[clay dube]

I hope we can expand the discussion of this film. The book, her second, brought Pearl Buck the Nobel Prize for Literature at a relatively young age. It and the film helped to mobilize American popular opinion to support China in its war with Japan. And it provided enduring images of rural Chinese life.

Of course, in some circles it is considered offensive. Many Chinese Americans take particular offense at representations of Chinese speech, naming practices, and so on. My wife, on the other hand, loved the book so much she read it twice and then devoured the two other volumes in the trilogy (she didn't care for them nearly as much). Buck spoke Chinese well and may have produced an idealized vision of the countryside and its people, but to many the ideas expressed ring true.

Incidentally, every teacher will recognize the scene in the book (I don't think it is in the film) where Wang Lung (Wang Long in pinyin romanization) brings his two sons to the teacher and says something to the effect of -- try to beat some knowledge into them. The more you beat them, the happier I will be.

The Good Earth was among the books I assigned for one of the courses I taught at Berea College, "American Images of East Asia."

[clay dube]

Curious what Japanese worry about? There's a terrific volume, Jinsei Annai, which collects questions sent to a newspaper advice column. Entire chapters are given over to discussions of the ideal mate and so on. Your students might enjoy comparing today's ideas with those evident in The Pillow Book and The Tale of Genji.

Want a quick sample? Recent columns are available online!

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/advice/advice.htm

Among the topics: "Wife tired of cheating hubby" http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/advice/20030503wp01.htm

"Son's choice of wife worries mother" http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/advice/20020323wp01.htm

smiling,
clay

[clay dube]

Christine asked about the Qing era novel The Dream of Red Mansions. Depending on the translation Hongloumeng wears different names. It is considered one of the greatest Chinese novels. It has inspired many films, tv serials, and a Beijing park.

Given my crass history approach, you won't be surprised that I once assigned one volume (Story of the Stone) to my second quarter Chinese history survey class with the expectation that they'd learn about elite life. Literature teachers would be more focused on other issues, but I had my students roaming about looking at gender roles, ideas about education, Buddhism sneaking into a Confucian household, and so on.

Frankly, though, this isn't my favorite pre-modern Chinese novel. That goes to The Scholars, a Ming-era (1368-1644) work on a failed examination-taker. My favorite 20th century novels are Camel Xiangzi (Luotuo xiangzi) by Lao She and Family (Jia) by Ba Jin. Lao She's work was a best-seller in England and the US in the 1940s in a version that had an altered ending (and titled Rickshaw Boy). The more recent translation and film version deal with Beijing life in the 1920s. Ba Jin should have been given the Nobel Prize rather than Gao Xingjian. His masterpiece deals with an elite family in Southwestern China (Sichuan province) and explores arranged marriages, education reform, gender and class issues, and more.

Another writer worth learning about is Shen Congwen. Several collections of his wonderful short stories are available. His autobiographical novel of growing up Hunan is also addictive. One film based on his work that you might enjoy is The Girl from Hunan. This film deals with the custom of marrying an adolescent girl to a boy of about 3 years old. This was a strategy employed by poor families in many places in China. Such marriages were the norm in Taiwan (though the two children were generally closer in age and raised as brother and sister until declared married). Stanford anthropologist Arthur Wolf has written extensively on such marriages.

Since I've drifted this far from my declared subject, why not keep floating? If you are curious about intimacy and other matters in contemporary China, borrow or buy a copy of Yunxiang Yan's amazing village study: Private Life Under Socialism.

smiling,
clay

[clay dube]

I think that Steve is absolutely right that an important reason for the effectiveness of some of our presenters is their obvious enthusiasm. All are recognized experts in their fields, but to have that expertise and to be excited about sharing it is something special. This is a point David Schaberg made day two. He felt privileged that you were interested in hearing about something that matters so much to him.

Steve's right that classroom management needs and other challenges may make it a bit harder to express our love of our subject. At the same time, it is also apparent that teachers can manifest this enthusiasm in different ways. Some do it through their every mannerism, others by welcoming speculation on big questions in the field, and others by charging relentlessly forward, certain that you need everything that s/he has prepared for the session.

What is clear is that knowing the teacher believes this stuff is worth wrestling with is reassuring to a student and inspires interest in the subject.

smiling,
clay

[clay dube]

Kurosawa's film and Joint Security Area have some similarities in the first hour as differing versions of the shoot-out are revealed.

smiling,
clay

[clay dube]

With regard to Gene's inquiry, no advance approval is required. Christine's recommendation of the IMDB site is a good one. It is quite comprehensive, but the reviews it contains are uneven in quality.

A great place to find out about Asian films is the film review section of the New York Times website:
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/reviews/index.html
Over 5,000 reviews are available. Unlike the LA Times, these are available without charge. You are required to register.

Also, FACETS, the Chicago-based distributor, has a decent website. http://facets.org

Happy Viewing!

[clay dube]

Joint Security Area was an award-winning and box office success a couple years back. SubwayCinema.com has a good page on it at http://http://www.subwaycinema.com/frames/archives/kfest2001/jsa.htm.

As part of the AsiaStats section of our website, we have info on Korean film awards, 2000. http://http://www.isop.ucla.edu/eas/statistics/00koreanawards.htm

Another film worth checking out is Chunhyang. AsianWeek.com has a good article on its director Im Kwon Taek at http://http://hanbooks.com/korculingen.html Teachers might like it as it retells a popular Korean folk tale (a love story that crosses class lines...).

smiling,
clay

[clay dube]

The Japan Foundation publishes a quarterly newsletter with book publishing news. I ignore most of the articles, but the cover graphic is always interesting and there's usually at least one article on a topic that interests me. For example, one can see great charts showing readership trends, publishing trends, interest in translated works, and so on.

See the last several years of this newsletter online at:
http://www.jpf.go.jp/e/media/publish/jbn/index.html

smiling,
clay

[clay dube]

Here are several must visit websites:

Infonation
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/infonation/e_infonation.htm
The site allows for easy comparsion of countries. One can, for example, compare literacy rates among four Asian nations.

World Development Indicators 2003
http://www.worldbank.org/data/wdi2003/index.htm
Produced by the World Bank, this annual publication offers mountains of statistics and tables, often in .pdf format. Students could draw from it or you might use some of the graphics they've prepared.

UNESCO
Many resources available here, including a photobank and information about the Associated Schools Program.
http://www.unesco.org/general/eng/
To illustrate one of the things the ASP does with students, check out this student created animations.
http://webworld.unesco.org/education/m_media/ciak_1_big.ram
Here's the link to the photobank:
http://upo.unesco.org/photobank.asp

smiling,
clay

[clay dube]

Click on the link below to get current news on the North Korea and its nuclear weapons development and the US response.

Google News (saved search formula)

[clay dube]

To post a link UCLA Asia Institute . http://international.ucla.edu/asia

clay[Edit by="Clay Dube on Jul 28, 3:18:46 PM"][/Edit]

[clay dube]

this is what mehgan said:

Now see this! I love purple.

[clay dube]

To attach a document -- you create or find a document. Then you attach it.

[clay dube]

That if you wish to emphasize a point you can use bold text or you could underline the text or you might italicize the text.

We can also change the text color to blue.

Or I can change the size of the font.

Finally I can highlight text.

[clay dube]

Hello Folks,

I'm posting my first discussion board message.

clay

[Author]

Posts