5. The Lute: A Rhapsody Extract
This piece of poetry was written by Xi Kang during the Period of Disunity. It caught my attention as I scrolled through pieces written by the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Groves because it is so true and is a great example of the types of writings during the Period of Disunity. His first paragraph caught my attention right off the bat because of the interesting concepts he wrote about. In his first paragraph Xi Kang talks about how music brings solace to people who live in poverty and deal with hunger, and how music will never get boring as tastes do. He also says that music will never decay and will never die like objects do an. Reading this first paragraph, new ideas sprung into my head as I had never thought of the usefulness of music until then. The extracts from The Lute were interesting to me because before reading this I didn’t really think of a lute being anything of interest but now I see it as Xi Kang did, not just an instrument but a tool used to bring peace and tranquility.
4. Zen Buddhism
Zen Buddhism is quite interesting because it came from the same hearth as the other types of Buddhism such as Vajrayana and Theravada Buddhism, but its values are so very different. Zen Buddhism was so influential in many Asian countries but it didn’t even originate from its heart, India. Buddhism spread from India to China, from where it flourished and changed to other forms of Buddhism, like Zen Buddhism. Buddhism’s beliefs are based on a man named Siddhartha Gautama, or more commonly known as the Buddha. It started in India around450 BC but only migrated to China at around 100 CE. Zen Buddhism is a branch of Mahayana and is known as Chan Buddhism in China (it is called Zen Buddhism in Japan). What I like most about Zen Buddhism is the belief that if one is devoted to Buddhism than that person shall be absolved.
3. Woodblock printing
I found woodblock printing interesting because the oldest printed book found was miniature Buddhist book dating back to 650 to 670 CE, which was way earlier than any printed script found in Europe. The development of Woodblock printing was a key event in Chinese history. It allowed for the mass production of scripts and books which made books more available to the people which led to a higher literacy rate in China. This then prompted more and more lower class Chinese to take and pass the Imperial Examinations. Even though the early Chinese woodblock printing method was slow and tedious it worked better than hand writing every script and it was the first step towards mass production of writings. I found this interesting because I always thought the Europeans were the first to invent the printing press and I was also amazed to see how much earlier the Chinese developed a printing press than the Europeans.
2. Martial Arts in China
Did you know that the term “Kung Fu” doesn’t specifically relate to martial arts? Because I sure didn’t; kung fu just refers to any accomplishment that attained through hard work or the development of a skill. The term in Chinese that specifically relates to martial arts is Wushu. Another fact that surprised me was that over the thousands of years since Wushu, or kung fu has developed hundreds of different styles have formed. Martial arts were practiced in the Shang dynasty (1766-1066 BCE) but modern kung fu techniques weren’t developed till later. However the thing that surprised me the most was how Kung Fu is not used for self defense or attacks as many other martial arts, but it is used to harness chi or improve fitness and tranquility.
1. Leisure activities
The tang period was renowned for its leisure activities and how the upper class spent their free time. It was interesting to see how developed the social world of the upper class was compared to the rest of China and to the rest of the world. The upper class were way higher in quality of life than the lower class of china but both experienced higher quality of living during the Tang period than before. Not only did the Chinese during the Tang period have much leisure time but they also celebrated many holidays such as the Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, was one of the biggest events in ancient Chinese life. It was quite cool to see how even though Chinese New Year was created so long ago it is still celebrated today.
Zen Buddhism is quite interesting because it came from the same hearth as the other types of Buddhism such as Vajrayana and Theravada Buddhism, but its values are so very different. Zen Buddhism was so influential in many Asian countries but it didn’t even originate from its heart, India. Buddhism spread from India to China, from where it flourished and changed to other forms of Buddhism, like Zen Buddhism. Buddhism’s beliefs are based on a man named Siddhartha Gautama, or more commonly known as the Buddha. It started in India around450 BC but only migrated to China at around 100 CE. Zen Buddhism is a branch of Mahayana and is known as Chan Buddhism in China (it is called Zen Buddhism in Japan). What I like most about Zen Buddhism is the belief that if one is devoted to Buddhism than that person shall be absolved.
3. Woodblock printing
I found woodblock printing interesting because the oldest printed book found was miniature Buddhist book dating back to 650 to 670 CE, which was way earlier than any printed script found in Europe. The development of Woodblock printing was a key event in Chinese history. It allowed for the mass production of scripts and books which made books more available to the people which led to a higher literacy rate in China. This then prompted more and more lower class Chinese to take and pass the Imperial Examinations. Even though the early Chinese woodblock printing method was slow and tedious it worked better than hand writing every script and it was the first step towards mass production of writings. I found this interesting because I always thought the Europeans were the first to invent the printing press and I was also amazed to see how much earlier the Chinese developed a printing press than the Europeans.
2. Martial Arts in China
Did you know that the term “Kung Fu” doesn’t specifically relate to martial arts? Because I sure didn’t; kung fu just refers to any accomplishment that attained through hard work or the development of a skill. The term in Chinese that specifically relates to martial arts is Wushu. Another fact that surprised me was that over the thousands of years since Wushu, or kung fu has developed hundreds of different styles have formed. Martial arts were practiced in the Shang dynasty (1766-1066 BCE) but modern kung fu techniques weren’t developed till later. However the thing that surprised me the most was how Kung Fu is not used for self defense or attacks as many other martial arts, but it is used to harness chi or improve fitness and tranquility.
1. Leisure activities
The tang period was renowned for its leisure activities and how the upper class spent their free time. It was interesting to see how developed the social world of the upper class was compared to the rest of China and to the rest of the world. The upper class were way higher in quality of life than the lower class of china but both experienced higher quality of living during the Tang period than before. Not only did the Chinese during the Tang period have much leisure time but they also celebrated many holidays such as the Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, was one of the biggest events in ancient Chinese life. It was quite cool to see how even though Chinese New Year was created so long ago it is still celebrated today.
Great start, because your choices and reactions are interesting and normally sound sincere instead of "homeworky".
ReplyDeleteAdd bling: Images, links to where you got your info so readers can click through, video embeds if you found any, specific lines from sources that had an impact on you.