Month: October 2021

This article surprised me. I was shocked reading all the rules that women have to follow. I found it helpful that they compared most of the rules of following to western ways because it helped with comparison. This showed me how much freedom women have in the U.S and how little we have to rely… Continue reading Ch’en Tu-hsiu

I can’t believe they were put in jail for making a joke, and the joke got twisted from what they had originally said. It doesn’t seem right to me that these peasants are put in jail for however long the chief wants them to be in jail because of a silly joke. Clearly, they have… Continue reading A Bad Joke

This story shows how much corruption and injustice are in their police system. The police walked all over Mr. Chiu and abused their power. I can’t imagine the frustration he must have felt not being able to defend himself and the confusion he must have felt. If I was in his situation I would have… Continue reading Saboteur

In Ch’en Tu-hsiu’s “The Way of Confucius and Modern Life,” something I found especially interesting was how the traditional Confucian ideals of women’s participation in politics and society compared with those of modern life. The text emphasized the idea that the movement of women’s participation in politics is also an important element of a woman’s… Continue reading “The Way of Confucius and Modern Life” Reflection

In Fairbank & Goldman’s book China: A New History, the origins of the Chinese Communist Party is discussed and at the beginning of the passage, the text states that the May Fourth intellectuals who were in search of new state power divided themselves into two groups: the first were academics who concentrated as scholars, and… Continue reading Fairbank & Goldman Reflection

In an excerpt from Sources of Chinese Tradition, “On the Study of Humanity” by T’an Ssu-T’ung draws on elements of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Christianity and one of the elements that is focused on in this text is the Confucian idea of jen. The concept of jen in Confucianism is tat of goodness and benevolence, and… Continue reading “On the Study of Humanity” Reflection

In Ha Jin’s short story, “Saboteur,” Mr. Chiu, a university professor, and his wife are finishing up their honeymoon. Afterward, their plan is to return to home and because Mr. Chiu is afraid of relapse of acute hepatitis, he looks forward to going home. When a police officer throws tea on Mr. Chiu during their… Continue reading “Saboteur” and “Bad Joke” Reflections

I enjoyed this story because it showed the differences between the United States (New York) and China. The way the author described how Chen Jinli changed once she came back to China from New York was really interesting. Her hair, the way she composed herself, her shoes, her make up, and even her teeth were… Continue reading “Woman from New York”

A good laugh is very healthy every once in a while, but there is that line that should not be crossed. Whether the joke is about something, someone, somewhere, the joke should have some good nature to it but we all know that that is not always the case. In “A Bad Joke” by Ha… Continue reading Jokes That Cross The Line

While reading this excerpt, I was able to draw many conclusions to the monopolies that exist in the United States today, and the residual effects they can have on those who are seduced by them. From the learned men’s perspective, the author writes,”If virtue is used to lead the people, they will return to honesty,… Continue reading The Salt and Iron Debates