[Deirdre Harris]

Learning about The Performance of Power in Modern Japan in this week's Video Lectures was interesting and lots of fun.  I wanted to share how fascinated I was learning about the differences between the NOH Theater and the Kabuki Theaters in Japan. NOH drama is the oldest type of theater surviving in Japan.  In the NOH theater, we learned that this type of performance was very serious, expressing an emotion usually, often using the wooden masks shown in the slides by Professor Piltelka.  The NOH theater was performed for the Aristocratic elite people of Japan, as opposed to the Kabuki theater which was more for the common people of Japan to enjoy.  NOH theater was "etherial and other-worldly" as described by our discussion, and kept things simple in the sense that there was not a lot of ornate dress, etc... but rather they kept things simple in order to keep focused on the emotion being expressed.  I found it very interesting that the teeth were darkened out on purpose in both the masks of the NOH theater, but also in the real elite women of the court, so as not to draw attention to the bright flashes white teeth would have. (Keeping to the modest behaviors especially for women, often never being seen directly, but through screens many times.)

Kabuki theater on the other hand was more geared for the common audiences.  The performers wore make-up, wigs, elaborate costumes, with loud sound effects, usually telling soap-opera type of stories.  Another interesting thing about Kabuki theater, which also still continues today, is that it began with women doing the acting, but they became promiscuious, and it was outlawed, to be only performed by men by the Shogunate Tokugawa government.  Even to this day, men are still performing in the Kabuki theater.  

I think that it would be very interesting to show students versions of both of these theater types in my classes, and see what they think and if they can compare them to any of our theater, or any other country's performative styles.  They could easily be able to at least distinguish between the two, and learn about these, and know that they both continue to this day in Japan if they ever have the opportunity to visit.

[Deirdre Harris]

I enjoyed reading the essay Dr. Pitelka wrote about Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616) which offers so many insights into Samurai life and cultural rituals in Japanese history.  Professor Pitelka shares with us not only the story of his life, but also explains the many objects that were part of the life of Ieyasu and his legacy.  This great man cherished swords, chinese ceramics and falcons most of all, but he was also an educated man who left behind a family, despite being torn apart from his own as a young child.  Dr. Pitelka tells us that Ieyasu had over 1,000 swords upon his death, that he had either received as gifts in ceremonies, that exchanged gifts after battles as rituals, or had collected for various reasons.  He mentions that these gift exchange rituals controlled violence and played a vital role in keeping the peace between warriors and also built stronger relationships between those already existing ones.

As a child he was given away to another group to be raised, which was not unusual for boys selected for this life.  He was held hostage by the new group, and was befriended by a man who shared his interest of falconry and birds with the young Ieyasu.  He learned of his real father's death 2 years later, and by age 13, went through a Ceremony of Manhood.  He eventually emerged as the strongest Warlord in Japan aftere the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1603.  

He was a well educated man and Professor Pitelka lists his 6 favorite books, (which only included 2 Japanese titles) mostly Chinese.  He loved to spend much of his later life with his Falcons, (which also were objects to give and receive as gifts in ceremonies), to the point that it was more of an obsession.  He was even doing it when he became ill, and died shortly thereafter at the age of 75 in 1616.    

I enjoyed learning about this man's life and legacy, and the many rituals and ceremonies that we are learning about here played an important role in  his life.  From sword exchanges and gifts, to insense, tea ceremonies, falconry, works of art, the life of a warrior was definitely an interesting one.  To learn about the greatest one who probably ever lived, Ieyasu, was my true pleasure.  Thank you Dr. Pitelka for the insight into history in such a personal way, that we come to care for this man, and all he went through in his life.  

I can think of many ways I can incorporate this into my teaching, using the angle of ceremonies, rituals, and the objects of them, to learning about the meaning of the objects, such as how pine trees equate themselves with immortality.  Students would be very interested in the head-taking ceremonies, because of the nature of bloodiness involved, showing how warriors wanted to prove they were effective in battle.  Thank you for this session's most interesting information about Japan.  

[Deirdre Harris]

I enjoyed listening to the audio, while following the text version of the Associate Professor of Art History at Swarthmore, Tomoko Sakomura.  While a very lengthy slide show, I enjoyed listening to her interpretation of parts of the stories.  While she focused on chapters 34, 35, & 36, these seemed to be more than enough to focus on.  It seems that Karma get's Genji in the end, and he is punished for his life of pursuing love.  The theme seems to be that "Life is suffering."  That it is full of sorrow, and anguish.  I found it interesting that men seemed to want women who were loyal, cultured, passive, and willing to overlook a man's shortcomings.  Is it true that even to this day, women don't discuss politics openly in Japan?  I read this somewhere...   It's interesting to look for Genji's motivations, which seem to be strictly yearning and love, pure reasons.  It also reveals his character to have anxiety, and suffer from his own actions.  He seems quite miserable by the end of these three chapters she discusses in her presentation.  It seems women would escape to become nuns to get away from the sordid love affairs that were going on to escape the cycle that had been created.  In order to be happy, they would have to detach themselves from love, money and power.  

I have not read the Tale of Genji, but someday I hope to.  It's a sordid topic, not appropriate for my 4th graders, but I am thinking I can share parts of the culture, such as the incense, life in the courts, and so many other topics.  They can read it on their own when they are older.  I certainly enjoyed listening to Professor Sakomura.  She certainly seemed to be quite an authority on it's interpretations, which were very insightful.  Thank you.

[Deirdre Harris]

I also found so much information about incense that I had never known before.  The methods for which it was created in large batches, and mixed several thousand times, then buried in the ground, preferably near water or a tree; to be used immediately after resting for a prescribed number of days.  I noticed that in the excerpts from the "Tale of Genji" it is mentioned that a young man is coming to visit a young woman, and he knows he will only be able to get to know her through the smell of her incense.  This was enough for him.  The writing also notes an unpleasant fragrance of incense coming from an undesirable women, and how different these two were, both the women and their incense.  The idea that matching incense by just matching patterns, and fragrances, without lighting them was a practice in Japan is very interesting.  I am enjoying learning about this period of life in Japan.  

[Deirdre Harris]

I very much enjoyed learning about early Japan and how it's geography, as Professor Pitelka mentioned first and foremost, was instrumental in creating a cultural climate for the four seasons.  Being that Japan is an archipelago created by the movement of the Asian, Phillipine and neighboring plates in the region, created the Alps, many volcanoes, such as Mount Fuji, and several mountain ranges in Japan.  This geography created the four seasons for Japan, such as snow and cold weather in the North, as well as warm weather in the southern islands near Kyushu, and they enjoyed the lovely fall and spring in between, which in turn gave inspiration to the art of Japan depicting these changes in the seasons.  Art and poetry captured the beautiful culture of Japan's unique landscape unlike other countries.  Also, just as importantly, these islands were isolated just enough to allow Japan to retain it's cultural identity, yet they still benefitted from trade from it's neighbors China, Korea, and Russia.  The role of geography in Japan's history has played an interesting role here, one that I would not have imagined were it not for this class.  This connection that we have now realized can be applied to other parts of the world upon examination, and would be a wonderful way to teach geography to students.  My experience in the upper elementary grades has revealed that much more needs to be taught to students in this area, and I think by describing these connections to my students, they will become more motivated in learning not only where things are on a map, but how they affect a culture.  Great ideas developing here....  Thank you.

[Deirdre Harris]

Hello - My name is Deirdre Harris.  I have been a teacher with LAUSD on and off for 28 years.  I have taught a 4th grade gifted class for the past several years at Apperson Elementary School.  I recently took the East Asian Studies to 1800 class this Spring with Professor Dube, and learned so much.  I am also trying to gather content to enrich my Social Studies content, while also accumulating some salary points too.  I look forward to learning from Professor Pilteka, as he was a guest lecturer in the East Asian Studies class and I know we are in for some wonderful content.  I am eager to learn more about Japan.  Thank you.

[Deirdre Harris]

It was such a pleasure to stop during the 2nd video and read this tale written two hundred years after the fall of the Han Dynasty.  It's a simple fable that my 4th graders could easily enjoy, and delve into some of the questions posed.  The fisherman who is relaxing, thinking of not much at all, who doesn't seem highly motivated or worried about his responsibilities, who is drinking wine, and drifts off, dropping his cup into the river suddenly spots some peach trees in a part of the river he has never seen before.  What does he find?  After some exploration through a cave, he comes upon Utopia!  Heaven on Earth...a beautiful, colorful village full of perfect and happy people, living harmoniously amongst themselves.  He is immediately greeted and taken to meet the leader of the village with whom he has a conversation about how there is only happiness and prosperity in this valley and no war.  That they had escaped the horrors of the warring states, and were all just quietly living a happy, trouble-free life.  The ask him to not tell anyone about it, as he leaves. 

What does he lose?  He loses the cup into the water, and this is when he sees the peach trees, and at first I thought this might have had some significance.  But what he really loses is the ability to keep the secret to the people of the Happy Valley.  He does tell of it, albeit luckily, no one had ever found it.  But even so, his inability to keep the promise leaves him feeling badly about himself perhaps?   I know that others wrote about how this tied into philosophical ideaton. 

 Why did they write about it two hundred years after the fall of the Han Dynasty?  I think it was to give people hope of a new world order.  It was written to inspire the Chinese people not to give up hope on reunification.  People need hope to keep on living their lives, and this story does that.  That's why I think there were numerous paintings, songs, and other recreations of this wonderful fable.  In my 4th grade class, we could easily compare this fable with Aesop's fables, and see if there are any that inspire us to be better people.  We could look across the folklore of other cultures, and compare lessons taught.  We could look for hidden lessons in the Peach Blossom Spring beyond just what's on the page, but teaching students to read between the lines.  The best part is at the end, when it leaves us with the visual of peach blossom petals floating down the river and leaving us with the wondering of where they originated.  A perfectly lovely story with a hopeful ending.  

[Deirdre Harris]

I agree with  you Taylor that the All Roads Lead... article was a very informative read, and an eye-opener to just how many different countries are involved in this, and how there are so many ways that people look at this BRI as both good and bad.  It's such a huge endeavor that President Xi has developed, and he has had to satisfy so many different voices while projecting transparancy, and how he's following "Green Practices" that I think it's grown into something almost "out of control."  You hear stories and articles from many of the countries involved where China is basically taking over the resources of these countries for their own benefit, or forcing workers to work 12-hour days with no medical support, to helping a struggling country and being seen as the underdog too.  It's hard to know what to believe and not believe, and what about the places we are not hearing about?  I am sure many people are afraid to speak up.  Who is telling their story?  Regardless, we as a world power, need to keep an eye on what is going on, and find a way to help this project succeed for everyone involved.  China is our equal, but clearly ahead of us in so many areas, thus the recent legislation I shared about a few days ago dealing with not having to depend on China hopefully by 2025.  It's a balancing act that we do have to teach our children, just like being diplomatic in solving problems at school, or within a family, etc...  But the New Silk Road is definitely breaking all records as the World's Largest Project that we've seen in years, and probably will see in our lifetimes.  Let's keep our eye on it.  

[Deirdre Harris]

Hi Jennifer, I also found it interesting that entertainers and shaman were listed just above slaves in Korean social order.  This is so unusual as you make a good point that poets are similar to singers if they produce original songs.  Here in the US, we give our entertainers such high status, it's quite the surprise to hear this.  I can understand the difference between a court jester or comedian being not such a high level position in life, but depending on the talent, it is interesting what was valued then versus now.  This could be researched by students to see what other countries around the world valued with regard to positions in life, and what was valued by each culture.

[Deirdre Harris]

I very much enjoyed listening to Professor Kim's presentation of Korea up to the 1800's.  From learning that they created a language culture and a Print culture "Proper Sounds to Inform the People", to a movable printing press two hundred years before the European Gutenberg Bible, it sounds as if they were a very creatiave, and prolific group of people, capable of so much that we see in her video.  She mentions that the Choson people saw themselves as the last bastion of civilization, and talks about the Heredity Social Status in Choson.  Having the Scholar-officials higher than the civil-officials probably caused some tensions.  I would imagine that any out of wedlock children would try to hide their lineage to retain their social standing in Korean society at any cost.   Then the Secondary Status groups, then peasants/comoners consisting of farmers, artisans and merchants.  I heard her mention that Confusionism looked down on merchants because they really didn't create anything.  They were just selling what others had created at a profit.  Then the Lowborn came next, and they are described as "Despised occupations"  such as a butcher, because they worked with dead animals, grave-diggers, shamans and enetertainers. (I find it very surprising that Shamans and Entertainers were considered "Despised Occupations."  Boy, our culture sure values these types of professions here in America today .)  Then the slaves were even lower then the Lowborn.  It seems like a caste system that you would never get out of.  You were born into your place in life.  I wonder if anyone did manage to fight their way to a higher place in Korean life successfully?  There must have been someone.  

I like how Professor Kim speaks of many women in her account of Korean history of prolific writers.  She emphasises that women are often neglected in many histories, and she didn't want to perpetuate this.  She speaks of Ho Nansorhon and Heo Nanseoheon, and their contributions to Korean writings, often being taught by the males in the family.  Often a brother, or father would assist the women in the family to learn due to the rules they lived with.  

She finally speaks of Sijo Poetry and gives several examples.  We can all as teachers, get excited, and see the connection to Haiku poetry that is more well-known to our students.  How fun it would be like someone mentioned above to have an Asian Poetry Wall in your classroom filled with Chinese, Japanese and Korean examples of poetry.  That would be impressive.  Thank you to Professor Kim for all of your wonderful insights to help inspire us to create new ideas for us and our students.

 

 

[Deirdre Harris]

I found this information to be relevant to our Asian Studies class, and wanted to share it.  A sudden bi-partisan bill overwhelmingly passed in Congress this week.  A  spending bill that usually only gets partisan votes.  The legislation that was just adopted was one of the biggest examples of a bill that the US has put together like this in many decades.  This Industrial policy uses taxpayer dollars, to involve the US Government directly into the private sector economy by injecting massive amounts of capital.  A quarter of a trillion dollars over a period of 5 years, according to the New York Times.  That's a lot of money.  But everyone in Congress agreed, and that's the strange part.  Why?  Because we don't want to be dependent on China anymore.  On the list are things like semiconductors, for computers, autonomous vehicles, robotics, artificial Intelligence, synthetic biology, quantum computing for denfense and manufacturing.  How will the money be spent?  China has been spending heavily in these areas since 2015.  It seems that both of our countries have realized that they don't want to be dependant on each other.  Our senators are waking up to the fact that the US is behind in areas like creating 5G power, manufacturing semi-conductors and more items as previously mentioned before. Over time, this has created a concensus with our policy-makers, that they want to be less dependent by 2025 on Chinese technology. 

I'm happy to hear that our government can finally agree on a common goal that is good for our country.  It does seem a bit fear-based, but maybe that's what needs to happen to stay competative in the world markets?  I thought this was newsworthy, and something that was worth mentioning, as we discuss trade, politics, and learning about other cultures.  Even though it's imperative for our students to learn about other culture's ideologies, and motives, we also need to teach them how our policy-makers view other countries.  While we want to be friends with China, there does seem to be some trust issues or skepticism involved, and perhaps that's normal and healthy.  But as we raise the next generation, we do want them to have their "Eyes Wide Open."  

[Deirdre Harris]

This was my first time taking a class through the USC China Institute,- East Asia Origins.  What a wealth of knowledge and resources Professor Dube has provided to us here so that we can now take these back to our classrooms to help not only our students, but to follow through with the Institute's goals, of educating our students through learning about other cultures, in order to understand our world, and raise "Global Citizens."  I agree with several other students here who have mentioned that the European history is what is mostly taught after our own US history first in elementary school. 

I teach 4th grade, and this was my first time delving deeply into Asian histories, cultures, philosophies, religions, Industial Booms, political ideations, Elite behaviors, Farming Techniques, and the list goes on.  From the early history provided in your first few sessions, through the information provided taking us through the 1800's, I was truly happily overwhelmed with the amount of information and resources offered here.  Trying to come up with ways to incorporate it into a 4th grade class, is not as easy perhaps as for older students, but I will make it my goal to implement many of the resources offered here.  

I found the resources of the highest quality, including the speakers, the readings, and the topics focused on.  They were relatable to what we face today and the many global challenges we all face as humans together.  I feel that this class made me a better teacher by just learning about Asian countries, through their history, culture and what their future plans are.   

Some topics that I hope to share with my students are about the Silk Road, and how the one from the past that we connect with Marco Polo, is now being created once again through the Belt Road Initiative, BRI, by China through ports, countries, and cities and how this will affect our world.  I would like to point out the differences we notice between governments as well, dealing with things such as values like human rights, and climate change  I'd like to share the various philosophies and religions that Asia started with, and to also let them know that Christianity has become very popular over there now, but in an underground sort of way, especially with women. 

I would like to share the simple idea of what a "Closed Society" vs. an "Open Society" will bring to that country, and the pros and cons of each.  Perhaps we can learn from other's mistakes by learning their histories and hopefully have our leadersnot repeat these same mistakes. 

I too would like to thank Professor Dube and Catherine Gao for providing the guidance we all needed, and making themselves available when we needed help.  I too agree that the quality of the class participants was very high, and that I learned from them as well.  I will definitely find another opportunity to join another class through the USC China Initiative very soon to continue my education, and to share this with my own students moving forward.  Thank you both so much for this wonderful course.  

 

 

[Deirdre Harris]

I so enjoyed reading the Letter by Emperor Quialong to King George III, with its "Polite Insults" and how it must have been difficult for the King to figure out just how to react.  But the letter in itself is a work of a master writer.  To praise your pursuer, while humiliating him all at the same time with a sense of humor, but at the same time, being deadly serious, was masterful in my opinion.  Like Morgan above says, at the end of the letter, the Emperor delivers a harsh warning to "Tremblingly obey and show no neglilgence..."  To be rebuffed by what King George saw as a weaker country than England, who won't do as requested, must have been quite the shock.  I remember that Jennifer also had mentioned the day we briefly touched on it in class, that her class would have fun reading through it together.  I see myself using this letter in a group read-through, to go through it bit-by-bit, insult-by insult, and have the students try to figure out how the Emperor was able to write a letter that sounds polite, but is really a "No Thanks" without the thanks.

Shakespeare, is another type of writing that needs the help of a seasoned teacher to help students decipher certain passages, and In my mind, I see how students could compare these two types of important writings where the true meaning is difficult to discern.  This would help them to become better writers, by examining dense writings, and possibly find more as a project to be researched.  Many have said that this is when the Opioid Wars began.  Thanks for sharing this very incredible, and valuable resource with us.  

[Deirdre Harris]

I just finished reading the passage of the Yangzhou massacre and it was difficult to process, and take it all in.  Descriptions of the horror and death witnessed by the author, and the hundreds of close calls he had with death were difficult to hear.  It seemed to start slowly, and over the course of just a 10 day span, he had lost many relatives through cruel and violent methods.  He witnessed much death and cruelness to all people, but especially as Jennifer mentions, to women.  They were made to be humiliated and perform many acts against their will, and the attackers didn't seem to care.  Interestingly enough, at some point, this storyteller at one point comes face  to face with an opponent, and they are given respite to a nearby home to get new clothes and eat.  They were spared somehow after hiding through most of the massacre, him in an upper bunk of a bed compartment, while hearing awful things happening below him.  He met up with what remained of his family, but realized he had lost so many of his relatives. He seemed to be writing for posterity and history as a method of passing this down to his children so that they would not take for granted a peaceful existance they would soon enjoy.  Quite the story.  These types of stories need to be told, and are a perfect example of what we teach our students to be "Primary Sources" and are quite rare.  A lesson for my 4th graders could be comparing this type of Primary Resource, to one in our 4th grade curriculum that comes to mind about "Pliny the Younger" who chronicled his experience of escaping from Mount Vesuvius in the terrible Volcano disaster.  They could compare them, and possibly find others that are similar in histories from other countries and places.  I would have them work in groups for best results.  

[Deirdre Harris]

Hi Sean,  I also was thinking about how to create a good debate in my classroom, with my upper-grade class, and think this would be a great topic.  You are right in saying that they would have to do a lot of preparation in advance, learning about not only European history, but Chinese history, and more in order to pull it off effectively.  I was looking over my own research about if there really was a Marco Polo, and if so, did he really go to China?  It seems tht since the 17th century, people have been doubting his story, and pointing out his errors, and omissions, such as "The Great Wall of China, Tea, the Chinese Alphabet, chopsticks, or foot-binding" in China.  Many scholars believe that he left out important places, and got many locations wrong as well.  But either way, I think whether it's authentic or not, we have all still achieved the sharing of the culture, and the learning and teaching that he hopefully intended to share with the world.  

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