2011年12月7日星期三

Assignment on the Inventions and Industry for 18th Century in China

Invention:

The Kangxi Dictionary was the standard Chinese dictionary during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Kangxi Emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty ordered its compilation in 1710. The creator innovated greatly by reusing and confirming the new Zihui system of 596 radicals, since then known as 596 Kangxi radicals, and was eventually published in 1716. The dictionary is named after the Emperor's era name.

The dictionary contains more than 47,000 characters (including obscure, variant, rare, and archaic characters) but less than a quarter of these characters are now in common use.
Compilation

The Kangxi Dictionary editors, including Zhang Yushu and Chen Tingjing, partly based it on two Ming Dynasty dictionaries: the 1615 Zihui by Mei Yingzuo, and the 1627 Zheng Zitong by Zhang Zilie. Since the imperial edict required that the Kangxi Dictionary be compiled within five years, a number of errors were inevitable. The Daoguang Emperor established a review board and their 1831 corrected 2,588 mistakes, mostly in quotations and citations.
The supplemented dictionary contains 47,035 character entries, plus 1,995 graphic variants, giving a total of 49,030 different characters. They are grouped under the 596 radicals and arranged by the number of additional strokes in the character. Although these 596 radicals were first used in the Zihui, due to the popularity of the Kangxi Dictionary they are known as Kangxi radicals and remain in modern usage as a method to categorize traditional Chinese characters.

The character entries give variants, pronunciations in traditional fanqie spelling and in modern reading of a homophone, different meanings, and quotations from Chinese books and lexicons. The dictionary also contains rime tables with characters ordered under syllable rime classes, tones, and initial syllable onsets.

The Kangxi Dictionary is available in many forms, from old Qing Dynasty editions in block printing, to reprints in traditional Chinese bookbinding, to modern revised editions with essays in Western-style hardcover, to the digitized Internet version.

The Kangxi Dictionary is one of the Chinese dictionaries used by the Ideographic Rapporteur Group for the Unicode standard.


Industry:

Foochow Arsenal
The Foochow Arsenal, also Mawei Arsenal was one of several shipyards in China built under orders of Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, leaders of the Qing government's Self-Strengthening Movement of the mid to late 19th century. The shipyard was situated in Mamoi, a port town within the jurisdiction of Foochow, which is several miles up the Min River.
The Foochow Arsenal under construction, between 1867 and 1871. Three albumen prints joined to form a panorama.
Planning for the shipyard, the naval school, and other facilities began in 1866 and construction began in 1867. Two French Naval officers, Prosper Giquel and Paul d'Aiguebelle, both on leave from the French Imperial Navy, were contracted to recruit a staff of about forty European engineers and mechanics, and to oversee the construction of a metal-working forge, the creation of a Western-style naval dockyard, the construction of eleven transports and five gunboats, and the establishment of schools for training in navigation and marine engineering - all within a five year period. Chinese authorities provided the materials and labour; the operating cost over the five years was estimated at 3 million taels, and the cost of maintenance of the ships produced was partly funded by revenue from duties on the import of opium. The first ship produced at the Arsenal, the 150 horsepower Wan-nien Ch'ing, was launched in June 1869.

The shipyard was almost entirely destroyed by French forces in 1884 during the Sino-French War of 1883-1885, in the battle of Fuzhou.


Hanyang Arsenal
Hanyang Arsenal was one of the largest and oldest modern arsenals in Chinese history.

Originally known as the Hubei Arsenal, it was founded in 1891 by one of the Qing officials, Zhang Zhidong, who diverted funds from the Nanyang Fleet in Guangdong to build the arsenal. It cost about 250,000 pounds sterling and was built in 4 years. On 23 April 1894, construction was completed and the arsenal, occupying some 40 acres (160,000 m2), could start production of small-calibre cannons. It built rifles loaded with magazines, Gruson quick fire guns, and cartridges.

On 14 June 1894, an industrial accident started a fire in the arsenal that destroyed all the equipment and most of the structures in the arsenal. $1,000,000 in damages were reported. In July of the same year rebuilding began, and in August 1895, all was back to normal and the arsenal started production of German M1888 Commission rifles, locally called 7.92 cm Type 88 Mauser rifle (even though the Commission rifle was unrelated to the Mauser). At the same time, ammunition for the rifle were being produced at a rate of 13,000 rounds per month.

500,000 taels were spent annually in the arsenal, which constructed Mauser rifles and used steel from the works around Hanyang. Iron and coal mines surrounded the area. 160,000 Mausers were purchased by the Chinese military, along with mountain guns and small caliber versions. Smokeless powders was produced for guns at the a factory next to the arsenal. The arsenal itself built 40 Mausers a day, 6 field guns a month. Every day the following was manufactured: 300 shells, 35,000 rifle cartridges, 1,000 pounds smokeless powder. They were moved via Yangzi river until reaching Wuchang. Fortifications across China in the interior and on the coast received these weapons.

During the Boxer Uprising of 1900, the arsenal supplied the Boxers with more than 3,000 rifles and 1 million rounds of ammunition.

In 1904, the arsenal made several modifications to their design of the Type 88, and, at the same time, production capacity was expanded to 50 rifles and 12,000 rounds of ammunition per day. For a time in 1910, the arsenal switched to producing the Type 68 rifle, at a speed of 38 per day.

The quality of the firearms produced in this period was generally low, because the local steel foundries were often ill-equipped and badly managed.

Because of its proximity to Wuchang, the revolutionaries, during the Wuchang Uprising of Xinhai Revolution, largely equipped themselves with foreign and locally made weapons stored at this arsenal - some 7,000 rifles, 5 million rounds, 150 pack guns and 2,000 shells. The arsenal, in support of the revolution, switched into full gear and began producing weapons and ammo day and night.

The Republic of China expanded the arsenal numerous times, and production soared. Quality, however, remained low. In 1917, a training school was established alongside the arsenal. In 1921, production began on copies of the Browning M1917 and the Mauser M1932 "Broomhandle" pistol. In 1930, the design of the Type 88 was once again modified, extending the bayonet. In 1935, a version of the Maxim gun--the Type 24 HMG—was being produced, based on blueprints from the German M08.

As the Imperial Japanese Army approached Hanyang and Wuhan in 1938, the arsenal was forced to move to Hunan, with parts of its assets transferred to various other arsenals across the country. At Hunan, it continued production of the Type 88 rifle and carbine, and also Chinese version of 88 or Type Chungcheng style rifle.

With the Allies' victory in 1945, orders to the arsenal gradually stopped, and, on 1 July 1947, the arsenal was shut down. Many of the senior employees transferred to Formosa and built the basis of today's Taiwan arsenals.


 
Jiangnan Shipyard

Jiangnan Shipyard is a historic shipyard located in Shanghai, China. The shipyard has been state owned since its founding in 1865 and is now operated by Jiangnan Shipyard Co. Ltd. Before 2009, the shipyard was located to the south of central Shanghi. In 2009, the shipyard was moved to Changxing Island, located in the mouth of the Yangtze River to the north of urban Shanghai. The new Shipyard is equipped with several super dry docks, capable of housing the construction of future aircraft carriers for the PLA Navy.

The shipyard builds, repairs and converts both civilian and military ships. Other activities include the manufacture of machinery and electrical equipment, pressure vessels and steel works for various land-based products.

History:

Kiangnan Arsenal
 Gun transportation at Shanghai Jiangnan arsenal, during the Self-Strengthening Movement.
The origins of the Jiangnan Shipyard lies in the Self-Strengthening Movement of the late 19th century in China, during the Qing Dynasty. One of the projects in this campaign of modernisation was the establishment of defence industries, including the Kiangnan Arsenal in Shanghai in 1865. Plans for the Arsenal were established under Zeng Guofan, who served as Viceroy of Liangjiang, although its actual establishment became the responsibilities of Li Hongzhang.

The Chinese name of the Kiangnan Arsenal was literally and in full, the General Bureau of Machine Manufacture of Jiangnan, or the Jiangnan Machine Works for short. It was established to both manufacture firearms and also to build naval vessels. The shipyard, plant and machinery were initially leased from Thomas Hunt and Company, an American firm located within the concessions of Shanghai. Due to the influx of workers and the reluctance of the concession authorities to allow arms to be manufactured within their territory, the Chinese authorities purchased the plant and equipment, and combined these with the existing assets of the old Suzhou and Anqing arsenals, as well as new equipment purchased by Yung Wing in the United States to form the new Kiangnan Arsenal in 1865.

The Kiangnan Arsenal was the largest of the arsenals established during the Self-Strengthening Movement, and also the one with the largest budget - from 1869, its annual budget was more than 400,000 silver taels. A series of high officials, including Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, and Zhang Zhidong served as its head, although Li Hongzhang served the longest term in this role during the Qing Dynasty. Most of the senior technical staff were Westerners, such as the first chief engineer, American T. F. Falls.

During the Tongzhi era, the Arsenal was the largest weapons factory in East Asia. Among its other achievements were the first domestically produced steam boat in 1868, and the first domestically produced steel in 1891.

As well as its manufacturing works, the Arsenal also comprised a language school, a translation house and a technical school.

Kiangnan Shipyard

In 1905, the ship-building operations of the Kiangnan Arsenal were de-merged into the separate Kiangnan Shipyard. In the 1920s Kiangnan built six new river gunboats for the US Navy's South China Patrol on the Yangtze River.

The remaining arms manufacturing arm of the Kiangnan Arsenal operated until its dissolution in 1937, at the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The shipyard was evacuated to Chongqing and re-established as the Chongqing Shipyard.

Large parts of the assets of both the Arsenal and the Shipyard were left behind in Shanghai to be occupied by Japanese forces during the war. During this period, the Japanese occupying forces absorbed the plant and equipment of the Arsenal into the Shipyard. This combination was not reversed after the surrender of Japan.

Jiangnan Shipyard after 1949

New location of Jiangnan Shipyard - Chanxingdao island
After the establishment of the People's Republic of China under the Communist Party of China in 1949, the shipyard changed its Chinese name to, literally, the Jiangnan Shipbuilding Factory in 1953. The shipyard was corporatised in 1996 and organised as a subsidiary of the state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation.

Beginning in 1964, the Communist government moved a number of industrial and technological institutions of strategic importance inland, in preparation for a potential war with either the United States or the Soviet Union. The Jiangnan Shipyard was again moved to Chongqing during this period. Although the Shipyard subsequently moved back to Shanghai, it retains two subsidiary shipyards in Chongqing.

The Jiangnan Shipyard remained a focus of investment by the Chinese government during this period. Amongst other "firsts" in the People's Republic were the first ten-thousand tonne hydraulic forging press, the first domestically designed ocean-going freight ship, the first ocean exploration and communication ship, the first liquid petroleum tanker, and the first sea-crossing train ferry.

WORKERS:
 LOCATION:
 NOWADAYS:


 

2011年11月30日星期三

Music in China

Today I talk about music in China in 20th century. Also I want to introduce some Chinese national music, Chinese traditional opera.

 Because of the New Culture Movement in 1910s and 1920s, a number of Chinese musicians returned from studying abroad to perform Western classical music. The Kuomintang tried to sponsor modern music adoptions via the Shanghai Conservatory of Music despite the ongoing political crisis. Twentieth-century cultural philosophers like Xiao Youmei, Cai Yuanpei, Feng Zikai and Wang Guangqi wanted to see Chinese music adopted to the best standard possible. There were many different opinions regarding the best standard.
A Famous Song in 1920 in Shanghai.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adZTK8tCL3s

Next I talk about Peking opera. I just want to show you more and more Chinese culture.

Peking opera or Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. Major performance troupes are based in Beijing and Tianjin in the north, and Shanghai in the south. The art form is also preserved in Taiwan, where it is known as Guoju. It has also spread to other countries such as the United States and Japan.
Peking opera features four main types of performers. Performing troupes often have several of each variety, as well as numerous secondary and tertiary performers. With their elaborate and colorful costumes, performers are the only focal points on Peking opera's characteristically sparse stage. They utilize the skills of speech, song, dance, and combat in movements that are symbolic and suggestive, rather than realistic. Above all else, the skill of performers is evaluated according to the beauty of their movements. Performers also adhere to a variety of stylistic conventions that help audiences navigate the plot of the production. The layers of meaning within each movement must be expressed in time with music. The music of Peking opera can be divided into the Xipi and Erhuang styles. Melodies include arias, fixed-tune melodies, and percussion patterns. The repertoire of Peking opera includes over 1,400 works, which are based on Chinese history, folklore, and, increasingly, contemporary life.
 Peking opera was denounced as 'feudalistic' and 'bourgeois' during the Cultural Revolution, and replaced with the eight revolutionary model operas as a means of propaganda and indoctrination. After the Cultural Revolution, these transformations were largely undone. In recent years, Peking opera has attempted numerous reforms in response to sagging audience numbers. These reforms, which include improving performance quality, adapting new performance elements, and performing new and original plays, have met with mixed success.


The Vedio of Peking opera
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2shLJc4Z_Yk

Chinese national music

Guoyue is a modernized form of Chinese traditional music written or adapted for some form of grand presentation, usually through a large orchestra of Chinese instruments. It was created in mainland China beginning in the early 20th century and is frequently broadcast on radio and television in the People's Republic of China. It is also the primary form of Chinese music taught in conservatories in China, as well as in Taiwan and Singapore.

Style:

 Patriotic Songs
 Guoyue patriotic songs ensembles range from chamber groups to quite large orchestras which are led by a conductor. Orchestral guoyue compositions are often arranged in concerto-like form, for solo instrument and orchestra, and often incorporate some use of Western harmony.
 Usually it combines traditional instruments with western ones. Like in The East is Red, melodies of traditional instruments like erhu and sheng are combined with western ones such as Violin and trumpets.

Revolutionary songs
 Agiven patriotic song can be performed for a revolutionary cause. Sometimes compositions are done to reflect a legacy. An example is compositions by Zhang Guangtian's (張廣天) in 1993 idolizing the Cultural Revolution. The lyrics did get censored by the government to some degree for being too extreme. But it demonstrates how far the lyrics can go.

 Chinese national music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p5FXd5qOFI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKIF6vkPC8E

Last, I will show you some music that we listen now.

Pop music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URz-wKttvWQ

2011年11月15日星期二

Chinese Rulers and Government in 18th Century

In our group Yunfei Hua and I choose to talk about Chinese rulers and government in 18th century. Yunfei Hua will talk about government and politics and I will talk about rulers.
In 18th century China was in Qing Dynasty. In my speech I will talk about three great emperors, Kangxi Emperor, Yongzheng Emperor and Qianlong Emperor.

Kangxi Emperor

 The Kangxi Emperor  was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the first to be born on Chinese soil south of the Pass (Beijing) and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722.

 Kangxi's reign of 61 years makes him the longest-reigning Chinese emperor in history (although his grandson, the Qianlong Emperor, had the longest period of de facto power) and one of the longest-reigning rulers in the world. However, having ascended the throne at the age of seven, he was not the effective ruler until later, with that role temporarily fulfilled for six years by four regents and his grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang.

 Kangxi is considered one of China's greatest emperors. He suppressed the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, forced the Kingdom of Tungning on Taiwan to submit to Qing rule, blocked Tzarist Russia on the Amur River and expanded the empire in the northwest. He also accomplished such literary feats as the compilation of the Kangxi Dictionary.

 Kangxi's reign brought about long-term stability and relative wealth after years of war and chaos. He initiated the period known as the "Prosperous Era of Kangxi and Qianlong", which lasted for generations after his own lifetime. By the end of his reign, the Qing Empire controlled all of China proper, Taiwan, Manchuria, part of the Russian Far East (Outer Manchuria), both Inner and Outer Mongolia, Tibet proper, and Joseon Korea as a protectorate.

He had 24 sons and 20 daughters.



Yongzheng Emperor

The Yongzheng Emperor was the fifth emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty and the third Qing emperor from 1722 to 1735. A hard-working ruler, Yongzheng's main goal was to create an effective government at minimal expense. Like his father, the Kangxi Emperor, Yongzheng used military force to preserve the dynasty's position. Suspected by historians to have usurped the throne, his reign was known as despotic, efficient, and vigorous.

Although Yongzheng's reign was much shorter than the reigns of both his father (the Kangxi Emperor) and his son (the Qianlong Emperor), his sudden death was probably brought about by a heavy workload. Yongzheng continued an era of peace and prosperity; he cracked down on corruption and waste, and reformed the financial administration.


He has 10 sons and 7daughters.

Qianlong Emperor

The Qianlong Emperor was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796. On 8 February, he abdicated in favor of his son, the Jiaqing Emperor – a filial act in order not to reign longer than his grandfather, the illustrious Kangxi Emperor. Despite his retirement, however, he retained ultimate power until his death in 1799. Although his early years saw the continuation of an era of prosperity in China, his final years saw troubles at home and abroad converge on the Qing Empire.

Hongli was adored both by his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor and his father, the Yongzheng Emperor. Some historians argue that the main reason why Kangxi Emperor appointed Yongzheng as his successor was because Qianlong was his favourite grandson. He felt that Hongli's mannerisms were very close to his own. As a teenager he was very capable in martial arts, and possessed a high literary ability.

He had 17 sons and 7 daughters.

2011年11月8日星期二

Assignment for The Poets and Writers of the 20th Century

Last class I talked about the roles of women and men in society 18th century in China. In this class I choose to talk about the poets and writers of the 20th Century in China. In this class I can learn some Germanic culture, but I come from China, and I want to introduce some Chinese to my classmates.

From 1990 to 2000, China had many famous poets and writers. Today I want to introduce a great Chinese writer. His name was Lu Xun.

Lu Xun or Lu Hsün, was the pen name of Zhou Shuren (September 25, 1881 – October 19, 1936) is one of the major Chinese writers of the 20th century. Considered by many to be the leading figure of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in baihua (the vernacular) as well as classical Chinese. Lu Xun was a short story writer, editor, translator, critic, essayist and poet. In the 1930s he became the titular head of the Chinese League of the Left-Wing Writers in Shanghai.
Lu Xun's works exerted a very substantial influence after the May Fourth Movement to such a point that he was highly acclaimed by the Communist regime after 1949. Mao Zedong himself was a lifelong admirer of Lu Xun's works. Though sympathetic to the ideals of the Left, Lu Xun never actually joined the Chinese Communist Party. Like many leaders of the May Fourth Movement, he was primarily a liberal.

Early Life:
Born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province, Lu Xun was first named Zhou Zhangshou, then Zhou Yucai, and finally himself took the name of Shùrén, figuratively, "to be an educated man".
 The Shaoxing Zhou family was very well-educated, and his paternal grandfather Zhou Fuqing held posts in the Hanlin Academy; Zhou's mother, née Lu, taught herself to read. However, after a case of bribery was exposed – in which Zhou Fuqing tried to procure an office for his son, Lu Xun's father, Zhou Boyi – the family fortunes declined. Zhou Fuqing was arrested and almost beheaded. Meanwhile, a young Zhou Shuren was brought up by an elderly servant Ah Chang, whom he called Chang Ma; one of Lu Xun's favorite childhood books was the Classic of mountains and seas.

Education:
Lu Xun was educated at Jiangnan Naval Academy (1898–99), and later transferred to the School of Mines and Railways at Jiangnan Military Academy. It was there Lu Xun had his first contacts with Western learning, especially the sciences; he studied some German and English, reading, amongst some translated books, Huxley's Evolution and Ethics, J. S. Mill's On Liberty, as well as novels like Ivanhoe and Uncle Tom's Cabin.
 On a Qing government scholarship, Lu Xun left for Japan in 1902. He first attended the Kobun Gakuin a preparatory language school for Chinese students attending Japanese universities. His earliest essays, written in Classical Chinese, date from here. Lu also practised some jujutsu.

In Sendai:
Lu Xun left for Sendai Medical Academy in 1904 and gained a minor reputation there as the first foreign student of the college. At the school he struck up a close student-mentor relationship with lecturer Fujino Genkurou; Lu Xun would recall his mentor respectfully and affectionately in an essay "Mr Fujino" in the memoirs in Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk. (Incidentally, Fujino would repay the respect with an obituary essay on Lu Xun's death, in 1937.) However, in March 1906, Lu Xun abruptly terminated his pursuit of the degree and left the college.

Lu Xun, in his well-known Preface to Nahan (Call to Arms), the first collection of his short stories, tells the story of why he gave up completing his medical education at Sendai. One day after class, one of his Japanese instructors screened a lantern slide documenting the imminent execution of an alleged Chinese spy during the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05). Lu Xun was shocked by the complete apathy of the Chinese onlookers; he decided it was more important to cure his compatriots' spiritual ills rather than their physical diseases.

Works:

Stories
•from 《呐喊》 Call to Arms (1922)◦狂人日记 "A Madman's Diary" (1918)
◦孔乙己 "Kong Yiji" (1919)
◦药 "Medicine" (1919)
◦明天 "Tomorrow" (1920)
◦一件小事 "An Incident" (1920)
◦头发的故事 "The Story of Hair" (1920)
◦风筝 "Kite" (1925)
◦风波 "Storm in a Teacup" (1920)
◦故乡 "Hometown" (1921)
◦阿Q正传 "The True Story of Ah Q" (1921)
◦端午节 "The Double Fifth Festival" (1922)
◦白光 "The White Light" (1922)
◦兔和猫 "The Rabbits and the Cat" (1922)
◦鸭的喜剧 "The Comedy of the Ducks" (1922)
◦社戏 "Village Opera" (1922)
◦"New Year Sacrifice" (1924)

•from《彷徨》"Wandering"◦祝福 Well Wishes(1924)
◦在酒楼上 In the Drinking House (1924)
◦幸福的家庭 A Happy Family (1924)
◦肥皂 Soap (1924)
◦长明灯 The Eternal Flame (1924)
◦示众 Public Exhibition (1925)
◦高老夫子 Old Mr. Gao (1925)
◦孤独者 Dictator (1925)
◦伤逝 Sadness
◦弟兄 Brothers
◦离婚 Divorce (1925)

•from《故事新编》"Old Tales Retold" (1935)◦补天 Mending Heaven (1935)
◦奔月 The Flight to the Moon (1926)
◦理水 Curbing the Flood (1935)
◦采薇 Gathering Vetch (1935)
◦铸剑 Forging the Swords (1926)
◦出关 Going out (1935)
◦怀旧 Leaving the Pass (1935)
◦非攻 Opposing Aggression (1934)
◦起死 Resurrect the Dead (1935)

 Essays
•我之节烈观 My Views on Chastity (1918)
•我们现在怎么做父亲 What is Required to be a Father Today (1919)
•Knowledge is a Crime (1919)
•说胡须 My Moustache (1924)
•看镜有感 Thoughts Before the Mirror (1925)
•On Deferring Fair Play (1925)

 Collections
•《呐喊》 Call to Arms (Na han) (1923)
•《彷徨》 Wandering (Pang huang) (1925)
•《中国小说史略》 Brief History of Chinese Fiction (Zhongguo xiaoshuo shilüe) (1925) a substantial study of pre-modern Chinese literature
•《故事新编》 Old Tales Retold (Gu shi xin bian) (1935)
•《野草》 Wild Grass (Ye cao) (1927)
•《朝花夕拾》 Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk (Zhao hua xi shi)(1932) a collection of essays about his youth



1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu_Xun

2011年11月1日星期二

The roles of women and men in society 18th century

I come from China, so at first I want to talk about the roles of  women and men in society 18th century in China. In 18th century, China was at Qing Dynasty. At that time, women had no rights. Men always were more powerful than women, and men always had rights.

Life:
Men always ate first. Women could not eat with men at same time at one table. Women always ate after men.
Men always went to work, and made money for his family. Women always stay at home, and did all housework. Women never went out for working. Men did not took care for children. Women always took care for the children at home.

Education:
Only men could go to school for studying. If women wanted to learn knowledge, they stay home, and read some books.
Only men could took test. Women could not took any test.

Government and politics:
Only men could work in the government. Only men could took the test for government.
Women could not work in the government. Women never talked something about politics, and never join some politics activities.

Marriage:
Men could marry several women. Only men could allow to divorce.

2011年10月25日星期二

The Assignment for Berlin Calling

Questions:
1.He said, drug can help him relaxing. Drug also as a way can help him to escape the emotional turmoil he experienced in losing his mother.

2.I think his fans take drug just for fun. They think taking drug can bring their mind to Ickarus' music. His fans take snort cocaine and ingest pills.

3.I think he does not know drug can hurt his health. He tries new thing, and he is rebel. Everybody in the subculture is on drugs. 

4.I think it is different. I never see people take brug in my live. I do not go to bar, and drink in the bar. My parents always do not allow go to bar. I also do not smoke. My life is different between the movie.

5.I think no.

6. Sorry, I did not see similar "cult movies" of US origin.


After watch this movie, I think this movie's story is easy to understand. The actor Paul Kalkbrenner shows his music in this movie. He has nice performance in this movie. In this movie Ickarus take drug. He think taking drug can help him feel better and relaxing. Taking drug is as a way can  exclude Ickarus' stress and the pain of his emotion or spirit. Ickarus is also a young man, he is a rebel person. Sometime he think taking drug can help him make music. However, he found his inspiration was given by his real life. When he in the hospital, he found something at last he made  a nice CD.

From this movie we need to think about what things we should need and own. Some things do not bring or give you real life. Ickarus lost his girlfriend, but at last he knows what is most important for him. In China, some young people go to the bar. They drink a lot, someone take drug. They think drinking  and drug can make them happy. They also think drinking and drug can make thme relaxing. They do not know what is correct way that can make them happy and relaxing.

2011年10月5日星期三

All Quiet on the Western Front

Last week in class we watched a movie that is All Quiet on the Western Front. All Quiet on the Western Front is a 1930 American epic war film based on the Erich Maria Remarque novel of the same name. I know some characters and stories, but not very well. This movie helps me to understand this novel better than before. It also helps me to know the  characters and stories.

All Quiet on the Western Front is considered a realistic and harrowing account of warfare in World War I, and was named #54 on the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies. However, it fell out of the top 100 in the AFI's 2007 revision. In June 2008, after polling over 1,500 workers in the creative community, AFI announced its 10 Top 10—the ten best films in each of ten "classic" American film genres; All Quiet on the Western Front was ranked the seventh best film in the epic genre. In 1990, the film was selected and preserved by the United States Library of Congress' National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director.

Universal re-released the film in 1939. It contained anti-Nazi announcements read out throughout the film in a March of Time style; yet the aim was to remind people of the horrors of wars in a time of international unrest.
 Later re-releases by Universal International were substantially cut and the film's ending scored with new music against the wishes of director Lewis Milestone. Before his death in 1980, Milestone requested Universal fully restore the film with the removal of the end music cue. Two decades later, Milestone's wishes were finally granted when the United States Library of Congress undertook an exhaustive restoration of the film, which is vastly superior in sound and picture quality to most other existent prints.
 The film got tremendous praise in the United States, but there would be controversy over the film's subject matter in other places, including Europe.

 On its release, Variety wrote:
 The League of Nations could make no better investment than to buy up the master-print, reproduce it in every language, to be shown in all the nations until the word "war" is taken out of the dictionaries.
 Some of the credit for the film's success has been ascribed to the direction of Lewis Milestone:
 Without diluting or denying any... criticisms, it should be said that from World War I to Korea, Milestone could put the viewer into the middle of a battlefield, and make the hellish confusion of it seem all too real to the viewer. Steven Spielberg noted as much when he credited Milestone's work as partial inspiration for Saving Private Ryan ...Lewis Milestone made significant contributions to [the genre of] the war film.
 Due to its anti-war and perceived anti-German messages, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party banned the film from Germany in the 1930s and early 1940s. During its brief run in German cinemas in the early 1930s, the Nazis disrupted the viewings by releasing rats in the theaters.
 Also, between the period of 1928 to 1941, this was one of many films to be banned in Australia by the Chief Censor Creswell O'Reilly. The film was also banned in Italy in 1929, Austria in 1931, with the prohibition officially raised only in the 1980s, and in France up to 1963.
 The silent version, restored by the Library of Congress, premiered on Turner Classic Movies on Sept. 28, 2011.[1]

[1]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Quiet_on_the_Western_Front_(1930_film)

2011年9月20日星期二

Assignment #3 Reading All Quiet on the Western Front

After read this novel, I found this is an anti-war novel. Throughout “All Quiet on the Western Front” the notion of common humanity acts as one of the greatest anti-war messages communicated. Author does not simply not glorify war, and tells us the war is very terrible. The war can  destroy people's dream, and the so-called patriotism.  The novelist  communicate the human side of war, almost as a direct affront to the centuries of novels that have favored the patriotic and nationalistic over the human cost. The war can destroy every, include human civilization. When the war and death come, human is very small. Human cannot resist death. In the novel ,most importantly, it is the death of emotion which arguably, in the world of war, was Paul’s greatest enemy. In the novel, Paul discovers that the only truth underlying war is that all parties, enemies and allies alike, are human beings—not faceless creatures. In my opinion, this is a good  anti-war novel. Author uncover the war is terrible, and the war can destroy every thing. The war brings death and pain to human.

2011年9月13日星期二

Group Speech.

I am Hui, and I am in the group one. In my group, my topic is Berlin. I told about some information about Berlin.
Berlin is the capital city ogf Germany. It is one of the 16 states odf Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people. Berlin is the biggest city in Germany. Berlin come s from two small cities one is Colin the other one is Berlin. Bertrade routes crossed the River Spree and quickly become a commercial.

Early Modem Period
Berlin made money, making luxury goods for the Prussian court and suppliies for the Prussian military.

The Industrial Recolution
Berlion become Germany's main rail hub. End the 19th century, Berlin become Germany's banking and financial center.

Massive Unemployment
Only compensated from construction of east Berlin. Berlin has been called the capital of poverty, so many people on the wellfare. Firguress indicate the first surplus in the history of the city state.

Resources: Wikipedia

Assignment #2 Berlin

In group speech, my topic is Berlin. Why I choose this topic? Because Berlin is a famous city in the world, and it is the capital of Germany. Also Berlin is one of one of the 16 states of Germany. The population of Berlin is 3.45 million. Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city in the European Unions. Berlin  located in northeastern Germany.

History:

The first written records of towns in the area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. Spandau is first mentioned in 1197 and Köpenick in 1209, although these areas did not join Berlin until 1920. The central part of Berlin can be traced back to two towns. Cölln on the Fischerinsel is first mentioned in a 1237 document, and Berlin, across the Spree in what is now called the Nikolaiviertel, is referenced in a document from 1244. The former is considered to be the founding date of the city. The two towns over time formed close economic and social ties and eventually merged in 1307 and came to be known as Berlin.



Economy:

In 2009, the nominal GDP of the citystate Berlin experienced a growth rate of 1.7% (−3.5% in Germany) and totaled €90.1 (~$117) billion. Berlin's economy is dominated by the service sector, with around 80% of all companies doing business in services. The unemployment rate had steadily decreased over the past decade and reached a 13-year low in 2008; As of April 2010 unemployment was at 14.2% (German average: 7.9%).

Siemens, a Fortune Global 500 company and one of the 30 German DAX companies, has a headquarter in Berlin. The state-owned railway, Deutsche Bahn, has its headquarters in Berlin as well Many German and international companies have business or service centres in the city.Among the 20 largest employers in Berlin are the Deutsche Bahn, the hospital provider, Charité, the local public transport provider, BVG, and the service provider, Dussmann and the Piepenbrock Group. Daimler manufactures cars, and BMW builds motorcycles in Berlin. Bayer Schering Pharma and Berlin Chemie are major pharmaceutical companies headquartered in the city. The second largest German airline Air Berlin is also headquartered in Berlin.


Sports:

Berlin hosted the 1936 Olympics and was the host city for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final. The IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in the Olympiastadion in August 2009. The annual Berlin Marathon and the annual ÅF Golden League event ISTAF for athletics are also held here. The FIVB World Tour has chosen an inner-city site near Alexanderplatz to present a beach volleyball Grand Slam every year. Berlin has a famous soccer club, it is FC Union Berlin .


2011年8月30日星期二

First Assignment

I choose these two topics: Upper Middle Rhine Valley; Cologne Cathedral.

1.Upper Middle Rhine Valley
Why I choose this? Because Rhine is the famous and important river in Europe. When I studied in high school, in geography class I learned some information about this river. Now, in these topics I saw  Upper Middle Rhine Valley and I chose this topic.

The strategic location of the dramatic 65km stretch of the Middle Rhine Valley between Bingen, Rüdesheim und Koblenz as a transport artery and the prosperity that this engendered is reflected in its sixty small towns, the extensive terraced vineyards and the ruins of castles that once defended its trade.
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1066

2. Cologne Cathedral
Why I choose Cologne Cathedral ? Because there are many famous churches in Europe, in German Cologne Cathedral is very famous, that I want to know it.

Begun in 1248, the construction of this Gothic masterpiece took place in several stages and was not completed until 1880. Over seven centuries, successive builders were inspired by the same faith and a spirit of absolute fidelity to the original plans. Apart from its exceptional intrinsic value and the artistic masterpieces it contains, Cologne Cathedral testifies to the enduring strength of European Christianity.
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/292