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Christine XuAccording to FAO, Growing rice and fish together is a Chinese tradition for 1000 years. Qingtian ( Zhejiang Province, China) Rice-Fish Culture System is one of the examples. The Qingtian has undergone great changes since this village was designated for heritage in 2005. According to the local people, they were poor but now they have extra income because of the coming tourists. They opened 5-6 agritainment restaurants to accommodate the tourist needs. And this also has created some new jobs opportunities.
The integrated rice and fish culture makes Qingtian and Longxian village famous for something other than emigration. The entire village is benefitting from the conservation of its agricultural heritage and has become a popular destination for tourists coming from the cities of Wenzhou and Shanghai.
The remarkable resilience of this agroecosystem contributes to household food security and unique rural landscapes.
In my class I will let my students to discuss and share ideas about the Rice-Fish Culture System. We are going to talk about how the rice-fish farming can help the global communities keep pace with the current demand for food authenticity through sustainable rice and fish production in ecofriendly environment.
Sources: FAO/ Researchgate.net
Christine XuIts a China’s great shame about the Great famine. It caused 36 million people died and even hungry people resorted to cannibalism. After around 60 years, the famine still cannot be freely discussed in the place where it happened. It remains banned in mainland China, where historical amnesia looms large and government control of information and expression has tightened under the Communist Party’s control. Why the Chinese government won’t allow the true tale to be told, since Mao’s economic policies were abandoned in the late 1970s in favor of liberalization , and food has been plentiful ever since. The reason is political: a full exposure of the Great Famine could undermine the legitimacy of a ruling party that clings to the political legacy of Mao, even though that legacy, a totalitarian Communist system, was the root cause of the famine. As many economists have observed, no major famine has ever occurred in a democracy.
Sources: nytimes.com
Christine XuAs Chinese people using voice messaging, mobile talking, photographing of food, WeChat becomes part of Chinese culture Just in 3 years. According to NY times, In China 5.8 million people are using WeChat. This is almost 2/3 of the entire country using WeChat. WeChat becomes a tool for communication and entertainment in Chinese daily life.
Although WeChat brings convenience to the people, it also could be problematic. WeChat has messenger, facebook, eBay PayPal all in one place. This sounds miracle, but concentrating so much data in few hands is not a good thing. In US people will not accept and trust one for all, and also maybe they will run into anti trust problem and government will break up or block. But Chinese no laws like that, and actually many Chinese love that way. This makes the Chinese government control and supervise the people more easily because all the data and information of Chinese company are forced to share with Chinese government. From WeChat Chinese government knows everything about the people who are using it. WeChat can be a police station to watch the people. Chinese government can track every single movement you make. This is against human rights by the way.
Christine XuIn the late 1970s, Chinese government implemented One-Child policy, a mandatory policy, to control Chinese population. People were told “ Less Children, Better Life”. However, more and more people are against it.
Although this policy controlled the population somehow, it caused a lot of side effects in China according to Mei Fong’s book. They are surplus of males, more and more aging population, and labor shortage in the future.
Since 2016, the more than one child ( two) policy has been implemented in China to replace the country’s previous one-child policy.
A “ two-child policy” like the “ one-child policy” of population controls remains a powerful symbol fo China’s efforts to control its people. But as China has found with its stock exchanges, human behavior-like market forces, cannot be fully controlled. The government should allow its citizens to live as they choose, and to compete, to fail and to succeed on their own.
In my class I will let my students do research about Chinese “One-Child policy. We are going to talk and share ideas about the Pros and Cons of the policy.
Christine XuI am Christine. I teach Mandarin at Academia Moderna Charter school (LAUSD). This is my 6th year of teaching as a Mandarin teacher.
I am happy to see my kids learning Mandarin and Chinese culture. I would love to learn more Asian culture and history from this seminar, and use it into my own teaching.
Christine XuBuddhism is the most important religion in China. It is generally believed that it was spread to China in 67 AD during the Han Dynasty from Hotan in Xinjiang to Central China. During its development in China, it has a profound influence on traditional Chinese culture and thoughts, and has become one of the most important religions in China at that time.
Chinese Buddhist sculpture frequently illustrates interchanges between China and other Buddhist centers. Works with powerful physiques and thin clothing derive from Indian prototypes, while sculptures that feature thin bodies with thick clothing evince a Chinese idiom. Many mix these visual traditions. After the eleventh and twelfth centuries, when Buddhism disappeared from India, China and related centers in Korea and Japan, as well as those in the Himalayas, served as focal points for the continuing development of practices and imagery.
In my class I will take my students to His Lai Temple for a field trip. Students will have a chance to see and observe buddhist sculptures and learn Chinese culture. From visiting buddhism temple students could also learn kindness, compassion, joyfulness, and equanimity from our lives.
Sources: PSU-pku/ wiki
Christine XuI am Christine. I teach Mandarin at Academia Moderna Charter school (LAUSD). This is my 6th year of teaching as a Mandarin teacher.
I am happy to see my kids learning Mandarin and Chinese culture. I would love to learn more Asian culture and history from this seminar, and use it into my own teaching.
Christine XuDuring the Tang dynasty, China welcomed contact with foreigners. Traders and visitors brought new ideas, goods, fashions, and religions into the country. Beginning in the Han dynasty, traders and visitors came to China by a network of trade routes across Central Asia. From Chang’an, China’s capital, camel caravans crossed the deserts of Central Asia between oases. The routes followed by the caravans are known collectively as the Silk Road, though many goods besides silk were traded. According to the history, for a time, travel along the Silk Road became unsafe because of fighting in Central Asia. The Tang made travel safe again by taking control of much of Central Asia. As a result, trade flourished with Central Asian kingdoms, Persia, and the Byzantine Empire. Traders also traveled by sea between China and Korea, Japan, Indonesia, and India. Merchants, missionaries, and other visitors also came to China. Thousands of Arabs, Turks, Persians, Tibetans, Indians, Jews, Koreans, Japanese, and other foreigners lived in seaports and in Chang’an. All these foreign contacts brought about much cultural exchange. The Chinese sent their silk, porcelain, paper, iron, and jade along the trade routes. In return, they imported ivory, cotton, perfumes, spices, and horses. From India the Chinese learned to make sugar from sugarcane and wine from grapes. New medicines also came from India.
In my class, we are going to learn Chinese history about Tang dynasty. Students will do research about Open-door policy during Tang dynasty. They will talk and share ideas about what are the benefits and drawbacks of foreign contact during Tang dynasty.
Sources: flores-world history
Christine XuChinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. Painting in the traditional style is known today in Chinese as guohua. Traditional painting involves essentially the same techniques as calligraphy and is done with a brush dipped in black ink or colored pigments; oils are not used. As with calligraphy, the most popular materials on which paintings are made are paper and silk. The finished work can be mounted on scrolls, such as hanging scrolls or hand-scrolls.Traditional painting can also be done on album sheets, walls, lacquerware, folding screens, and other media. Among the dynasties, the Song and Yuan periods are considered by many the high point of painting in China.
In my class students will do research about Chinese Fine Art Painting. They will talk and share ideas about Chinese Fine Art, and also they will try to answers the questions:
How effective are paintings as vehicles for carrying ideas? Is there a conflict between painting to represent appearance and painting to express ideas or feelings? What values encouraged the development of landscape into a subject matter for painting?
Students will use brushes, black ink, and colored pigments to practice Chinese fine art by themselves at the final class.
Sources: Washington.edu/Wiki
Christine XuWang Xizhi was a Chinese calligrapher, traditionally referred to as the Sage of Calligraphy. Wang Xizhi was the foremost among the calligraphers of the Eastern Jin period, and is revered today as the Sage of Calligraphy. He is best known for writings in cursive and running scripts. Running script is a close variation of the standard script which features connections between individual characters and slightly abbreviated forms.
Wang Xizhi's most famous work was the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion manuscript. In 353 AD, one year before his official retirement, Wang invited forty individuals to pass the Purification Rites festival with him at a famous pavilion in the Guiji area (modern day Zhejiang province) where he was serving as governor. A poetry contest was held alongside a stream, down which cups of wine were floated; anyone of the forty-two in attendance who could not finish his composition by the time the cup arrived would have to pay the forfeit and drink. This gathering soon achieved legendary status, and references to it occur throughout the poetry and painting of later eras.
In my class we are going to learn Chinese calligraphy. We are going to do research about Tang Calligraphy, Wang Xizhi, and some of Wang’s work. Then students will use ink and brushes to practice how to write Chinese calligraphy.
Sources: Washington.edu
Christine XuOver this past two month seminar learning about the East Asia I have learned a lot about the Asian history and cultures from this educational journey and I got many ideas for my own teaching.
The readings from the seminar are very-thought provoking, and the writings of reflection on what we read and talked make me think deeply about how I can use them into my own teaching.
I teach Mandarin, and I plan to use the knowledge I learned into my classes to make my lessons be more interesting. I believe teaching Asian culture and history can help my students understand Asian and Chinese culture better in order to learn the language better. For example, I will talk about Qing Art, Chinese tea, Beijing Opera, Chinese characters, and Chinese calligraphy etc. in my class. We will watch videos, and students will do research about the topics as well. They will talk and share ideas in peers and small groups to reflect their understanding. Doing this could help my students view Asian and Chinese culture from different point of view.
Also, I learned a lot Japanese culture from this seminar. For example I learned a lot of information regarding Japanese warriors, Japanese castles, Japanese sushi, and the role of rice in the Japanese Culture, etc. Knowing this enable me to understand Japanese culture better in order to know deeper about Asian culture. In My class I will let my students to compare and contrast western culture to eastern culture, and Chinese culture to Japanese culture. This will help them understand Asian culture better.
Additionally, I learned that watching a film is a good idea to teach the language and the culture. Students will be able to hear the authentic language from the film. By listening to the music and seeing the visuals students can learn different Chinese lives at the time. From viewing the scenes, they will be able to see the Chinese architectures, communities, Chinese dresses, etc. Then they can use scenes analysis framework to explore why the director chose the setting, camera angles, lighting, and music and what choices do they create the scene’s tone. Additional, students will reflect on the scene individually and in groups, and they will create their own scene and present it to the rest of the class.
Christine XuThe language of a culture provides clues to important concepts and values. This is true in the Japanese culture. The primacy of rice as a diet staple is echoed in the Japanese language. "Gohan" is both the word for "cooked rice" as well as "meal." This is also true in other Asian cultures where rice is the main dietary staple. The use of Gohan in Japanese is extended with prefixes to give us asagohan (breakfast), hirugohan (lunch), and bangohan (dinner). These multiple terms signal that it was almost impossible for most Japanese to think of a meal without rice.
During my Asian culture lesson we will talk about the role of rice in Japanese culture. Students will do research, and they will talk and share ideas about the role of rice in Japanese culture. Also, we will have a food tasting at the end of the class.
Sources Japan-guide/wiki
Christine XuEnvironmental issues in China are plentiful, severely affecting the country’s biophysical environment and human health. Rapid industrialization, as well as lax environmental oversight, are main contributors to these problems.
Major current environmental issues may include climate change, pollution, environmental degradation, and resource depletion etc. The conservaton movement lobbies for protection of endangered species and protection of any ecologically valuable natural areas, genetically modified foods and global warming.
The government's recent admission that cancer villages exist "shows that the environment ministry has acknowledged that pollution has led to people getting cancer”. Some environmental lawyers said "It shows that this issue, of environmental pollution leading to health damages, has drawn attention."
What can the Chinese government and the people do?
“Go Green” would be a good topic in my classroom.
Sources: wiki
Christine XuThe talking of sushi is one of my favorite parts during the seminar.
When people in the West think of Japanese food, the first thing that comes to mind is probably sushi. However, sushi as we know it today is a relatively modern development. It was originally developed several hundred years ago as a way of preserving fish.Sushi is a Japanese dish of specially prepared vinegar rice, usually with some sugar and salt, combined with a variety of ingredients, such as seafood, vegetables, and occasionally tropical fruits. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the key ingredient is "sushi rice", also referred to as Shari, or Sumeshi. The term sushi is no longer used in its original context and literally means “sour-tasting.”
It is interesting that many of my students thought that sushi was Chinese food. In my Asian culture class, we will do a research about sushi, and we will talk and share ideas about sushi.
Sources: wiki
Christine XuI learned a lot from Dr. Yamashita about Japanese culture and Japanese warrior. According to Dr, the samurai were the warriors of premodern Japan. They later made up the ruling military class that eventually samurai culture became the highest ranking social caste of the Edo Period. Samurai culture was not restricted to the art of war; it was influenced by a variety of sources and itself had a far-reaching impact on Japanese society at large. Buddhism, Zen, Confucianism and Shinto all made their mark on bushido, and helped lend meaning to the life of the warrior. The samurai's everyday wear was a kimono, usually consisting of an outer and inner layer. Normally made of silk, the quality of the kimono depended on the samurai's income and status. Beneath the kimono, the warrior wore a loincloth.
Many of my students are interested in Japanese warrior culture. In my class, I will show some pictures regarding Japanese warrior. We will do a research about Japanese warrior, and we will talk and share ideas about Japanese warrior.
Sources: wiki
