Session 1 - East Asian Geography and Early Thought

[Anonymous]

I was born and educated in China. Though I learned history in China, yet today's lecture was a little different from what I was taught in a Chinese classroom. In China back in late 70s and early 80s, even nowadays, history was taught without religious elements. So the Shangdi was not mentioned as God, was mentioned as the Heaven. And the emperor was the son of the Heaven, and the emperor was approved by the heaven to rule.
Yet the Confucius is highly respected as a philosopher, educator, and police maker then and now.
I don't remember much from what I have learned in China during my high school, yet learning it from a western professor with many of the non-Chinese peers is definitely an exciting experience.

[Anonymous]

I found the Confucius quote about his development through varying ages fascinating and a very telling sign of why Eastern ideology influences parents to pressure their kids into "adulthood" and marriage. When considering that Confucius "stood on firm ground when he was 30," it is reasonable to see the thought process of society and the push to an early start in life. While many Americans in contemporary society are delaying family and marriage to a later age, I find myself in a precarious situation as an Asian-American. My parents and relatives are constantly directing me towards settling down as I near my late 20s. As I was reading the article about the Korean men who were ordering brides from Vietnam. A consistent idea that was brought up by the article was the idea that many of the men were doing what they were doing because of parental pressures. Although I find myself in a stable situation in my life where I am starting to understand who I am, I can only hope that I can "stand on firm ground" as I age.

[Anonymous]

As an individual with little knowledge about the demographic crisis and population shift in other countries, I was very interested in the articles explaining the low fertility rates due to women choosing to have a career over starting a family. The demand for Vietnamese women to go to Bride schools and be married to complete strangers was also surprising. It reminded me of an old folk tale or some made up story in a movie. However, it's real life for some people. I found it strange that the work force was low in Japan along with low fertility rates. However, it was mentioned that women and elderly persons not working, are not receiving the same pay as men. Therefore, women are not working or starting families, which reveals a significant problem with the Japanese economic culture. To tie these articles into what I have learned about Confucius, I can extract that China and East Asia and its surrounding countries have strayed away from Confucius teachings and beliefs to pursue personal aspirations.
edited by tphillips on 5/24/2017

[Anonymous]

I look forward to sharing with my 6th grade students in Ancient Civilization about USA and China relations especially in relation to the way we have handled conflict in regards to the USA spying on China. Also, I hope to recreate the debates with the four schools of philosophy with my students.

[Anonymous]

It interesting how a demographic crisis might be solved courtesy of the domestication of the household husband, a species which through the 1950 was considered an assertive hunter seeking out sustenance for the traditional family unit through corporate, private, or public employment. While not a role reversal, the willingness of this species to help with the household chores in order to guarantee its procreative rights and assist the female by reducing the workload modern society has placed on her demonstrates a flexibility heretofore unseen in a once dominant creature. Perhaps there is a genetic value to the pantsuit so derided by the current occupant of the White House. Only time and social evolution will tell.

[Anonymous]

It's the old west all over again. Women seeking out relationships with men, and men seeking relationships with women hoping they each have the chemistry necessary to build a lasting relationship that is founded on what one could easily see is vested self-interest. Marriage as a tool for social or economic advancement can only succeed when both parties are willing to stretch beyond the initial desire that brought them together. Can they succeed? It's a question that is answerable not so much on a social, religious, cultural or economic basis, but on a personal one.

[Anonymous]

Are Buddhist Temples considered sanctuary? If so, it is one more element that parallels western culture, at least through the 19th Century. While it doesn't appear to be the case, it did give both sides a chance to get some breathing space in the current confrontation. Eventually, the police got their man and Mr. Han had a chance to present his arguments to the public. Unfortunately, this has left something of a mess which Korean courts and the Buddhist community will have to sort out if they are understand the nature and use of sanctuary. It would be interesting to know what constitutes a legal and an illegal labor protest march. Is it simply a matter of obtaining a permit? Additionally, why did Mr. Han allow his followers to arm themselves. That fact alone make the protest much more foreboding and makes their leader, Mr. Hawn potentially culpable.

[Anonymous]

This subject has been on my mind ever since I saw Leo DiCaprio's documentary called Before the Flood, which is about global warming. In the documentary, Leo traveled to urban cities in China to interview families who have resorted to wearing facemasks whenever they come into contact with outside air. I would like to share this article with my students along with parts of Before the Flood as a jumping off point to discuss the causes, effects, and dangers of climate change. Many of my students don't realize the urgency of this issue, and with Trump's administration deciding to do away with Obama's environmental protection laws, the issue of pollution will probably get worse.

[Anonymous]

I think it is so interesting that you are learning the same content from different perspectives. This reminds me of a conversation I had with my Korean-American parents who immigrated to America about thirty years ago. While discussing Kim Jong Nam's assassination with them, I realized that the American news I was reading about this event was subtly different from the Korean news my parents were reading. From reading my own newsfeed, I thought Kim Jong Nam himself chose to leave N. Korea because he did not agree with his father. However, my mom told me that Kim Jong Il never liked Jong Nam, and that the choice to leave N. Korea wasn't Jong Nam's; he was forced out by his father. Subtle differences... how interesting!

[Anonymous]

When I think of East Asia I think of 1.5 billion of earths people living in this region. I think of overpopulation. I think of laws that prohibit more than one child per couple. I think of stories of daughters being abandoned in hopes of having a son to continue the family lineage. I have never considered the demographic crisis in Asia where populations could decrease by 86 million in one generation. But, I guess I should have,if you consider the upside down family model; 4 grandparents, 2 parents, and 1 child. It only make sense that this would lead to a decline in population. I was also very impressed with this study in revealing the one of the most detrimental costs would be the loss of the best educated, most technological astute and most open to new ideas. under normal circumstances demographers believe the cycle is irreversible. However, because Europe was able to bounce back after WWII, there might be hope for Asia. Personally I believe the chances are slim because historically speaking America and Europe had a baby boom because so many single men were returning home from war ready to start families immediately. Also I don't believe Asia will be so quick to change social norms and close the "cultural gap, due to the fact Asia is more entrenched in its traditions than the US and Europe.

[Anonymous]

When I think of East Asia I think of 1.5 billion of earths people living in this region. I think of overpopulation. I think of laws that prohibit more than one child per couple. I think of stories of daughters being abandoned in hopes of having a son to continue the family lineage. I have never considered the demographic crisis in Asia where populations could decrease by 86 million in one generation. But, I guess I should have,if you consider the upside down family model; 4 grandparents, 2 parents, and 1 child. It only make sense that this would lead to a decline in population. I was also very impressed with this study in revealing the one of the most detrimental costs would be the loss of the best educated, most technological astute and most open to new ideas. under normal circumstances demographers believe the cycle is irreversible. However, because Europe was able to bounce back after WWII, there might be hope for Asia. Personally I believe the chances are slim because historically speaking America and Europe had a baby boom because so many single men were returning home from war ready to start families immediately. Also I don't believe Asia will be so quick to change social norms and close the "cultural gap, due to the fact Asia is more entrenched in its traditions than the US and Europe.

[Anonymous]

This article left me with more questions than answers. What happens if the marriage does fall apart, as the article claims happens too often. Does the couple divorce? If the couple does divorce does the bride return to Vietnam or remain in South Korea? If there are children involved where do they go? One question I had did get answered, why is the government so concerned? As I continued to read on I realized that the South Korean government recognizes its demographic crisis and rather than wait for a cultural lag to catch up or the gender equity dividend to close, they are importing brides. However the South Korean government does want to lose its homogenous control. This is seen in the bride school they set up to ensure quick assimilation and culturation. Also by the new Jim Crowe law they just passed in April that the new bride must have One language in common with the groom, most likely it's going to be Korean. It seems once again that deep seeded traditions is affecting the demographic crisis in East Asia.

[Anonymous]

The first lecture was very interesting and informative.There were many areas of high interest presented that can be discussed with an older group of students. I feel some of the topics covered can be introduced to elementary age students such as the artifacts and geography during the dynasties covered. I found the law of "Land controls the sea" to be a clever way to gain more power over the resources in its surrounding waters such as fish and the promise of oil and gas down deep. I also came to the realization that the U.S. is connected to China far more than the general public is aware of.
edited by jmartinez on 3/1/2017

[Anonymous]

I was very impressed with the information presented after the first session. My "selfish" reason for being there is I want to learn more about the subject and will help me as a professional in the long term if I will be teaching AP World History or AP Government. What I was most impressed by was the critical perspective of news events from Asia compared to Western channels. The experience is another reminder to share with students multiple perspectives and critical thinking. My family always remind me that its ironic how we are immigrants from Vietnam and now I am teaching U.S. History at a local high school, but I realized that I am missing the Asian's perspectives of history.

[Anonymous]

I learned so much this week! I really enjoyed the readings and had never heard about demographic crisis before. I have not had much exposure to East Asian culture up until this year when I traveled to Japan for the first time. Something from one of the articles that stuck out to me was when they were talking about women having to choose between their careers and having children. I had noticed when we were traveling that it seemed like people we always working (we could see people in their offices well into the evening from our hotel room) and we definitely did not see as many children as we do here. I also really enjoyed the presentation outlining why our relationship with East Asia is so important and the presentation that introduced ancient Asian history. Everything was new to me and I loved it. I loved hearing the pronunciations of the names -- it made me realize that I have been saying some of my students' names wrong!

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