[Richard Cate]

My initial reaction would be to look on the Time of the Qin (Legalist) as straight forward. The State is All, it supeceeds personal connections and has in efect become your family. In which case you would be morally obligated to turn in your father for the good of the State.

However, the Qin law, which is still the basis of Chinese Law as far as I can find, is very comprehensive, It has so many crimes, degrees, and punishments listed that I doubt any but the most brilliant law schollars knew them all. It also took intent into concideration. Once arrested, usually on information provided by neighbors who didn't like youor by what the myriad of neighborhood spys reported you were guilty until and unless you could prove yourself innocent. That was especially hard to do because family members were not considered reliable and if not believed would be subject to torture to prove they were bearing false witness as were any witnesses in your behalf. 

As a prisoner you would be tortured until you confessed, if you persisted to protest your innocence the degree of torture was increased. Needless to say they had a high conviction rate. The length of time you took to confess was a determining factor in your sentence by the judge who heard your case, no jury. You could state your lack of intent to do wrong, your remorse and willingness to make restitution but as I said you were unlikely to have many witnesses come to your defence.

The punishments were not always death as the simplistic level of knowledge we (or our students) look up in the course of the debate implies. Punishments were harsh but were set to fit the leel of the crime. Anything from a fine, to caining before the sentencing judge, being whipped through the streets, The widespread use of wooden collars and cages worn from 2 weeks to 3 months and you had to be on public display during daylight hours, they might chain a heavy stone around your neck to be carried around on publicdisplay as well. 

Another common practice was to tatoo your name and crime on your face. Convicts had to wear red to signify themselves as convicts. 

For more serious crimes it was common to have one or both feet cut off, to have your nose or ears sliced off. Many were sentenced to exile into work at hard labor on public construction projects. and of course to have your head cut off, be cut in two or to be quartered either by blade or for more public showings for crimes like treason by being tied to horses and pulled apart. (

Public execution is always a big crowd pleaser, it gives the people a day off and a day in town, There is much betting on various factors from which piece comes off first to if the prisoner has time to scream. It is important because it reinforces confidence in the State and the Law. An evil doer was caught and fairly punished. For this purpose it is not important that the person be guilty or innocent, simply that the State has ben proven just and powerful. It means that execution of prisoners that is not done publicly serves no purpose to society.)

Later dynasties would add "cut and kill" Where the guilty would be cut into pieces in a systematic and proscribed way, starting with the eyebrows and moving from less critical parts to the more important. By the Boxer Rebellion it had been refined to be called the death of a thousand cuts. The executioner would use a VERY sharp blade and dance around the condemned and make small razor like cuts, making sure to not hit vital parts like arteries. The point was to hit nerve rich areas, pasusing to rest and to allow the pain and anticipation of an almost endless process to sink in on the prisoner, who would be revived if they passed out. They would eventually dies of blood loss. This was not outlawed until after a French soldier took photos of the process and Westeners forced the Empress to stop the process. (Foreigners occupied and controlled much of China at the time.)

So do you turn in your father? Familys were held accountable anc culpable of crimes, so there is an reasonable chane you woulf be punished as well. But I think a young zealous member of the party, as it were, would feel mandated to turn him in. Whither rewarded or punished. In NAZI Germany you were rewarded for turning in a family member for questioning and reeducation, the same for early communist Russia.  

I would guess that close to 100% of our students given the question would say NO.

[Richard Cate]

I was introduced to the Chinese Philosophy Debate way back when the China Institute was at UCLA. I have used it in my classes with much success but not in ways that you would expect. It is very hard to conduct the debate in a single class period, breaking the ice and getting everyone on topic takes a while.

I assign the groups (I use only Legalism, Confucianism and Taoism, because they are so different that each other, 7th graders don't deal with subtle differences well.) Have them do the research, back before COVID I had them then gather in groups and: 1. pick a spokesperson who would give a opening position speach. 2. develop the arguiments for the strength of their philosophy. Why it is "Best." 3. (Next day) examing the strengths and weaknesses of the other philosophies and make counter arguiments to their expected positions. finally, 4. the debate itself.

Some classes are real duds, but in most it is the super-students who thke the lead in the research but very often it is the students that never turn, in assignments, who just watch and listen who take the lead and argue the most passionatly. My favorite comment was from one of those "F" students who came up after class and said: "If this is the best way to teach, why do we waste all that time answering questions from the book?" I went on to design alternative lessons for her that allowed her to use her gifts of seeking truth and knowledge rather than random facts. I try to do that with the entire class but indemendant study was her desire and strength so We adapted. From then on she spoke up and asked some very penetrating questions that kept even me on my toes. When I ask them at the end of the debate what they got out of it the most common response is that it takes all three philosophies in balance to create a successful government.

I use and try the lessons that the trends of the day promote but I get the best results from Lecture and inquiry. I care less about them getting the facts right than that they can make an arguinemt and back it up somehow. I get about a 85% pass rate on my final exam, which is an essay. "Trace Western Civilization from The fall of Rome to modern times using one strand of information (Trade/economy, Sicence/Discovery etc.) Giving 10 linked chronological examples. An "A" paper should include an introduction, 10 or more paragraphs for your examples and a conclusion.

They do this in the 52 minute period and they do complete it. Then I also taught Oedipus to 6th graders to illustrate the way the Greeks say their relationship with their gods. (It was a less explicit version). We need to challenge our kids and expect high results. That becomes hard though when we give free grades in distance learning. Sigh.

[Richard Cate]

We again came upon a historical figure that is not considered to be real but a composit figure in Lao Zi. He didn't really exist, no one could have done all that, the usual arguments for figures that can't be documented well. But, we do it for figures that are well documented also. William Shakespeare is a perfect example of that, he couldn't possibly have written those works, he had to be ghosting for a "important" man kile Bacon and so on. Homer could not have been one person who wrote the Epics of the Illiad and Odysssey.

We have a disturbing tendency to need to knock down genius. The Athenians, creators of democracy could not abide anyone who stood above the crowd, they tried to take down Pericles, they killed Socrates and Alcibiades. They made it clear that you had to be good but not too good.

Yu the Great, King Arthur and so many others are believed to be myths of a different age. No I do not think that Yu moved mountains and controlled the floods or any of the bigger than life things thay created as a myth ar=ound him but I do believe he was a leader of brains not brawn who used the power of trade to fund public works that created not an empire but a coalition that built dikes and irrigation channels to get some control of the flooding, that using mutual interest that made it more important to tradr than to conquer. And like other examples of a similar trade cooperative when one partner became too rich, tried to exert control it came apart. The Nok People in Africa are another example of this.

We judge everyone by impressions, by rigid thinking that everyone needs to fit into a specific roll.Thomas Edison was considered "Twitterpated" and kicked out of school because he was always searching for other ways to do things and wanted to know why things were the way they were, his 1093 patents would lead you to conclude that his teachers missed the call on that one. And Albert Einstein, considered slow and with a non-academic future did ok as well.

How does this all reflect on instructing my students? Well first off, Dont judge the book by its cover as we are all told. Look for each student's gifts and guide them through their gifts to understanding and a thirst to know more to go farther. Help them develop wings to soar.

Second, we should remember that all history is biased, that we have multiple sides to examine before we can understand the events of even the most simple event. Arturius the Romanized Briton "king" of Cornwall lived in the 400s. No knight in shining armor and not "King of All England" in any modern sense of the concept. But, that doesnt mean he didn't exist. We can trace the mythization (is that a word?) of his story through modern times as a story tht is used to tell the lessons of their time and to be altered to meet that need.

Should we question our "Heros?" The real man in all cases was flawed and as imperfect as any of us, but don't we need those myths and heros to give us a reason to hold on and strive to be better? To live up to the ideals they represent.

 

[Richard Cate]

The symbol of the Yin and Yang is too often looked at just as a set of opposites: Darkness and Light, Masculine and Feminine, good and Evil, Perhaps more importantly Order and Chaos. Often overlooked is that there is a part of the opposite at the core of the other.

We all desire Order, but without Chaos there is stagnation. Most of Human invention comes out of war or disaster, when we are forced to stretch our boundries and find solutuons to problems we never imagined beforehand. We are at our best in these times when working as a group is needed for success and we feel enfiched because of our part in that mutual effort. Then we fall back into the search for wealth, power and self-gratification until we create another disaster. It is the way of the Dynastic Cycle, which can be observer not only in governments but in every aspect of our lives from business to our personl relationships. Success leads to complacency, diminished cooperation and very often to failure.

Who was it that asked "What is the sound of one hand clapping?" It is nothing! It requires Cooperation, working together for a common goal to produce that sound.

[Richard Cate]

It is a given fact that the Earth heals itself if given the opportunity. But, increasing population has ment that it no longer has that time. So if we are to maintain a global population of over 2.5 billion, a figure we exceeded in the 1950s, we will see an increase of enviromental damage that changes the world we know. The true problem is beyond understanding, the enviroment/world/universe is so comples and has so many interconnections that we will never control it. 

Ignoring this for centuries has created an economic dynamic that requires constant growth, that requires more bodies to keep the machine running. More to work, more to consume. As we need to work harder to prepare for modern jobs at ever increasing cost for that education, we delay having families and limit them due to the cost of raising them to the age they are productive. All this adds up to fewer people to opperate tha economice machine from workers to consumers.

Humans like the world we are in opperate in a system of checks and balances. It becomes a "Catch 22". There is a tipping point where the system cannot sustain itself. When governments see this they act like the reactionary group that they are. They find short term fixes, never trying to understand the entire problem just treat symptoms. War is often the solution that they come down to, fix your shortage by taking what somebody else has, and defer the problem down the road a few years. 

Reacting to the story of the lack of rural children and the massive growth. of urban population. If you look at one possible effect (I used to be military, so I think in terms of threat) South Korea has 90% of it's population in how many cities? 10 maybe. So a nuclear North Korea can fire 10 weapons, kill or injure the majority of the opponets population and leave the bulk of the country untouched. Few targets, easy victory. (Ignoring the possible response by the United Sttes or China).

If we were wise enough to have leaders that look at cause and effect and to soultions that are long term many of our troubles would never be noticed because we had kept them from happening. If only that was who we picked as leaders...

 

 

[Richard Cate]

On a planet coverd in water it is hard to imagine that there is a shortage. But, many civilizations have fallen because of lack of water. It has been the driving force of many of the most dynamic engineering projects in Man's history and disruption of that water has taken down many a city under siege. In 455 the Vandal king Genseric taking retribution for a broken treaty attacked Rome. To defeat the city walls he tore down the aqeducts and the city opened its gates under an agreement that the Vandals would not destroy the city or kill the people. He was good to his word the took loot and some captives but left Rome standing. But without fresh water the city was reduced in a few years to just a few thousand inhabitants , unless you count the feral cats.

We keep seeing in the news the threat ow war between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, the same most reciently between India and China. All this for a region that has no apparent resourse, menerals or manufactured goods. Think control of the water from the melting snow pack that feeda so many major rivers may be the reason?

[Richard Cate]

Hello everyone!

My name is Richard Cate. This is my second go-round with this course. My advise is don't miss a minute, wonderful stuff.

I am a 7th grade History teacher at Sepulveda Gifted Magnet Middle School. I am finishing my 27th year opening eyes and minds to the world that was and shall be.

I spend a great deal of time teaching bith China and japan as the lessons from their history can be used to explain events in any time period or culture. The advantage of a very long history is that it provides its own repetitive lessons. With the coming of COVID I have spent a great deal of time teaching the samurai practice of Zen, for both the calming effects of Mushin (No Mind), and the extrodinary work ethic. Things like there is no menial task there is only that which needs to done, and in all things one should strive for perfection.

I have been to Japan and love it. My favorite city is Kyoto, the old hidden parts of the city especally. I have not been to China yet. I had 2 trips set-up leading a student tour, but outbreaks of SARS caused each to be canceled. I wold like to do an adventure vacation driving the great wall (along its path not on it) from the coast into central China.

I look forward to working along side of you for the next several months.

[Richard Cate]

I consider myself to be a Zen-Catholic. Zen is a practice not a religion and can be incorporated into every aspect of our lives. We live in a society that rushes to do everything, we rush to be adults (except for the responsibility part, of course) we rush to work, eat in way too many cases even to make love. Everyone is stressed, angry and performing all theit tasks to a degree lower than we could be doing.We settle for the half-baked, the unsatisfying and the incompetent as being acceptable, and even convience ourselves that it good.

We look in "Big Pictures" but not in long term, we lack the serenity that allows us to focus, to compete, to create and to succeed. We short change our bosses, our spouses, our children and ourselves and our society all because we are in a rush. And it doesn't make us happy.

The Japanese have had time to relax our minds and spirits built into their system with the inclusion of Zen into their culture. The chance to empty ourselves of worldly things and center ourselves at our core of strength and energy, then expan our perceptions outward without thought or effort at control Just letting our body and mind do what it already knows what to do, and by doing so find peace and tranquility.

I do a lesson with my students after sharing personal stories about Zen experiences in my own life where they empty the desk of everything except one pen. I have them put it down and then not touch it. tell them when we start that they need so sit without moving, talking or thinking. Just focus on the pen, take long slow deep breaths, relax and focus on their hearing. I tell them that the first thing they will likely hear is their heart beating, stomach digesting, the blood rushing through theit ears. Tey are then to slowly reach out their hearing to identify what they hear, people outside, next door even as far as across campus, tdentify the cars, trucks, planes passing by.

I set a timer for 5 minutes and tell them if they are doing it right that it will pass like a moment and if they arent focused it will seel mike forever.Most all do a good job of it and don't realize the passage of time and everyone talks about what they could hear. I one time had a student at about 4 minutes cry out "I think I've reached Enlightenment!" The plus to this is you get one 5minute part ouf your school year of complete silence. (By the way I tell them it will help them on test scores, trusting their minds to find the right answer. I ask how many times do you put down the answer then outthink it chane it to a worong answer. As long as you listened, read and did the work the answer is there. let it come out.)

[Richard Cate]

The USC US-China Institute is how professional development should be done. Given by people who are passionate and knowledgeable about what they are talking about. Treating us like interested participants in a shareing experience. As a result we learn so much we can't process it the first time. Most classes we take the feeling is how soon is this ordeal over with and I can go home and forget everything I was forced to listen to. The US-China Institute's seminars are quite the opposite, it is oh, no it's over! 

There are so many ways I can incorporate the information into lessons for my students. I look After the Thanksgiving Break we will be focused on China for the remander of the semester, followed by Japan and Korea to begin the next semester after Winter break. I think they will get a kick out of the East Sea/Sea of Japan issue and it will provide the chance ot spiral outward for many discussions and essays. The last few years it has become increasingly difficult ot get the students to  invest themselves in what they are learning (after all they have all answers in the world, to any problem they might encounter sitting in the palm of their hands on utube, why bother to tire themselves out putting it in their heads--or am I sounding cynical?) 

I refer back to things from different cultures as we go through the year, trying to have them understand there is no one way to look at things, no one right answer, and that we all do better if we learn to respect other cultures and ways of doing things. The etiquette of Japanese business as a point of interest but to help teach them about our culture's standards of etiquette. How diferent places and situtations call for different standards of behavior. I might have them do an assignment on how their own cultural behaviors compare, I think they might find that there is situational behaviors in their own culture as well.

I want to thank you for the opportunity to participate in this experience. I look forward to joining you again on my quest to learn it all. It was wonderful! 

Richard Cate

[Richard Cate]

I have long loved the complex simplisity of classical Japanese architecture. I am most impressed with their soulitions of solving load bearing issues. The scope of buildings has always been limited by hoe these issues were solved with the materials and technology of their time. The Japanese solution of using a mixture of the materials at hand in what became a seemingly seemless merger of stone and wood seems unique to the Japanese. 

[Richard Cate]

Hello group! My name is Richard Cate. I have taught at Sepulveda Middle School's Gifted Magnet for 25 years. When I began I was just like most of us who grew up in post WWII America, I knew almost nothing about Asia. The Japanese were still looked on in a demeaning way, Japanese toys for example were concidered trash toys (made out of tin with sharp crimpings on the edges. they did have an interesting and distinctive smell.) China was hidden away in isolation ubder Mao, I' not even sure if the Chinese Exclusion Acts were abolished yet. 

I had to teach Asia for my world history classes so I began to read and found mre ways that I could teach about our culture by using features of Asian culture. I had a break through when I participated in the Pre 1900 China seminar when the institute was still at UCLA. And have used what I learned there and expanded my knowledge about Asia ever since. I look forward to learning more with each session of these seminars.

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