How the Cultural Revolution Reading Cleared up "To Live"

The reading on the Cultural Revolution cleared up a lot of what we saw in “To Live” this time. As we saw people who had been loyal to the communist party suddenly be persecuted as “capitalists”, we understood that this was the effect of Chairman Mao turning against the communist party in order to promote “true” communism. Also, because we read about the “Four Olds”, we could understand why in the hospital, there were no doctors to be found: only young women who clearly had no idea of how to handle Fungxia’s condition.  

How “To Live” Brought Out Life Under Mao During the 1950’s

Not only is “To Live” telling a story of a family living under the worship of Mao during the 1950’s, but it also shows how life under Mao really was. In the first part of the movie, you can see things start to change when the Red Guards begin to paint pictures of their beloved leader Mao Zedong everywhere; when Erxi first meets Fungxia, he soon after gets himself and the rest of his Red Guard friends to paint a large mural of Chairman Mao on Fungxia’s family’s wall. This shows how loyal Mao’s Red Guard “army” was to him and how much unconditional trust the Red Guards and the people of China had in him. You can also see this when the man comes into the middle of the village with low quality steel just recently produced, yelling about how he had made enough steel to throw canons and Chaing Kaishek’s house. This proves how much trust they had in Mao because they trusted that the amount of steel Mao was requiring them to make was enough, when really it was not. The same situation goes with their food supply; when any good event occurred, the people in the village would feast, unknowing of the famine that would come in upcoming years. The Chinese people had exponential trust in Mao; even though he had given them no warning that they were using their vital food supply up. 

Two Main Themes of Ming and Qing

Ming and Qing Themes in a Nutshell

Dear Journal,

      If I had to categorize the Ming and Qing Dynasties and tell you what the main theme of both was, I would have a hard time.  Huge changes and developments occurred during these 600-or-so years. I would probably tell you that the core developments and growth during the Ming Dynasty were economical, but also multiple political. The first thing that comes to mind politically is the infamous Forbidden City; it was built in Beijing during the Ming Dynasty to defend the northern frontier of China. By doing this, in cause and effect, the Grand Canal was extended to Beijing. Not only did Yongle extend the Grand Canal, he also renovated/ rebuilt the Great Wall, which had been wrecked. This was a huge accomplishment. Soon after, one of the biggest political and economical movements of these 600 years was about to be made. Around 1400, Yongle launched the Ming Treasure Fleets under a Muslim eunuch, Zheng He (aka, Zheng He’s voyages). During this time, Zheng He basically travelled overseas to pronounce that the Han was back. Zheng He’s huge fleet was made of 400 ships, or “floating cities”, as some call them because of their massive size and capacity. These “floating cities” carried up to 30,000 troops along with many others of the Chinese people. Approaching a new land, Zheng He would hop off one of his “cities” onto the shore, silk, books, and china in hand, reaching a hand out for alliance with the nation before him. The main objective of these trips was to spread the word that China was once again the “Middle Kingdom.” These voyages pretty much set the tone for the Ming Dynasty. If Zheng He was to be faced with the question of “what is the main theme of the Ming Dynasty?” the probable response would be “comeback.” At least I think that this was one of the most significant events of these 600 years. But back to economics. during the Ming Dynasty there was also a population boom. From that “boom” came an agricultural revolution, which obviously would affect the economy. The last thing that comes to mind was how China was open to overseas trade at Canton. Since there was a huge European demand for silk, tea, and china, the European traders and Chinese profited generously. Now onto the Qing! If you ask me, the Qing was all political. First off, beginning in 1644, the Qing Dynasty was the first since the Mongols to be completely ruled by “barbarians.” The first two emperors, the first being Kangxi, the longest ruling emperor in the history of China, and the second Qianlong ruled about 60 years each and both did so well. Unfortunately, by the middle of the 1700’s, China’s relationship with the west was deteriorating. When Macartney makes his famous visit to Qianlong, he proposes that China become open to free trade and allow an English Embassy in Beijing (both offers were declined). Not only did this anger the British, in effect of the lack of trade caused by this, they began to smuggle opium into China for trading. The crises that followed this were fatal to China. The events to come (The Opium War, the Taiping Rebellion, the Second Opium War, the Sino-Japanese War, and the Boxer Rebellion) were five events that ended the 2,000-year tradition of imperialism in China. So, if you ask me, the Qing was just a combination of political changes, crises, and catastrophes that led to the end of Imperial China and the beginning of the Republican and Communist era.  

Caroline

Best of Wave Three- Top Five Highlights

# 1 ~ Shaolin Kung Fu


The origins of Kung Fu, an art still practiced by people today's origin dates back to the Northern Wei Dynasty. The Shaolin Temple, 30 miles from the capital of Luoyand (at the time), was given to Batuo (a wandering Buddhist) by the Northern Wei emperor, Xiaiwen in 496. The name was drawn from the word "Shao", as in Mt. Shaoshi, and "lin", meaning "grove. Ever since these early times, the Shaolin monks have practiced great skill in areas such as meditation and fighting. The reason that this particular aspect of Wave Three fascinated me, was because of the great skill these Shaolin monks posses. Not only can they break bricks with their bare hands, break wooden poles by smashing them on their heads, then can be held up by another man by spears without having any break of the skin. How can they do this? Because when they attempt these daring things, they are in a deep state of long-practiced meditation. Also, Shaolin Kung Fu is not something practiced in early centuries and never re-discovered, it is still practiced today and is something that came to be well known throughout the world. For further information and history of the Shaolin monks, go to http://asianhistory.about.com/od/warsinasia/p/ShaolinMonksPro.htm. Or, to see a video of one of the most difficult Shaolin monk abilities, watch this video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAAr66GH7hA&feature=fvwrel.


#2- Calligraphy During the Tang Dynasty


The reason that I chose calligraphy as a most interesting topic of Wave 3 was that as I was reading, I discovered that calligraphy was not only a writing style, throughout China's history, it has always been closely related with political power. Tang Taizong was an enthusiastic collector of calligraphy, (specifically Wang Xizhi's works), during his time. Each historical period of Chinese calligraphy had its own unique style and "attitude"-this I found to be particularly interesting. Usually when you think of calligraphy, you think of communication and writing. However, during Chinese history it was associated with much more than that. To the right is a photo of calligraphy during the Tang Dynasty. To hear more on Tang calligraphy, go to http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/callig/7court.htm. 






#3- Tang Dynasty Sculpture 

Sculpture, although it really began to develop during the Sui Dynasty, flourished most during the Tang. I found the specific style of sculpture during the Tang Dynasty to be interesting, because it was precise and particular; sculptors favored and emphasized sharp, clear forms and exact proportions (as you can see in the photo, the human figures are quite proportional).. To read further on the history of sculpture during the Tang Dynasty, go to http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/china/art/tang.htm.

#4- Tang Dynasty Painting 

I found the flourishing of painting during the Tang Dynasty interesting along with the sculpture because similarly, it was unique in this era. In the past, most paintings had been of Buddha. However, now paintings depicted events or eras of history, such as an emperor or a battle. Also, nature grew in importance as a subject of art during the 700's. To read further on Tang Dynasty Painting, go to http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/china/art/tang.htm. 

#5- Industrial Revolution of the Song Dynasty 


Like other nations, China had its industrial revolution. However, it was centuries before nations such as Europe and the West caught up technologically. During the Song Dynasty, some of the biggest technological advances in Chinese history were made. These advances were made by talented people who were drafter in through imperial examinations. The application of moveable type printing promoted the already popular woodblock printing. Also, the application of gunpowder furthered the development of weapons such as cannons. I found this interesting because even in the one of the shortest dynasties of them all, the most significant technological advances were made. To read further on the Song Industrial Revolution, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology_of_the_Song_Dynasty.