Session 10 (workshop, 4/21 morning)

[Stella Castro]

I was amazed at the readings for this session, they were awesome. Thoroughly enjoyed reading the article, “A Madman’s Diary by LU Xun, the excerpt thoroughly amazed and intrigued me, with the Authors sensing and believing that everyone was against him, that all wanted to eat him, from the neighbor kids to his own brother and he thought, "why on earth would my own brother want to eat me”. When I read the part of an execution that had happened, and a local, soaked a piece of bread on the deceased person’s blood, and sucked the bread, this part of the reading turned my stomach. This was only a small reading of the book, but it got me to want to buy the book, as I would like to know the whole story or how it began, and the outcome of the story. I remember in the lecture part of this session , that Mr. Dube, said that he once asked a couple of people to read this book, and that they said, they tried but couldn’t because of its  darkness. But I on the other hand would love to read this book, who knows, maybe if I purchase and start reading it, I also may find it too dark to read, but I am willing to take my chances. With this reading I can teach my students that reading is a good and fun experience, and that reading can take you places where you think you may never go. That it is good to read.

The other reading that also amazed me was, the excerpt, “preface to Outcry, translated by Eileen J. Cheng.  Again this was also a great reading. It tells of how a man, at first decided to become a doctor, because the one that his dying father was seeing was nothing but a crook, and would charge a lot of money for medicines that would not help his father, who eventually died, because of this. So he decided to go to medical school so that he would/could help out the people but then changed his mind because he/she felt that THE BEST WAY TO HELP THE PEOPLE WAS THROUGH LITERATURE, and no one was doing it at the time. So he recruited a couple of people and invested into making a magazine, called, ”Vita Nova”, ( translated New Life”, but their magazine went under, as contributors started to back out. He then fell into a lonely and empty phase. An old friend of his saw him copying inscriptions and asked,” Why copy, when you can write your own”, to which he did and it turned out to be his first writing, (Dairy of a Madman), to which he ended up writing ten pieces, plus. With this reading I can tech my students to always believe in themselves, to persevere, and the art of writing.

Then the reading, “The Passerby”, was a fun one to read although I found the content of the story quite rare, and I really didn’t understand the meaning of it, but it still was a worthwhile reading, with a lot of wisdom embedded in the story line.

However the article/reading, titled, “ The New Year Sacrifice", was just awesome the story was another bizarre tale of how the woman, got to get a job, and excelled in it, and was so efficient that she got high pay for it, although upon reading this I did not quite think this pay was correct, because of the time it was written in, and I do not think, people would have that type of money, but maybe they did, but it is just a story. Then the story goes on to state of the fact of how she lost her child, to a wolf, and how the townspeople’s, at the beginning were enthuse with her tale, and she told it many a time, but as time wore on the enthusiasm, faded, and people got bored with her tale, and how a woman finally put her to a stop by asking her, “What made you willing”?, this I assume meant what made the woman willing to get pregnant,(but I can be wrong). So she told the woman to go make an offering to help her fix her sins now, so that one can rest in peace in the afterlife. This reading can help me teach my students about doing the right thing, being nice to others, friendship, respect, and if you do a bad thing, fix it.

[Stella Castro]

Today’s lecture was awesome as we had guest speakers Brett Sheehan author and Ms. Eileen Cheng who focuses on Lu Xun, who is considered  to be the father of Chinese literature but she  also  translates books, documents, and biographies. Then we were supposed to have Ms.  Xiaowei Zheng speak on the sent down youth , but she fell ill, and so was unable to make it, which was a disappointment for me, but things happen and it’s best that she take care of herself and her health. I sure wish she is better now and doing well. Mr., Sheehan spoke about Tianjin, and how this city became a treaty port that was open so cities opened here for work and to live in but now became mini cities, which was a walled city, sort of what President Trump wants to build in the United States. Mr. Sheehan went on to describe the routine of an urban professional. The routine consisted of morning exercise, breakfast, read the newspaper, go to work, goes home for lunch, then reads before going to bed. That sounds like a perfect day for me. I don’t see anything wrong that daily routine.  Ms, Cheng mentioned some books that may be of interest, but  the book that was interesting to/for me , was/is titled, “Diary of a Madman”. However I am confused, because at an earlier time the book, or maybe even an excerpt, was called A Madman’s Diary, which is confusing to me as I do not know if this is the same book/excerpt, or because of the words in the title or maybe someone got confused about the title, and wrote then in wrong succession, or it is part of a chapter book but with this being a title of one of the chapters. I suppose I can easily Google the answer to this, and I will, but as of this writing can anyone clarify it for me?

 While Ms. Zheng was to speak about he sent down youth, Mr. Dube filled in for this part/section of the seminar due to her absence and did a fine job of telling us about the sent down youth and their trials and tribulations. I can apply this lecture talk to my students about the ways reading can help us learn things, and looking up fact from fiction on the internet/ non-fiction/fiction. I can teach them about the importance of ports, and the in port/export of business. I can teach them the importance of journal/dairy writing, and also sequencing.

[Stella Castro]

In reading, “The Passerby” about a man walking past an older man and a child, while it is/was an intriguing read, and one can probably guess at the feeling, the angst the writer is portraying in his writing.   This seemed as a difficult reading to me. While it reads easy, it was a difficult reading for me in trying to understand the meaning of it. Although I re-read it many times, I was and still am dumfounded by it. So it makes me wonder, how possibly one can translate the meaning of it. Maybe there is no meaning to it, but I highly doubt that since, it was written by Lu Xun, (which by the way is such a good and interesting author/writer), I can’t understand how possibly Ms. Cheng can know or understand the writers feelings. Can anyone help me to understand this reading and the meaning of it? Maybe I do not know the meaning of a translation. Maybe it was written in Chinese, and Ms, Cheng translated it into English, but either how, the meaning seems so simple and yet I cannot understand it. I am sure the meaning is subliminal. Or maybe I am just reading to hard into it. However the reading describes a, “Passerby”, who is down on his luck encountering an older person and a young girl, whom the passerby stops and has a chat with them. The little girl tries to be helpful, the older man just wishes the passerby gone, (to me), as some of his words are harsh. But still, yet at times, the older man seems to be kind trustworthy and helpful. But it was written by Lu Xun, and so from the pieces/excerpts of what I read so far from Mr. Xun, all seem to be written in the same form and manner. I really like his style of writing and I can hardly wait to order and receive his book/journal, “A Madman’s Diary”. 

[Laura Gonzales]

Brett Sheehan did an excellent job explaining why biographies are written. He mention that there are two main reasons why they are written 1. If the person is important or 2. If the person is special. He was very dedicated when he wrote Trust in Troubled Times.  He was able to explain how through biographies historians are able to go beyond the linear history we learn about and really see how people lives are impacted when they live through many regimes, such as the case of his subject. Mr. Sheehan dedicated many years tracing Liu’s life, it took him to several countries but he was finally able to produced his book. I thought to my self who fund these projects.

 

Prior to Mr. Sheehan beginning to talk about biographies it was important for him to explain the various regimes that China went through beginning with the Qing Dynasty and ending with Xi Jinping Era PRC.  This mention was necessary in order for us to understand Liu Shaoqi’s life since he lived through a capitalist and communist regime. Historians are able to get a real glimpse of how life really was and how the daily life of people are impacted by new regimes. This lecture made me think about my elder aunt and the different governments she has lived through in her life, she is 86 years old and has lived though many things.  

 

Writing biographies would be an interesting project to incorporate in my AP class. It would be a great idea for student to interview their grandparent or an elder person, this might help them learn about changes in government

[Laura Gonzales]

Eileen J. Cheng lectured about Lu Xun a modern Chinese writer. Ms. Cheng explained Lu Xun was the in between. Lu Xun writing were a mix of classical language and vernacular Chinese, some of his writings were difficult for readers to understand. Lu Xun  writings were filled with contradictions.

 

Ms. Cheng did an excellent job showing us how we could introduce content to our students. Prior to getting into the content we could introduce photographs to our students from the time period we are teaching and we could have the students analyze the photographs. Through the photographs and questioning students will be able to gain an insight to the cultural and political system being covered. For example Ms. Cheng showed a picture of Chinese men smoking opium and one of the questions she asked was “Can you tell a story about these men?”  Another activity she mentioned that we could introduce to our students is having them assume the voice of a historical figure such as a missionary men or women and the student would have to write a  postcard about their life in China.

 

I found Ms. Cheng’s suggestion very helpful and I can’t wait to incorporate more picture analysis and point of view writings in my class.

 

[Laura Gonzales]

I learned so much from Professor’s Dube lecture  up to the mountains/ down to the villages. I knew a little bit about the cultural revolution that took place in China, I knew that the government was communist and that people were not able to express themselves freely with out the fear of getting punished. What I didn't know was that young children were sent to the country side for a few years to learn about the land and develop agriculture.  I have an activity in my class in which students have to analyze propaganda and read excerpts about life during the cultural revolution, what they get from it is that people lived under a harsh dictator and that people had to be careful with what they said because anybody could turn them in including their own children if they went against the regime.

 

I learned that 10-15% of the urban population was sent to the country side in the late 60’s and early 70’s. It was interesting being able to see the propaganda posters that were displayed and being able to read into them and learn about the true story behind the smiling kids and cheerful crowds. It was heart wrenching to think that Mao’s ideology caused  one of the worst famine in Chinese history. It seems that Mao’s ideology stems from his own upbringing in the country side, he felt that cities were corrupt and that the countryside was pure. He also believed that the poor peasants were going to educate the snobby city youth and teach them how to be more self sustainable by living off the land.  I found it ironic that times have changed as well as his ideology in China’s current government. According to Professor Dube China is  very materialistic and Chinese feel a lot of pressure to be successful and make a lot of money.

 

[Stella Castro]

Jacqueline, although you state that this reading of “Preface to Outcry” seems simple and it is, you are correct when you say that there is complexity to it. While reading it I did feel the angst that the writer is trying to portray when he writes how alone and desperate he got and felt when the magazine went out of commission. The writer thought that maybe by having this magazine people would read it and decide to take a stance on something that he and his small group of people/followers believed in. But when the magazine failed, he felt alone as if no one cared what he had to say. This alone would and could be a devastating thing, not just for him in this writing but for anyone who ever ventures out on a mission, on a new venture, in trying to improve oneself or the world. Mr. Xun, does a great job as an author, as he captivates his readers with his prose.  I know I was captivated in reading his articles, which made me want to order his book, ”Dairy of a Madman”. And also T real he story of Ah-Q,, which I can hardly wait to recive, as I am an avid reader.

[Donna Jamshidnejad]

I was unaware of the culture and importance of treaty ports in China. The topic is glossed over in my textbook and I did not understand how these ports functioned before this lecture. I think I should spend some time on this topic in class as an example of imperialism and migration. I would like to incorporate images because the idea of bringing architecture and governance from imperialist nations into China can reflect the imperialist nature of the ports. A gallery walk or chalk talk with images posted can be useful. The strong imagery of Italian, Japanese, Dutch, and other forms of architecture within China may help students understand treaty port empires. This could be a fun introduction. For a chalk talk, I would post butcher paper on the walls with images around the room. Students can guess the context of the images. I'm sure many would assume these images are from around the globe and not from China. This activity will this allow students to circle the room and have a little bit of freedom as well as hopefully make them interested in the lesson. 

[Sandra Soltero-Torres]

     I found Cheng's, Preface to Outcry, to be a wonderful piece of literature.  It entrigued me because the idea behind it was so simple, yet so complicated.  "Citizens of an ignorant and weak nation, no matter how healthy and sturdy their bodies, can serve as notghing more than subject matter for or spectators of meaningless public displays."  Her dream to be a doctor was shattered by a simple image that tainted all she believed in.  What would be the purpose of saving a human body if the spirit was a damaged one?  So this became the beginning of Cheng's quest to arouse change through literary movement.  The words Cheng used to describe the feeling of emptiness she experienced after her first publication failed made a lot of sense to me.  "....if a proposition is met with approval, it encourages you to go forward; if met with opposition, it encourages you to fight back.  The real tragedy strikes when one raises one's voice among the living, only to elicit no response, be it approval or opposition, as if one were helplessly stranded in a boundless wasteland."  These words describe a type of limbo or loneliness that can overtake the soul.  Cheng's literature is inspiring because it speaks about a type of loneliness that many choose to not address.  Her words are thought provoking and encourage the reader to delve deeper into their meaning.  I truly enjoyed reading Cheng's Preface to Outcry.

[Stella Castro]

Lin: upon reading your post about Lu Xun I was compelled to reply to you as you mentioned that in 10^th grade you had to read the literature pieces that Lu Xun had written and you did not understand it/them until now, after having a discussion with Ms. Cheng, who, researches Mr. Xun you finally understand the concept. Well lucky for you that you were able to have this discussion and now you are able to understand what Mr. Xun was trying to say.  I wish I had been lucky enough to have this conversation with Ms. Cheng, but then again,I had not had any previous exposure to Mr. Xun writings that even if I had had a chance to  have a conversation with Ms. Cheng, I know that this topic would never even ever come up, as  prior to this seminar I had  no idea who Lu Xun  was,  what he is and what he  represents ,and more so, that he is the best. Mr. Lu Xun is the father of modern Chinese literacy.  You also mentioned in your post about Ah-Q, or something to that effect. Which I do recall was mentioned in one/some of the seminar’s sessions which at the time a held and still hold my interest. So like aforementioned, these topics were intriguing to me, to the point of me ordering the books online and which I can hardly wait to receive.  So in my opinion, thank you so much.. Had I not seen your posting/s, I would not be awaiting the mailman/UPS guys so eagerly. Thanks Lin!

[Tanish Fortson]

Eileen Cheng is an Associate Professor at Pomona College.  Her work focuses on Lu Xun (1881-1936) who wrote Chinese literature and studied the effects of western thought and theories on Chinese culture. While reading Diary of a Madman, I must admit, I was a bit confused. This type reading I think is more for middle and high school students. After the first read I thought the madman had schizophrenia and was completely losing his mind. I continued to read over and over to get a better interpretation of how the madman’s mind is processing the world we live in. The moon was referenced a lot and the diary starts off by the madman saying that he hadn’t seen the moon in thirty years so this represents so sort of newly gained insight from the moon. This insight leads him to question dogs, people, children, his family, and even his doctor. This plays on the cannibalistic nature of Chinese history and its governing ideology and ethics. I myself do not know about this history but would certainly be interested in learning more about it.  

[Jacqueline Mercado]

Stella, I am not sure that I can contribute much to your understanding of this reading as I also found this reading to be mysterious and allegorical.  I think that is the point.  From my understanding, this text is an allegory and as such, it is meant to be read figuratively.  The only thoughts I can share is what my interpretation of the characters is and what I think they might represent.  I noted that there are many unknowns in this story but that there is a clear distinction between the east, the west and the clear pathway in the middle.  The old man to me represents the past and its tired traditions, the girl, who is much younger, might represent the future and the tired sojourner represents the present.  As I tried to make sense of this reading, the idea I came up with is that it is about the intersection of the past with the present and the east and the west. That is, perhaps XuLun was writing about the effect of western influences in China, its past and traditions and his writing reflects his wrestling with the tensions of adopting new ideas with the old ways.  We do know that the traveler feels an impetus to continue in his journey and exhibits this restlessness.  What struck me about this reading was the loneliness that the traveler experiences and the theme of death represented by the graveyard.  I liked the mysterious and metaphorical nature of this piece, which is expected of a writer like XuLun.  It seems he writes to make the reader uncomfortable and cause him or her to think and think some more.  I believe his writings reflect this purpose well.

[Laura Gonzales]

This was a sad story. One of the things I got from the reading was the importance placed on rituals. It is important to know that Chinese respect their elders and even after death they continue to offer offerings. They do not want offend their elders or bad luck will come to them.

 

The other thing I thought about was the disparity and the sad life that many women have in China because of their social economic background. I felt sorry for Xianglin’s wife because she was treated like property and was never given any self worth for who she was. In the first place a name was never given to her or at least no one remembered her true name, this took away her value. The value that was given to her was because of her capability of being a hard worker but the second time that she came around and did not work as hard she was basically put out on the street. This poor women seemed to have suffered all her life by being forced to marry a second time against her will and finally by losing her child. I believe many women in China face the same luck that Xianglin’s wife faces and they just live a miserable life at the expense of others.

 

I was a little confused by the story because it seems as the Xinglin’s wife appeared as a ghost at the beginning of the story and then her story was told.

 

[Donna Jamshidnejad]

One line stood out to me most in the preface to Outcry, "I planned to return to cure the sufferings of patients who, like my father, had been improperly treated." The author's opinion towards eastern medicine is harsh in my opinion. At a Latin American History PD last year, we discussed indigenous and western medicine. Western medicine often rejects other forms of medicine. However, this outright rejection is a problem in our education system. While some aspects of indigenous medicine have been proven to be bogus through the scientific method, some aspects of indigenous medicine are beneficial. Most importantly, rejecting indigenous medicine alienates your patients. 

[Tanish Fortson]

Clearly this man went through a lot in his lifetime. I really could not scope the story in its entirety. I need to read it a few more times. But it was parts that stuck out to me like Lu Xun’s childhood experiences.  He speaks of being unable to erase certain things from his memory. His most disturbing memory is of that when his father passed. He remembers going to a pawnshop to sell things and using the money to go by medicine for his father. Only as he got older and started learning about medicine he soon realized why his father condition went from bad to worse until he eventually dies. As he thought back to the prescriptions of the physicians, Xun he realized that were frauds and taking their money. 

He is touching on the problems with traditional Chinese medicine and the problems with health care. His father dying with the use of traditional medicine was crucial in forming his psychological make up. 

 

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