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clay dubeOne of the biggest challenges for the Chinese and their government is food production. The NY Times reports today (5/2/04, "China Races to Reverse Falling Grain Production") that since 2002 China has lost 13,500+ square miles of farmland since 2002. In 2003, 2% of farmland disappeared.
We discussed this briefly at the orientation in noting that as in California, some of China's best farmland is being converted into housing developments, retail spaces, and roadways. This is a function of population growth and rising living standards as people seek newer and larger housing. I've seen this with my friends in Shanghai. Many now live in the suburbs, giving up tiny and admittedly shabby housing in the inner city. For some it isn't a huge sacrifice since their jobs are also in the suburbs, but for others it has added dramatically to their commutes, reducing time for family, and contributing (in a small way since all use buses rather than private cars) to added air pollution.
clay dubeThe current (4/30/04) issue of the The Chronicle of Higher Education includes an article by David Glenn entitled "A Dangerous Surplus of Sons." Valerie Hudson and Andrea de Boer conclude in their book Bare Branches: Security Implications of Asia's Surplus Male Population (MIT Press, 2004) that sex selective abortion will threaten peace as mate-less males contribute to higher levels of crime and social disorder. Asian governments will channel males into larger armies and trouble will ensue.
I haven't read the book, but attach the article for you to explore. Off the top of my head, I think we can note that in some places in late imperial China (roughly 1368-1911) unmarried males were prevalent and participated in rebel groups (see Elizabeth Perry's classic work on rebellion Rebels and Revolutionaries in North China, 1845-1945).
The article discusses why the preference for sons has endured. Please take a look and share your views.
clay dubeLast week I mentioned the novel Flowers in the Mirror by Li Ruzhen (Li Ju-chen, 1763-1830) to the group. The Chinese name is 鏡花緣 (Jinghuayuan). Li was among those who did not pass the civil service examination and turned to fiction to express his frustrations.
Flowers in the Mirror is set in the Tang dynasty (618-906)
The English translation was originally published in 1965 and UNESCO made an Anchor/Doubleday reprint in 1971.
Among the more interesting passages in the novel are those about a group of women preparing for the civil service examination and the decision by women to bind the feet of Merchant Lin, a man.
clay dubeThe university guesthouse and our hotels will have US-style toilets. During the day, however, you should expect squat style facilities at parks, schools, and the like. Strengthen those leg muscles and work on the stretching.
clay dubePlease take a look at http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu, using the search feature or by looking at back issues. We are anxious to expand our coverage of South Asia and South Asians.
clay dubeI'll leave it to Jonathan to address LMU options. For UCLA Extension, 2 quarter units are available to those meeting all the tour requirements (taking the experience into your classroom and sharing it with colleagues) and completing a reflective essay on the journey. The two units cost a total of $125 and can be awarded after the follow-up session in the fall. [Edit by="Clay Dube on Jun 1, 3:28:11 PM"][/Edit]
clay dubeDiscovered in the late 1920s, the original remains of Beijing Man (about 200,000 years old) disappeared after they were packed in 1941 for shipping to the U.S. (ironically, for safe-keeping in the midst of the Pacific War).
Here's a website with some info about Zhoukoudian, site of the discovery.
clay dubeLu Xun was one of China's most influential 20th century writers and critics. A good collection of his stories, passably translated by the prolific husband and wife translation team of Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang is available at:
http://www.eldritchpress.org/hsun/hsun.htm
These tend to be dark tales, noting the rather profound flaws in Chinese society in the 1920s and 1930s. A few of the stories in this collection were turned into films. Among them are "The True Story of Ah Q" and "New Year's Sacrifice."
Don't neglect the preface -- Lu was one who left medicine to try other means to bring about change. This, of course, was also true of Sun Yatsen and has happened elsewhere. You might encourage your science teacher colleagues to consider discussing scientists in the public arena with their students. Who is the Senate majority leader?
clay dubeWithin the thread for each group -- it is probably a good idea to have a section devoted to features and documentaries related to the subject. Let's put titles and capsule descriptions there, but save fuller reviews and discussions of films for the film festival section of the Asia in My Classroom forum.
Where to look?
Click on the UCLA Asia Institute logo above to go to our homepage. Click on the resources button and choose "educational films" to see titles in several categories. http://facets.org has a good search engine for feature films. The most recent issue of Education about Asia includes a section devoted to the film "To Live". For more on To Live's author and his newest book, please read our Asia Pacific Arts article.
Asia Educational Media Serviceis another excellent resource for films. [Edit by="Clay Dube on Apr 25, 9:08:42 PM"][/Edit]
clay dubeI, too, had a great time. I knew something about all of you, having evaluated your applications this year and last, and some I knew from having taught in the seminar at Pitzer College or other activities. Meeting each of you in person and joining this wonderful group was terrific.
I envy your students. What wonderful ideas you have for converting all of this into something they can explore!
Ever onward!
clay dubeThe group is off to a roaring start. Here are a few issues that may merit clarification and perhaps discussion:
-- Basic issues of structure:
While the multigenerational household was held up as the ideal, it was exceedingly rare. Most households divided household property and lived separately soon after the second son married. The most common form of household is the stem family (grandparents, parents, children). Having two married couples of the same generation living together was and is unusual.
In cities the trend towards nuclear families is a strong one.
Rough numbers: rural households have an average of 4.3 people; urban households have an average of 3.2 people.
-- The Family as a Economic Unit
Families are both production and consumption units. How have economic changes (even rural people increasingly engaged in industrial or construction work, the post-49 shift from household to collective and back to household production, family commerical ventures stopping in the 1950s and resuming in the 1980s, and so on) affected family structure, roles, etc.
Families' consumption needs often drove/drive production decisions. Even if the economic return on one's labor was low, one might still take on more work (e.g., weaving cloth, selling vegetables, working as a hired hand) because every little contribution to family income was essential. Students can see this in the US in many settings, including immigrant-owned businesses where the whole family works for low hourly returns in order to meet consumption needs.
Chinese statistical yearbooks provide details on family spending patterns (what % on housing, etc.). This would no doubt be interesting for students to compare with trends here.
-- Penetrating the Household
One of the remarkable achievements (for good and bad) of the post-49 state was its intrusion into the Chinese household. Regulations on age of marriage, freedom of marriage, ability of spouses to cohabitate (household registration rules), and number of children a couple could legally produce all influenced family structures, rituals, and strength. Some have argued that political campaigns weakened families (children denouncing parents, etc.), but others suggest that the unit was strengthened as people concluded that in such moments families learned to hang together.
Note that under communes/production brigades families received a lump sum payment each year. While the contribution of all workers (including women and adult children) was included in the sum, the payment went to the family head (usually the senior male). This reinforced the focus on the family as a production unit.
-- It didn't start in 1949
It is important to recognize changes that took place in family structures and practices prior to 1949. And the Socialist State wasn't the first to seek to influence what happened in households. My first serious if short essay on Chinese history argued that Shang Yang's pronouncement in the Qin state during the Warring States period (ca. 350 bce) that families had to divide property or face double taxation had profound economic and demographic ramifications for China. Closer to today, some warlords and the Republican State under Chiang Kai-shek also initiated measures geared towards changing family practices.
-- China's big and diverse
Lineages were stronger and more important in Southern China than in the North. What role did these play in rituals, in providing economic guarantees, in funding common concerns (namely education)? Did/do Tibetans, Mongolians, Hakka, Uigyhur, and the dozens of other ethnic groups organize themselves differently? Religion is one possible factor, what are some others?
APOLOGIES for droning on -- the nice thing is in the forum, you didn't have to suffer through this unless you were interested.
clay dubeThe attached guide is 8 pages long and has illustrations to help you use the forums. Click on the attachment icon to download it to your own computer.
clay dubeI've attached a guide to using the forum. Most forum features are straight-forward and intuitive, but the guide may help those who have not previously used a web-based forum or bulletin board.
clay dubeIf you are fond of bulleted points --
clay dubeIt's also possible to add underlined text.
