Session 1 - October 13

[Shurong Tu]

Luo is a tool that Chinese use it to find good site and Fengshui,which looks way more complex on the surface than compass.  When I was young , I saw some old people to use the Luo to pick the good spot for building a house or tomb,etc.  I dont see people use it nowadays. 

Nuo is an old folk dance in China, which once was used to exorcise evil,now is entertainment and even was invited to perform in other countries. The Nuo dance has different forms. Different forms designed for different purposes, such as to ward off evil and plague, to entertain and thank deities, to pray good luck and fortune, etc. All these represent the wide range of Chinese cultural norms. 

The Nuo dancers all wear wooden masks with different coloring expressions, some of which are powerfu and bold, some ferocious , some amiable and kind, some naive and simple, and some similing and lovely.  The dancers also use a lot of martial arts and opera postures in their performances. 

Question: I still not sure Nuo dance in China  and Japan are the same or different type?

[Jaclyn Pop]

After reading this week’s (11/3/2020) articles and watching the lectures, I automatically thought back to this “Framing the Asian City” reading.  At first, when I read this article, I could not really picture the “third landscape” (Asia’s colonization) that is mentioned on page 3.  Now that I have learned a bit more about this European colonization and seen some pictures (ex. Japan experiencing colonialism through Portugal/the Catholic churches, Shanghai’s lining with the keystone arches, Kyoto city hall, the Diet Building, and Galle in Sri Lanka) I am able to picture Asia’s third landscape much more clearly.

[Elizabeth Rosales]

You share the most interesting photographs! It certainly gives us a different perspective of the world when we get out there and walk around. Thank you for sharing.

[Elizabeth Rosales]

Thanks for sharing! I will watch that.

[Elizabeth Rosales]

Is SimCity what you use with your students? What ages do you think it is user-friendly for?

[Elizabeth Rosales]

I highly recommend visiting the Forbidden City. I understand it much more now, after this course!

[Elizabeth Rosales]

I found the Hakka dwellings really fascinating, as well! What a great idea for protection. But I wondered why apartments would go up and down floors, rather than remaining on one floor.

[Elizabeth Rosales]

I have been to Xi'an, in 1988. I did not know that Kyoto was designed after it. Where did you read that?

[Ingrid Herskind]

This video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIC11jD3YlY shows the beauty of Zhujiajiao, the Venice of China. I was lucky enough to visit Zhujiajiao in the summer of 2019 with 20 high school students. I was struck by the quaint qualities of this town--loved the canals and the shops along the canals. While I was there, they were doing a huge commercial to show the beauty of the town and bring more tourists to the town. The thing that struck me about this place was the wonderful variety of spices at the market. This market was a stable market, but worked in the way that the last lecture discussed the markets in China. I learned so much about the economic flexibility in this market and loved being a part of the hustle and flow.

[Alison Douglas]

Thank you for sharing, I will check it out.  I love the idea of the town along the waterway.  You always hear about Venica and how beautiful it is, so it is nice to learn about other beautiful cities that are similiar as well.  So much planning goes into preserving the natural environment, and all of that allows these cities to prosper.  

[Alison Douglas]

I never knew how much thought went into the direction when they were planning the cities.  That's interesting that they even named cities, gates on a direction.  I really got into the placement as I studies the Forbidden City, and it all interesting.  Hopefully one day I'll get to visit.

[Ying Yu]

I watched the videos twice. I found that the video made me understand East Asia culture better. Although I am Chinese, I still do not know the culture very well. Those videos show how Western Culture influence Asia. I have the same feeling! When I was a young girl, I admire western cultures so much. So I went to the U.S to learn Education. However, now I have much more understandings of Chinese culture after I attended East Asia study programs. I feel so lucky as a Chinese since we have many thousand years of history and culture.

 

I want to apply the idea of how western culture influenced Asian culture to my class. Combined with history and geography, the Asia Cultures can be exciting topic for them! Moreover, those grandiose buildings represent different cultures. I would like to use the picture materials of buildings from the videos to apply to my teaching content.

 

[Ying Yu]

Fengshui is a fascinating topic in China. Actually，we also need to know the Fengshui of house, the Fengshui of the tomb, etc. As the old proverb says: The most important thing to determine your life is fate, the second one is fortunate, the third one is feng shui. I like your topic of Nuo. As you mentioned, "Nuo is an old folk dance," That is very interesting knowledge. I didn't realize that. I will watch the dance on Youtube and share it with my students.

[Ying Yu]

For the reading paper one, I know there are many underdeveloped areas in the big cities. Mainly for East Asia, there are many super big cities. How to help them to overcome the poor is a challenging issue. I don't know if they destroy their old buildings and build a better environment works for them or not. But I believe a clean environment can achieve higher efficiency and they will have healthy bodies. For the second reading paper, I think it is so attractive for modern people to understand ancient China. Ancient Chinese people believe that everything should have regulations, and every people in the system should obey the rules without breaking them. If someone violates the laws, others may view them as someone who is out of mind and unrespectful. Like buildings for the emperor have the special regulations. If someone uses the same size as the emperor or even uses better materials, they break the rules. As a result, they may get death.

[Ying Yu]

Yes, I believe that most ancient Chinese buildings are based on Fengshui. They have a very detailed and logical explanation of Fengshui. However, as a modern person, I have not learned any academic knowledge of Fengshui. I believe in Fengshui, but I don't know what the real Fengshui theory is. After watching the video, I find so many exciting ideas about Fengshui. I should go to Xi an to visit the old town of ancient Chinese buildings.  

Also, compared with the Western idea of city planning, I realize that different cultures come out with other cities' ideas. Nowadays, many cities in China are more like Western styles since lots of Chinese people admire western culture. They have learned a lot after the end of the Qing Dynasty.

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