[Deborah Johnston]

Thank you so much for asembling these resources here. I look forward to watching them myself and using them with my students.  

[Deborah Johnston]

I would love to learn more about Guanyin, the bodhisattva who is known as the goddess of compassion. She is everywhere in China and I know she is revered by many. This video is a good introduction to her and the art around her... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVIQpMQik4E  One of the things that is interesting to me is that she has transformed over time in China to be depicted as female, rather than male.  https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/great-powers-guanyin-all-seeing-compassionate-inspiration-006541 I have always taught about the progressive role Buddhist nuns/ Bhikkunis (monastics/ teachers) have had on society, or at least how this is one area in East Asia where women had more of a voice.  I think it would be interesting to develop a lesson on nuns-- particularly those in China.  I think students would be interested to learn the difference between their European conception of a nun and the role of a Buddhist nun-- since they are not one in the same. https://www.learnreligions.com/about-buddhist-nuns-449595  I do not want to romanticize this but I do want to show how women had choices during this time and that they were empowered to do good society in this capacity.  I loved the boxed Nun's Story at the end of the reading for that purpose and will definitely use this with students.  I was interested to learn (at least according to one story) that the historical Buddha's stepmother and wife had encouraged him to allow for an order of nuns to be established.  The rules around ordination of nuns were rigorous and it is not surprising perhaps that by the 20th century this became a controversial topic.  I would love to know more about this controversy and also about how much influence nuns had during the Tang in China (perhaps their heyday?). In modern day Shanghai, amongst other places, the ChaoYnnAn Buddhist nunnery is thriving-- during a visit there a few years ago, it was apparent that women of all ages were still being ordained.  I had not heard about Moshan Liaoran before the reading about her role as a Master Teacher (and head) at the Moshan Monastery during the Great Age of Chan.  There seems to be some more information online about her -- mainly as being the first to teach a male student, and to give dharma to a man.  http://sped2work.tripod.com/mo_shan.html and https://www.learnreligions.com/women-ancestors-of-zen-449935.  All this is to say, that I think the question of gender and Buddhism could be an interesting topic to pursue and one way to initiate it might be to begin with Guanyin and art.  

[Deborah Johnston]

In all three readings about the spread of Buddhism into Korea, Japan and China, the crossing of boundaries was addressed. For example, in China the introduction of Buddhism via the silk roads from Central Asia was facilitated by trade and centered around the city of Dunhuang.  Having traveled with students several times to this ancient city (which is now being built up as a priority number one tourist and conference destination in China), it is all the more surprising that this was where Buddhism thrived.  Dunhuang sits at the edge of the Gobi and the Taklamakan deserts and the faces of the people speak legions about the harshness of the arid region.  The caves at Dunhuang themselves, including the remarkable Library cave where the world's oldest book was found (the Diamond Sutra) are a spectacular collection of art and history.  The paintings on the cave walls tell the story of the crossing of these borders showing imagery, paints, and designs from throughout Central Asia including Persia and Afghanistan as well as India, but with a distinctly Chinese feel.  The adventures of the notorious (according to the Chinese) hero (according to the British) adventurer archaeologist, Indiana Jones real life character, Aurel Stein are a wonderful entry into this story.  The book Journeys on the Silk Road: A Desert Explorer, Buddha's Secret Library, and the Unearthing of the World's Oldest Printed Book by Morgan and Walters (2012) is a great adventure non-fiction account of the theft of the vast majority of the hundreds of scrolls found there. The Chinese government is still requesting the return of those scrolls from the British and French governments, trying to cross historical boundaries of art theft and colonial appropriation of culture.  A further example of crossing boundaries for Japan concerned the spread of Buddhism from India through Central Asia and China through Korea where it was introduced by the Korean Emperor in Korea to the  Japanese emperor, though it was most likely present before then in early Korean colonies in Japan.  The acceptance of the new religion was initially controversial as there was a fear that local kami would be offended.  In my classroom, I would like to spend time looking specifically at the adaptations and accommodations that were made in China as Buddhism was introduced—both Professor Meeks talk as well as the reading went into some of the ways this happened in order to find acceptance with Taoist and Confucian beliefs, including the veneration of ancestors and a reassurance that filial piety was maintained, that Buddhism valued contributions to the social good, as did Confucianism, and that a simple life was valued.  I think this could be a good comparative discussion with students to how later the Jesuits would attempt to introduce Christianity into China, the accommodation that took place, and then why Christianity would not gain a substantial number of converts—until perhaps the last decade when Christianity has grown amongst the Chinese cynically according to some as a means of being modern, and for others as a response to commercialism and corruption.  Of course, President Xi and the Party has encouraged the return to Confucian values to address this “moral corruption”.  I can imagine students completing a Venn diagram graphic organizer showing the similarities and differences between the introduction of Buddhism and Christianity into China for homework and then an Inner Outer Seminar discussion in class to unpack this rich comparison. 

[Deborah Johnston]

Just wanted to add a general note about how much I enjoyed the rich discussion during the Monday session.  As I mentioned, the Korean wave is new content for me so I spent hours and hours over the weekend reading and watching and listening to the materials, continuously going down rabbit holes.   The overview provided by Professor Jung-Kim was really helpful as a starter.  I was so impressed at the wealth of knowledge shared during the session -- the fluidity of the connections between culture and politics, the resources for K-Drama and K-Pop, and the young adult literature titles.  In the past 48 hours, I have managed to share this information out already to friends, family and in another teacher workshop.  

[Deborah Johnston]

These resources really helped me understand the perspective of my students the last few years and how that changed, but didn't change.  In doing a unit this spring with my students on Protest Music and the Civil rights movement / human rights issues we focused primarily on the US, but looked at other global (non-Chinese issues) as well.  As you may know, American rap is very popular amongst Chinese youth and they loved the early protest songs as well.  But their favorites were Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, Alicia Keyes, Foster the People, American Idiot, Macklemore, Black eyed peas and H.E.R., amongst others.   Many spoke powerfully about the social issues that these songs raise-- class divide, race, LGBQ, gun violence etc. and believe that there is a place in music for activism.   So I think that when we see BTS and CL make statements it is a good sign and I think the global fandom will respond.   One of the students chose to focus on the Escape the Corset movement in South Korea which is a fascinating protest movement that young women (and some men) have joined in order to rebel against the K-Beauty standards.  My Chinese students related to the face lightening beauty regimens and connected this to other songs from the US which talked about body image.  I am anxious to connect this to the BTS campaign I learned about here after learning about their Love Yourself campaign/ song.  

[Deborah Johnston]

While in graduate school in the late 1980's, I remember reading an article by Joseph Nye about American soft power in the context of post 1989 American military decline.  It is fascinating to now look at the Korean wave in that context.  In particular, to think about how a nation is intentional about the creation of soft power such as what South Korea has done.  The fact tht Korea is ranked high in so many areas such as digital access, enterprise, culture, education, and government was interesting.  I was also interested in Professor Jung-Kim's comments about how Korea needs to be more inclusive and welcoming with respect to refugees, expats from developing countries, and other minority groups.   Like many nations which are more homogeneous, issues of racism have surfaced either due to lack of exposure, or feelings of superiority, or colonial aspirations/ backlash.  I want to talk to my students more about soft power and how that is developed and maintained.  With "great" power comes great responsbility (so said Spiderman's Uncle).  To this end, what responsiblity does the K-Pop industry have towards rectifying some of the wrongs that were addressed in the readings and in our discussion yesterday around the treatment of African Americans.  I have been shocked at the use of blackface in Asia, as well as by other carcicatures and treatment of blacks.   I commend I know BTS and CL for making public statements and creating a funding channel for BLM for their fans.   Given the fan base, but also the visibility of K-Pop amongst global youth, it seems critical that more in the industry step up.   Movies like Parasite provided a social commentary about class that could then be discussed on a global scale with its Academy nominations.  I appreciate the post above as well with the NYT link to the activist role that other K-Pop fans have taken in political activism in the US as well.   Thinking back to the 1990s when MTV was the global media game--- when MTV tried to move into different countries, there was much discussion about which music vieos could be shown or not.  In discussions with the VP of marketing, he told stories of Madonna videos not allowing shoulders to be shown in Saudi Arabia, or other videos not allowing cows to be blown up in India, or a Portuguese percentage rule of content in Brazil.  But the discussion seemed to always come back to American generated content and how it would ride the global wave.   With the rise of Bollywood, and Nollywood, that changed.  And now Netflix' role in promoting K-Drama seems to be a response to not only the demand but also a recognition that the US is not the only generator of popular media content.  As an American-Canadian living in China, this is both humbling and inspiring.  I look forward to introducing more of this into my classes such as Theory of Knowledge as we talk about how cultural knowledge is valued and spread. 

[Deborah Johnston]

I am inspired in November to have my Chinese students read the 1928 Li Gongpu article about the Hoover-Smith US Presidential election in conjunction with another piece written from a Chinese perspective that perhaps compares Biden and Trump in such a clear-cut manner.  I think that this external perspective-- even almost 100 years later-- provides food for thought on the American Democracy experiment.  I wonder if this lesson would best be done before, or after the election? 

[Deborah Johnston]

I have also been thinking about COVID-19 and the crossing of boundaries this year, both in terms of people who have needed to be separated from both family, homes and work, as well as in terms of the suspension of trade and tourism due to the pandemic.   Disease is an important topic in the world history curriculum and crossing boundaries is at the root of how we teach about it.  Whether it be the spread of the plague by Roman soldiers during imperial days, or more recently, the spread of the 1918 pandemic by soldiers during WWI, or the spread of the bubonic plague in the 1300's due to trade (or more recently, the spread of SARS or Ebola through travel and trade, or the spread of smallpox into the Americas in the 1500s by missionaries and others.  Boundaries were crossed as all of those diseases have spread.  The difference we are now seeing with the coronavirus pandemic is that social, economic, cultural, and environmental boundaries have ALL been crossed, and much more quickly due to our very globalized world.   In addition to the classic book, Plagues and Peoples by William McNeill, my favorite book on the subject is Deadly Companions, by Dorothy Crawford.  I have used this book with high school students to great success.   The problem with teaching disease of course is that it can be depressing.  Arnold Pacey, in a book called Technology in World Civilization, has a chapter entitled Survival Technology.  This highlights the progress made in the late 19th century in public health-- especially in terms of sanitation and the introduction of vaccines.   I developed a lesson on this topic where students create Public Service Announcements for the eradication of specific diseases using technology that is appropriate for the time (please email me if this is of interest, the file is too big to upload [email protected]).  By seeing how technological boundaries are crossed in terms of both medicine and communication over time, the lesson draws on a more hopeful future.  We are actually going to start this school year with this lesson as we all need a bit of hope right now as we think about crossing those next boundaries into the future. 

[Deborah Johnston]

Reading about the cultural exchanges between China and Mexico was fascinating!  I would love to learn more about the Detroit mural controversy.   I am interested especially in the Mural entitled Nightmare of War, Dream of Peace by Rivera that went missing after being sent to Chairman Mao after being rejected in Detroit due to the content about the Korean war and their depiction of Truman and Mao.   Similarly, the Marukis, Japanese muralists who painted Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and later the Rape of Nanjing, were critiqued by Americans for their depiction of Truman due to the dropping of the bomb.  It was interesting learning more about the three mural movements in China.  An example of the most recent stage, I remember from the Urban history museum in Shanghai.  There is a large mural on the first floor which documents the movement of residents from their homes into new locations.  The relocation of residents in traditional neighborhoods due to development is a controversial topic in Shanghai and the depiction of this paints one side of the story.  Also while living in Shanghai, I visited the Shikumen lane house museum and believe that I saw some of the early caricatures that had been influenced by the visit of the Mexican artist Miguel Covarubbias to Shanghai in the 1930s. This all then provides context for the Latin American - China connections.  I have spent much more time reading about the Africa- China connections so this was new for me.  I knew that China was a large investor in Latin America but I had not recognized the depth of these connections in areas like Mexicali.  I had known about the Japanese Peruvian linkages but had not realized the large Chinese population in Mexico and had not known that the porous border during the time of anti-Asian immigration acts in the US provided a means of Chinese in disguise coming into the US.  Being in Arizona now and of course being aware of the immigration debates going on makes this even more relevant.  My favorite Peruvian restaurant in the world is in Beijing-- definitely was thinking about that as I reading about Japanese Chinese "non" fusion foods.  I am anxious to try the Chamoy seasoning, to learn more about the Chinese maquiladoras, and see more of the murals in Mexicali.  

[Deborah Johnston]

Hello! Under normal circumstances, I am a secondary teacher of geography, world history, and international relations in Beijing, China.  We have been teaching in China (Shanghai and Beijing) for 6 years, though were in Washington and Massachusetts before that.   I left Beijing in January and am still a COVID refugee in Arizona though wishing I was back in China right now given escalating numbers in my area.  As a result, I have been teaching online since February and am not able to return yet to China due to closed borders.  I am looking forward to the Institute due to my love of Asian culture and my desire to meet more colleagues who are also interested in the region. 

 

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