DOCSLIB.ORG

A PEDAGOGY of CULTURE BASED on CHINESE STORYTELLING TRADITIONS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A PEDAGOGY of CULTURE BASED on CHINESE STORYTELLING TRADITIONS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement A PEDAGOGY OF CULTURE BASED ON CHINESE STORYTELLING TRADITIONS DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Eric Todd Shepherd MA, East Asian Languages and Literatures The Ohio State University 2007 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Galal Walker, Advisor _______________________ Mark Bender Advisor Mari Noda Graduate Program in Dorothy Noyes East Asian Languages and Literatures Copyright by Eric Todd Shepherd 2007 ABSTRACT This dissertation is an historical ethnographic study of the Shandong kuaishu (山东快书) storytelling tradition and an ethnographic account of the folk pedagogy of Wu Yanguo, one professional practitioner of the tradition. At times, the intention is to record, describe and analyze the oral tradition of Shandong kuaishu, which has not been recorded in detail in English language scholarly literature. At other times, the purpose is to develop a pedagogical model informed by the experiences and transmission techniques of the community of study. The ultimate goal is to use the knowledge and experience gained in this study to advance our understanding of and ability to achieve advanced levels of Chinese language proficiency and cultural competence. Through a combination of the knowledge gained from written sources, participant observation, and first-hand performance of Shandong kuaishu, this dissertation shows that complex performances of segments of Chinese culture drawn from everyday life can be constructed through a regimen of performance based training. It is intended to serve as one training model that leads to the development of sophisticated cultural competence. ii Dedicated to Chih-Hsin Annie Tai iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Any dissertation is a collaborative effort. The completion of this particular one would not have been possible without the emotional, intellectual, and financial support of a diverse group of people and organizations. First, I must thank the members of my dissertation committee. I thank Galal Walker for inspiring and encouraging me to become a Chinese language teacher. I also thank him for giving me the opportunity to work with him as program officer for the US/China Links program. Without the opportunities to live and learn in Shandong that the position afforded, I would not have been operating at a sophisticated enough level of cultural competence in Chinese to have recognized and taken advantage of the opportunity to learn Shandong kuaishu. Mari Noda has served as a valued mentor and model teacher to emulate. It was in her classes in the SPEAC intensive Japanese program that I began to understand how the performed culture approach is best implemented. Brainstorming sessions with Professor Noda led to many ideas that shape parts of this dissertation and my current teaching approach. Dorothy Noyes, along with Mark Bender, drew me into the world of folklore and oral traditions and has played a critical role in guiding me to deeper understandings of folklore, ethnography and the fieldwork process. Professor Noyes, with the assistance of Barbara Lloyd and Sheila Bock, also arranged for an opportunity to present and perform Shandong kuaishu as part of an Ohio State iv University Center for Folklore Studies lecture series. Many of the ideas in this dissertation, in particular the framework for Chapters 3 and 4, were formulated in preparation for that first post-fieldwork presentation. Professor Noyes also spent countless hours of time reading and offering suggestions for revisions that greatly improved the quality of this dissertation. Finally, although not able to participate in the final oral defense because he is conducting fieldwork in minority areas in southwest China, Mark Bender should be recognized as an integral member of the committee. He has played a leading role in shaping my understanding of Chinese oral traditions from the beginning and it was through Mark that I first learned of Shandong kuaishu. Professor Bender also provided numerous constructive comments based on careful readings of each chapter of the dissertation. In addition to my dissertation committee, I must thank Master Wu Yanguo. Without him, his love of Shandong kuaishu and his willingness to share his knowledge of the tradition with me, this study would not have been possible. It is not every day that someone will devote one year of their life to helping a stranger. The experience with Master Wu changed me and my life forever. He taught me not only an art form but also an approach to life that is full of fun and friendship. Not a day goes by when I do not think about Master Wu and his family or the time I spent learning from them. As the Chinese saying goes, a master for a day is a father for life. I would also like to acknowledge Master Wu’s master, Li Hongji. While my time with Master Li was limited, I thank him for pointing out the v weaknesses in my performances and most importantly for passing the tradition of Shandong kuaishu on to Master Wu. While learning with Master Wu, a number of his friends, students, and acquaintances also offered valuable assistance. Du Minghua, Nian Chuyi, and Dong Jiancheng, the three people who introduced me to Shandong kuaishu and Master Wu deserve special mention. Zhang Bei, an apprentice of Master Wu who started learning shortly after I did, and I were in class together at least once per week during my time in Qingdao so we developed a special brother-sister relationship. We often socialized outside of class, along with her fiancé, Xin Bo, and her mother and father. Zhang Bei, Xin Bo, and her family continually went out of their way to help me adapt to life in Qingdao including giving me advice on how to deal with certain situations, encouraging me during times of frustration, assisting me while making major purchases, spending time with me so that I never felt alone, helping me purchase discounted plane tickets, and taking me to the airport for trips home. Without this emotional assistance, the apprenticeship period would certainly have not gone so smoothly. Seven other families played an integral role in socializing me into Shandong culture during the apprenticeship period. Two of the families, Dai Rixin and Yang Jie and their wives, were high school classmates of Master Wu so we got together with them regularly in their homes and in local restaurants where they politely (and always encouragingly) endured my performances at the very vi early stages of my development. The other five families, Tian Shengwen, Xie Benxin, Wang Enxing, Yin Nan, Master Zhao, and their families, were colleagues and close friends of Master Wu’s from the Qingdao Folk Song and Dance Theatre. All of them welcomed me into Shandong culture with open arms and regularly offered advice and assistance whenever I needed it. Everyone at the Qingdao Folk Song and Dance Theatre assisted me at some point during my time in Qingdao. In particular, without the support of the Theatre’s leaders, including Party Secretary Cao Shiyong, Assistant Theatre Director Li Lefen, Troupe Leader Shan Guogang, and his wife Sun Jinfeng, I would not have had many opportunities to travel and perform with the various troupes that comprise the Theatre. The Qingdao Municipal Ballad Tellers’ Association, Qingdao Municipal Cultural Union, Shandong Performing Artist Association, and the Shandong Kuaishu Research Association also provided official support that made my apprenticeship possible. In particular, Chairman Hao and General Secretary Xie of the Cultural Union were instrumental in officially inviting me as a visiting scholar and in obtaining visa and residence permits. Section Chief, Qin Ke, of the Qingdao Municipal Public Security Bureau Visa Division, was instrumental in making my stay in Qingdao conform to all local policies. I am grateful for his assistance and encouragement. A Presidential Fellowship granted by the Graduate School at the Ohio State University enabled me to work full time on this dissertation for the final vii year of the project. I am deeply in debt to Galal Walker, Mari Noda, Jian Xiaobin, Dorothy Noyes, Etsuyo Yuasa, and Debbie Knicely for the key assistance they provided in the collaborative effort to obtain that fellowship. I would also like to thank Ohio State President Karen Holbrook and her Chief of Staff Pearl Bigfeather for affording me many opportunities to gain invaluable experience at interacting with Chinese people in professional settings as well as for creating opportunities to perform Shandong kuaishu in Columbus. In addition to these people, I owe a heavy debt to many teachers, colleagues and classmates who have influenced my intellectual growth and understanding of Chinese culture. Although it is impossible to mention them all, I am indebted most to Jian Xiaobin of the College of William and Mary, who has been a model, mentor and guide throughout my graduate career. Jin Zhiliang, of Qingdao Ocean University, has played a similar role in the development of my understanding of Shandong culture. He spent many long lunches offering advice during the apprenticeship period. Li Minru, of the National East Asian Language Resource Center at Ohio State, frequently generously offered his time to engage in intellectual discussions about Chinese culture and the Chinese literary tradition, a forum that served as a preliminary sounding board for many ideas in this dissertation. Dr. Li also went out of his way to assist me with many passages of classical Chinese about performance traditions. viii The intellectual environment in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures (DEALL) at Ohio State encouraged me to approach Chinese culture in unique and challenging ways. Graduate seminars on language pedagogy with Charles Quinn and Wang Jianqi, on modern Chinese literature and culture with Kirk Denton, on East Asian scripts with James Unger, and on East Asian performance traditions with Shelley Quinn and Chan Park helped to shape the ideas that led to this dissertation as did early courses on classical Chinese with Lao Yan-shuan.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Records of the Medieval Sword Free
    FREE RECORDS OF THE MEDIEVAL SWORD PDF Ewart Oakeshott | 316 pages | 15 May 2015 | Boydell & Brewer Ltd | 9780851155661 | English | Woodbridge, United Kingdom Records of the Medieval Sword by Ewart Oakeshott, Paperback | Barnes & Noble® I would consider this the definitive work on the development of the form, design, and construction of the medieval sword. Oakeshott was the foremost authority on the subject, and this work formed the capstone of his career. Anyone with a serious interest in European swords should own this book. Records of the Medieval Sword. Ewart Oakeshott. Forty years of intensive research into the specialised subject of the straight two- edged knightly sword of the European middle ages are contained in this classic study. Spanning the period from the great migrations to the Renaissance, Ewart Oakeshott emphasises the original purpose of the sword as an intensely intimate accessory of great significance and mystique. There are over photographs and drawings, each fully annotated and described in detail, supported by a long introductory chapter with diagrams of the typological framework first presented in The Archaeology of Weapons and further elaborated in The Sword in the Age of Chivalry. There are appendices on inlaid blade inscriptions, scientific dating, the swordsmith's art, and a sword of Edward Records of the Medieval Sword. Reprinted as part Records of the Medieval Sword Boydell's History of the Sword series. Records of the Medieval Sword - Ewart Oakeshott - Google книги Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. For a better shopping experience, please upgrade now. Javascript is not enabled in your browser.
    [Show full text]
  • Kūnqǔ in Practice: a Case Study
    KŪNQǓ IN PRACTICE: A CASE STUDY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THEATRE OCTOBER 2019 By Ju-Hua Wei Dissertation Committee: Elizabeth A. Wichmann-Walczak, Chairperson Lurana Donnels O’Malley Kirstin A. Pauka Cathryn H. Clayton Shana J. Brown Keywords: kunqu, kunju, opera, performance, text, music, creation, practice, Wei Liangfu © 2019, Ju-Hua Wei ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my gratitude to the individuals who helped me in completion of my dissertation and on my journey of exploring the world of theatre and music: Shén Fúqìng 沈福庆 (1933-2013), for being a thoughtful teacher and a father figure. He taught me the spirit of jīngjù and demonstrated the ultimate fine art of jīngjù music and singing. He was an inspiration to all of us who learned from him. And to his spouse, Zhāng Qìnglán 张庆兰, for her motherly love during my jīngjù research in Nánjīng 南京. Sūn Jiàn’ān 孙建安, for being a great mentor to me, bringing me along on all occasions, introducing me to the production team which initiated the project for my dissertation, attending the kūnqǔ performances in which he was involved, meeting his kūnqǔ expert friends, listening to his music lessons, and more; anything which he thought might benefit my understanding of all aspects of kūnqǔ. I am grateful for all his support and his profound knowledge of kūnqǔ music composition. Wichmann-Walczak, Elizabeth, for her years of endeavor producing jīngjù productions in the US.
    [Show full text]
  • The Web That Has No Weaver
    THE WEB THAT HAS NO WEAVER Understanding Chinese Medicine “The Web That Has No Weaver opens the great door of understanding to the profoundness of Chinese medicine.” —People’s Daily, Beijing, China “The Web That Has No Weaver with its manifold merits … is a successful introduction to Chinese medicine. We recommend it to our colleagues in China.” —Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China “Ted Kaptchuk’s book [has] something for practically everyone . Kaptchuk, himself an extraordinary combination of elements, is a thinker whose writing is more accessible than that of Joseph Needham or Manfred Porkert with no less scholarship. There is more here to think about, chew over, ponder or reflect upon than you are liable to find elsewhere. This may sound like a rave review: it is.” —Journal of Traditional Acupuncture “The Web That Has No Weaver is an encyclopedia of how to tell from the Eastern perspective ‘what is wrong.’” —Larry Dossey, author of Space, Time, and Medicine “Valuable as a compendium of traditional Chinese medical doctrine.” —Joseph Needham, author of Science and Civilization in China “The only approximation for authenticity is The Barefoot Doctor’s Manual, and this will take readers much further.” —The Kirkus Reviews “Kaptchuk has become a lyricist for the art of healing. And the more he tells us about traditional Chinese medicine, the more clearly we see the link between philosophy, art, and the physician’s craft.” —Houston Chronicle “Ted Kaptchuk’s book was inspirational in the development of my acupuncture practice and gave me a deep understanding of traditional Chinese medicine.
    [Show full text]
  • A Cultural-Translation Study of Paratexts Via Victor H. Mair's
    Compilation and Translation Review Vol. 11, No. 2 ( September 2018 ), 61 - 98 A Cultural-Translation Study of Paratexts via Victor H. Mair’s English Translation of the Tao Te Ching Chih-hong Rudy Chen This paper looks at the authoritative sinologist and philologist Victor H. Mair’s English translation of the Tao Te Ching. It examines Mair’s use of paratexts to support his cross-cultural transfer of such highly Chinese-culture-bound religious and philosophical terms as Tao, Te and Ching from the Chinese source text into English. More specifically, it looks at Mair’s interpretative assumptions as well as methodologies. This brings into play several relevant issues with regard to the role of cultural translation within the wider field of translation studies. Firstly, the paper explores Kwame Anthony Appiah’s “thick translation” approach, and such cross-cultural linguistic practices as the use of annotations and of other forms of scholarly paratexts, in order that (in Appiah’s words) an “academic’ translation” is produced. Secondly, selected elements of these paratexts are examined in the light of André Lefevere’s notion of ideology and Lawrence Venuti’s notions of foreignization and visibility, to help us better understand the external factors requiring Mair’s careful considerations in the “transaction” of meaning across languages and cultures. This cultural translation study on Mair’s translation of the Tao Te Ching with extensive preface, annotations and back matter seeks to shed light, then, on the depth and complexity of the art of cultural-translation, itself so vital to cross-cultural understanding. Keywords : Tao Te Ching, thick translation, cultural translation, paratexts, ideology Received: July 14, 2017 Revised: Feburary 12, 2018, June 22, 2018 Accepted: June 27, 2018 Chih-hong Rudy Chen, PhD Candidate, Graduate Institute of Translation and Interpretation, National Taiwan Normal University, E-mail: [email protected] 編譯論叢 第十一卷 第二期（2018年9月 ）， 61 — 98 梅維恆《道德經》英譯：副文本之文化翻譯探討 陳致宏 本文透過觀察當代權威漢學家及文字學家梅維恆（Victor H.
    [Show full text]
  • Cambridge University Press 978-1-108-47926-4 — Rumor in the Early Chinese Empires Zongli Lu Index More Information
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-108-47926-4 — Rumor in the Early Chinese Empires Zongli Lu Index More Information Index abnormal/abnormalities The Blue Sky is dead; the Yellow Sky will decorations and writings, 201 stand, 84–85, 170, 289, 293, 309 disasters, 20–21, 31 Bo, Lady (Empress Dowager), 247–248 heading west, 35 Book of Changes, 50, 68, 103–105 physical characteristics, 181 Book of Documents,8–9, 11, 58, 118, 295 as portentous, 46–52 Book of Great Peace, with Green Headings,84 speech characteristics, 106, 286 Book of Odes, 17, 25–26, 58, 111 of state’s governance, 106 supernatural entities, 293–294 Cai Shu, 9, 11–16, 18, 43 weather, 217 Cai Yong, 85, 166 acceptance (of the people/by the people), Calendar of the Heavenly Official Scripture of 17–23, 283, 291 Great Peace with the Embodiment of the Accounts Clerks, 156, 302 Origin,79–84, 177–178 Ai, Emperor. see Liu Xin Cao Cao, 167–168, 214 Ai Zhang, 183–184, 188 Cao San, 112, 121–122 air currents, 173–176, 215, 217, 249–250, 252, central government supervision mechanism, 260–267, 290, 315 145–150 Allport, Gordon W., vii–viii, 306 Chao Fulin, 171 alternative historical truths, xii Chen Dan, 167–168 An, Emperor. see Liu Hu Chen Fan, 31, 226 apocryphal-prophetic texts. see chen Chen Hsueh-Ping, 8 prophecies Chen Jun, 158 archaic history, 279–281 Chen Ping, 89, 127 aristocratic gossip, 2 chen prophecies authorities’ response to portentous talk, 87, auto-suggestive, 45, 170 318–319 belief in, 206–218 coded chen prophecies, 190–195 Bai Juyi, 14 curses and, 185–186 Ban Biao, 205 defined,
    [Show full text]
  • Local Authority in the Han Dynasty: Focus on the Sanlao
    Local Authority in the Han Dynasty: Focus on the Sanlao Jiandong CHEN 㱩ڎ暒 School of International Studies Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences University of Technology Sydney Australia A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Technology Sydney Sydney, Australia 2018 Certificate of Original Authorship I certify that the work in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree nor has it been submitted as part of requirements for a degree except as fully acknowledged within the text. I also certify that the thesis has been written by me. Any help that I have received in my research work and the preparation of the thesis itself has been acknowledged. In addition, I certify that all information sources and literature used are indicated in the thesis. This thesis is the result of a research candidature conducted with another University as part of a collaborative Doctoral degree. Production Note: Signature of Student: Signature removed prior to publication. Date: 30/10/2018 ii Acknowledgements The completion of the thesis would not have been possible without the help and support of many people. Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Associate Professor Jingqing Yang for his continuous support during my PhD study. Many thanks for providing me with the opportunity to study at the University of Technology Sydney. His patience, motivation and immense knowledge guided me throughout the time of my research. I cannot imagine having a better supervisor and mentor for my PhD study. Besides my supervisor, I would like to thank the rest of my thesis committee: Associate Professor Chongyi Feng and Associate Professor Shirley Chan, for their insightful comments and encouragement; and also for their challenging questions which incited me to widen my research and view things from various perspectives.
    [Show full text]
  • A Method of Teaching English Speaking Learners to Produce Mandarin-Chinese Tones
    Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2018 A Method of Teaching English Speaking Learners to Produce Mandarin-Chinese Tones Hui Shi Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Shi, Hui, "A Method of Teaching English Speaking Learners to Produce Mandarin-Chinese Tones" (2018). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 6633. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/6633 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Method of Teaching English Speaking Learners to Produce Mandarin-Chinese Tones Hui Shi Dissertation submitted to the College of Education and Human Services at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum & Instruction/ Literacy Studies Sam Stack, Ph.D., Chair Ugur Kale, Ph.D. Heiko Everwien ter Haseborg, Ph.D. Joy Faini Saab, Ed.D. Xiangying Jiang, Ph.D. Department of Curriculum & Instruction/ Literacy Studies Morgantown, West Virginia University 2018 Keywords: Mandarin-Chinese Tones, tonal and non-tonal language, pedagogy, tonal production Copyright 2018 Hui Shi ABSTRACT A Method of Teaching English Speaking Learners to Produce Mandarin-Chinese Tones Hui Shi Learning Mandarin Chinese tones is a big challenge for English speaking learners.
    [Show full text]
  • From Story to Script: Towards a Morphology of the Peony Pavilion–– a Dream/ Ghost Drama from Ming China
    From Story to Script: towards a Morphology of The Peony Pavilion–– a Dream/ Ghost Drama from Ming China Xiaohuan Zhao University of Otago, Donghua University This article is an attempt to analyze the dramatic structure of the Mudan ting 牡丹 亭 (Peony Pavilion) as a piece of fantasy which Tang Xianzu 湯顯祖 (1550–1616) created through the utilisation of structural devices and techniques of magic tales. The particular model adopted for the textual analysis is that formulated by Vladimir Propp in Morphology of Russian Folktale. This paper starts with a comparison of Russian magic tales Propp investigated for his morphological study and Chinese zhiguai 志怪 tales which provide the prototype for the Mudan ting with a view of justifying the application of the Proppian model. The second part of this paper is devoted to a critical review of the Proppian model and method in terms of function versus non-function, tale versus move, and character versus tale / theatrical role. Further information is also given in this part as a response to challenges and criticisms this article may incur as regards the applicability of the Proppian model in inter-cultural and inter-generic studies. Part Three is a morphological analysis of the dramatic text with a focus on the main storyline revolving around the hero and heroine. In the course of textual analysis, the particular form and sequence of functions is identified, the functional scheme of each move presented, and the distribution of dramatis personae in accordance with the sphere(s) of action of characters delineated. Finally this paper concludes with a presentation of the overall dramatic structure and strategy of this play.
    [Show full text]
  • Rules and Options
    Rules and Options The author has attempted to draw as much as possible from the guidelines provided in the 5th edition Players Handbooks and Dungeon Master's Guide. Statistics for weapons listed in the Dungeon Master's Guide were used to develop the damage scales used in this book. Interestingly, these scales correspond fairly well with the values listed in the d20 Modern books. Game masters should feel free to modify any of the statistics or optional rules in this book as necessary. It is important to remember that Dungeons and Dragons abstracts combat to a degree, and does so more than many other game systems, in the name of playability. For this reason, the subtle differences that exist between many firearms will often drop below what might be called a "horizon of granularity." In D&D, for example, two pistols that real world shooters could spend hours discussing, debating how a few extra ounces of weight or different barrel lengths might affect accuracy, or how different kinds of ammunition (soft-nosed, armor-piercing, etc.) might affect damage, may be, in game terms, almost identical. This is neither good nor bad; it is just the way Dungeons and Dragons handles such things. Who can use firearms? Firearms are assumed to be martial ranged weapons. Characters from worlds where firearms are common and who can use martial ranged weapons will be proficient in them. Anyone else will have to train to gain proficiency— the specifics are left to individual game masters. Optionally, the game master may also allow characters with individual weapon proficiencies to trade one proficiency for an equivalent one at the time of character creation (e.g., monks can trade shortswords for one specific martial melee weapon like a war scythe, rogues can trade hand crossbows for one kind of firearm like a Glock 17 pistol, etc.).
    [Show full text]
  • The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2012 Dynamics of Disintegration: The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier Wai Kit Wicky Tse University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Asian History Commons, Asian Studies Commons, and the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Tse, Wai Kit Wicky, "Dynamics of Disintegration: The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier" (2012). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 589. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/589 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/589 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Dynamics of Disintegration: The Later Han Empire (25-220CE) & Its Northwestern Frontier Abstract As a frontier region of the Qin-Han (221BCE-220CE) empire, the northwest was a new territory to the Chinese realm. Until the Later Han (25-220CE) times, some portions of the northwestern region had only been part of imperial soil for one hundred years. Its coalescence into the Chinese empire was a product of long-term expansion and conquest, which arguably defined the egionr 's military nature. Furthermore, in the harsh natural environment of the region, only tough people could survive, and unsurprisingly, the region fostered vigorous warriors. Mixed culture and multi-ethnicity featured prominently in this highly militarized frontier society, which contrasted sharply with the imperial center that promoted unified cultural values and stood in the way of a greater degree of transregional integration. As this project shows, it was the northwesterners who went through a process of political peripheralization during the Later Han times played a harbinger role of the disintegration of the empire and eventually led to the breakdown of the early imperial system in Chinese history.
    [Show full text]
  • The Portrayal of Women in Propaganda Posters During the Chinese Cultural Revolution Yu Yang (Sally) Lin (Art)
    The Portrayal of Women in Propaganda Posters During the Chinese Cultural Revolution Yu Yang (Sally) Lin (Art) History Supervisor: Mrs. K. Puzio Sir Winston Churchill Secondary 0227 ­ May 2015 ii Abstract China's Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966­1976) was a ten year socio­political movement that not only changed many social aspects of life but drew emphasis to a unique form of art ­ visual propaganda. Cultural Revolution propaganda posters are visually impacting both in terms of colour use and composition, and convey strong political messages and nationalism. Due to these aspects, propaganda posters hold irreplaceable importance in the study of gender equality and the portrayal of women during the Cultural Revolution. The essay aims to analyze the message of the propaganda posters, and to what extent were they effective. The essay is composed of four major components, including historical context, method, analysis and conclusion. 208 posters within the Cultural Revolution time frame were taken from collector websites in the randomized order they appeared. The posters were then analyzed for their portrayal of women in Cultural Revolution propaganda posters with the use of visual analysis, numerical analysis and historical evidence. The analysis found three important connections between the female image and the Cultural Revolution. Firstly, the existence of women in the Cultural Revolution posters was not about gender equality, but to serve the CCP’s socialist ideological campaigns and industrial production needs. Secondly, this political drive behind the messages caused the portrayal of genders to become form of gender neutralization that favoured masculinization. Thirdly, the reduction genders inequality due to traditional confines prompted the loss of social diversity and exposed women to a new form of marginalization, where any aspects of femininity was ostracized.
    [Show full text]
  • The Outlaws of the Marsh
    The Outlaws of the Marsh Shi Nai'an and Luo Guanzhong The Outlaws of the Marsh Shi Nai'an and Luo Guanzhong • Chapter 1 Zhang the Divine Teacher Prays to Dispel a Plague Marshal Hong Releases Demons by Mistake • Chapter 2 Arms Instructor Wang Goes Secretly to Yanan Prefecture Nine Dragons Shi Jin Wreaks Havoc in Shi Family Village • Chapter 3 Master Shi Leaves Huayin County at Night Major Lu Pummels the Lord of the West • Chapter 4 Sagacious Lu Puts Mount Wutai in an Uproar Squire Zhao Repairs Wenshu Monastery • Chapter 5 Drunk, the Little King Raises the Gold−Spangled Bed Curtains Lu the Tattooed Monk Throws Peach Blossom Village into Confusion • Chapter 6 Nine Dragons Shi Jin Robs in Red Pine Forest Sagacious Lu Burns Down Waguan Monastery • Chapter 7 The Tattooed Monk Uproots a Willow Tree Lin Chong Enters White Tiger Inner Sanctum by Mistake • Chapter 8 Arms Instructor Lin Is Tattooed and Exiled to Cangzhou Sagacious Lu Makes a Shambles of Wild Boar Forest • Chapter 9 Chai Jin Keeps Open House for All Bold Men Lin Chong Defeats Instructor Hong in a Bout with Staves • Chapter 10 Lin Chong Shelters from the Snowstorm in the Mountain Spirit Temple Captain Lu Qian Sets Fire to the Fodder Depot • Chapter 11 Zhu Gui Shoots a Signal Arrow from the Lakeside Pavilion Lin Chong Climbs Mount Liangshan in the Snowy Night • Chapter 12 Lin Chong Joins the Bandits in Liangshan Marsh Yang Zhi Sells His Sword in the Eastern Capital • Chapter 13 The Blue−Faced Beast Battles in the Northern Capital Urgent Vanguard Vies for Honors on the Training Field
    [Show full text]