Scripture And Fiction: An Aesthetic Approach To The Little Pilgrim, Brian Russo

Honors Theses

The Little Pilgrim is written by Korean author Ko Un and was translated into English by Brother Anthony of Taizé. This text, a fictional rendering of the Gandavyuha Sutra, is an instant classic of contemporary Buddhist literature. The Gandavyuha Sutra comprises one-third of the fifteen hundred page Avatamsaka (Flower Garland) Sutra. The Avatamsaka has been described as the epitome of Buddhist thought, Buddhist sentiment, and Buddhist experience and is popular with all schools of Mahayana Buddhism, in particular, The Pure Land and Zen. The Avatamsaka Sutra is the longest sutra of the Buddhist canon and one of the oldest, dating …

Asian Americans And Their Communities Of Cleveland, Stephen Fugita, David Namkoong, Domingo Patawaran, Suey Yee

Cleveland Memory

Asian Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland was written as a part of CSU’s Cleveland Ethnic Heritage Studies and it brought together writers of many nationalities of Asian descent. The Asian community here refers to Americans of Chinese, Filipino, Korean, and Japanese ancestry. It can add to the reader’s sensitivity and knowledge about cultural pluralism and the mosaic that makes up the American culture. Dr. Karl Bonutti, Editor, Monograph Series Ethnic Heritage Studies Cleveland State University. Introduction by Henry T. Tanaka.

A Response To Professor Wu Zongjie’S ‘Interpretation, Autonomy, And Transformation: Chinese Pedagogic Discourse In A Cross-Cultural Perspective', Thomas D. Curran

History Faculty Publications

In response to an essay by Prof Wu Zongjie that was published in the Journal of Curriculum studies [43(5), (2011), 569–590], I argue that, despite dramatic changes that have taken place in the language of Chinese academic discourse and pedagogy, evidence derived from the fields of psychology and the history of Chinese educational reform suggest that patterns of Chinese thought and culture have proven resistant to change. Not only have deeply rooted tendencies to perceive the world in ways that may be distinguished from Western analogues persisted but, not unlike contemporary school reformers, educators in the early twentieth century typically …

A Study Of Modern Mass Education Bureaus (Book Review), Thomas D. Curran

History Faculty Publications

Book review by Thomas D. Curran.

Zhou, Huimei. 近代民众教育馆 = A Study of Modern Mass Education Bureaus. Beijing: Beijing Normal University Press, 2012. ISBN 9787303137077 (pbk.)

Prof. Zhou’s book is a general history of the Mass Education Movement that the Guomindang government conducted in the 1920s and 1930s. Topics covered include the movement’s ideological objectives, its organizational characteristics, it activities, and its reception by and impact on local communities. The work is carefully balanced between exposition and analysis, and it is supported generously by evidence drawn from a wide range of primary sources. Those sources include government publications, local gazetteers, …

Resource-Sharing And Genealogical Research On Islamic Chinese Names In Guilin, Sheau-Yueh J. Chao

Publications and Research

Jiapu家譜, the Chinese Family Register, has been used for thousands of years to trace the genealogical history of a clan and lineage, including a family’s origin, its collateral lines, the migration history of the clan, names and ages of the members, records of marriages, births and deaths, merits and deeds, ancestral biography and ancestral locality. This paper examines the historical evolution and value of Chinese genealogical records with the focus on researching the Islamic Chinese names found in Jiapu and used by the people living in Guilin, Guangxi Province. It provides the historical background of genealogical records and analyzes the …

China’S Musical Revolution: From Beijing Opera To Yangbanxi, Yawen Ludden

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This study seeks to investigate the modern derivative of Beijing opera, known as yangbanxi, through macro and micro approaches. The first part of the thesis surveys the development of Beijing opera under the historical context and in its social, political, and cultural perspectives. The second part, taking a microscopic perspective, undertakes an in-depth analysis of the compositions that were solely created by composer Yu Huiyong. First, it assays the application of Yu’s theory to his compositions of various Beijing opera arias. Second, it analyzes Yu’s instrumental music in compositional dimensions such as material, structure, and techniques, considering the larger implications …

你吃了吗? Have You Eaten?: Using The Westernization Of Chinese Food To Explain The Transformation Of The Chinese Identity In America, Molly Young

Senior Independent Study Theses

This thesis explores the changing Chinese American identity through the changes to Chinese food. Understanding one's identity is a difficult task because of its abstract nature; using a concrete element such as food, makes this task far easier. This method of using food to describe the Chinese American identity is especially helpful because of the importance placed on food in Chinese culture. For the Chinese, food is central to their identity because it is believed that the correct intake of food achieves a balance in one's life. It is also helpful, because the Chinese restaurant in America is a common …

Desde Una Identidad Transnacional A La Hibridez: La Formación De La Nueva Identidad Nikkei En La Población Japonesa En El Perú, Nina Pincus

Scripps Senior Theses

Over the past century, the Japanese community in Peru has grown to be the second largest in South America. Their arrival and subsequent success in small businesses posed a threat to the Peruvian attempt to “whiten” their population. Because of this, racial conflicts arose between the Japanese and Peruvians, leading to the widespread “Yellow Peril” epidemic. Anti-Japanese sentiments caused immigration reduction laws and in the years leading up to WWII, tensions grew. During this time, the Japanese community remained ethnically close, maintaining transnational ties with Japan. This changed after the war, when their sojourner mentality changed to the permanence of …

The Dao That Can Be Spoken Is Not The Eternal Dao: National Role Conceptions And The Effects On Chinese Foreign Policy Behavior, Adam Stephan Jankowski

Senior Independent Study Theses

Chinese foreign policy is an extremely dynamic factor in today's world. One way of trying to describe Chinese foreign policy is by determining national role conceptions of Chinese leaders. The national role conception that Chinese leaders have plays an essential part in the development and implementation of Chinese foreign policy. The different conceptions of China's role in the international system, as determined by Chinese leaders, gives an important contribution to understanding the rise of China as a leading world power. It is obvious that different leaders have had different views regarding what China's position should be in the global community. …

Three Appearances Of Literary Youth And A New Definition, Alexander Turner

Senior Independent Study Theses

An analysis of the Chinese term "Literary Youth." Three Chinese poets were interviewed and their work analyzed in order to understand what subset of the Chinese population the term refers to, paying particular attention to historical changes in Chinese society and the effect on Literary Youth, the modern manifestation of Literary Youth, and what timeless qualities of humanity connect Literary Youth to one another.

From Eileen Chang To Ang Lee: Lust/Caution Ed. By Peng Hsiao-Yen And Whitney Crothers Dilley, Yanjie Wang

Asian and Asian American Studies Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

More Than A Bath: An Examination Of Japanese Bathing Culture, Adam M. Merry

CMC Senior Theses

Steeped in tradition for over a thousand years, bathing culture in Japan remains relevant due to the preservation of the traditional, innovative modernization of existing bathing structures, and the diversification therein. This thesis will examine the significance of bathing culture, focusing largely on onsen and sento, account for its historical evolution, analyze how it functions in modern society and forecast its future viability. More specifically, the concept that Japan's vibrant bathing culture was able to flourish due to mythological creation stories, politically motivated access to baths, propagated therapeutic value, and scientific reinforcement of the benefits of a hot bath …

Human Trafficking In Japan: Legislative Policy, Implications For Migration, And Cultural Relativism, Paul Capobianco

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Media Is A Funhouse Mirror: Comparing Economic Interaction Issues In The U.S. And Chinese Media, Yiye Zhang

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

This project studied the differences between mainstream news reporting in the U.S. and China. I employed content analysis to analyze the major features of 427 news reports about the economic interaction between the two countries. The research focused on the key media frames in the two sets of news media, the factors that shaped these media frames, and the real meanings behind those reports. The study found both similarities and differences. The two sets of media showed significant differences in their reporting of news and events about economic issues in terms of the selection of topics, and the discourse …

Why Chinese Neo-Confucian Women Made A Fetish Of Small Feet, Aubrey L. Mcmahan

Grand Valley Journal of History

Abstract for “Why Chinese Neo-Confucian Women Made a Fetish of Small Feet”

This paper explores the source of the traditional practice of Chinese footbinding which first gained popularity at the end of the Tang dynasty and continued to flourish until the last half of the twentieth century.[1] Derived initially from court concubines whose feet were formed to represent an attractive “deer lady” from an Indian tale, footbinding became a wide-spread symbol among the Chinese of obedience, pecuniary reputability, and Confucianism, among other things.[2]^,[3] Drawing on the analyses of such scholars as Beverly Jackson, Valerie Steele …

Just Sing What You Want To Say: The Importance Of Linguistic Tone In Bai Songs, Lisa Andrews

Masters Theses

The Bai people, a minority group in the People's Republic of China numbering at least 1.6 million, live mostly in the Dali Autonomous Prefecture in northwest Yunnan. Historically, Bai from the central region would gather annually at the base of Shibaoshan Mountain to sing partner style love songs in search for a suitable marriage partner; today, this time is marked by a three-day festival officially titled "Shibaoshan." The annual song competition invites skilled singers to spontaneously compose melodies in response to their counterpart, crafting lyrics to flatter or tease their singing partner. The study quantifies the close relationship between Bai …

Lesbians And Their Mothers: A Taiwanese Experience, Meng-Ning Wang

Marriage and Family Therapy - Dissertations

Many studies, both in the United States and in Taiwan, have explored how the coming-out experience influenced LGBT individuals and their families, and some studies have also addressed how their familial relationships have been shaped because of the experience. As a Taiwanese who has studied family therapy in the United States, my personal experience as well as research and professional interest brought me to conduct this qualitative study focusing on the experience of coming out in mother-daughter relationships in Taiwan. Nine dyads of mothers and daughters were interviewed and provided their retrospective accounts of their experience of disclosure and how …

A Comprehensive Study Of Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine, And Comparison, Per Maximilian Gasseholm

Social Sciences

Today complimentary medicine is being increasingly sought out. Ayurveda and TCM, are among the oldest systems of medicine and have been developed for over thousands of years in India and China respectively. This paper details the philosophies, medical theories, anatomy, diagnosis, and treatments of both of these systems, including a comparison. Both of these modalities of healing operate with a microcosm – macrocosm paradigm. This makes them fundamentally similar, and compatible with each other. Ayurveda uses Tridoshic theory to apply treatments ranging from diet, massage, meditation, yoga among other therapies to bring Vata, Pitta, and Kapha into balance. TCM is …

Assessing Risk Of Violence In Caucasian And African-American Male Forensic Patients, Brandy Lynn Herriott

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Radical Buddhism, Then And Now: Prospects Of A Paradox, James Mark Shields

Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Understanding Africa’S China Policy: A Test Of Dependency Theory And A Study Of African Motivations In Increasing Engagement With China, Nkemjika E. Kalu

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

African states are increasingly engaging with China--politically, socially and economically--especially through the machinations of the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). This dissertation asserts that Africans are willing partners of the Chinese, motivated by their state-centric belief that engagement with China is in their national interest. This assertion contradicts the assumption of most literature to date that appears to borrow from the logic of dependency theory and presents African nations as pawns, subject to the demands of a dominant and exploitative China, who is benefiting at Africa’s expense. Economic trends from the decade before the launch of the FOCAC and the …

The Tension Between The Enlightenment And Cultural Identity In Postcolonial Context: With Wai-Lim Yip As A Focus, Yiqing Liu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The awakening of self-consciousness and subjectivity resulted from the enlightenment demonstrates in the May 4th Movement as a radical criticism on tradition, and this criticism itself becomes a means to modernity. The enlightenment also resulted in the loss of Chinese cultural subjecthood, the consequence of which was felt strong in the post-colonial Taiwan and Hong Kong first. Among the intellectuals under the colonial culture, Wai-lim Yip believes that identification with Chinese culture in Hong Kong may reinstall the cultural identity of the colonized people and establish national identity. Identification with Chinese culture may prompt reflection on the constraints of the …

A Study Of Tan Ying's Reception Of And Reaction To The Zhexi School, Wei Xu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

In the Qing dynasty, besides the Schools of Zhexi and Changzhou, Guangdong poets had also played an important role in the construction of ci poetics, among which Tan Ying, with his 177 Quatrains on Ci-Poems, could be considered as one of the most systematic and sophisticated critic-poets. Heavily influenced by the School of Zhexi, Tan Ying gave prominence to the exquisite and elegant nature of ci-poetry while also highlighting the expression of true emotion and personal integrity in ci-poetry as a rectifying measure for the desolateness and the overindulgence in rhetoric of Zhexi poetics. This paper analyzes Tan Ying's critical …

A Critical Survey Of The Researches On The Historical Materials Of Contemporary Chinese Literature, Xiuming Wu, Tao Zhang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The historical materials of contemporary Chinese literature serve as a new form of historical documents, and in general, the research in this field lags behind, although in the past half century some remarkable progresses have been made in both understanding and practice. The paper takes the current achievements as a start and reviews the present scholarship in the study of contemporary literary materials. First, the evolution of cognition in the researchers and the adjustment of research approach become eminent from the perspective of diachronic analysis and delineation. Secondly, the current studies in the area have been examined on the synchronic …

On The Institutional Theory Of Art From The Perspective Of Cultural Sociology, Xiao Kuang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The institutional theory of art originates from the analytical aestheticians' debates on the definition of art. The discussions round Arthur Danto's "artworld" and George Dickie's "institutional theory of art" signalize a transition of focus from the "essential property" to the "relational property" in aesthetics and shows some sociologically oriented features. Sociologists such as Howard Becker and Pierre Bourdieu proceed to examine the structural rules of art institutions from the perspective of cooperation and conflict, which breaks the boundaries of the traditional philosophy of art and has made significant contribution to the interdisciplinary integration and complementation between contemporary aesthetics and sociology.

Ouyang Xiu's Research OfBook Of Changes And The Turn To Classical Style Prose, Gang Cheng

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

Ou Yangxiu had been a pioneer both as a writer and a scholar of Chinese Classics. The study on Chinese Classics in Song Dynasty was uniquely important for it represented a turn to the classical way, and the Study in Song Dynasty was established against the Study in Han Dynasty. During the process, Ouyang Xiu was both the initiator and promoter with great achievements. Characteristics shown in Ouyang Xiu's style in Chinese Classics study may be summarized to be skeptical, plain, practical and laconic. Meanwhile, Ouyang Xiu had also integrated his style in China Classics study into his prose writing …

Problems With Contemporary Western Environmental Aesthetics, Yu Zhao

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

While environmental aesthetics has made a remarkable contribution for its innovation to contemporary Western aesthetics, the paper argues that some problems with the contemporary environmental aesthetics include the undefined boundaries when expanding the domain of aesthetic objects, self-contradiction when expanding the dimension of aesthetic experience, and overlook of the inherent characteristics of aesthetics as a discipline when emphasizing the relations between aesthetics and other disciplines. The paper cautions that the balance between the traditional concepts and contemporary development is an emergent issue for contemporary environmental aesthetics.

Towards A Thick Description Of Maoist Discourse: With Help From Zhao Shuli, Vukovich Daniel

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

With a few exceptions much of the knowledge of modern China produced in the world either ignores or demonizes the Mao era. On the cultural front things are not much better, whether we are speaking of the "Seventeen-year's Literature" or the culture of the 1960s and 1970s. The negation of the Mao or radical era is, in short, a crucial part of contemporary Sinological-orientalism. There is however a recovery and reorientation project underway that seeks to restore the complexity of the Mao decades and its pursuit of an alternative, agrarian, and socialist modernity. As part of this project I offer …

The Concept Of Subjectivity And The Body Image In Ancient Greek Aesthetics, Xiaohua Wang

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

In the history of western aesthetics, the concept of subjectivity determines the construction of body image. As the concept of subjectivity varies, the body is accordingly represented as subject, object or subject-object. Since the generalized primitive schema of body was discarded, the construction of body image in Greek aesthetics developed in two directions, one being the understanding of body as a pure object, and the other being the understanding of body as taking the double role of subject and object. The former was represented by Socrates, Plato, Epictetus and Plotinus, while the latter was represented by Democritus, Aristotle, Epicurus and …

Cinema As Politics: On Rancière's Philosophy Of Film, Xinghua Lu

Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art

The paper surveys the recent development of Rancière's philosophy of film from the relation between cinema and politics. The paper delineates that movie-making has taken over literary realism and it had become or is becoming or will become a communist machine to negotiate with the new sensibility of human community that is to come. Movie-making actualizes the global redistribution of the new sensibility through images which configure a space of both the past and the present, and it brings the human into a brand new form of life through a new aesthetic politics.