Week 6: Tuesday, Sep. 20: Philosophies of China

Announcements:

I spent much of the weekend trying to put out fires because of technology, and that consumed time and caused bumps--including unclear HW instructions. So here's the policy: if my instructions are unclear--I mean obviously unclear, not little nit-picky things--then trust me to be reasonable and not blame you. Choose the easier choice: in this case, between "do the worksheets" and "don't do the worksheets," choose the second one. I'll understand and won't penalize you.

But do do the easier choice faithfully--in this case, the readings. (And you should always annotate, at least lightly, when you read. It helps you find the stuff later that you found most important the first time you read. Annotating--light annotating--should be a habit for this class.)


Two Changes:

1. We've Moved: The Moodle server is obviously unreliable. That's not Moodle's fault--it's a good software. It's the fault of the free server. So we're moving to this Blogger site, which is run by Google. Google never goes down. So we can trust that we won't have "site down" problems from now on.
2. File-Sharing Won't Surprise Us Anymore: SAS encouraged Dropbox to share files. Our class discovered that Dropbox has a data limit for file sharing. So I'll be using SugarSync instead of Dropbox now to share files. Nothing will change for you. You'll still just be clicking and downloading links. We just won't be surprised by "service suspended" bombshells anymore.
3. Just to inform you: I'm still working on my Research Methods class for my Master's Degree. My research proposal paper is due to my professor today (and I still have to do the research by reading a lot of books and designing a research experiment, and then carrying it out, so I'm not saying "It's over."). I should have more time to devote to teaching instead of homework starting tomorrow.

Click the link below ("Read more") to see today's lesson notes:

HW due Thursday: 

1. Write a draft for the Chinese Philosophies Mini-DBQ (formative). Only a THESIS SENTENCE, and TWO BODY PARAGRAPHS. Bring printed to class next time.

 In Class:
1. Download the dynasties song podcast.
2. One-minute speeches.
3. If I don't have your Neolithic-to-Urban essay, send it to me in Gmail. I've graded about 25 of the 40 essays you wrote, and can't find some of them.

4. Chinese Philosophies:

Review: What you should know from the podcast:

A. China's geographical isolation and the originality of its civilization as a result;

B. Shang Dynasty:

• Shang Di and Ancestor Worship 
• Ritual and Bronzes
• King as Priest (and effects on Chinese social and political order)
• Oracle Bones 

C. Zhou Dynasty:

• Tian replaces Di
• "Mandate of Heaven". 

-- These are all in the podcast.


New Knowledge: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism

A. Background:

• Zhou Dynasty breaks down into Western Zhou (1050-771), and Eastern Zhou (771-220). 
• The Eastern Zhou is the "decline" of the Zhou. It includes the "Warring States Period" from around 500-220. Confucius was an adult around 500.
• The "100 Schools of Thought"--China's philosophical explosion during the Warring States Period. Confucianism and Taoism were two of many more philosophies that rose at this time.
• Buddhism started in India, and didn't come to China until much, much later--around 200 CE. So it really doesn't belong in this chronology.

Confucianism:

• Analects
• Harmony
• Virtue
• Five Relationships
• Ritual
• Filial Piety
• Ancestor "worship"
• All based on Confucius' knowledge of 500-year-old Western Zhou Dynasty book, the Shujing
• Education: your packet is horrible here. Confucius believed in learning not just books, but also:
• archery, 
• horseback riding, 
• how to play a musical instrument, 
• how to perform rituals, 
• how to write poetry
• --he wasn't just about being bookish. And the "scholarship" he did encourage was about how to be a full human being--a "gentleman"--not a person who knew a lot of stuff just for the sake of knowing everything.
  
  Quotes:
• "Shall I tell you what knowledge is? To know when you know something, and to know when you do not know something: That is knowledge." (What would he say about gods and spirits?)
  .
  
• "The people follow a virtuous ruler the way the grass bends under a breeze. The king's virtue is the breeze. Laws and force are not necessary."
  .
  
• "The superior man knows what is good; the inferior man only knows what is profitable."
  .
  
• "Do not do to other people what you would not want other people to do to you." 

Daoism (Taoism):

• Laozi
• the Dao De Jing (The Classic of the Way and Its Power)
• "Tao"--"the Way"--the path of wisdom
• Nature
• Yin and Yang versus "Good and Evil," "Good and Bad"
• Water and the "path of least resistance"
  
• Wisdom (Laozi)"The Tao is easy...if you have no preferences"
  
• "The Best of All Rulers" (Laozi)"The best of all rulers is but a shadowy presence to his subjects.
  Next comes the ruler they love and praise;
  Next comes one they fear;
  Next comes one with whom they take liberties."
  
• "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?"(--a Taoist folktale):
  A man who lived on the northern frontier of China was skilled in interpreting events.
  One day for no reason, his horse ran away to the nomads across the border. Everyone
  tried to console him, but his father said, “What makes you so sure this isn’t a blessing?”
  
  Some months later his horse returned, bringing a splendid nomad stallion.
  
  Everyone congratulated him, but his father said, “What makes you so sure this isn’t a
  disaster?” Their household was richer by a fine horse, which the son loved to ride. One day he fell and broke his hip. Everyone tried to console him, but his father said, “What makes you so sure this isn’t a blessing?”
  
  A year later the nomads came in force across the border, and every able-bodied
  man took his bow and went into battle. The Chinese frontiersmen lost nine of every ten men. Only because the son was lame did father and son survive to take care of each other. Truly, blessing turns to disaster, and disaster to blessing: the changes have no end, nor can the mystery be fathomed.
  
  
• Zhuangzi
  
• "Whish and Whoosh":
  The emperor of the north sea was Whish. The emperor of the south sea was Whoosh. The emperor of the center was All-full. Whish and Whoosh sometimes lodged together at All-full’s place and he treated them excep- tionally well. Whish and Whoosh decided to return All-full’s kindness. “Everyone has seven holes to see, hear, eat and breathe, but he alone has none. Let’s try drilling him some!” Each day they drilled a hole. And in seven days, All-full died.
  
  
• "His Wife's Funeral":
  Zhuangzi was squatting down, beating on a tub, and singing.
  
  Huizi said, “You lived with this person, raised children, and grew old together. Not to cry when she died would be bad enough. But to beat on a tub singing! Isn’t that too much?”
  
  Zhuangzi said, “No. When she first died, don’t you think I was like everyone
  else? But then I considered her beginning, before she was alive. Not only before she had life, but before she had form. Not only before she had form, but before she had qi [the life force].
  
  In all the mixed up bustle and confusion, something changed and there was
  qi. The qi changed and there was form. The form changed and she had life.
  
  Today there was another change and she died. It’s just like the round of the four seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter. She was resting quietly, perfectly at home, and I followed her crying ‘Wah-hah!’ It seemed like I hadn’t comprehended fate. So I stopped.” . . . 
  
  
• "Dragging My Tail in the Mud."
  .
  Zhuangzi was fishing by the Pu River when the king of Chu sent two officers to
  him, saying, “We would like to trouble you with administering Our kingdom.”
  
  Without looking up from his pole, Zhuangzi said, “I’ve heard the king has a sacred turtle. It’s been dead three thousand years and the king keeps it wrapped and boxed and stored up in his ancestral hall. Now, would that turtle rather have its bones treasured in death, or be alive dragging its tail in the mud?”
  
  The officers said, "He'd rather be alive."
  
  Zhuangzi, still with his back to the king's officials, said, "Then leave me alone. I'd rather drag my tail in the mud."

Buddhism:

• Legend of his birth and his "escape from the palace."
• "Old Age, Sickness, and Death"
• Is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy?
• When Buddha lived
• When Buddhism came to China
• How Buddhism came to China
• The political context of China when Buddhism became popular to the Chinese
• The Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path
  
  Quotes:
• "The truth is like the moon, and people's understandings of it are like fingers pointing at the moon. Don't mistake the fingers for the moon."
   
•  "A man asked Buddha about who made the universe and what happens after we die. Buddha replied, 'I am trying to cure you of suffering, and you ask these questions? You are like a man who has been shot in the chest by an arrow, but before you let the surgeon remove it and try to save your life, insist that he first answers your questions about what wood the arrow was made from, what area it was made in, who made it and when. Isn't it better to let the surgeon heal you by removing the arrow and dressing the wound?'"
  .
  
• "The Buddha described his teaching as a raft: It is useful for crossing the river from ignorance and suffering to the banks of enlightenment on the other side--but only a fool would carry the raft on his back as he traveled farther into that land."