[Jonathan Tam]

Much like how the economic spending of the Chinese differs from that of Americans, I found the issue of poverty also much more nuanced. In China, the issue of poverty generally stems around the lack of resources in rural China. In the United States, this is also very much true - but cities in particular articulate the prevalence of poverty in cities. China’s plan is primarily focused on rural china, where countries, towns and villages are the site for reeducation and assimilation. Especially because the goal is to eliminate poverty by 2020, it will be interesting to see what the next few years look like and what the aftermath of this initiative will be like.

[Jonathan Tam]

I am incredibly inspired by Simba’s efforts towards preserving lions in Kenya. I definitely think that it brings about a new meaning to what it means to be a global citizen and this is something that I hope Chinese, Africans, and everyone around the world will be inspired to do something about. His actions on a much larger scale present the need for more global awareness to be cultivated. Sometimes it does take an outsider, like Simba, for the native Kenyans to understand that lions on a more global level are dying. And despite the fact that they might be the source of their pain, they are a species that we may lose one day as a result of excess killing.

[Jonathan Tam]

As a science teacher, one of the most important things to science is phenomenon and scope, which is something that Professor Yamashita provided in his lecture. He began with the geographic beginning to Japan, which was an island that was created 20,000 years ago geologically and flooding shaped the islands into their final shape 15,000 years ago. This means that compared to most geologic structures, Japan is relatively new. This would allow for a lot of life to mix with the mainland compared to the most recent hawaiian islands, which were formed by hot spots 400,00 years ago or India, which was formed by the tectonic collision 75 million years ago. He also went into the genetic footprint that was kept among Japanese regions - such as fingerprint patterns and blood types. And the emergency of language that came about from both the east and west. This sets up a unique platform for foreshadowing Japan’s future, which is heavily influenced from the outside - but given Japan’s unique geography, leaves it with some place to evolve on its own.

[Jonathan Tam]

One of the discussion points that resonated most closely with me was the evolution of cosmology in Japan. Professor Yamashita began this segment of the lesson through the analysis of vertical and horizontal cosmology, which civilizations develop their religious beliefs from. I found it uniquely interesting that Japan didn’t embody some level of horizontal cosmology as an island away from the mainland. Much of Shinto and the mythic consciousness feels similar to other religions. There is an underworld, a heaven, a human world, and even an origin that stems from two figures branches out in a pantheon-like structure among their children. I’m certainly left curious as to where the jump was made from this early mythology to emperors. Whereas China’s leaders declared a mandate of heaven when rising to rule, I wonder of Japan’s emperors did similarly.

[Jonathan Tam]

In the two records that were provided of Japan, I found the descriptions of Japan incredibly helpful for understanding the relations they had with other countries. They also do a great job in describing the aristocracy in Japan and culture. But beyond that, the descriptions are also incredibly comical to read. One of my favorite lines in the accounts is in the History of the Kingdom of Wei where Japanese excursions to China are described. “When they go on voyages across the sea to visit China, they always select a man who does not comb his hair, does not rid himself of fleas, lets his clothing get dirty as it will, does not eat meat, and does not lie with women.” There is an awkward attention to detail that resonates throughout the accounts and translations of accounts. The accounts really went well with Professor Yamashita’s layer of history throughout classical Japan. There was certainly echoes of whimsicality that carried through from the accounts to his lecture in learning about the Land of the Dwarves.

[Jonathan Tam]

Hi everyone,

My name is Jonathan Tam. I teach at the School of Social Justice at Miguel Contreras in Downtown LA. I teach Physics and Astronomy, but I also do a bunch of other little things for our school including our school's restorative practices and a few of our school's justice-themed clubs. This will be my first time going to East Asia and my second time leaving the country, so I am very excited to take everything in. I'll be trying to pick up a little bit of mandarin in the weeks before hand and keeping my ears open for any tips on packing for this trip.

In my spare time: I enjoy films, hikes, video games, and museums.

[Jonathan Tam]

I’m always blown away when people approach their craft with passion and this was very much the case with Professor Ye and poetry. Something that Professor Ye discussed extensively was the structure that poems follow. Mandarin poems generally followed 4 turns and cantonese poems generally followed 9 turns. Elements such as antitheses, heptasyllabic phrasing and rhyming were common in these poems (but not always necessary). Professor Ye went on to say that the couplets of a poem are structured like a human - each with a head, chin, neck and tail. The head opens the poem and the chin continues this variation. This allows for the neck to approach something deeper and the tail to present a “picture of the poet.” I found his descriptions so enticing as well as some of the ideas he shared - poetry being that which is lost in translation as well as it being for your ears and not necessarily your eyes. It’s certainly an art form that I would like to look more into given this exposure.

[Jonathan Tam]

As Professor Ye describes, “Life is Miserable. Life is Miserable because of Desire. Put an End to Misery by Destroying Desire.” This simply put if the foundation to one of the first religions he mentioned, Buddhism. He went onto describe the 8 Fold Path to seek Nirvana, as well as some of the denominations that began to form in Buddhism through Mahayana (Mission) and Hinayama (Self-Cultivation). The most interesting part I found in this was when Professor Ye describe how increasingly commercialized Buddhism became and how incredibly commercialized it is today - to the extent that you even need to pay to go to temple. There are definitely facets of this in other religions, but Professor Ye went on to compare that you can freely walk into churches around here and that’s not the case with Buddhist temples in China. It almost reminds me of the Vatican, which requires payment to see parts of the area including the Vatican Gardens and Sistine Chapel. Where there is desire, there is opportunity for profit. But in a religion that is meant to destroy desire, this certainly becomes a paradox.

[Jonathan Tam]

Something Professor Ye touched on early on was the difference between philosophy and history. Philosophy embodies truth and history accepts truth was how he describes it as he went into a discussion on how translation and poetry appear to be more philosophical remnants of this time period rather than historical ones - ones that must be left up to interpretation. The Peach Blossom Spring is a poem that Professor Ye touched on as the ideal outcome during the time of conflict in the formation of the Qin Dynasty, but the potem is left up to several different interpretations. It depicts a visitor who visits China through a narrow path only to find a utopia in Beijing that has been cut away from the world. The visitor stays and then leaves to show their ways to the others. It definitely leaves up to interpretation what conflicting philosophy reigned supreme in the debate of salt and iron.

[Jonathan Tam]

I really enjoyed going to the Huntington Collection as well as seeing the different gardens compared side by side each other. The docent first brought us to the European garden, which is full of wide open spaces with statues of people erected on the perimeter. Nature is kept tame in the center and pushed towards the outside to allow for people to sit and play. This is very different from the Chinese garden, which is built around nature itself. The docent had mentioned that Chinese gardens generally try to put bridges and roads on the perimeter rather than consume aspects of nature. This partially reflects the ideology of daoism. Chinese gardens erect large stones instead of people and allow you to see multiple facets of nature within one view. As you look across the pond, you can see fish swimming, the wind blowing through the trees and the white rocks on the side all within one view. The idea of view is something that strongly contrasts the Japanese garden, which doesn’t allow you to see everything within one view. Something unique about the Japanese garden is that it is built in walls and boundaries. There is a garden for bonsai trees and a separate one for stones. The docent had mentioned that the Japanese believed in nature being the centerpiece of their gardens (like the Chinese), but that the Japanese focused on taming and upkeeping nature to fit their liking. Bonsai trees are cut routinely and stones are pushed into the shapes of curves and waves. I very much anticipate returning to the collection again to take a look at these gardens again as well as the rest of the collection.

[Jonathan Tam]

One of the most interesting readings that I saw in this Seminar was on the tenant contracts that developed as a result of land trade that flourished in the Zhou Dynasty. I was amazed by the level of specific conditions that were drawn up in these contract to the extent that mortgages were arranged between different parties. The establishment of specific contracts can also be seen in the purchasing of concubines, workers, cattle, adoption, and business partnership. They appear almost like sentence frames in Ebrey’s chapter on Commercial Activities. It is argued that these contracts came about from the early Confucian views that distrusted merchants and profits, which makes sense because contracts ensure a fair understanding from both parties. I’m certainly curious as to how this manifested itself throughout the changes of different dynasties. Did this practice continue even in times of massive political change?

[Jonathan Tam]

To hear how the philosophy of legalism grew to be the strongest ideology among the four prominent ideologies during the formation of the Qin dynasty makes sense now after reading Ebrey’s Qin Penal Servitude. The severity of the punishments and details of the laws seem very explicit. The Penal Servitude laws in particular convict certain individuals of crimes that made require them to provide labor until the fine is paid, but I’m amazed by the number of conditions that are listed that allow for individuals to move forward. Aristocracy, gender roles and relationships are all accounted for in these laws as a result of the prominence of legalism.

[Jonathan Tam]

One of the most resonating anecdotes shared in seminar today was how leaders and warlords of the late Shang used Oracle Bones. The reading provided a lot of context as to how the bones were used for mobilization, childbirth and weather phenomenon. But, Clay added a lot more to the fact that oracle bones were typically Ox scapula and were read by the cracks that appeared on it. The messages that were read in each prediction definitely made me wonder how many did not come to fruition. I can only imagine that oracles that predicted well were heavily used, but that oracles that would predict wrong to be punished.

[Jonathan Tam]

The most prominent piece of today’s seminar was the lingering effects of confucius. His proverbs, quotes, and way of life are well known throughout the world and have almost been the face of China. But, what I found to be even more interesting was how confucianism was challenged by a bunch of other valid and well-thought ideologies. I was very much new to some of Daoism, Mohism, and Legalism - but to see how they share elements with each other and debated each other during this time of warring states was the most interesting to see. I’m certainly left with the question of how confucianism made its way out to reach western cultures the most prominently.

[Jonathan Tam]

It was interesting to read about how the end of Japan’s rice age is not a result of the crop being less farmed but rather less consumed. With sushi being less desirable among the older generation as well as sake, it makes a lot of sense as to why Japan’s rice age has fallen. Some of the proposed solutions, including feeding the rice to animals, sound pretty interesting; but, I’m certainly curious to see if this will impact the international market.

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