Session 7 - August 8, Robin Wang, LMU

[Zoey McKinney]

I thought the article was really interesting because to me it showed how Yin and Yang gender dynamics show a clear division between the genders and set up fixed gender roles while not subordinating women to men, as you said. Professor Wang made reference to the Christian creation story as opposed to the Chinese. She said that in Chinese mythology, male and female were created at the same time, as one cannot exist without the other due to their dual nature. In the story of Adam and Eve, Eve is created after Adam and is secondary to him. I think this is interesting because the idea of Yin and Yang femininity and masculinity reinforces some traditional ideas such as the softness of women and strength of men that many would consider outdated today. However, this philosophy places equal value on feminine characteristics as it does on masculine. Therefore, even though it characterizes women as "soft," it demonstrates that softness is just as important as strength, and that they both must co-exist in order to maintain balance. This is different from the idea that feminine softness is "weak," causing women to be subordinate to men. 

[Sophia Kang]

The yinyang gender dynamics and the Kundao way of life were most fascinating to me. Professor Wang discussed that in yin and yang, dependence is what creates and shapes each other and the two are always in flux to balance each other. However, the Kundao way of life seems to be about women taking a leap of faith and defying societal roles in order to pursue faith, freedom, and self-realization. In a way, isn't that creating independence rather than dependence? To what extent can independence or dependence (two polar opposites) become detrimental to society?

[Sophia Kang]

Thank you for sharing this! I agree with you in that teaching Latinx and Asian experience especially when discussing gender and generation tension is important because many students from immigrant families struggle with the idea of individuality while also embracing familial values. I would also like to explore more of the relationship between mom/daughter vs. father/daughter, mom/son, father/son. 

[Nira Sun]

Hi David,

I'm impressed by your questions of "Do they teach men to care for females who will do anythhing for them or to do as they please since there will be a female around to help pick up the pieces?" I think this is a really good question to be asked now. Back in the days, I believe, that women's social status were never brought to the same level as men. Hence, no such consideration was ever evaluated in ancient China. When they constructed books to teach women how to behave, it was a sign that women were supposed to live under restrictions. I don't think there was ever a book that taught men how to behave. That gave the impression of men had the freedom of choosing their lifestyles without the need of taking women's feelings into consideration. That's why, in ancient China, men could have more than one wives. Yet, a woman was expected to serve and be loyal to one man only.

I am glad that some changes have been made now. Even though there are still men with traditional perspectives out there, some expectations have been set on men in modern China now. For example, the popularity of "暖男" (warm guy) in China indicated some sorts of "promoted images of men". Men who are sensitive to women's emotional and physical needs are getting apprecited more and more. Another huge change is that women finally have the right to choose the men they want instead of being assigned to a man.

[Donna Jamshidnejad]

I agree that by current standards Liu Xiang's standards for women are unfair. However, I also find it unfair to apply the standards written thousands of years ago to today. I'm unsure if anyone tries to embody the Confucian ideology to this degree today. As a history teacher, I always find it necessary to contextualize for students by comparing different regions within the same time period. Women in many cultures (Europe, most of Asia, some parts of Africa) were defined by their relationship to men. 

[Ann Huyhn]

The stories of Mencius is a great way to get the students to think about the lessons and sacrifices that the mother has to make to guide her son, Mencius.  There are four stories and each story teaches a lesson about how Mencius should live his life. In the first story, Mencius’ mother moved three times in order to give him the best possible education.  The last story is about listening to the wisdom of the mother. These stories reinforce filial piety according to Confucian ideals. I would like my students to understand the difficulties that parents encountered while trying to raise children.  

[Ann Huyhn]

The yin-yang symbol has been around for a very long time.  The yin is considered to be female and it embodies feminine traits, whereas the yang is male and it embodies masculine traits.  One cannot exist without the other because the two halves are connected to form one whole. It is symbolic of the gender in China, half female, and half male.  I would introduce the symbols to my students and we will talk about the various parts of the symbol. Ultimately, I would like them to understand that both genders are needed in order for harmony to be achieved.

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