Block+C+Journal+Soyeon+Jeong

2/19 Please take a couple minutes to respond to the reading. What stood out for you? what do y ou think of it, is it exaggerated?

Confucianism has always been more patriarchal than matriarchal and the fact that Korea only discriminated women later on because of Chinese ideas seems exaggerated. Every society since the ancient days have been male-dominated and although Korea may been less so, it still was patriarchal before it became Confucius. Confucianism also has the idea of husband to wife; that the relationship must be with a dominant husband and an obedient wife. I don't think that it is true that Confucianism doesn't have any gender rules.

2/23 If Rabbit is too smart for his own good, Owl is the Brain, what are Piglet... Pooh?

Piglet is simple and is very similar to Pooh. He is not prone to change or new events; he is closed minded. At the same time, he is Taoist, in the way that he is very simple and does not try to force things or think too deeply. Although not completely like Pooh, or completely representative of Taoism, Piglet does have many Taoist factors. The difference is that Piglet often times is too much of a supporter and hardly thinks at all of her own decisions. While Pooh does not over think but does think about his decisions, Piglet does whatever others do. Piglet tends to agree to the things a person with more leader like characteristics does.

2/27 The Tao says that the ruler should "rule by inaction" How do you make sense of this? Is it at all possible?

Ruling by inaction is simply allowing certain things to happen and not interfering with the natural flow of things. This natural flow of things is the way the people of the nation act and although they may not be Taoist, and thus not be completely natural, a ruler should not rule with force. Overruling a population or trying too hard to change will lead to the decline of the empire or government. The ruler cannot rule oppressively either and it is not possible to do this because the ruler most be oppressive to a point in order to be able to control the people. A ruler cannot Not only will the ruler want to keep the power, but they must make some sacrificial changes.

3/11 Explain right mindfulness and right concentration. Do you see how you could apply this to your daily life? Why or why not?

Right mindfulness and right concentration can be applied to daily life if we do not think of it too literally. It also states that we must be simply concentrated and understand things that are happening now. It means that we should be open to different types of possibilities and not be stubborn to stick to one concept. Right concentration means that a person should be focused on a certain aspect, and applies mostly to meditation. Meditation is not a common habit in our daily lives, and would have to be for us to apply right concentration in our daily lives. Humans usually do not question or criticize the principles of our lives, and our minds are confused because of all the distractions. Right concentration means that we are completely focused on what happens now and the way things are instead of complaining. Meditation allows us to discipline ourselves and follow the 8-fold path.

4/2 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.

Since Japan was able to adapt to outside changes extremely well and make reforms that helped their society. Not only did their economy improve drastically with the Westernization and industrialization of the nation, but so did their rigid social class. Samurais were no longer the head of the society, and merchants got more power as trade became more important. Because of these drastic changes, the fact that the Professor felt old is not surprising. For the British, who went through the same industrialization process, but took a much longer time, it is reasonable that they felt that their time process was slow, compared to that of Japan. The fact that the professor feels old because of the fast developments of the Japanese is what he means when he said he felt 400 years old.

4/6 Japan had to Westernize or be destroyed.

Because the Western European power had been so successful in industrialization, they had an overwhelming power over nations that had been relatively isolated, like Japan. With their guns and superior weaponry, they were able to colonize regions in Southeast Asia, in the Americas, Africa, South Asia and other regions as well. Because of their superior weaponry, if the Japanese did not Westernize, they were bound to be colonized and destroyed. However, with Westernization came industrialization which helped the Japanese economy as well as weaponry. Thus, with rapid Westernization, they were able to challenge the Western European powers.

**4/13 What do you find most shocking about what you have read so far? How do make sense of such cruelty?** Although it is difficult to make sense of the barbaric acts the Japanese took during the Rape of Nanking, it must be understood that it was from the brainwashing the Japanese underwent even as children from the education system. The shocking things that I relate this too is the bayonetting of babies that were then thrown into boiling water. This was similar to the killing field of Cambodia where they slammed babies on trees because the deaths of babies were not even worth any bullets. The soldiers who had surrendered were beheaded and thrown into the Yangtze River, which was infiltrated with blood. The group raping of women, who were afterwards killed to get rid of evidence disgusts me as well as forcing family members to have sex. The disgusting acts of the Japanese, the propaganda and censorship in the media as well as the militaristic education system caused the brainwashing of citizens for hatred of the Chinese.

 **4/28 Do you think it was safer to be a communist or anti-communist during the Korean War? B and C only**
I believe that it would be safer to be a communist during the Korean War. Although it would have probably made that much of a difference during the time period, as both sides were killed in masses, communists did have a little bit more protection.


 **4/30 Do countries have an obligation to compensate each other for injustices done in time of war?** Compensation is necessary, but who this compensation is decided by must be carefully monitored. How much compensation they need to pay and who decides this can be a very controversial subject. An important consideration is that the nation paying the compensation will not be able to because of their economic situation. If a country is in a very bad economic situation after the war, it is not reasonable for them to be asked to pay for another country. Although punishment is necessary, it is not possible for the nation who had committed war crimes to pay ridiculous compensation when they cannot even take care of their own nation substantially. This occurred with Germany after WWI, and it only led to an economic depression in Europe, which affected world trade during the time. Also, it also led to hatred within Germany of nations such as France who had decided that an excessive compensation was necessary.

 5/8 Explain the meaning of "Shattered Faith" how does it relate to the story?

Unlike the "Toll of Innocence," the title of this chapter seems to say that having too much faith is dangerous during times of chaos and war. The innocence was a price to pay for survival and having too much of this faith was being too naive and innocent. This faith was bound to be shattered. Hongyong had believed that her son would return and she was disappointed. Her faith was shattered and she did not mentally survive as a strong woman, but instead started to do nothing. However, Husband instead was not naive and taught the children to earn money during the difficult time. He was able to keep some hope and have some faith in the future. Yet, Hongyong's future seemed to be dictated solely by her eldest son, which caused her faith to be shattered when she did not have anything else to rely on for faith.

5/26 Who si the subject? Describe what you see. How is the subject portrayed?

Mao Zedong youthful in the middle mountains red scroll, the color of communism god like figure

5/29 Reactions to Mao

2 letters written in 1966 by a Chinese middle school teacher and a 19 year old student : different reactions to Mao

- teacher: "I can't go to sleep...I decided to make today my birthday" - visited Beijing and the Red Guards called him as counterrevolutionaries - committed suicide - student: total opposite to the teacher; wants to withdraw from the communist youth party of China - sentenced to prison for life - released after the Cultural Revolution

Changes during the summer of 1966 - students wanted to spread Mao's thinking - conducted Cultural Revolution - first stage of the C.R. - concentrated on denouncing anti-party - indoors - second stage - active outside - drums, songs, slogans - propaganda began to spread - national flags, slogans, Little Red Book - "Long live Chairman Mao" - middle school students became the Red Guards - hung posters - changed the name of the street shops, enterprises, etc.

Burning Books - except for the books that had the portraits of Mao, they burned every single books - thought that the books contributed to capitalist ideas - books = bourgeoise - Black Gang = people who were enemies of the Cultural Revolution - the black gang were abused and was forced to burn the books

6/2 What do the pictures say about the revolution? Categorize the pictures into the Four Olds.

Buddha teared down Religious figure (Confucius) with derogatory writing all over it

Buddha being burned in a bonfire; statues are being burned

Nuns in a row, being shamed publicly. Shamed because they represent Christianity, which was an old belief. People had to wear daizibaos, which publicly shamed themselves.

Dunce caps: publicly shaming people Store owners with signs related to the four olds Teachers, owners of books related to the four olds Publicly shamed on a stage,

6/4/09

__Questions on Reflections on the Cultural Revolution pages 82-84__ 1) When was this document written and by whom? The document was written by the CCP Central Committee on June 2, 1981. 2) According to the document, who was largely to blame for the excesses and mistakes of the Cultural Revolution? The excesses and the mistakes of the Cultural Revolution were often times blamed on Lin Biao and Jiang Qing. They were blamed for the most severe setback suffered by the Party since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. They were blamed for rigging up two counterrevlutionary cliques in an attempt to seize supreme power and, taking advantage of Comrade Mao Zedong's errors, committing many crimes behind his back, and more treason. 3) What errors does the CCP believe Mao was responsible for? The CCP believed that Mao was responsible for creating a revolution that did not confom to Marxim, Leninism or the Chinese reality. The Cultural Revolution is stated that there is something completely different. The appraisal of the prevailing class relations and political situation in the part and the state created a revolution that attacked class struggle, when there was no class struggle to begin with. He believed that there was a bourgeousie class whent there wasn't. Also, he gave the four officials power, which allowed the officials to work behind his back. 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? According to the document, the Gang of Four seems to be the most responsible. Even after the Cultural Revolution, 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. The CCP believed that there were four mass consequences. The first consequence is the gray area between right and wrong; the difference between right and wrong was unknown. The second consequence is that the confusion and chaos caused the people to believe in the enemy; the enemy of the Party. The third consequence is that the revolution was that it was separate from the organization of the party. Lastly, there was no class struggle to get rid of, so the Cultural Revolution had started, but was essentially unneeded and only brought damage to China. 6) Why do you think the document mentions achievements made by China during the Cultural Revolution? The document mentions achievements made by China during the Cultural Revolution in order to praise Mao. He had used propaganda in order to create more power for himself and although the Cultural Revolution hindered much of the 7) Describe the tone at the end of the document. Why do you think it ends this way? The tone at the end of the document shows a sense of pride of the Cultural Revolution, although it does also criticize the effects of the Cultural Revolution. The errors of Lin Biao and jiang Qing are repeated, but the overall sense of pride for China to build hope, nationalism, and pride for China.