenever studying Asia--and that is Edward Said’s Orientalism.

We never really talked about issues of colonialism and imperialism, appropriation and assimilation in our class per se. Or the misrepresentation of the "orient" as mystic, exotic and other. We didn't confront and/or address these issues as they pertain to our students. Of course we talked politics. China, Korea, and why everyone hates Japan like they hate America. But I think demystifying established and new myths is important.

Too many of my non Asian students, many students of color, currently believe that all Asians are good at math, science, love school, etc. They don't realize that Asians too are other and considered students of color. White students maybe are a little more aware of the false nature of these myths being in direct contact/competition with Asian students in honors and AP classes. And yet teachers still believe the myths themselves.

Asian students struggle to dispel these myths trying not to give up too much of their heritage to conform to a wasp ideal that will leave them loved by teachers all around. This is a big issue in the Latin community as well. It means something when you can pass because you are light enough and well behaved. We never really talked about this. My two Korean friends, both girls and both beautiful, fought over who was prettier. Not like cat fight fights, rather slightly drunk and behind the back—"oh she is classic white skinned Korean and thinks she’s better than me"—fights. An "I am dark and get no respect" type fight. This is a phenomenon that happens in all cultures, which I find amazing. And I wish there was more of this involved in our discussions but our scope was simply too large.

I work at Venice High School and many of our teachers and admin. lump white and Asians together and Latin and blacks together when it comes to numbers, and many still believe the myths. One teacher yelled out in a meeting, well the Asian kids are more motivated and better equipped to succeed. I find this model minority role ludicrous seeing that Asians at the turn of the century were treated worse than Latinos, blacks and Native Americans. The “If you raise our scores you’re in” mentality is unfair to non Asians and Asians alike.

Read Edward Said and read Ronald Takaki. Let’s help our students succeed rather than stereotyping them into success. I think we had a good start. I feel Clay does an excellent job of treating Asia like Asia and not the “Orient.”

[Anonymous]

The River-Merchant's Wife: A Letter

While my hair was still cut straight across my forehead
I played about the front gate, pulling flowers.
You came by on bamboo stilts, playing horse,
You walked about my seat, playing with blue plums.
And we went on living in the village of Chokan:
Two small people, without dislike or suspicion.

At fourteen I married My Lord you.
I never laughed, being bashful.
Lowering my head, I looked at the wall.
Called to, a thousand times, I never looked back.

At fifteen I stopped scowling,
I desired my dust to be mingled with yours
Forever and forever and forever.
Why should I climb the lookout?

At sixteen you departed,
You went into far Ku-to-en, by the river of swirling eddies,
And you have been gone five months.
The monkeys make sorrowful noise overhead.

You dragged your feet when you went out.
By the gate now, the moss is grown, the different mosses,
Too deep to clear them away!
The leaves fall early this autumn, in wind.
The paired butterflies are already yellow with August
Over the grass in the West garden;
They hurt me. I grow older.
If you are coming down through the narrows of the river Kiang,
Please let me know beforehand,
And I will come out to meet you
As far as Cho-fo-Sa.

Ezra Pound

This is one of my favorite poems. The language and the imagery are beautiful. I don’t teach this historically. I give very few explanations regarding geography, history, politics, feminism, patriarchy, philosophy even author and translation info. I want the students to enjoy the beauty and the sadness of the story. I want them to see beautiful pictures in their heads. It’s up to you how you want to teach it, but I do recommend you teach it.

Try pairing this with any Kurosawa film, Twilight Samurai, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon….
[Edit by="richardrodriguez on Aug 1, 12:17:04 AM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Although I do not recommend it for students to read, I personally loved reading the book "Shogun" by James Clavell. I think it is an entertaining read for teachers who want to learn about Japanese culture in a less "academic" book.

[Anonymous]

For a great and novel perspective on the Korean War take a look at Ha Jin’s new book War Trash. A Pulitzer Prize Finalist and a Faulkner Award Winner this book examines the life of a Chinese Peoples Liberation ‘Volunteer’’s experience in Korea and his subsequent stay in an American POW compound.
A real good read!

[Anonymous]

Ha Jin’s War Trash is a very interesting book about Chinese Communist incarceration during the Korean War. Leadership in the camps was not assigned to the officers of the People’s Liberation Army, but reformed former Nationalists. The reformed former Nationalist leaders were re-educated by Mao’s victorious army in 1949 and forced into the PLA. When captured, either accidentally or willingly during the Korean War, these NCOs were sent allegedly to Guam where they were re-educated by the Chinese Nationalist/US Forces and returned to the POW camps in Korea.. In the camps, these twice reformed Chinese soldiers were assigned as the leaders of the incarcerated PLA.

Anyone know more about this?

[Anonymous]

A State of Mind, the BBC film on the Mass Games gives an extraordinary depiction of North Korea.

[Anonymous]

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is a story about two young Chinese youths' experience in a re-education camp during China's cultural revolution. It is the author Dai SiJie's biographical account, written first in French, later translated into English. This is a cute love story which gives you insight into the cultural revolution. For book review, go to:

http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/balzac_and_the_seamstress1.asp

There's also a movie by the same title directet by the author himself. In my opinion, the movie is even more beautifully done than the book. If you read the book first and watch the movie, you will see some elements that were added onto the movie. This is a beautiful movie. For film review, chek out :

http://www.heroic-cinema.com/films/balzac.htm[Edit by="hlee on Aug 8, 3:21:21 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Although I really enjoyed the film The Last Samurai, a much better film to show your students is the Seven Samurais. This 1954 classic by Akira Kurosawa is readily available to purchase on line, or catch it on PBS at night. A really good and very accurate historical film.[Edit by="rparker on Aug 8, 3:25:02 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

I found Ch’unhyang, a Korean folk tale which resembles Romeo and Juliet, to be a very entertaining and educational film. It is available thru Amazon.com.

[Author]

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