Jisoo

= Jisoo Jean (Asian Studies 10A) Reflections and Responses Page =

Writing Prompt - 3rd September 2008 (Wed)
//**“My words are very easy to understand and very easy to put into practice,” but “Straightforward words seem paradoxical…” 1) What does this mean? How does it come into play in the Tao of Pooh with regard to scholars? 2) Relate to the poem on page 30. What does Pooh seem to think about scholars? How does that relate to the Taoist view of knowledge?**//

This quotation is saying that the Taoists like to follow nature, and since nature itself is simple, easy to follow, and most harmonious, they see the words of the scholars as paradoxical, too complex, and redundant. This saying shows the Taoist view of scholars very clearly; they do not approve of them, since the scholars think too much, worry way too much, and do not follow nature. The scholars, according to the Taoist point of view, think too much about straightforward matters, which is shown in “straightforward words seem paradoxical…” This comes into the Tao of Pooh as the attitude of Pooh (representation of Taoists) to Rabbit and Owl (representations of Confucianism). Pooh seems very stupid to Rabbit and Owl, since they are much more clever and wise than Pooh is, so Rabbit and Owl treat Pooh like he does not know anything, and ignores him. This saying shows that in fact, the Confucians, or the scholars are the ones who think too much, and that Taoism is much better, since they follow the simplest and most harmonious way of nature, which is much easier to understand.

Pooh seems to think that the scholars are thinking about useless things which do not even come to a clear conclusion or fact in the end. In the poem, he says “that these are whose-but whose are these?” and this shows the Taoist point of view that the scholars are wasting their time studying the matters of the world, which has a negative view on them, since it only makes them worry more, think about useless things more etc. Also, it shows the view that nature is nature, and there is no more to it; it shows the Taoist view that nature should just be followed, not questioned, like the scholars do. By stating the meaningless questions in the fourth line of each stanza, the poem emphasizes the aspect in the Taoist point of view that scholars are doing useless things, and getting tied up with useless studies which do not aid them at all. The thoughts of Pooh in the poem clearly shows the Taoist view on knowledge that knowledge is useless, and that people should just follow nature, which is the key to everything, since it is the most harmonious, unified, and peaceful way to follow.

Discussion Reflection - 21st October 2008 (Tue)
//**Write a short reflection of what you learned from these readings. With the benefit of hind site and knowledge of China and Japan, would Korea had been better off if it had “opened up to the west.”**//

From the readings, I learned that westernization attempted to influence Korea, Japan, and China, but their responses were all different. For example, Japan and China partly accepted westernization, at least more than Korea did, so they were able to develop more than Korea, which entirely closed itself from all trading. After reading the readings, I also learned that Korea shut itself off because it did not want to accept the western cultures, and as a result, did not receive a chance to develop, since it could not make contact with western countries, and therefore did not have a chance to receive more ideas. I felt that Korea would have been better off if it had accepted westernization, since then they would have have a chance to develop their technologies in many aspects, so they would not have been so brutally defeated by the Japanese when they invaded and took over Korea.

Rape of Nanking - Introduction Response
From reading the introduction to the Rape of Nanking, I realized that it was one of the most brutal and violent events in history. I felt from the reading that it was an event that was not very famous, despite its brutality, inhumanity, and unfairness; it was an event where so many people died, were tortured, and were left with ghastly memories that would last all their lives, and despite this, not many people are aware that this massacre ever took place. During the Rape of Nanking, the Japanese invaded China, and tried to invade Nanking as their primary target. They attacked the civilians, and they did not simply kill the people of Nanking; they did indescribably horrible things to the people, such as raping their women, and making fathers rape daughters and sons rape mothers. Also, they buried people alive, decapitated many men and hung them up as souvenirs, toyed with Chinese women, and threw people into the rivers. It says in the introduction that there were some novels about the Rape of Nanking, but still, none of the real horrors of the actual event were known publicly, and it made me wonder that people could be so ignorant about an event that denied people their basic rights.

From reading the introduction of this book, I learned about the callous manner in which the Japanese treated its opponents, and I felt that the Japanese were inhumane to have done those unthinkable things to the innocent civilians, who did not know anything about power. I felt that the Japanese were too harsh on the civilians, and that they should have attacked the military bases instead of the civilians, since the civilians were innocent, and did not know anything about government, and were not involved in anything. I felt that the Japanese were too brutal, and that they had abandoned their morals, and ignored telling right from wrong in their conquest of expansion. It made me sad that the Japanese kept attacking other countries in this manner, even though they had killed so many people during the Rape of Nanking, like they did with Korea when they invaded. I thought that the Japanese should have learned from their mistakes, and they should have learned to keep to their morals even while being in the middle of a conquest for power and land.

Observations and Questions - Handout and Information
-Did the Japanese soldiers lose their morality while going on this conquest for land and power? -What were the consequences of this brutal treatment towards people of other countries? -What were the causes of nationalism in the Japanese which raised this sudden expansion movement?
 * Questions:**

-Too much nationalism can lead to expansionism, and wars, and invasions. -Expansion and invasions can block people of a nation from seeing things from a moral point of view. -Wanting for power and land will never be satisfied.
 * Observations:**

Rape of Nanking - Chapter 1 Response
Chapter one succinctly summarizes the background state of Japan when the Rape of Nanking took place. It mentions about the kamikazes of World War 2, who sacrificed their lives during the war while fighting against the Americans and the opposing countries. Japan wanted to become stronger and expand their territory, so that the European and Western countries could not ignore or look down on them. They yearned for power, and they wanted to take over all of Asia, starting their conquest for power and land at Nanking, China. Their goal was to eliminate Western influence from their concerns, and they believed that that could be achieved through expansion and foreign invasion. I felt that as they went towards their goal through attacking other countries, they lost their morality more and more; they did such unimaginable things to the people living in the cities that they invaded, and they killed so many people brutally in the process of taking over more land. They started the expansion conquest from a city next to Nanking, and the violence started there, and then built up and up, and by the time the Japanese soldiers had reached Nanking, they had lost their morality and humanity completely.

Rape of Nanking - p.54~p.59 Response
//**Why do you think the Japanese were so cruel? How can ordinary Japanese soldiers commit such atrocities(cruel acts)?**//

Although nowadays, Japan is considered one of the most polite, generous, and morally strict country, in its history, there are many traces of inhumane and treacherous actions. During the Rape of Nanking, the Japanese soldiers tortured the Chinese people in methods that were unimaginably treacherous; they made fathers rape daughters, sons rape mothers, buried people alive, had killing contests, threw bodies in the Yangtze River, killed people through freezing, and so many more horrendous ways. Why did the Japanese do this? This is a question that can be answered in various ways, and many scholars have given these answers.

A possible reason as to why the Japanese soldiers were able to do such cruel things to the Chinese was in their beliefs; the common belief in Japan was that the Emperor alone had a valuable life, and that all other individual lives, including that of themselves, were worthless. This led them to think that killing the people would not matter, since all individual life was worthless anyway. Shintoism said that only the Emperor and his descendants were created in God's form, and that all others were not, so they were worthless, which triggered the Japanese soldiers to think that killing lives did not make a difference. However, their thoughts turned into actions resulted in drastic consequences, such as the 260,000 people who died during the Nanking massacre.

Another reason as to why this happened was the mindset that the Japanese were trained to think from from a very young age. The Japanese were trained to think that the Chinese were lower than animals, and that they were worthless and helpless. Because of this mindset, the Japanese had the common thought that the Chinese were less than humans, which led them to think that they were just killing animals when they were killing the Chinese during the Rape of Nanking. These two reasons point to the factor that the Japanese thought that the Chinese were lower than them, and dehumanized them, because of their upbringing and the general opinion of the society. Although this could not be helped since they grew up in such an environment, I think that they were in no position to think that the Chinese were in a lower position to them, since they all are the same people, and it is not right to merely assume that they are lower than them.

Is the Rape of Nanking a genocide, holocaust, or massacre?
//**1) What is a massacre, holocaust, and genocide?**// massacre: an indiscriminate, brutal slaughter of people. holocaust: destruction or slaughter on a mass scale. genocide: deliberate killing of a large group of people.

//** 2) Was "The Rape of Nanking" a genocide and/or holocaust?**// This is a matter which can be debated over, and one which has no clear answer, since it depends on the perspective from which it is seen from. From my point of view, I think that it is a mix of genocide, holocaust, and massacre. It is a massacre in that it was a brutal slaughter of people; the Chinese people were killed mercilessly by the Japanese soldiers. The Rape of Nanking cannot be a full genocide, since it was not planned as carefully, and there was none of marking people with signs to distinguish them from the Japanese, like in the eight steps of genocide. However, it is a genocide in the fact that it was a deliberate killing of a large group of people; the Japanese officials made no or little effort to stop the violence happening in Nanking, despite reports of the atrocities from people in Nanking. It is a holocaust in that it was on a mass scale, since the Japanese people killed thousands of poeple in disgusting ways, and raped thousands of women.

//**3) Why do you think some refer to it as a massacre?**// I think that some people refer to it as a massacre, since many people were killed on a mass scale, and also because the atrocities that happened at Nanking were so brutal; the people killed were not just killed. They were humiliated through raping, and the men were killed in various brutal ways, such as decapitation, drowning, and killing competitions. I think that because of the actual brutality of the crimes that hapened, the Rape of Nanking is often referred to as a massacre.

//**4) Does the term we ascribe (assign to) really matter?**// I think that it matters, since the given name of an event is the factor that gives the first impression to the people who first hear about the event. Since the Rape of Nanking is an event which is not that well known, I think it is more important to give a term which is fitting to the events which happened during the Rape of Nanking.

//**5) Why do we study such horrific events?**// History repeats itself, and I think that we study such events in order to stop it from being repeated. I think that we learn these things to learn that these things are bad, and so that we can know the consequences of such actions. Also, I think that we can learn about the brutality of humans; normally, people would go crazy themselves if they killed a person, because of guilt, but here, we can see the Japanese soldiers killing people for the sake of it, and even having killing contests to kill the most people. It is necessary for us to learn about these tragedies, to make sure that these atrocities do not take place again.

Writing Prompt - 11th November 2008 (Tue)
//**Do countries have an obligation to compensate each other for injustices done in times of war?**//

Countries often cause much injury and suffering to each other in times of war. In many cases, compensation is not an issue which is discussed over frequently, but it is an issue which is important in terms of morality and justice. For example, during World War II, the Germans had to compensate for all the costs of the war through money. Although this led into the Great Depression, the very fact that the compensation was paid itself is significant. I think that if a country has been terribly destroyed or demolished, then it is required for the opposing side to give compensation; countries cannot get off for free after devastating another country's economic, domestic, and social statuses. Compensation is necessary especially if a country started a war and then devastated several countries. I think that compensation does not necessarily mean materialistic things; for example, the Korean women who were taken as comfort women for the Japanese only demand an apology as compensation. It is the thought to compensate that counts.

Nogun-Ri Massacre; Writing Prompt - 13th November 2008 (Thurs)
//**Read today's article on Nogun-ri and write a half page reflection explaining how this is the same or different from Korea-Japan controversy. Note how the perceptions of the Koreans and Americans involved in this incident differ. Do you still have the same opinion about compensation? Why? If you believe this situation is different, how is it different?**//

The massacre that took place at Nogun-Ri in the early days of the Korean War was an incident that brutally killed many Korean people, including many women and children. It is similar to the factor that caused the Korean-Japanese controversy. However, this case was in no way less severe than the events that triggered the Korean-Japanese controversy, but the compensation lessened the pain of the Koreans who suffered. The Americans gave a full apology, compensation, and aid to the Koreans that had suffered because of them, and expressed their greatest remorse for the things they had done. On the other hand, the Japanese took no actions to compensate for their intolerable actions, and expressed no signs of regret or remorse, which sinified that they were denying the very fact that the Japanese tortured and slaughetered the Koreans, even though it is written clearly in history. Although both countries caused pain and suffering to the Koreans, the Korean-Japanese controversy was much more severe that the Nogun-Ri Massacre, because of the actions taken by the countries. The Americans took a much more professional and satisfactory attitude towards dealing with their past; they admitted that they had done these things, admitted the horror of the things they committed, and gave their sincere apologies and appropriate compensation. The way the Americans and the Japanese responded to the things they did in the past in Korea made their reputation in Korea today; the Americans have a good reputation in Korea in modern society, whereas many people have negative views of Japan, although it has been worsened by the dispute over Dokdo. I still have the same opnion about compensation; the Americans fulfilled both factors by giving an apology as well has appropriate compensation, which greatly aided the Korean people. I think that the situation itself is the same, since it is the same situation of a foreign country's soldiers harming and slaughtering the innocent Korean civilians. However, I think that it can be said as different, because of the differect methods taken to confront that actions they had done in the past to Korea.

Writing Prompt - 13th November 2008 (Thurs)

 * Should Korea and China have a say in what Japan puts into its textbooks?**

China and Korea were two Asian countries who suffered from the brutal and merciless actions of the Japanese in the past. People from China and Korea were made to suffer from Japanese intrusions, during the Rape of Nanking and the Japanese occupation, and these tragic events remain as clear memories in people's minds. During the Rape of Nanking, thousands of Chinese women were raped, thousands of men were slaughtered at killing contests, and children were killed and treated like animals. During the Japanese Occupation in Korea, Korean culture was extremely oppressed; Korean was forbidden from being spoken, and everyone had to take Japanese names. Such atrocities are the truth of what Japan did to other countries in its history, but recently, the Japanese have been restricting the amount of truth being written in their textbooks. Their crimes have been beautified before being put in their textbooks, and some parts of their crimes have been edited out, as to cover up their brutal deeds.

The purpose of learning history is to prevent bad events which occurred in the past from repeating themselves, since history does have a tendency to repeat itself. If the new generation of Japan cannot learn about their country's misdeeds, there is a possiblity of repetition of those crimes which tortured many people in the past. Yes, putting in the information about the things Japan did in the past in their textbooks will break their pride, but the truth does need to be told; it is a necessity for the good of not only Korea and China, but for Japan as well. Though editing out the parts that break the Japanese pride will save their faces momentarily, the truth will save them from committing such crimes again, and help the new generation to learn from the past, and learn not to repeat in the present. It is unfair for the pain of the Chinese and Koreans who suffered because of the Japanese to be forgotten by the Japanese, since they were the ones who caused the pain in the first place. Therefore, China and Korea should have a say in what Japan puts into their textbooks.