Session 1 - August 5, Yunxiang Yan, UCLA

[Frederic Vial]

Great questions.  I was hoping more light would've been shed on how/if communism directly impacted the various dynamics discussed, especially since the presenter has/had first-hand knowledge through personal experience.  This personal experience is what I was hoping to hear more about, however I realize the time constraints are/were what they are.

 

[Midori Sanchez]

I thought it was interesting that the article spoke of marriage as an agreement and business. In the article, they discuss how having a son allows the woman power and basically "hits the jackpot" so to the say by doing so. Having a job and parental support is helpful when navigating through the relationship, but confucian ideals remind the woman that ultimately your focus is on being a good wife and having a male heir. They also emphasize the struggles in wanting to "have it all" by trying to balance your own professional goals but still be expected to take care of the household. 

In the classroom, students are motivated in different ways; some expect to get married and to take care of the home. As educators, we may push our students to get their own education to ensure their independence but have to be careful of the cultural expectations they may come into the classroom having.

[Midori Sanchez]

I am already planning to integrade individualistic and collectivist, but I agree that familism is also an important word for students to familiarize themselves with especially being Americans. I will be teaching a short story by Amy Tan and feel that this can also be added to the powerpoint I recently made for the students so they can empathize with the mother figure in the story that was previously viewed last year as "mean" or "intense".

[Madeline George]

I did not know about Google censoring , which means we’ll have to look at the message even more! I agree that Ban Zhang was just promoting what she thought was appropriate for her times. Just like lots of women at one time thought that it was wrong for women to have the same education as men..  What I found surprising that it seems that women were fairly equal to men in value and honor and THEN, they became “less than” .  That’s strange to me!

[Sophia Kang]

Professor Yunxiang Yan started by defining the concept of zuoren and giving us biographical information about Ban Zhao. He explained the relevance of this simple concept to even today’s society where women, although no longer expected to play fixed roles, are still praised for their self-sacrifice to the family. What strikes me as ironic is that although over time, China has become a post-patriarchial society in the generational sense, but not so in the gender sense. Given the ways in which a woman in modern society should behave is constantly changing, whether through the concept of improvisation or even in the 1900’s through the One Child Policy, I can see how unclearly shifting ideals could cause something like a Psychoboom.

[Celeste Modster]

Nurse Wng Rui exemplifies the character of so many women in the world looking for Mr. Right. So many women like Wang Rui, abandon their dreams in the pursuit of a happy marriage and a happy family life.  Reading this article pointed out to me the challenge for individual autonomy and couples in the reform-era in China. Wang Rui and her husband had to collaborate to create the Middle Class famiy that they desired to have. The roles of the Good Husband/Provider and the Good Wife/Caretaker/Teacher are merged with both husband and wife's balanceing of career and family. The contemporary ideals of success in marriage in China's Reform era are reflected in this article. Wang Rui and her husband, as individuals and collectively are addressing the challenges being right for each other in this union while raising the "perfect Child". Their choices merge the old and the new. The choreography will be ongoing!

[Sophia Kang]

Another idea that stood out to me was the family revolution and waning of familism during the Cultural Revolution--the rerooting of family ties and shifting them to government. I would think that stronger families equate to more robust societies in which there is increased social work according to Maslow’s Hierarchy. Family members would have stable basic and psychological needs. However, it’s interesting to think that the government might’ve provided for these needs instead through the use of propaganda and farming revolution.

[Ann Huyhn]

Professor Yan's lecture about the changing dynamics and gender roles in the family in China was very insightful.  He started the lecture with the traditional role of women, self-sacrifice, and family above everything with Ban Zhao and ended with the modern Chinese women, the decision-maker in the household since the husband is the provider in the family. However, the change in the grandparents' roles is what resonated with me.  At my school, many of the students are raised by their grandparents because their parents have to work long hours. I would like to talk about the similarities and differences between the households in China and my students’ household so that they will gain insight into how the family is similar everywhere, regardless of ethnicity. 

[Gerlinde Goschi]

Like many of the comments above, I, too, was fascinated by the life of “one of the most famous and exemplary women in Chinese history,” as Prof. Yunxiang Yan stated, Ban Zhao.  The seven lessons for women were a bit shocking to me. Just like my colleagues who wrote here, I have not learned about Ban Zhao prior to this course.  Her impact on the history of China is important, especially the lessons for women on female behavior code and virtue. While at first glance they seem outrageous for a woman living in the 21st century, many women in countries and cultures today live by the same virtues.  I would love to combine Ban Zhao’s writing with a research project that inquires about women who live today by these and in what countries?

 

[Donna Jamshidnejad]

In a high school Ap World History history class, I think we can read parts of "Being the Right Woman for Mr. Right." I can either take out segments of the article, or assign the text for homework in an AP course. Then, we can use the text to analyze continuities and changes over time in China. Students study hundreds of years of Chinese history, and should be able to relate the modern Chinese women's roles to that of the past. I would probably want to start such a lesson with a review of what students learned/remember about Confucianism and women's roles in China. 

[Donna Jamshidnejad]

I like your idea of comparing households and I think this is something I can expand and use in my history class. We have a tendency to "other" whatever region or perspective we study in history. However, when we analyze our own society through an anthropological lens, we begin to see that we can make ourselves look just as foreign and alien. When studying women's roles, students are often judgmental when they read about patriarchal societies. It may be interesting to study women's roles in multiple regions including the US and censor the names of the places and maybe even the time period, then have students analyze text etc. before revealing where the documents originate. 

[Nelson Ta]

After reading the second article, I thought it was interesting to see that there has been a shift in the way marriages are seen in China. From what I understood, there seemed to be larger emphasis on gender roles in past marriages. The newer generation are developing more of a romantic relationship that departs from the past. Although it may be a difficult culture, this reminds me of the movie, The Big Sick, which focuses on a Pakistanian family that must deal with the clashes between tradition and modern ideals such as love marriages versus arranged marriages. To me, it seems that marriages in older countries were primary practical purposes rather than love. I 

[Nelson Ta]

Yeah, I found that very fascinating and it is unfortunate to see how women aren't valued until they are able to provide a son. It is surprising to see that a female author would suggest the inferiority of women in the chinse culture, but I can kind of see how years of patriarchal oppression could convince a person to betray their gender. 

[Salbador Gonzalez]

Today's Lecture regarding Ban Zhao made me rethink of the way women have been percieved in China. I've always had a great respect of Asian cultures due to my experiences with them, but after listening to Professor Yan talk about what Ban Zhao had to go through to be who she is perceived as in the movie, Crazy Rich Asians, I respect women from Asia more than I already had. Ban Zhao's story was what intrigued me in this lecture that I had to go watch Crazy Rich Asians again. 

[Salbador Gonzalez]

The one slide that caught my attention during Professor Yan's lecture was regarding familism. He mentions familism beign perceived as the obstacle to modernization in modern China. He mentions familism being "the challenge in modernizing China in the turn of the 20th century", therefore leading to a family revolution where "individuals are mobilizing from their respective familial groups" "into citizens who can be organized for public interest and political goals. "

These quotes are an example of what families are nowadays in general due to the change of life where people are more involved with friends and coworkers than family. A family revolution is what has been happening in the US and probably soon to be in China. 

[Author]

Posts