[Jennifer Chang]

This is such a creative way of introducing the philosphies of Ancient China! I will definitely be using this! Thanks for sharing!

[Jennifer Chang]

I really enjoyed the opportunity to watch a Chinese film because I had been looking for some really great feature films to show my students while studying Ancient China. Now that I have access to the forum, I have a plethora of resources and materials that I can use! 

 

While looking for a movie that could somehow be related to my Ancient China unit, I wanted to make sure it had realistic depictions of what life wardrobe and architecture, exciting battle scenes (for my students who are interested in war), and had some references to the dynasties that we went over (Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han Dynasty). Hero included all of these things and more!

 

First of, Hero is set around the time of the Qin dynasty, where many warring states were fighting against each other for power. This movie does a great depiction of the instability of the empire, and shows many battle scenes to emphasize the fact that the states were at war with each other. It is interesting to note that the movie depicts the would be Qin emperor as a ruler with good intentions with his ultimate goal of unifying China at a time of unrest. It would be interesting to have a discussion on historical bias with my students, as our textbook depicts him as a ruthless tyrant. 

 

Secondly, the martial arts in the movie is really cool to watch! I think my students will really enjoy watching the fight scenes, as I was on the edge of my seat watching them as well. The fight scenes were artistic, almost like a dance, and I really enjoyed the connection made between martial arts sword fighting and calligraphy. These are important parts of Chinese culture that my students will be exposed to. 

 

Finally, the wardrobe and architecture in the movie is very interesting to observe. The contrast between the emperor and his subservients is very clear through the attire, and of course, actions. There were depictions of the emperor’s palace, a typical home, a calligraphy school (students sitting on the floor to do their work), and also beautiful shots of nature in various environments (desert, mountain, lake, etc). I think that this movie will have lots of things to draw upon! 

 

[Jennifer Chang]

This week’s seminar on Gender and Generation in East Asia was very eye-opening for me. As a Taiwanese American growing up in a relatively conservative family, I found myself thinking about my own personal experiences while listening to the lectures on Confucianism and filial piety. What was most interesting to me was understanding how deep the roots of filial piety was, and the effect that it still has on everyday life and culture of Chinese people. 

 

We learned about Ban Zhao, who lived her life as an exemplary woman, and created the content for how to lead your life as an ideal women in Confucian society. In order to have discipline and order, there was a specific hierarchy that she and other people in her time strived to achieve. Professor Yan presented to us a picture of a family tree, which described who held which position in the family. He emphasized the fact that your existence was determined by your bloodline, and your afterlife depended on your ancestors worshipping you, which is why it is still important in Chinese tradition to pray to the ancestors and offer food and goods. In order to uphold the family bloodline, it was so important to have descendants. In order to have descendants, it was important for women to be married out and find a husband so that the bloodline (patriarchal) would be continued. Understanding this as a foundation gave me a deeper understanding of filial piety and the notion of selfless devotion between family members. 

 

Currently, in my sixth grade class, we go over Ancient China in our Social Studies curriculum. One of the topics that we go over is Confucianism and one of the vocabulary terms is filial piety. This term, given by the textbook, is simply defined as “respect for one’s elders”. In the past, I have usually brushed over this term, and moved onto the next topic. However, after listening to the lectures in this week’s seminars, I will definitely use the materials and resources provided by the instructors to delve more into this term. In addition to the image of the family tree from Professor Yan, I will also include the stories of Mencius provided by Professor Wang and the “24 Stories of Filial Piety” comics from Professor Dube to introduce filial piety to my students. It will also be interesting to hear my students’ thoughts on this term as we discuss the stories that were used to “teach” people how to be filial in Ancient China. 

[Jennifer Chang]

I have been to the Japanese American Museum in the past, but never on a docent led tour. This time, we had a wonderful docent (retired principal) who gave us some personal stories that tied into the different exhibits. Hearing his stories definitely made the experience feel more raw and authentic, and helped me to undersatnd the suffering that the Japanese Americans had gone through when they were forced to go to these prison camps. At one point, he pointed out that the pictures taken at the prison camps were all of smiling faces. He had us think about whether the photos were a true depiction of how the people were feeling at the time. I think this would be a great exercise to have my students do, and then have a discussion about whether the photos that we see are really what we think they are. 

[Jennifer Chang]

What a great experience! I have never been to the Korean Culture Center, and I really enjoyed learning more about our docent's personal life as a 1.5 Korean American, and her perspectives on gender growing up. I am sure there are many things that differ from 1st generation and 2nd generation. I loved that the museum also included a model of what their homes looked like in the past - I am sure that seeing this would give any student or visitor a chance to imagine themselves living during that time. Lastly, I enjoyed walking through the entertainment portion of the Korean Culture Center. It seems like Kpop, video games, entertainment are a gateway to learning to about Korean culture, and I am really glad that they have gained so much global popularity over the years. 

[Jennifer Chang]

These readings would be a great primary source for students to understand how and why people were convinced to take the side of Communism, as well as go over how to make persuasive arguments in writing. He Zhen argued that Confucianism was at fault for poor treatment of women, and even quoted Ban Zhao’s teachings as “poison that filled the world”. She gave several arguments, and followed them up with multiple points from readings, examples, laws. She even had a similar theme throughout her argument - “Everyone needs to eat”, and referred back to this several times in her writing. 

I also enjoyed Professor Tran’s teaching style today as well. She focused on primary sources, and presented quotes from each of these sources to the class. She had the class analyze the quotes, and asked very directed questions about each of these quotes. I felt that the discussions that we had today really helped me understand the ideals of the revolutionaries and feminists at the time.

[Jennifer Chang]

Hi Zoey, 

I really enjoyed reading your reflections on Professor Tran's lecture today! While my middle schoolers do not cover this particular topic, I agree that I can use some aspects with my elementary students. I really liked the question you posed for your students "Why were men considered hunter gatherers...etc" These are really great introductions to discussions about gender roles in the past. I look forward to starting these conversations in my class! 

[Jennifer Chang]

Wang mentions that an ideal women through Confucius teachings can be described through virtue, talent, and beauty. She argues that women have not been “victims of patriarchy”, but rather are seen with a rather important and prestigious role as a mother, wife, and daughter. Wang’s interpretation of the role of women in Confucius ideals were very interesting. She describes that women’s capabilities through Liu Xiang’s examples and stories are celebrated rather than undermined. While she describes all these perfect examples of virtuous, talented, and beautiful women, I can also see the amount of pressure and expectations it puts on the women!

 

[Jennifer Chang]

Thanks for sharing! This is going to my second year teaching Ancient China, and I have been looking for resources to better teach Confucianism with my 6th graders. I will definitely be using the Mencius' story as a reference when teaching Confucianism this upcoming school year. Maybe as an introduction and hook, I will have the students analyze the pictures without telling them the stories first, and see what they come up with. Then we can analyze the stories and have them come up with the values that are shown in the story. 

[Jennifer Chang]

https://www.rfa.org/english/women/woeser-09302008132134.html

 

I chose poems by Woeser because I was interested in learning more about conflict between Tibet and China, and felt that my background knowledge in this area was very limited. This made it a bit challenging to understand the poems at first, but after a bit of research, I was able to come across more information about Woeser’s personal life and her activism for Tibetan human rights. Woeser did not learn much about her Tibetan past until later in life, and realized that her father had secretly been a Buddhist. After learning more about Tibet, she began to write short stories and poems about the lives of Tibetans. Because of her work, she has been placed under house arrest and has been under close watch. 

 

“Return to Lhasa” was really interesting to read, because it showed Woeser going back home, but feeling far removed from it even though she physically there. Everything was built up to cater to Chinese tourists, and even souvenirs were made to be sold as “authentic” Tibetan products. I noticed that she used words like “huge”, “enlarged”, “imposing” when describing the new things that were built in Lhasa - possibly a sense of taking over what used to be there. 

 

She is very cynical in the beginning of the poem, and then it takes a different tone towards the end. She starts to feel nostalgic when interacting with the Tibetan people and heads into the Hall. It seems that she has a slight glimpse of hope as she stands in front of the statue, and then can’t seem to find it in her last line “I hear only a wind in the abyss.” I think her words are really powerful, and I would love to learn more about her and her work!

 

[Jennifer Chang]

Thanks for sharing your story, Joy! I find that it is very easy to make assumptions and as teachers, it is really important to step back and think about what might be causing our students to act a certain way. I really think that You Jin's stories about her students would be great to include for a teacher workshop! I can imagine the great discussions it would spark. 

[Jennifer Chang]

I really enjoyed learning about Professor Yasar’s Ozu’s postwar film analysis and reading Castro’s Vanished Men, Complex Women. We were able to analyze the film clip by clip, which really helped me understand a lot of the nuances in the film that I otherwise would have missed. I definitely think I will use this type of exercise with my students, instead of watching the entire film and having them answer questions at the end. 

 

The article states that “women did not become stereotypically “modern” by working in an office or wearing Western clothing nor were they steadfastly traditional by virtue of being housewives or wearing traditional clothing.” It was really interesting to see examples of this in the film. We saw women still upholding the tradition of serving men such as when Noriko pours sake for her father’s friend. However, we also saw what more progressive women would look like - Ayako living by herself with her job as a stenographer, dressed in Western clothes, and divorced. It also seems that the transition did not happen full force - they seemed to be in that in-between phase of holding onto old traditions and values, but with a new outlook. 

While I might not be able to use this is middle school, I can definitely use some of these scenes to have the students compare and contrast gender roles. 

 

[Jennifer Chang]

Thank you for sharing!!

[Jennifer Chang]

Hi Joy! 

I like how you pointed out the physical touch that occured at the end of the film! I also noticed it, but didn't think much about it until you menitoned it. The subtlety of the touch along with the monologue beforehand really does showcase the father's love for his daughter and that he does want what is best for her. 

[Jennifer Chang]

Hi Celeste, 

I also appreciated our discussions on the definition of gender, and think that this is a great introductory exercise and discussion to use with our students. I would also like to include more discussions of Women and Confucianism, as I see this similar theme occuring in the past three seminars so far. 

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