Thursday morning -- pre-modern Chinese art (Lee)

[Anonymous]

The decision on where the caves were dedicated was an interesting choice. The “Blazing Beacon” has many quotes demonstrates the spiritual aspects of the region associated with its geography. Like the quote that mentions “serenity” as one of Buddhist Master Faliang motives for choosing the Mogao Caves site. Sections of this reading could be used to start a geography or economic discussion where students identify factors leading to Magao’s/Dunhuang rise and fall.

[Anonymous]

The evolution of the Mogao Caves really was quite impressive. It originally started as a travel supply and rest stop, to shrine and worship temple, to library and research site. I wonder how significant was the fact, as Professor Lee mentioned, that artist added faces of prominent leaders and allowed wealth families to “honor their ancestors” by dedicating caves, was in it preservation?

[Anonymous]

I was amazed by the beauty, quantity, purpose, and size of the Magao caves of Dunhuang. After, this wonderful presentation, I feel more capable of teaching about Chinese art, architecture, and religion. Professor Lee did an amazing job, her knowledge of the subject and passion for Chinese art is remarkable, by far my favorite presentation.

[Anonymous]

However, I still wonder is there any evidence of who the artists of the amazing art works inside the caves were. Also, is there a possibility that some of rhe caves' art work had been done by the same artists.

[Anonymous]

The morning session on Cave Temples of the Mogao helped foster several smaller parallels I can integrate into my lessons. The first is using the geography of China and the military roles (gates, walls, watch towers, protection) to compare to the one of the roles of government. The Preamble states six purposes of government, one being to provide for the common defense. Students will research the six purposes in groups and find similarities from other countries and civilizations, ie the Mogao. The second is using the Silk Road as an economic model and inquiry. How far have economic systems developed? How can we take what we know about the ancient economy created by the Silk Road and apply it to our economic systems today?

[Anonymous]

The morning session on Cave Temples of the Mogao helped foster several smaller parallels I can integrate into my lessons. The first is using the geography of China and the military roles (gates, walls, watch towers, protection) to compare to the one of the roles of government. The Preamble states six purposes of government, one being to provide for the common defense. Students will research the six purposes in groups and find similarities from other countries and civilizations, ie the Mogao. The second is using the Silk Road as an economic model and inquiry. How far have economic systems developed? How can we take what we know about the ancient economy created by the Silk Road and apply it to our economic systems today?

[Anonymous]

The caves of Dunhuang have captured my attention! I loved hearing Professor Lee telling about the history of the caves along the silk road. The caves contain the different styles of art through several decades of China. I'm in awe that there are around 1000 caves! My favorite part about the history of these caves is the incredible find of the library room. This is something that most people dream about, discovering an ancient treasure room. 50,000 documents! I came home today eager to know more. This is what I found: A majority of the documents are writings about Buddhism, Daoism, and other religions(including 3 religions that I have never heard about). About 10% of the documents consist of private and political letters, economic documents, Confucian classic literature, music, and calendars. The calendars cover topics of constellations, wine brewing, and medicine

For this lesson I want to discuss with my students the Dunhuang caves and have them research like I have been researching about these documents. Then we will do a lesson on how to make paper for their own "Cave #17 Manuscripts." After they have made their paper from recycled paper they will create a document that looks like it could have been found in the hidden library. Students will have to figure out on their own how to distress their paper to make it look old, and then research the art and design symbols found on the documents. We will also do a brainstorming/critical thinking activity of creating a calendar that is not based on months or days.

I also teach ceramics and the chemistry of ceramics and glazes, so the minerals used in the ink on the original Dunhuang manuscripts I have access to. Students will then learn the chemistry behind the Dunhuang manuscript inks. They will then make their own ink and add their drawings and words to their "authentic Dunhuang documents" I could even do a twist on this lesson by having students do a contemporary document corresponding to the types of documents found in the caves.

[Anonymous]

The caves of Dunhaung lecture made me terribly excited to at the least get to the Getty, and even better, to get to China. I will look into getting a student group to the Getty. It served as a perfect commercial to get me to take action. I love mnakaya's ideas right above mine. I think both the discussion of creating a mural, or document that might be found in an ancient library is exciting for students. As they love street art and large murals, I would ask the students to incorporate a chapter of the Buddha's life into a mural. Our students all read Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse, so this could be done at the same time they are reading the literature in their English classes. This lecture also got me thinking about the Silk Road and how it might be used as a theme for a series of lessons. I will have to investigate further.

[Anonymous]

I found this lecture so completely fascinating! I thought it was interesting to see the changes in the style of art in the caves comparing different times. It was also interesting to see the influences on different cultures. I think it would be a fun activity to have the students create their own "cave" of what they would want to visit on an extended journey in order to find peace and protection. I am very excited for the exhibit to come to LA - this is something I am definitely going to see and encourage my students to do the same.

[Anonymous]

I really enjoyed this presentation. I wish we would have had a little more time with it so we could have learned more. I thought it was very interesting to see these artifacts that they found in the prince's tomb. It is fascinating to see the things that were so important they were buried with the person. This could also be another interesting assignment where you ask the students to list which of their items they would want to be buried with - things they might need in the next life. I think that assignment would help the students focus on the items in the exhibit and really examine why they were chosen to go into the tomb. I'm excited to see this exhibit too.

[Anonymous]

As for the Ming Dynasty, I never knew just how brief it really was. As to teaching Buddhism, all 6th grade classes are given a crash course in all the major East Asian religions before they have their annual visit to the Pacific Asian Museum. As for the upcoming exhibits I would miss them for anything.
Even as Dr. Lee was lecturing, I was searching the internet to better understand the purposes of the caves. One caption called them "Houses of Faith". This title coupled with her presentation makes perfect sense. To build such monolithic structures only the faithful or true believers would invest such time and resources. Some of the other caves are equally incredible.

[Anonymous]

The Silk Road is always a fascinating subject, and whenever there are more details revealed about it's role it peaks my interest. The road is only touched upon in 5th grade, and I'm always looking for a way to include it as a 4th grade teacher, and today's session about the caves of Dun Huang really provided me with some parallels that I can use with my class. The images on the outside structures do indeed look like an apartment or motel, and in some ways provided a needed stop for caravans going along the Silk Road. Nothing like today's stop at Baker, California to see the world's largest thermometer, but I'm sure the travelers would of heard of the images within the caves. The use of these places for artists, pilgrims, military, and travelers have many comparisons for the same types of people today. Architecturally, I would (in 5th grade, maybe 4th) compare the look like those of the Desert Southwest Native Americans, the Cliff Dwellers, which used the materials around them to construct homes. Having students use websites such as http://www.getty.edu/conservation/our_projects/field_projects/mogao/related_mats.html and http://en.dha.ac.cn/list.aspx?id=144086405076 I would have students take careful note of the detail of the images and what they can see. Perhaps a small group per cave? Have students design a shoebox cave with (non-religious) images?

[Anonymous]

Preservation of site of Dunhuang is mind blowing. Buddhism has changed through time because of translation, perception, and etc. Many of the caves in Dunhuang were dedicated to Buddhism due to its location along the Silk Road. Buddhism was spread from Northern part of India along the Silk Road to many Asian countries. An activity in class could be organizing students into groups. I would choose a student from each group and tell them the story of Siddhartha Gautama and then have them go back to their groups to retell the story. I would have student create a four-piece painting/illustration of the story with an explanation caption for each piece. After the students are done, I would provide a document with the life story of Siddhartha’s and have the students compare and contrast the two works. This activity will encourage students to analyze art critically and ask tough questions. Questions embedded in analyzing the art. Who was the artist? Do artists have their own biases/perception? Was the story told correctly or was it a different version of the original?

[Anonymous]

The morning discussions about Buddhism, the spiritual narratives in the paintings, and the intercultural exchange of the Silk Road all coming together in the Magao caves. Recently I saw a program about cave dwellings in a mining town in Australia where temperatures exceed 117 degree F. I wondered if the climate in this area moved people into the cool cave dwellings and the paintings and artifacts were their decor I want to see the recreation at the Getty next summer.

In my class, the materials I choose to integrate into my curriculum will highlight a common thread of humanity with texts from around the world. I'm lucky to have full control over my curriculum because I'm at a small pilot school and I'm teaching a grade level that is still a survey class, so I can use any materials I want despite the district's requisite literature textbook. There was less in terms of materials that I can use; however, I learned a lot about the life of Buddha today as well as some essential early narratives of the life of Buddha as well as early conversion stories. My students should have learned in middle school about the Silk Road and about the life of Buddha. The beauty of tradesmen being the vehicle by which the life of Buddha traveled East from India into Asia blending with existing philosophies to create an international religion. Buddhism in America is very different when compared how Sonya Lee described early Buddhists in this region. The importance of the narratives of the enlightened one in the lives of these tradespeople is an interesting contrast because the life of the tradespeople are so dependent on material possessions and commerce. The mixing of people to create new cultural identities is foundational inquiry in my class. Like I said, I can't think of how I could use the resources from the morning, but I definitely learned a lot to enrich my understandings of Buddhism and the Silk Road.

Lastly, the fact that these dwellings and the artifacts within survived surprises me in light of the fact that the Unesco Buddhas were destroyed in 2001.

[Anonymous]

Professor Lee gave me some good ideas for lessons with the exhibits she talked about. These exhibits show art that covers a majority of ideas and themes I teach for China like Buddhism, intercultural exchange like the Silk Road, and also the Ming Dynasty. I was particularly fascinated with artifacts like Lady Wei marriage certificate to show her more as a real person than a name on a piece of paper. I want to have students get a chance to actually see these pieces and have them connect to the time period and have that visual memory. I am looking to try and set up a field trip or extra credit assignment for the students to make it to the Pacific Asian Museum to see these important artifacts found.

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