[Miguel Diaz]

My participation in “East Asia: Origins to 1800” seminar was overwhelmingly positive and enlightening. I really enjoyed Professor Dube’s insightful lectures on China. In addition, it was a nice treat to learn from all the guest presenters. I also enjoyed reading the thoughtful commentary of all the participants in the seminar. 

I plan to incorporate what I learned about East Asia into my teaching in the hopes that my students will gain a meaningful and deep perspective of the West and Far East. I hope to help my students develop a worldview that’s shape by ideas outside of their century.

I believe that students need to know more about the true history of Western civilization, starting from Ancient Greece onwards. In particular, I would like for students to learn about the schools of philosophy of ancient Greece, the pagan religions, and the scientific thought of the time. By gaining a deeper understanding of the West, I do believe that students will also appreciate the intellectual and cultural traditions of the Far East. However, this can only be accomplished with objectivity and with open eyes.

For example, the spread of Christianity in the West shares at least some parallels with the spread of Buddhism in the Far East. Another example is Aristotle in the West. There is evidence that Aristotle stifled the growth of intellectual development in the middle ages because scholars were so fixated on following his teachings that little room was left for alternatives and for leaps of imagination. A similar criticism has been made about China’s long adherence to a small number of schools of thought, like Confucianism, and later criticism concering the content of the imperial exams.

In his book, The Immense Journey, Loren Eiseley wrote that man is rooted in his particular century, and that “out of it – forward or backward – he cannot run.” I do believe that many modern people are stuck in their century. For this reason, I believe that at least some of our educational practices need to be reimagined. Only by reimagining how we teach and what we teach, will we allow for students to at least walk out of their century.

 

 

[Miguel Diaz]

Thanks for information Professor Dube. I enjoyed reading the article titled, “Teaching Sijo in America” by Mark Peterson. I’m looking forward to learning more about the work of the The Sejong Cultural Society. I might take one of their sijo poetry writing classes for teachers as soon as possible.

I also really enjoyed the impressive poetry which was written by students. I’d like to one day have the opportunity to have my own students submit their work.

While reading the peace by Mark Peterson, it’s suddenly dawned on me that it would be great to create a series of lessons on a trinity of poetry to include jueju, haiku, and sijo. 

[Miguel Diaz]

 Johnny, I agree that Hungry Ghosts and zombies would make for excellent student engagement – which can be used to inspire creativity, humor and deeper analysis. Your ideas are very thorough. I like how you plan to incorporate the historical context of the time period during which the hungry ghosts were created. I believe that your students will gain a better understanding of real life at that time, and they will also gain an appreciation of the social commentary that was made through art in that time period. Your lesson will help students to appreciate the mind of an artist and the reasons why they create art. 

[Miguel Diaz]

Thanks for your comment Morgan. I don’t think there’s any rule against making connections between Nirvana, Maslow’s Self-Actualization, or Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development. You have actually just introduced me to Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development. I am looking forward to learning more about them. 

I am more familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. I have been preaching self-actualization for years. Atul Gawande, in his remarkable book titled, “Being Mortal,” commented that psychologists have in recent years used the word “transcendence” to describe the desire of people to help others -- after they have reached their potential. He went on to say that this transcendence is above the level of self-actualization in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

[Miguel Diaz]

I found the explanation concerning the arrival of Buddhism in Japan to be quite fascinating. It almost seems like a small group of people (the emperor, his court, and the Soga clan played a vital role in the introduction and acceptance of Buddhism in Japan. 

The Mononobe and Nakatomi clans we’re concerned that Buddhism would offend the indigenous kami, or spirits. The idea that natural spirits were living together with people in harmony, especially in nature, is very interesting.

I believe that the introduction of Buddhism to Japan would make a nice lesson if paired with the introduction of Christianity to any country in the West.  

[Miguel Diaz]

It is really difficult to make the argument that religion is apolitical when the leadership of a nation, such as Japan, imported religion as part of a package of continental culture, which they then used to solidify their reign. When I read the phrase “continental culture” as a package, I immediately thought of the bento box lunches I used to eat in Japan. A bento box is a good thing. Faith is also a good thing.

What I found really remarkable, is that Japanese elites were willing to adopt something as powerful as a religion (Buddhism) that was first established elsewhere. I would be really interested to learn if students in Japanese K-12 Schools are taught this part of their history openly and honestly.

 

[Miguel Diaz]

I was surprised to learn from this article that Japan uses a significant amount of coal. 

The article states that, “Coal burning is one of the biggest single sources of carbon dioxide emissions” in japan. Furthermore, it goes on to say that the policy of building more coal burning plants is contrary to Japan’s goal of reducing carbon dioxide omissions.

The article suggests that Japanese policymakers decided to move away from nuclear power, and towards coal, due to the Fukushima disaster. However, there appears to be significant public pressure in Japan against more coal burning power plants.

I would ask my students to do a research project in order to seek answers to the following tasks/questions:

1) Investigate the types of energy sources that are currently used in Japan to generate electricity.

2) investigate the sources of support and opposition to coal burning power plants?

3) Are Japanese policymakers actively promoting (or investing in) alternative sources of energy not involving nuclear power?

[Miguel Diaz]

As a teacher of English literature, I ask my students to pay close attention to the tone (and changes in tone) which can be observed, not only in literature, but in popular culture such as songs and film.

I taught tone a couple of months ago to my students while reading “Charlotte’s Web”.  We have moved on to other children’s novels since.

A student recently asked me, “When are we going to study tone again?”

“For the rest of your life,” I answered him.

The letter from Emperor Qianlong to George III is particularly harsh in tone. I have always understood that, as a rule, diplomatic and foreign policy démarches and communiqués are mainly civil, polished, and highly restrained. Yes, there are incidents when the leader or representative of a nation will say things such as, “We will bury you.” But for the most part, this type of language is avoided.

In the specific case of China, I have always understood that Chinese leaders carefully measure and consider their public words, especially when involved in diplomatic relations with other nations. (Of course, putting aside the ratcheted propaganda, and oftentimes pugnacious language, of Mao’s regime in specific and the communist era in general.)

I may be totally wrong in my assumptions here. I do not know enough about China to draw accurate conclusions. I am left with questions.

Did Chinese emperors (or their envoys) have a history sending harsh, and even mocking letters, to the leaders of other countries?

Was Emperor Qianlong’s letter a result of frustration in having to deal with an embassy from King George III that simply would not take no for an answer?

[Miguel Diaz]

I read the Princeton piece on “Civil Service Examinations” by Benjamin A. Elman. I was really fascinated to learn how much of a central role the imperial examinations played in Chinese social and intellectual life from 650 to 1905. Elman stated that the examinations served as a glue that held together a nation under a uniform philosophical, cultural, and political framework. 

Examinations allowed for an elite literati culture to flourish, a pathway to politics and power, and a massive bureaucracy that unified people under a common goal. Although imperial exanimations were mainly reserved for men from families of means, women played a role in the examination ecosystem. Elman wrote that women, “…followed their own educational pursuits if only to compete in ancillary roles, either as girls competing for spouses or as mothers educating their sons.” In today’s China, mothers play a vital role in the education of their children. 

The most interesting aspects of the article were the challenges surrounding the examination system at the time of its demise. The examination system was under pressure from several forces. First, radical reformers (Neo-Confucianists) we’re pushing to eliminate what they perceive to be an outdated system. They wanted to implement reforms similar to those in Japan under the Meiji Restoration. Second, the leadership in China had to act because they were facing a series of rebellions from within, most notably, the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864). Third, China was under intense pressure from Western Imperialist powers.

The most interesting part of the Qing dynasty’s decision to eliminate the civil service examinations in 1904, was that they did not have a plan in place for a new schooling system. This decision by the Qing dynasty, according to Elman, “…undermined its longstanding partnership with gentry-merchant elites. The dynasty fell before a new schooling system could be put in place empire wide.”

The action of ending imperial examination system without a new schooling system reminds me of Mikhail Gorbachev’s Perestroika.

 

[Miguel Diaz]

Thanks Professor Dube! I’m looking forward to reading all three of your recommendations!

[Miguel Diaz]

I believe that religion in American public schools has always been a sensitive subject. My first stint as a teacher with LAUSD lasted from 1997 to 2000. In my early days as a teacher, I understood that religion was not a topic that one could discuss freely in public schools. This understanding came from both my experience as a public-school student, and later, from my training and work as a public-school teacher. I didn’t think that any of this was out of the ordinary until I lived in China for an extended period of time. 

Foreign teachers in China are strictly, and unequivocally warned, that proselytizing is forbidden both in schools and in public places. But the strange thing is: I actually never felt afraid to mention religion while teaching my students about western literature. I taught students at the primary, middle school, and high school levels. I made two things clear. One, that I was not promoting any type of religious beliefs. Two, that to understand the west they needed to at least attempt to understand the Judeo-Christian traditions which have shaped the west and which are often referenced in works of literature.

I taught mainly Asian kids. Most of my students were from mainland China – while some were from Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.  I assumed that most of them were of the Buddhist faith, though I didn’t ask them. But I am sure I also taught followers of various other faiths.

I used to tell my students that all faiths are legitimate – and families and individuals have the right to believe in whatever religion they’d like – or even in no religion. 

I dared to say this for many years in China, but I do not dare say such at any American public school. I oftentimes wonder if there really is a true separation of church and state in American K-12 public schools. I have known for many years that students are more likely to read “The Confessions" by Saint Augustine at secular private schools in America than they are at public schools.

[Miguel Diaz]

1) LAUSD - salary points

2) Name of my school - Blythe Street Elementary School

3) Employee ID number - 1153987

Thanks for everything! This course was superbly organized and delivered impressively. I really learned a lot and I’m looking forward to introducing these new ideas and concepts in my classroom.

 

[Miguel Diaz]

It doesn’t matter if Marco Polo actually visited China. As mentioned in the video lecture by Professor Dube, Marco Polo’s accounts of China are at least partially verifiable, such as his descriptions of Suzhou; and some of his omissions, such as foot binding, can be explained.

This leads to similar questions in the West. Who wrote the Bible? Were Homer’s descriptions in the Iliad and the Odyssey entirely his own? Were they composed by a single author? Interestingly, according to historian Donald Kagan, historians of ancient Greece treat the Iliad not just as a poem but as a historical record from which inferences are made and conclusions drawn.

Marco Polo’s accounts of China were more a testament to the power of storytelling and human creativity. Furthermore, they demonstrate how great storytelling is passed on from generation to generation. And where there is storytelling, there is embellishment.

[Miguel Diaz]

I really liked the Northern Song cheat shirt with all the Chinese characters written on it, which were innocently tailored to refresh candidates’ memories during imperial examinations. I don’t mean to be critical, but the characters look too obvious with a plain background. I wonder if a tie-dye shirt would’ve worked better to hide the characters.

I am interested in learning more about the imperial examinations. I’d like to know if there is a definitive, or at least a highly reliable, source/book on the subject.

[Miguel Diaz]

I was surprised to learn that women played an important role in the growth and development of Christianity in China. In the introduction to her book, Professor Mary Li Ma argues that the role of women in Christianity has been marginalized in both the mainland and the diaspora of Chinese communities. It would be interesting to study the similarities and differences on the roles that women played in the development of Christianity in the West and China respectively. It has always been my impression that religions, like political organizations, have always been predominantly dominated by males. Or as Professor Ma, might argue, the men have taken all the credit for nearly everything.

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