[Nichole Morales]

In Nancy Lee Swann’s translation, Bao Zhao seemed like she was in a constant state of stress. Words in the introduction I noticed are “distressed,” “feared constantly,” and “disgrace.” I’d like to use this excerpt in my English class to analyze Bao Zhao’s rhetoric to convince her daughters about how to behave. 

[Nichole Morales]

I found this point fascintating too. It sharpens the idea about the extent of the male-focused art.

[Nichole Morales]

I liked how Professor Miyake displayed male and female writings alongside each other and had us look for clues about the gender of the author and discuss the implications. It’s an interesting way to learn about early writing in Heian and Kamajura periods and about the gendered roles of men and women. And there’s so many ways to go with instruction. I’d like to use this strategy in my English class. Right now, students at the high school level are interested in discussing gender issues.

[Nichole Morales]

I agree. I don't think Bao Zhao proposed the idea either. And the topic is a lot more complex than women are simply inferior. Just like filial piety requires the old and young to perform in some reciprocal way, I assume men and women had a similiar balance. A Chinese woman once told me that while her husband may be the head of the household, she is the neck upon which the head finds it's direction. 

[Nichole Morales]

Yan Yunxiang’s discussion on the development of individuals after the cultural revolution interested me. It puts words to what I witnessed when I lived in China. There were stark differences between generations and genders in terms of how individualism presented. For example, in my own experience I found young women born in the 1990s to be more individualistic than young men or people who grew up before 1980. But I had not realized there were such complex anthropological explanations. And so, I’m particularly interested in the ideas of zuoren and how the individual in a collective culture will continue to develop.

[Nichole Morales]

Hello! My name is Nichole. I teach SDC English at a high school in LAUSD. This is my first seminar with U.S.-China Institute and I’m looking forward to learning together. 

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