session #10 10/21 afternoon (dube)

[Erin Tanguay]

The Oral Histories Collected in Houhua Village would be a great lesson for students to learn from a primary source about peasant life and the conditions that they suffered which made them perfect for recruiting into the Communist party. I know that my students would find it fascinating and sad to hear the lack of basic necessities (food and proper clothing) that many had to live without. Also, the first peasant story tells of how addition to Opium forever changed the lifestyle of family and eventually led to the death of the father due to robbery. This is an important lesson I think for young people to see how addiction has been a problem throughout history and how its effects still tear apart families today. These oral stories truly give the students a look into the simple things that we take for granted (having to share one blanket in the bed with his mother, which implies that he had to sleep in the same bed with his mother). I think with this article and the Mao’s first speech article, students would have a full picture of why the Communist party was able to gather so many loyal members. I also think that students would be shock to hear how frank the peasants were about the killing of tyrant land lords and their wives. It shows how village life was falling apart and how the Communist Party gave them a sense of reform to this unfair treatment.

 

[Erin Tanguay]

The fictional story of a peasant uprising during the land reform periods of the Communist Party is an idealized situation for spreading the propaganda message of how the Communist Party supported the peasants in getting what was rightfully theirs. I found it clever how when the comrades from the Peasants’ Association confronted one of the landlords in the village demanding the land grants and even though the landlord stated that he was willing to turn them over and had been planning all along to do so, this was met with scorn. Who was the landlord to give them this land when it was owed to them due

to their labor? This part of the story is telling the peasants that they should have been valued all along and what they desire is what is owed to them not to be given out of false generosity. The story also tells of the hardships that the peasants have endured by the landlord and how even though many have feared him he is truly weak and if they stay strong together he is more afraid of him. The main characters also remind others that they have the support of the Eighth Route Army and the Communist Party in what they are doing. The story ends with the three leaders using reason and the boundaries of their position within the Association in order to decide whether they should listen to the mob of peasants wanting to seize all of Jiang’s property. In the end the peasants take all that they could and the landlord and his wife are left bowing and weeping in front of the peasants. This is great propaganda for the early years of the Communist Party. I think students would find this section of the novel interesting while viewing the propaganda images of the early Communist Party.

 

[Jonathan Tam]

I was fascinated earlier in the session with the marriage culture that was established - that the bachelor would need to produce three items that go round: a watch, a sewing machine and a bike. And so something that definitely lingered in my mind after seminar today was the fact that Mao had introduced the concept of divorce. It certainly left me with the question of how that culture existed. Was it frowned upon? Or did it bring about a certain commiseration among divorced families? From what I know growing up, divorce was highly frowned upon in my Chinese family. There was a certain element of “saving face” in the Chinese community. You didn’t want to be apart of the family that couldn’t hold it together. I wonder if this evolved only here in the United States or was an ideology carried on from China.

[Jonathan Tam]

It’s a touch ironic – acknowledging the fact that it won’t be acknowledged is inevitably acknowledging it. But I digress. It was interesting to see in this article by the Financial Times on how Mao’s cultural revolution was recognized in 2016. More interesting than that was how part of the article discussed how the anniversary wasn’t acknowledged due to the fact that it would evoke emotions, thoughts, and connections to the current Chinese president, Xi Jinping. Often considered the most powerful leader since Mao by the Communist Party, it seems very naturally to draw ties between Xi Jinping and Mao, which leaves the situation very ironic. Why wouldn’t you want to acknowledge the cultural revolution? I pulled up a second article only to find that under Xi Jinping, the ideologies of the communist parties have now become very present in schools, media and government agencies. It certainly begs the question of how he will be remembered one day given the irony of this situation.

[Jonathan Tam]

My knowledge of Chairman Mao is honestly very limited, but hearing about his great leap forward was very interesting. To think that he had killed potentially 20-40 million people through famine, that he had improved the work-based system to compensate workers, and that he advanced education for people up to high school makes him a lot like other leaders in history that we question for being beneficial in some ways and detrimental in others. But, perhaps the most interesting I found, was Mao’s personality cult - that Mao could remove tumors among other things. I was further intrigued by how his personality cult weakened the support of the People’s Republic of China, especially because those same cults exist today in both support and detriment to certain leaders.

[Erin Tanguay]

In the lecture by Professor Dube he mentioned that Americans were sympathetic to China and when the Japanese bombed China in 1937 during WWII, the people in Boston threw Japanese tea into Boston Harbor (Tea Party II). I had never heard this before and I thought this would be great for my 8th US History students when they are learning about the Boston Tea Party. Students could make a bridging connection to their 7th grade history on China and Japan. My school constantly asks the history and English teachers to make connections across the years not only cross-curricular. It took some time to find an article that actually references this event in Boston. The article that I have attached to this thread, states that in 1938 some Bostonians reenacted a Tea-Party style of protesting by throwing in German and Japanese goods. This would be a great way of making the connection between the Second-Sino Japanese War and the bombing at Marco Polo Bridge and reaction by America prior to the attacks on Pearl Harbor. If anyone finds a better article about the Second Boston Tea Party in 1938 please post it below.

http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/04/20/party_on/

[Aja Koester]

Hi there Chris. I really like how you explained that often students think "cartoons are just that, cartoons" but these are tools for students to look deeper and think critically. Using visuals to push analysis is useful for all students, but I have found it especially useful with English learners. By not relying solely on text, therefore taking the barriers of language away, my EL students have often understood concepts on a much deeper level than if we had read or talked about them. 

At the Go For Broke National Education Center I visited, there was an entire exhibit on political cartoons and propaganda that was aimed at students. Some of the images shown by Clay were similar to the images displayed in the museum. This would make for a really engaging field trip where students could further understand the stereotypes built around Japanese-Americans during WWII.

[Jazmin Luna]

Yes, it was interesing to see how they were classified into five categories, from rich to poor.  Yet, even those who were rich did not escape being ridiculed. For some many of their lands were consficated and redistributed in addition to being punished for past offenses.  In the end this led to their desmise and disappearance of the elite.  I enjoyed reading how this fictional group of peasants stood up to fight for their rights and how this author was the first prominent woman writer, which didn't happen until the mid 1900's. 

[Luis Camacho]

It is interesting how are these cards designed in a way that a simple visual can manipulated the mind of the viewer engaging it with the idea of prosperity just working peasants, soldiers and farmers guided by the little red book.

[Ann Huynh]

Opera is an interesting art form.  A story is told through singing and dancing and for my students, they might liken it to a play instead of an American opera.  I never knew that there was such a famous Chinese opera singer that he was even given an honorary degree from USC.  This is great because our school is very close to USC and the students are very interested in anything having to do with USC.  I can show them an image of Mei Lanfang without his costumes and makeup and then have an image of Mei Lanfang in full costume.  This way the students can see the difference and know that it takes a lot of work to be a performer in a Beijing opera.  Marital arts are utilized in the opera, which is another way for the students to relate to an artform that came to America from another country.     

[Catalina Silvestre]

I enjoyed the reading that provided the oral histories and firsthand experiences of oral histories Collected in Houhua Village.  Importance of world history and its importance and education are often learned through oral histories and experiences of individuals that were actually present during that particular time.  The students that I work with actually do not have extensive knowledge with primary and secondary source.  This would be a great piece of literature to use along side other materials to teach primary and secondary sources.  In addition, I always vouch for the fact that oral history provides opportunity for human interaction and the human experience that one may never experience.  This knowledge can be extremely beneficial for all parties that are able to encounter oral histories of individuals who do not appear in historical records.  Along side of the experience of the human interaction this reading allowed me to learn new information that I would not other wise receive.    

[Catalina Silvestre]

I also have experience with and love photography.  I did not know that Kodak film was the individual that started the newspaper. This just goes to show how innovative we are as humans in general.  This also served as a serious fun fact for me and how individuals can have other intention to make public what the masses do not know.  This actually makes me want to model how things change over time and research the longevity of how technology has changed and how the company is actually dong now that companies such as apple, Samsung, and other cell phone companies since digital technology has come to the forefront of the 21st century.  This can be used to teach students about the change process and how all things eventually evolve or change over time.  I would have the students’ research and write an objective summary about the company after teaching them the additional information that I have obtained in relation to their influential skills through mass media in their country.

[Jazmin Luna]

It was interesting to see how a male played the role of a woman in the Peking Opera.  I had never heard of this.  Mei Lanfang made a difference in history since he was the first artist to spread Beijijng Opera to foreign countries, while participating in cultural exchanges.  As a second grade teacher I wish I could mention this but I really don't think it's appropriate since it will bring up the question about sexuality.  This is due to the fact that there was even some opposition to us teaching about Harvey Milk on the People Who Make A DIfference unit.

[Ann Huynh]

The Cultural Revolution in China lasted for about 10 years.  During this time, many people were exiled to the countryside and Mao’s thoughts became the law of the land.  Fifty years later, as China look back upon this time, what they want to do is pretend that it never happened.  China’s current leader, Xi Jinping, did not acknowledge this date with any special fanfare.  Instead, what party members want to do is employed the “tactic of amnesia.”  This may be because he himself was a victim, along with other party members.  They need to legitimatize their rule and by denouncing Mao, it might jeopardize that so forgetting is better.    

[Sonia Arrayales]

In reading this, I believe we got a real eye opener. To read about what the peasants were going through was difficult. What they did to them was unspeakable. I think that the task that you have planned is a good task to provide to your students.

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