...Relationship Between the Individual and Society From the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China, China was in the social transformation era. More accurately, people was in the alternating period of the feudal traditional conservative ideology and emerging modern thoughts. Hence, the authors always wrote the stories about how individuals reacted to such social changes. Like three stories, Lu Xun’s “A Madman’s Diary,” Yu Dafu’s “Sinking,” Mao Dun’s “Spring Silkworm” which depict how the individuals’ respond when they face two totally different ideologies or moral codes. These three stories show three different conditions, three different choices, and lead to three different results. One common thing is that all protagonists are suffering in that old society. First, Lu Xun’s “A Madman’s Diary” describes a madman who is the first rebel in modern literary history. The madman was born in the feudal scholar-bureaucrat family, everyone lived around him was bound by the feudalism. However, he was not one of them, he had modern thoughts and yearn for a just society. Unfortunately, he could not find a person with a like-minded goal, and everyone else saw him as a madman. He thought that society was an “eat people” world. For example, he read history intently half the night until he saw the whole book was filled with the two words “eat people”. He thought the history were all wrote about how the powerful people oppress the poor. And he felt sorrow that such merciless history...
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...results, and 280,000 related videos on Youku, which is the China’s largest online Youtube. Some people argue that it is Chinese “Gangnam Style” (Sun). One related video it shows that Chinese paramilitary soldiers are performing a dance of the song “Little Apple” during a show by the local government. On November 24, the South Korea girl pop group T-ara released a remake of the music video of “Little Apple,” and translated most of the words to Korean. On the same day, the Chopstick Brothers performed “Little Apple” at the American Music Awards, where they were awarded the “Best International Music.” “Little Apple” is but one example of a new style of Chinese pop music that has appeared in the last few years. Other examples include “The Most Dazzling Folk Style,” by Phoenix Legend (2012), “So Cool,” by Da Zhang Wei in 2014, CCTV Spring Festival Gala (which is the premier mainland Chinese television event of the Chinese new year), and “Chick Chick,” composed and sung by Rong Wang (2014). These pieces represent a new style of Chinese pop music: “earworm songs.” As Chinese pop music industry, the new trend the style of an earworm song became immensely popular, attracted more people, and had hugely influenced Chinese society. In my paper, I will analyze this new style of Chinese pop earworm music with the particular song “Little Apple” and its affect on Chinese society. Sacks Olivers mentioned that the first time anyone used the word of “earworm” as a literal translation by German...
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...Imagine a painstaking farmer plowing his field for hours under the scorching, pitiless sun, his beads of sweat running down like raindrops, drenching his stained white shirt. Then imagine a neatly dressed, studious Chinese professor sitting in perfect composure, carefully writing his own poetry in calligraphy form, listening to the sound of the west wind lifting the leaves. Now imagine them both in their mid 60s. Do you find the two images rather contradistinctive? To me, they are identical—a man of relatively normal height, with a prominent paunch on his otherwise slender frame. He is my father. A person with such a broad spectrum of interests is usually rare to find, but from the very first moment I arrived on this earth, he was in my life. My father has very close-cropped, always well-trimmed dark hair, and below it are his bushy, determined-looking eyebrows. You immediately notice his eyes, shimmering like a dark, tranquil lagoon; those are the eyes he studies the world, with deep sympathy, looking into the distress of others. He has puffiness under his eyes, resulting from many years of hard-work. His forehead, wide and high—my forehead, exactly—along with his plump face gives people an impression of trustworthiness. He usually has a solemn and thoughtful mien, but when he smiles, it is vast, using the whole of the face, as if he’d been frozen in the middle of a belly laugh. As Joseph Campbell says in The Hero with A Thousand Faces, exploring the archetypal...
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...Matthew Zebro Paragraph 2 Historical Perspective There has been a long lineage of prejudice against women in most eras of Chinese history. One of China’s oldest books, the Book of Changes “divides the world into two complementary elements: the Yin and the Yang,” Yin referring “to the feminine or negative principle” and Yang referring “to the masculine or positive principle,” (Gao 115). Some of the oldest collected Chinese poetry portrays the same level of sexual inequality, like in the Book of Poems or Classic of Odes which shows great distinction in treatment between the sexes, “when a baby boy was born he was laid on the bed and given jade to play with, and when a baby girl was born she was laid on the floor and given a tile to play with” (Lin 131). While there was an underlying divide, it wasn’t until Confucianism that men became obsessed with female chastity and women viewed as sub-servants, even possessions for their husbands/men. According to the Book of Rites “Males had their proper work, and females had their homes” which highlights the emerging ridge between how the two sexes were viewed in society at large (Legge 365). This distinction stood for the different roles that men and women were suppose to assume for a harmonious society. Overall the Book of Rites encouraged feminine virtues desirable from the male point of view ranging from being neat and obedient to performing domestic tasks like cooking and cleaning to respect for the husband’s family and friends...
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...Politics of the Tang Dynasty: Military force helped the Tang Dynasty to enhance the empire’s borders and influence. Power was shared by the scholarly-elite and imperial families (Craig, et al, 2010) and imperial unity was restored reducing aristocratic rule. A Bureau of Censors was established to oversee all officials. Improvements for civil service were done by investigation. Emphasis was placed on knowledge of Chinese literature and Confucian classics. Society of the Tang Dynasty: Wise governing, international trade, national strength and a strong economy established a stable social order. An open door policy was in place and there was a lack of extortion. Economics of the Tang Dynasty: The dynasty faced economic stress due to the focus on the arts and pleasurable existence. Political weakening of power led to further economic distress. Politics of the Sui Dynasty: The 29 year Sui Dynasty built the Grand Canal and began the restoration of the Great Wall. This required over-taxation of the peasants. A rebellion in 618 ended the dynasty. The country returned to a focus on establishing a legal code. The political structure has endured. A central government system united China under a new system. Political unity returned as nomads and nobility were brought together under state control and the bureaucracy was rebuilt. The central government was known as the “System of Three Cabinets and Six Departments” .The three cabinets were a legislative policy making branch, a deliberation...
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...Name Course Name of the instructor Date of submission Asians studies, Introduction The Chinese history has it origin in the northern region where it find reference to dynastic ruler and sage – kings of antiquity. Chinese mythology found a fertile land for settlement in Yangtze, the southern area. Unlike the northern region the residents were able to live relatively ease, to involve in dreams of the supernatural and the romantic. This gave rise to the Chinese literature of metric songs that was different from the classic of poetry regarding their romantic’s spirit and lyrics nature. Songs of the south is sentimental, self- conscious and evokes supernatural spirits as well as outwardly. The greater solo voice of Li Sao was Chu Yuan. His Encountering the Sorrow is the most primitive narrative poem to survive. Chu was a supporter of the ruling house of the territory of Chu. He was an excellent diplomatic but his competency was shadowed by the jealous of his colleagues in the ruling house. His first deportation occasioned numerous brilliant lyrics songs: Outpouring of sorrow, Inquiry into Cosmos and Encountering Sorrow. There were other songs he composed in different banishments (Minford, 2000). Typically, Li sao is allegoric and yet anagogic. It dual, the tristesse and quest. The latter reflects the poet’s sorrow, resentments and complaints against the wicked society the through the malicious misrepresentation has disjointed him with the Fair One he serves. The quest,...
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...Student No: 5904913 Paper: Chin 343 Lecturer: Dr Haixin Jiang Brief outline: This essay takes <Daughter of the river> for an example to analyze the growth of the female in the early 1960s. <Daughter of the river> is written by Hong Ying and published in 1997. With raw intensity and fearless honesty, Daughter of the River follows China's trajectory through one woman's life, from the Great Famine through the Cultural Revolution to Tiananmen Square. From the perspective of content, the novel adopts autobiographical components based on the author's own life experiences, involving in the physical and psychological crisis of the protagonist. This essay will take different examples discuss the growth of female in the modern Chinese literature. outline: 1. Introduction Daughter of the River is a memoir of China concerning the growth of the female in the early 1960s written by Hong Ying. Born during the Great Famine of the early 1960s and raised in the slums of Chongqing, Hong Ying was constantly aware of hunger and the sacrifices required to survive. As she neared her eighteenth birthday, she became determined to unravel the secrets that left her an outsider in her own family. At the same time, a history teacher at her school began to awaken her sense of justice and her emerging womanhood. Hong Ying's wrenching coming-of-age would teach her the price of taking a stand and show her the toll of totalitarianism, poverty, and estrangement on her family. With raw intensity...
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...Throughout this paper we will compare and contrast the cultural syncretism and legacies of the Americas and Africa and the resistance to cultural change that the westerners encountered in both China and India. We will also discuss the factors of these outcomes, and the effects on modern cultures today. Many legacies have been given to us from China and India. China gave us the Great Wall of China. This was built during the Ming dynasty and was built to protect China from invasions from the north. During the Song Dynasty (960-1279CE) the printing press was revolutionized which allowed the transmission of knowledge into China. When Marco Polo arrived in China the Chinese scholar-painters resisted foreign domination. Luxury goods such as lacquerware was a very popular item. Lacquer is a clear liquid made from the sap of the Chinese Rhus verniifers tree. This was used to protect materials from water, heat, and acid. This is still used in todays’ society. Porcelain is ceramic ware produced in China and is still used in modern society. Dinnerware of today along with many gifts are still made from porcelain. The Sub- Saharan Africans were a large community united by kinship and generally were ruled by chieftains. The Europeans were interested in these people for purpose of slave trading. The church was interested in converting Africa’s pagan population over to Christianity. West Africa was believed to be the center of the regions culture. They gave us sculptors, and ritual dances such...
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...he used those experiences to write and became a Nobel Prize winner. A writer of both short and long stories and novels about the ordinary lives, culture and spirit in China, many people were certain he would be the winner. The day the winner was announced, the writer was hiding in his house to try and avoid the media. The media, local and foreign, found his house and camped outside ready to celebrate the winner. As Mo Yan explained to the media during a press conference, he was surprised but pleased he won. Mo Yan, ready to continue with research and writing, would hope the media would not stay long; however, being able to openly celebrate, his country wanted to continue celebrating his success. His win has led to many things: have a literature museum and school named after him, a statue built, plans for a tourist route, and stamps, t-shirts, spirit bottles and many other products made with his name and image on them. With the fame brought by winning the Nobel Prize, pressure and anxiety were present followed. Mo Yan is the second richest writer in China, but cannot decide if he is happy. He explains that he is under pressure and stress, so he is not sure how he can be happy, but having won the Nobel Prize, he cannot be unhappy. Having written stories of mostly of rural life being a ‘representative writer of his generation’ (Wu), he is highly regarded by other writers, as well as criticized for not taking on more social responsibilities. Mo Yan wrote stories like Feng Menglong...
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...CLB 9003 Cross-cultural Studies of Children's Fantasy Literature (1st Term, 2013-14) Term Paper “Compare children’s images in Western and Chinese children’s fantasy literature” Name : So Lok Ching Student ID :4028177 Instructor : Dr Tong Man The development of Western and Chinese children’s fantasy literature varies a lot. Western children’s fantasy literature has a much earlier development process. In Ancient Greece and Rome, there was no distinction between children and adult’s literature, children and adults shared the same literature. Until the 18th century, a remarkable French philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, believed that every child has a unique value and children should not be seen as immature adults. He also emphasized the importance of moral development in his writing ‘Emile’, in which he believed it could be performed by living a simple life. Rousseau’s ideas had a major influence on the development of children’s literature. People raised awareness about children and children’s fantasy literature was flourishing in the 19th century. In this Golden Age, different varieties of children’s fantasy literature were written to entertain children, such as modern fantasy stories and adventure stories. The naughty image of children could be shown in many adventure stories as well, such as ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ (1876) by Mark Twain and ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’ (1883) by Carlo Collodi. Up to the 20th century and recent decades, Naughty main...
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...“Save the children . . .” (Xun 10). The previous quote was taken “A Madman’s Diary” one of Lu Xun’s notorious short stories. “A Madman’s Diary” is a narrative told through the perspective of a man who had fallen into a state of insanity, believing that everyone in his village, including his brother, was cannibalistic and would eat him; however, cannibalism in the story symbolizes so much more. Lu Xun lived from 1881 to 1936 and is considered one of China’s most influential writers. In his work he would criticize the corrupt culture of his country and inspire revolutionary thoughts in his readers. The traditional Chinese culture that Xun was criticizing in “A Madman’s Diary” relates to the Confucian philosophy. Confucianism deals mostly with...
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...Title: Un-Packing Packaged Cultures: Chinese-ness in International Business Author: Can-Seng Ooi Publisher + year: Published online: 10 July 2007 # Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2007 Kew words: Chinese business practices . Chinese management . Critical management studies . Foucault Short summary (approx five sentences): This paper focuses on how the Chinese are represented in the international business literature. Chinese cultures are packaged to make knowledge about the Middle Kingdom more accessible to a general audience. This paper concludes that researchers should reflect on the power they yield when they represent another culture, and that the general public may privilege theories that are accessible rather than sound. The author tries in this paper to un-package packaged cultures, meaning that culture is hard to package, because culture is dynamic and heterogeneous. Main points: This paper is inspired via Foucault’s archaeology of knowledge – Therefore when we look at Chinese literature it is important to ask yourself: What is presented? Who is presenting? And for what purpose? All researchers face the same difficulties in framing a culture into a coherent and yet complex entity. A society is diverse, culture changes and it is at times difficult to differentiate between imagined culture and actual reality. Packaging culture is a difficult task because society is heterogeneous and dynamic. Talking about culture has also...
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...learn? How did the knowledge you gained of African, Chinese and Indian performance traditions help and inform your summative ensemble performance? What kind of problems did you encounter in your intercultural ensemble work? How did you solve them? Were you happy with the results? [This essay does not need to provide evidence of research and academic rigour. However, I would expect it to be written in lucid and clear English!] Throughout this module, there has been strong emphasis on three different non-western styles of theatre. The three styles of theatre researched were; Chinese theatre, African theatre and Indian theatre. Through each style that was studied, many different qualities emerged. To begin with, we looked at African theatre by studying the plays; Anowa by Ama Ata Aidoo and Rise & shine of comrade Fiasco by Andrew Whaley. From these plays I discovered how African theatre looks at telling stories within their plays, Also how a strong sense of colonialism and post colonialism dominates many of their plays, with regards to how the western world has influenced and changed Africa. There is also a lot of emphasis on movements, with tribal dances and movements, along with a lot of dream sequences within theatre from this country. Preceding this we looked at Chinese plays, them being Taking Tiger Mountain which is based upon a novel by Qu Bo, and The White Haired Girl by Ho Ching-Chi. From looking at these two Chinese plays, we discovered how theatre within china is very...
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...stance in China market is not consistent with their mission, it conflict with the principal of fairness and freedom from Google. Because people could not access politically sensitive sites that appear in Google’s result due to the censorship of Chinese government, Google’s comprise with Chinese censorship had oppose to its principal in order to develop Chinese Market. But the truth is Google quit Chinese Market in 2009, because the leadership members of Google cannot stand the accusations from other organizations and customers, and they didn’t reach an agreement with Chinese government , finally Google quit Chinese market, it still follow principal finally. 3.Do you think that Google should have entered China and engaged in self-censorship, given the company’s long-standing mantra “Don’t be evil”? Is it better to engage in self-censorship than to have the government censor for you. 4.If all foreign search engine companies declined to invest directly in China owing to concerns over censorship, what do you think the results would be? Who would benefit most from this action ?Who would lose the most? If those foreign search engine company decline to enter Chinese market, it will accelerate the absolute monopoly of the Chinese internet...
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...Ying Chen and Pauline are best friends for life. They shop, travel, and go everywhere together. In times past, Ying was with Pauline and they planned to go to a clothes shop. While looking at the shirts, Pauline said loudly to herself that Ying can hear her, “I wonder why mountains of things are made in China.” Pauline truly hated Chinese products. Ying and Pauline entered Apple store. Pauline noticed there is always texts that read “Designed by Apple in California Assembled in China.” Pauline scratched her head, feeling a little upset. She said to Ying, “Why does everything in the world made in China? They are so ‘cheap’ and ‘annoying.’ They also have a horrible qualities.” Ying felt like Pauline had insulted her. Ying was a little upset as well. Ying decided to take her to Indian and Canadian supermarkets. She even took her to Kiribatian store (which sells Kiribati [an island in pacific ocean] products). Ying finally said, “I know a lot of things are made in China. But they are not that bad.” Pauline just nodded even though she totally opposed Ying’s point. She won’t even bother to listen to Ying. One day Pauline sat in her balcony. She truly enjoyed the outside view from her balcony. Besides that, she really loves her house. It’s her utopia. She feels like she wants to die if she is not in her exquisite home. She loved how the balcony is shaped in a genius way. She also admired where the kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms, and living room are placed. Pauline shouted “Mooooooooom...
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