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AnonymousProfessor Ye brings up the fascinating concept of religion with the introduction to Buddhism in China. I found it interesting to think about why Christianity was never as successful in Japan and China as it was in South Korea. In China you have the Hundred Schools of Thought which guides most peoples beliefs and thinking. The concept of religion is more of a preoccupation with death and an answer to the unknown. The Chinese Schools of Thought, particularly Confucius, believed that their learning and living happened here on Earth, that there was much to be discovered in this life, rather than after death. The connections between these schools of thought and Chinese poetry were obvious in the desire to be "understood" or fables and folktales about nature and symbols of identity. There is an idea of finding another "world" while still on this planet, or a utopian dreamland. I can see how these fables could be studied against Roman utopian governments or against our 6th grade novel, The Giver.
AnonymousProfessor Ye's passion for his subject resonates throughout his lecture. His expansive knowledge of Chinese art and poetry during the Age of Division is fascinating. I could see many of these pieces of Art and Poetry useful in a cultural gallery walk on China. I particularly enjoyed the story of Bo Ya,
According to Qin Shi, Liezi said:
"Bo Ya was good at playing the qin. Zhong Ziqi was good at listening to the qin. When Bo Ya's will was towards high mountains in his playing, Zhong Ziqi would say, 'How towering like Mount Tai!' When Bo Ya's will was towards flowing water in his playing, Zhong Ziqi would say, 'How vast are the rivers and oceans!' Whatever Bo Ya thought of Ziqi would never fail to understand. Bo Ya said, 'Amazing! Your heart and mine are the same!' When Ziqi died, Bo Ya broke the strings [of his qin] and vowed never to play [the qin] again. Thus, there was the melody of High Mountains Flowing Water."
Bo Ya's story exemplifies the Chinese ideal of friendship. The term Zhiyin (知音，literally "to know the tone/sog") has come to describe a close and sympathetic friend.
This could serve as personal and moral lesson during a larger discussion of Chinese art and culture in a classroom.
AnonymousIn this evening's lecture, While lecturing the cosmopolitan Chinese history, Dr. Ye explained that the Tang dynasty, as in Chinese history one of the most prosperous period, there were more than 30,000 poems written by 2800 different authors. He emphasized " author" is because not all of the poems were written by poets. That was a time when China's poems blossomed. Maybe the reason could be adding the poet in the Civil Services Examinations?
While explaining the Chinese Tang poems, Dr. Ye also compared the Chinese poems with the Western poems as well. I liked the part when he simulated to sing a poem, to chant a poem...
Most impressive part is Dr. Ye's personal opinion about poems. He said that poems are not for your eyes, or your hands, they are supposed to appear to your ears, meant to be a performance. Wow!
edited by jshen on 4/3/2017
edited by jshen on 4/3/2017
AnonymousSubject: Poetry
Dr. Ye left me with a new impression of poetry. He suggests that poetry is not to appeal to the eyes, but to your hearing. Poems should be chanted. Poetry is a performance, and by being so, has nothing in common with prose (which is utilitarian. Poems should be likened to paintings, architecture and sculptures.
AnonymousThe passion that Dr. Ye brought to the subject was inspiring. I love the idea of teaching history with art and literature. Sometimes we get so caught up in pacing guides, testing and district requirements, that we focus on only the politics - which many of our students tune out. Finding time to do some quick analysis and/or creation as a warm-up or minimum day hands-on lesson might just grab in the students who think history is "boring."
As basic as it seems, I was also glad to have an actual pronunciation for the dynasties.
AnonymousWhat a treat it was to have Professor Ye teach us about China's Middle Ages. I was completely engaged the entire time while he recalled his knowledge and shared on China's geography all the way to its Cosmopolitan era. What I took from his lesson was the sense of teaching with compassion. Professor Ye taught us from the heart. His singing and funny jokes made the lesson enjoyable and easier to understand. I particularly enjoyed the section where he elaborated on the importance of chanting poetry as opposed to reading it. I can say that he left an impression in me and a new interest in poetry.
AnonymousReading about the Tang Dynasty and its reference to being the "Golden Age" it was interesting to learn about Dr. Ye's experiences and perspective of that time. I really enjoyed his performance with chanting and expression of the different poems he recited. Although, writing poetry seems a bit difficult with the different levels and deflects, it was interesting to know that there are four different tones to express similar words. Ye gave great examples of each tone. In the classroom, with my 5th and 6th grade students, I would implement a lesson examining the components of Chinese poetry. The main objective would be to identify shape, sounds, and meaning of given poems from Wang Wei, Li Bo, and Du Fu. Students can use their prior knowledge of poetry to make connections as they learn about Chinese poetry. To add creativity to the lesson, student would create a scroll of their favorite poem with drawings reflecting what it means to them.
AnonymousI enjoyed Dr. Ye's lectures and performances this week to analyze Tang's Cosmopolitan. While doing a basic search from the 6-9th century, one can see the advances in East Asia and Latin America, compared to the "Dark" ages in the West. At school site, we are having a conversation with dual language programs and this would be a great lesson; however, I can see a bit challenging to fit into a U.S. history class.
Currently, I am working on a lesson for this seminar and my 1 period of 10th graders with the central question of "Why did young Chinese get swept away by the Cultural Revolution?". I am planning to use propaganda posters, a video clip of Mao's song, and a couple of sources from the Saturday session. Any recommendations?
AnonymousAs commented above, I also greatly enjoyed Dr. Ye's lecture and his emphasis on teaching history through art and literature. I am inspired by his vision and am working on creating a lesson surrounded by this idea. I think that when we teach our students about different civilizations it is key to show a holistic view of a group of people as this allows students to see that we are actually more similar than different. During Dr. Ye's lecture he commented on themes that were present during China's "Middle Ages" that are also still relevant today, such as China opening up to the rest of the world because at the time they were a confident country that wanted to share it's wealth. One comment made by Dr. Yu was "Whenever a country is confident, they open their doors. And have an open door policy. The opposite, when a country is no longer confident they close their doors and they find a scapegoat for their problems/conflicts". Very interesting and a good opportunity for students to have a comparative lesson amongst different time periods and/or countries that follow this trend.
AnonymousSeclusion is a concept often associated with monks, hermits, and wise men atop mountains. The first two letters in this reading hint at two different kinds of seclusion. The first is the seclusion of banishment, self or otherwise, from the world one knew. This banishment produced in the writer a greater sense of the value of simple work without title or false honor. The second was a seclusion from simple pleasure and self-reflection, caused by the duties that had to be carried out as a bureaucrat within the government. Reading through it made me feel the author felt trapped by his office, and was reflecting on how rigid his thinking had become now that he no longer engaged in joyful pursuits.
The third kind of seclusion was reflected in the story Peach Blossom Spring. Here a fisherman comes across an ideal society that is secluded from society and as a result has attained a treasured level of enlightenment. The fisherman then ironically becomes secluded from this society by his very act of betrayal. He loses sight of enlightenment because he breaks a promise made. He is therefore secluded from a peace of mind others were willing to share with him. Finally, Proclamation on the Mountain fill itself with contradictory images in an effort to convey a sense of seclusion from traditional knowledge and an acceptance of that which is both simple, and ethereal. I think it works as a nice compliment to Peach Blossom Spring.
AnonymousA simple thank-you for the outline. I am incorporating it into my general notes file for use with my own class material. Comprehensive, informative and definately helpful. I will most likely use it as enrichment for my honors classes next year.
AnonymousAs I mentioned during class, I agree with Professor Ye. (That is not intended to be a campaign slogan, but it does scan.) History is much too comprehensive to the human experience to be focused on facts, names, dates, causality and effect. It must also focus on influences: music, art, science, philosophy, law, anthropology, literature.... all the elements of human experience. History is tomorrow, for the future rests on our understanding of the past. Or to paraphrase David McCullough... History isn't recorded in black and white... It's always been in color. (or words to that effect.)
AnonymousCosmopolitan China
The readings addresses the reunification of China and the cultural flourishing of the T'ang Dynasty, along with the assimilation of Buddhism. It is interesting that poetry became a major part of well-educated Chinese and that poets look for people of the same mind to understand their poetry. Notably, how one emperor went so far as to cultivate these poems. What stood out the most in the readings was that the T'ang was so sure of themselves that they became open-minded to other cultures and this in turn help China thrive even more. This is a lesson that can be learned for all countries nowadays.
edited by ahuynh on 4/15/2017
AnonymousProfessor Ye
Professor Ye's lecture on a Cosmopolitan China was filled with anecdotes that made the lecture interesting and provided me with a new appreciation for poetry. To say that culture stems from understanding the arts, especially poetry is profound. When he described how poets chanted the poems and even through his own rendition, it made the poem came alive that was different from just reading the lyrics. Also, how the Chinese poets manipulated the verses to fit the heptasyllabic regulated verse to create an imagery of the time is amazing. I now have a new appreciation for chanting poetry.
edited by ahuynh on 4/15/2017
AnonymousI found the love stories in Ebrey's text interesting because I never heard or seen a Chinese romance tale before. The notion that women could overpower men through their allure is a common theme in many romance texts, but I was surprised to read about strong female characters so early in Chinese history. Ebrey mentions that these stories ended up shaping understandings of male-female relationships, and the fact that they were all penned by upper class men makes analyzing these stories much more interesting. I could probably give my students short fiction romance tales and have them analyze the male-female relationships and dynamic through a feminist lens. How does the male authorship change the implications of the story?