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Ying YuI like your topic about Chinatown. Before I came to the U.S, I have no idea of Chinatown looks. Four years ago, When I first arrived in Philadelphia, I went to Chinatown with my husband. I feel so comfortable because Philadelphia's Chinatown is so similar to China. I enjoyed those foods by using less money. Each time when I missed my hometown, I will go to Chinatown to eat food. When I saw those foods, my sad feelings go away. I miss the time in Philadelphia Chinatown.
Ying YuYing YuI was a student who studies engineering in Shanghai. I also worked in Shanghai for one year. I feel Shanghai is such a modern city. So fast and crowded, so many people. I get a deep understanding of the Chinglish:"People Mountain People sea" in Shanghai. Everyone is so busy, and they value money so much. They think the time is money. So efficiency is the priority thing in their life. Many big companies are located in Shanghai, and the price of apartments is so high. Now the price properly catches up to Hong Kong. The working class is struggling for their home for the next generation.
Ying YuI feel so impressed with the Dwellings in Beijing, especially for the picture of the internal design structures. I think so impressive about children's living place near the front door and far from adults. In Confucious's opinion, children should respect their parents and sacrifice for their parents if needed. So children were not protected so well as nowadays. They also had to greet their parents when they wake up every morning. They needed to learn all the rules from their parents. And the out wall of the dwelling is without any windows, which shows the ancient Chinese focus more on their family members, and they also need to protect themselves from others. I believe the construction idea is similar to the Forbidden City.
Ying YuAfter learning this lesson, I would like to teach the idea of Yin Yang to my students. I love to teach them poems. I want to introduce some books of Yin Yang Philosophy to compare with some English books that include philosophy of western culture to teach my students. Such as “ I-ching” and "Huang Di’s Canon of Internal Medicine" , the main idea of those books includes the Yin Yang. Also, I will find some videos for them to help them understand the Yin Yang idea better. So after the basic concept, they need to search online to find more information about Yin Yang. Fengshui will be a good topic for them to explore.
Ying YuI have been to Suzhou Garden in China, and Japanese Garden in the U.S. Suzhou Garden pay attention to many details, like artificial hills, plants, cravings of the buildings, etc. The whole garden is dedicated—so many rooms with different functions. The inner of the building is darker and colder than the Japanese facilities. The rooms of Japanese buildings are smaller than Suzhou Gardens, but with more sunshine. Based on those pictures, I feel that the spaces for Chinese people is for walking and taking; however, the Japanese rooms' function is more like sitting and thinking.
Ying YuI happened to learn Tea culture last year. I have learned that in ancient times, tea was a rare item in Japan. So they valued tea so much that they conducted the tea ceremony late to respect tea. They needed to clean before drink the tea, and they could not talk during the drinking. They also respected people who knew the knowledge of tea. The idea of Japanese Green tea was because they not only want to drink the tea, but also wanted to eat the leaves of the tea. So the made the green tea power from those tea leaves. In ancient China, they also respected people who knew the tea well. The famous people is Yu Lu( 陆羽 )。We call him the the Saint of Tea. But we don't have tea ceremony.
Ying YuFrom the reading, I get the idea of Japanese buildings better. Because of wars, plenty of Chinese buildings has been ruined. Thanks to Japan, we can still figure out how the Tang Dynasty looks. From the reading papers, I find that the decoration of old Japanese buildings is the same as traditional Chinese buildings. Like the colors of the upper pillars, they both used blue, gold, red, and green. Those are conventional colors in Chinese buildings. Also, the second paper mentions the use of wood in Japan. In my view, I believe it is because Japan has lots of earthquakes, so use wood to build houses is the safe way. The picture of wood Japanese buildings also reminds me of the Japanese film Rashomon, which happened in front of the big wood Temple.
Ying YuFrom the reading, I get the idea of Japanese buildings better. Because of wars, plenty of Chinese buildings has been ruined. Thanks to Japan, we can still figure out how the Tang Dynasty looks. From the reading papers, I find that the decoration of old Japanese buildings is the same as traditional Chinese buildings. Like the colors of the upper pillars, they both used blue, gold, red, and green. Those are conventional colors in Chinese buildings. Also, the second paper mentions the use of wood in Japan. In my view, I believe it is because Japan has lots of earthquakes, so use wood to build houses is the safe way. The picture of wood Japanese buildings also reminds me of the Japanese film Rashomon, which happened in front of the big wood Temple.
Ying YuThanks for Vin's Videos! I will teach those famous buildings for my students, like the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. I will combine with historical backgrounds of why those ancient Chinese built those renowned buildings and how they could achieve those goals. Moreover, as a person from Fujian, I would like to talk more about Tulou. They are fantastic buildings in Fujian. Based on historical records, many Han people moved from the North area of China, like Henan and Shanxi, to Fujian in ancient times. The earlier people were living with local Yue people, and they produce a new mixed culture in Fujian, which is Minnan(闽南) Culture. The culture conveys the old Chinese languages and cultures. Others who were late to Fujian because of war, most of them now are living in the NorthWest part of Fujian, their tongues are different from South Fujian People. Those people are called Hakka. They built the Tulou to prevent the invader. I will tell students the histories of the Fujian People.
Ying YuHi Dennis, for your question about " Chinese Axis Mundi ideas to fit their traditions," I believe so. More than that, Chinese culture influence a lot in Japan. Like Confucious ideas of loyalty to your masters, and the concept of Zen (禅)is also from China to Japan. The idea of Zen focuses so much on thinking, and they believe our minds can be enlightened by a sudden understanding, which makes people's thoughts more broadly. Can you imagine that? Wooden clog， Kimono and Susi are also from China.
Ying YuYing YuYing YuFor the reading paper one, I know there are many underdeveloped areas in the big cities. Mainly for East Asia, there are many super big cities. How to help them to overcome the poor is a challenging issue. I don't know if they destroy their old buildings and build a better environment works for them or not. But I believe a clean environment can achieve higher efficiency and they will have healthy bodies. For the second reading paper, I think it is so attractive for modern people to understand ancient China. Ancient Chinese people believe that everything should have regulations, and every people in the system should obey the rules without breaking them. If someone violates the laws, others may view them as someone who is out of mind and unrespectful. Like buildings for the emperor have the special regulations. If someone uses the same size as the emperor or even uses better materials, they break the rules. As a result, they may get death.
Ying YuFengshui is a fascinating topic in China. Actually，we also need to know the Fengshui of house, the Fengshui of the tomb, etc. As the old proverb says: The most important thing to determine your life is fate, the second one is fortunate, the third one is feng shui. I like your topic of Nuo. As you mentioned, "Nuo is an old folk dance," That is very interesting knowledge. I didn't realize that. I will watch the dance on Youtube and share it with my students.
