Block+C+Journal+Alice+Ahn

- I was surprised at first that women were able to have properties, and numerous wives treated equally without ranking because it was totally different from Choson Dynasty. I do agree that there were some differentiation between man and woman however, I still think that the author exaggerated the event. No matter if you are a daughter or a son, your family loves you equally; they do not treat you like house maids.
 * Please take a couple of minutes to respond to the reading. What stood out for you? What do you think of it, is it exaggerated?**

- Pooh, in the book, represents Tao. Unlike other characters, Pooh thinks in his own way, living everything as it is, and not becoming obsessed with education like Owl is. Instead, Pooh suggests realistic solutions to each incident in the book and leads the plot forward, playing the role of the author in the book. Without Pooh, nothing would have progressed and the characters would have been struggling over things. Pooh could be viewed as being stupid and ignorant sometimes but he is described as the only one who has the most common sense and knowledge in the book. While Pooh is very obvious in his characteristics, Piglet is very hard to determine. Piglet is playing the role of the median in the middle of the characters, managing the relationship among the characters. In the Chinese philosophy, Piglet also represents Taoisms but in a simpler way than Pooh.
 * If Rabbit is too smart for his own good, Owl is the Brain. then what is Piglet and Pooh?**

- Taoism believed that interacting or over-acting with subjects will only bring chaos. This belief applied to every subject in the society, including the throne and the government. The Taoists believed that the kings interacting too much with people's lives will lose the right to rule the king because the king who tries to hold the power will obviously lose his people. Rulers should stay out from people's lives as much as possible so that the people won't leave their ruler. This is possible theoretically but not in real life because the ruler tries to maintain power when they obtain power.
 * The Tao says that the ruler should "rule by inaction" How do you make sense of this? Is it at all possible?**

- Right mindfulness is acknowledging oneself and focusing on the current events, the things that are going on. Right concentration is focusing on objects or anything that can help one to meditate, and develop further mentally and personally. These two rights can be applied to one's daily life for educational-wise and personal-wise. Meditating is for self training, learning to control oneself so that one can notice oneself better. Meditating in spare time, such as yoga or any other exercise, would help one to rest, gradually developing one's ego on the way. If right concentration can be applied only to certain limited time, the right mindfulness could be applied to every single situation. Since one is acknowledging oneself, one can know the limits and strength, therefore developing the strength to be used in the future and improving the weakness one has. Focusing on the current situation, noticing the slight change going on in the community or people, developing the foresight to become the enlightened one.
 * Explain right mindfulness and right concentration. Do you see how you could apply this to your daily life? Why or why not?**

- The quote by the British Professor means that Japan developed rapidly and greatly. Japan went through drastic changes in communicative way and financial way. Japan developed railways and established the postal offices. The changes Japan went through were so dynamic and gradual that the professor felt like he saw the mechanics and transportation in the future. This gives an image of the rapid development of Japan to the readers.
 *  In describing Japanese development, a British Professor in 1873 declared that he felt 400 years old by the end of the century. Explain the historical context behind this quote.**

- Japan had to westernize, considering time period and the situation she was in. Japan was constantly receiving imperialist threats. In order to save the country, westernization was necessary or else Japanese would have lost their country completely. By westernizing the country, Japan developed its' industry, and economy, strengthening the country and making it to be in one of the most powerful country during the period. Japan's westernization was necessary because that was the only way to save Japan from falling into foreigners hands.
 * Japan had to westernize or be destroyed?**

 **What do you find most shocking about what you have read so far? How do make sense of such cruelty?** **- The most shocking part of the event was the Japanese soldiers treatment toward women and children. Japanese soldiers treated women and children brutally, giving them a pain that would make them suffer for a lifetime. Each and every women were tortured, raped, and then killed because they considered the women as "a pig" (50). The Japanese soldiers killed so many children and people that they turned the Yangtzu river into a bloody sea. After reading this book, I researched a little more for the event and found out that there are people who denies the existence of the Rape of Nanking, claiming that this whole thing is over-exaggerated and that Chinese soldiers were the ones who actually killed and tortured the Chinese. This was more shocking than the actual event because those words give more pains to the survivors of the massacre and it can create a more disastrous consequence; the whole massacre can be forgotten among the people. Japanese soldiers were committing these crimes because they thought by raping women they would gain more strength and would earn this mystical power that would be resistant to all sorts of evil forces. The Japanese soldiers raped Chinese women because to "protect them," creating an irony at the same time; one is raping for one's protection, and one's being raped, receiving life time pain and suffering and at the same time, bearing a life time humiliation.**

=Quarter 4 Journals:= - It is safer to be a Non Communist than a Communist in Korea, considering their status in the future. People who weren't Communist met their deaths for being accused of being a Communist and people who weren't Non Communist met their deaths of being Non Communist. No matter which side one was in, one was accused of being in either political party and faced their unfair deaths. If people were being accused of Communist, although time has passed, are still considered as enemies and the bad people who were trying to threaten Korea. Even today, people who are considered as Communist aren't considered good as in the past. Therefore, being a Non Communist would be better than being a Communist, who is still accused of being enemies and villains who tried to destroy Korea.
 * Is it safer to be a Communist or a Non Communist?**

** Do countries have an obligation to compensate each other for injustices done in time of war?** - The countries involved don't have an obligation to compensate the physical-done harms but the mental-done harms because their side effects are much more than just physical destruction. The countries involved in war harm each other; they destroy cities, resources, and the land itself, making it harder for the survivors to live on. Each country has destroyed one-another's property, so the physical destruction can be repaired up although it will take a long time. Mental harm, torture, takes much more time to heal, or sometimes it never heals because of the trauma one receieved during the war. For example, the Jewish Massacre done by the Natzis in Germany are continuously apologizing to the Jewish people whose ancestors went through the torture. This apology is based on the painful memory and experience, which is the mental pain not the physical pain. However, if the apology is not done sincerely, then the apology won't be an apology anymore; it will just bring more pain to the victims. Explain the meaning of "Shattered Faith" how does it relate to the story? ** - This chapter was about Hongyong hearing the news about her son for the first time after they have separated from each other. When she hears from Yongwoon's friend about her son's life after the separation and facing the fact that they cannot know if Yongwoon's alive or not greatly shocked Hongyong. After that Hongyong didn't believe in God as she did in the past and basically gave up on everything in life. She even says herself that "The wife of Lee, Dukpil, the mother of five, the God-loving woman, was gone" (253). She didn't take care of her children; she just sat in the tent, not caring what others talk about her and what others think about her. Her world had shattered into pieces and her faith weakened as she experienced no miracle even til the end about her son.
 * 

- In the picture, there is a man standing on rocks, facing against the mountains and the grand clouds, looking straight to the sky. He is holding a fancy, scroll that seems to be a emphasizing the education in some ways. He is tall enough to be just few inches apart from the sky and is illustrated skinny compared to himself in real life. The subject in the picture is Mao and it portrays Mao as a the only man, the leader of all human kind, in the world. He is facing against the mountains and the grand sea, symbolizing his strength and power. He has a fist, which symbolizes that he has powers enough to change the world by himself.
 * What you see in the picture, who is the subject, and how is he portrayed?**

- The Cultural Revolution brought down the religious status, such as Buddha. People burned the religious figures and gave shames to religious people, such as Nuns. They made them stand in the middle of the crowd, humiliating them in front of the crowd. They then forced people who were going against the new idea and tortured them. These people were all humiliated and tortured because they believed in the old beliefs, such as Christianity. The people who were tortured might be innocent from all the blames they received but the new government proceeded these procedures because they wanted to emphasize the danger of communicating with the enemies of Mao.
 * Journal 06/02/09: images from the Cultural Revolution (What does it tell you about the Cultural Revolution?)**

- 1) When was this document written and by whom? - It was written by CCP Central Committee, June 27, 1981.
 * Journal 06/04/09: the discussion questions on __Reflections on the Cultural Revolution__**

 2) According to the document, who was largely to blame for the excesses and mistakes of the Cultural Revolution? - Lin Biao and Jiang Qing. They are blamed for rigging up two counterrevolutionary cliques in an attempt to gain supreme power and taking advantage of Comrade Mao Zedong's errors, and committing many crimes behind his back.

3) What errors does the CCP believe Mao was responsible for? - The CCP believed that Mao was responsible for the power he gave to Lin Biao and Jiang Quing because they committed many crimes behind his back. He was also responsible because of differentiating people by classes, the bourgeoisies. Mao accused bourgeoisies for being enemies and placed them in a different class, when the main idea of Communism is that everyone is equal to each other, no class system in the society. He created the class struggles that didn't exist in the first place.

4) Who seems most responsible according to the document? How does this play into the memory of Mao as a leader and his Cult of Personality? - The most responsible one is Lin Biao and Jiang Quing. Mao's error is that there is no progress and no economic or politcal basis for the revolution so the ones who aided him in the revolution are the ones being blamed.

5) What does the CCP believe the consequences of the Cultural Revolution are? (4 of them) each person in your group read one, and explain it to others

6) Why do you think the document mentions achievements made by China during the Cultural Revolution? - The document gives credit for the significant achievements in industry, communications, and capital constructionand in science and technology. It still praises Mao for his work on China, meaning the nationalism is still present in people to praise Mao.

7) Describe the tone at the end of the document. Why do you think it ends this way? - The tone of the document reveals its criticisms yet praising the country because they have the nationalistic feelings inside them and to them, Mao is still the leader of China.