Block+A+Journal+JonathanK

2/19/09

I thought the part where women had a lot of rights before the Choson Dynasty stood out the most. Most of the time, I believed that women had almost no equal rights with men, but when I read the handout, I saw and realized that women had a time where they had equal rights with men. Also, I never knew that women had almost no rights equal to men during the Choson Dynasty. I believe that this is not an exaggerated part of history because I feel this is all true. Even if we look in today’s society, we can see some of the factors of Confucianism from the Choson Dynasty.

2/23/09

If the Rabbit is too smart for his own good, owl is the brain, piglet..., pooh...?

I believe that pooh is some what of a guy that believes in everything of what the smart guy says. For example, when owl asked pooh to describe how to spell "Tuesday"

2/26/09

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

"Rule by inaction" means that the ruler should let the people do whatever the want, if it doesn't go against the rule. If the ruler enforces the law over the citizens too much, then it may cause some disruption in the peace and so on.

3/11/09

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

The right mindfulness and right conce

4/1/09

 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.

4/3/09

4/10/09

What do you find most shocking about what you have read so far? How do make sense of such cruelty?

Up to the point that I read so far, I found out that the incident that happened in Nanking was so similar to the Holocaust in Europe.

4/28/09

4/30/09

Do countries have an obligation to compensate each other for injustices done on the time of war?

Countries cannot blame on each other for injusticies during the time of war. In war, both side of the war are doing injustice action, such as destroying cities, killing each other, and massacring a population of the world.

5/7/09

What did the US have to consider in regards to China and the Yalu River?

According to the reading, what was the reason China entered the war?

What effect did it have on the US, ROK, and UN troops?

By the Chinese troops intervening into the Korean territory, the amount of people being killed increased a lot. More people lost their homes and some of the army did not have the chance to fight back until the later part of the war, which was pretty unexpected. Due to the Chinese intervention, more death occurred, and people became uncomfortable with all the war going on.

5/11/09

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

"Shattered Faith" means that the faith that the author held of was shattered or broken up. During the whole course of the story, the author was unable to see their child and heard no news from the child until the late 1900s. I believe the faith is just shattered, not demolished, is because that there is some faith if the child is still present at that time. For example, the author may have lost faith during the Korean War when she did not hear any message, but she was able to during the late 1900s bringing joy and somewhat happiness.

6/2/09

Notes From the Documents

7b:Changes during the summer of 1966

Who: Far-East Economic Review When: sometime in 1966 What purpose: the author tried to describe the first few weeks of the Cultural Revolution in Shanghai Summarize main point: Revolution started indoors-->Colleges, schools, industrial enterprises, organizations, etc. Mostly students and workers Between 10th~21st August people started procession (March). Praising Mao and books about Mao. Red posters for anti-revolutists. Some places of business had their doors sealed with red posters until the demand of the red guards have been complinted Supporters of Red Guards and Anti-Revisionist (Deng Xiao-Ping) became popular What Important Information: Posters and Portraits of Mao have big role in cultural revolution People became more aggressive Acted against anti-revolutionary people Effects: Cult of Personality Significance of the source: Tells the reader what the Cultural Revolution was like in the beginning. Told what kind of people were popular Explains what methods people use to change the mind of anti-revolutionary people

7d: Reactions to Mao

Who: Written by Middle School Teacher and another by a 19 year old people. When: sometime in 1966 What purpose: Teacher was amazed to see Mao Zedong --->Mao = God To show that the student was going against the Communist party and Mao Significance: During the Cultural Revolution, people started to believe in that Mao was like a Godlike figure Shows how people think about Mao in two different perspective Some people were happy Red Guard -> labelled the teacher as Counter-Revolutionaries Violently beaten up by students and then committed suicide Second Letter Not everyone was part of Mao’s Cult of Personality Not everyone liked Mao Sentenced to prison, but released 1979, after the Cultural Revolution

7e: Red Guards Smash the Four Olds

Who: Written Red Guards at Beijing #26 Middle School When: DOES NOT SAY Purpose: To show the beliefs that the red guards held. The type of faith that the red guards held during the revolution Main Points: Smashing four olds: Old culture, Customs, Ideology, habits The Red Guards showing the support from Mao Tell everyone to smash revisionists, imperialists, and bourgeois goods And all thing not in accord with Chairman Mao’s thought How Mao Zedong thoughts should shine out throughout the world List of ways to establish the new China: Quotes from Mao, Songs Important Information: Red Guards smash the four olds Effect: met support from everyone in China <- Grown Significance: Roam support

7f: Burning Books

Who: A student at the Beijing #11 Middle School who witnessed a book burning When: Does not specify Purpose: to show some of the harshness of the Red Guards and how radical they were and unforgiving they were Summarize: All except Mao’s books were burned Black Gang: Beourgeois Red Guards had leather belts and hit the Black gang Yell nationalistic slogan The Red Guard forced the Black Gang to stand in the fire Some teachers cried due to the burning of the books Red Guards: Violent Reflection --> Student treasures the books. Effects: Does show the violent of the Red Guard Make the people to question the Red Guard Significance: Shows what is really going on with the Red Guard Questioning the motives of the Red Guard Not allowed to fight due to the parents of the Black Gang

6/5/09 7 Questions

Questions on Reflections on the Cultural Revolution pages 82-84

//**When was this document written and by whom?**//

This document was written by the CCP Central Committe on Jun 27, 1981.

//**According to the document, who was largely to blame for the excesses and mistakes of the Cultural Revolution?**//

According to the document, Lin Biao and Jiang Qing were blamed for the mistakes of the Cultural Revolution because they committed crimes behind his back, which brought disaster in the country and people.

//**What errors does the CCP believe Mao was responsible for?**//

The errors that Mao was responsible for was negating the correct principles, policies, and achievements after the establishment of People’s Republic. Also, another error that Mao was responsible for was when he made Lin Biao and Jiang Qing into power for a short period amount of time. Because of giving power to these people, it brought disaster to the people. Another error was that Mao’s thought of the class system was different from what he thought of. It states that, “entirely erroneous appraisal of the prevailing class relations and political situation in the Party and the state.” Although there were no class system in China after the turning into a Communist Nation, but Mao always urged people to take down the capitalist and the bourgeois in order to have equality.


 * //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?//**

Mao is most responsible according to the document because he was the one that gave power to Lin Biao and Jiang Qing bringing disaster. This shatters the idea of Mao being the great leader of China because Mao himself made several errors and mistakes and sometimes negated himself with what he believed in.


 * //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 believes that the consequences of the Cultural Revolution were that it brought disaster to the people of the country and caused some disruption in the country. Also, some people were considered to be the leaders of the Capitalist Party in the government, but the article states that it never existed. In the first point, the Cultural Revolution just simply negated what Mao Zedong actually wanted in the country. Looking at his idea of Communism, he wanted to have equal classes in the country, but during the Cultural Revolution, even though it became a Communist nation, many people were falsely accused of being a bourgeois. The second point criticizes about how Mao Zedong believed that there was a “bourgeois” party in the government, but it never existed at all. Liu Shaoqi was falsely accused with irrefutable information that he was part of the bourgeois party. The third point discusses about how some political Party organizations were no longer available in the country because there were no supporters of the organization and they were rejected by the Communist party. The fourth point discusses about how the “Cultural Revolution” did not have any beneficial aspects to the country. It states about how there would be economic improvements when “one class overthrows another.”

//**Why do you think the document mentions achievements made by China during the Cultural Revolution?**//

The document mentions about the achievements made by China during the Cultural Revolution in order to glorify China once more again. The writer criticizes what he had done to the people as a whole, but he talks about achievements made by China saying that the Cultural Revolution did bring some beneficial factors to the country. I believe the writer still wanted to glorify China as a whole.

//**Describe the tone at the end of the document. Why do you think it ends this way?**//

The tone of the document became more calmer and it did not criticize the Cultural Revolution anymore, but looking more into the benefits that the Cultural Revolution brought. Also, nationalism comes into play