Ancient Eastern Literature (Week 2)

This week we traveled back in time to Ancient China. According to the introductory piece titled “Early Chinese Literature and Thought,” China is “the oldest surviving civilization, whose literary tradition stretches over more than three thousand years. Its earliest literature set patterns and posed questions that shaped the actions and values of the Chinese people for thousands of years, serving as the connective tissue that gave its civilization a sense of unity and continuity” (Norton, 2016).  These themes are observed in the reading selections “Classics of Poetry,” “Confucius,” “Du Fu,” and “Yuan Zhen, the Story of Yingying.” What struck me deeply about these selections was the painful plight of the Chinese people who were oppressed under various dynasties, yet they continually attempted to maintain Chinese tradition, family, and honor.  In their writings, Confucius and other inspired men addressed these fundamental questions, “How can we create social order in a society that is incessantly at war? How can we become exemplary, fulfilled human beings in a less-than-ideal society? How can we make use of history and existing precedents to create a better future? How should we use words, and what impact can words and ideas have on social reality?” (Norton, 2016). Confucius’ inspired sayings were compiled in a book titled  The Analects. Du Fu (712-770) also known as Tu Fu, used his poetry to express his emotions as he responded to life around him. While he was imprisoned and separated from his family, he wrote:

I Stand Alone

By Du Fu

A falcon hovers at the edge of the sky.

Two gulls drift slowly up the river.

Vulnerable while they ride the wind,

they coast and glide with ease.

Dew is heavy on the grass below,

the spider’s web is ready.

Heaven’s ways include the human:

among a thousand sorrows, I stand alone.

            To teach the themes of tradition, family, and honor I would have students create a list of family traditions they celebrate. Students would be invited to bring in pieces or symbols of the celebration, like a birthday crown, or a baptismal dress, or a photo of a special event. Students would be invited to lead a discussion and question and answer time about what their family does to commemorate, and in doing this hopefully there would be a variety of rituals to acknowledge. Students would then be required to research cultural traditions from a viewpoint outside of their own. Another possible lesson is that of oppression. Students would research different cultural oppressions throughout time, maybe reading a book like Diary of Anne Frank or Corrie Ten Boom’s The Hiding Place. A popular culture component to this study of subjugation would be a virtual tour of the Corrie Ten Boom Museum or a 3-D tour of Anne Frank’s home as well as watch her movie.

Reference

http://www.gcumedia.com/digital-resources/ww-norton/2016/the-norton-anthology-of-world-literature_v1-and-v2-custom_ebook_1e.php