Ruth Harkness: The Lady And The Panda
My husband, Bill and I were opposites, but we fit perfectly. I had been with Bill for ten years and could not believe the love of my life was gone. When my husband bill died I received a relatively small inheritance. I received about $20,000, which was not an unpleasant amount in 1936, but wouldn’t last more than a year for a fifth avenue address. This was the last thing that I would spend time dwelling on. My husband decided to go on the expedition with four men with dreams of capturing the giant panda. Though they deserted him long before he passed. I decided that I wouldn’t leave Bill’s mission incomplete- I would pick it up and carry it to victory. In my lifetime several large animals had just
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I soon began to work with Quentin Young more to get ready for the expedition. Respect grew between us during the long days of collaboration. Young conjured a chinese name for me. It was “Ha Gansi” which is translated as “ laughing with courageous thoughts”. China has given me piece of mind that I have never had before, and a calmness that is a great relief. I began to worry about how we were going to keep the panda alive, etc. so I began to think that a baby panda instead of an adult was a good solution. Though, it would be hard enough to find a panda, a baby panda would be impossible to find. “I was told that Western China was no place for a lone white women- especially a woman with no experience in business or traveling. I did not believe it. I was also warned of the present possibility of running into bandits in the interior of Szechwan and reminded that Bill had been compelled to run back. I had done too much to admit defeat before I started.” I soon began to discard my Western ways. My American clothes were left behind in Shanghai. My Shanghai tailor fashioned for me loose-cut, boxy jackets and matching trousers made out of blue cloth and coolies wore. I was hoping to forget all things Western and absorb all things Chinese. Just miles out of Chengdu there were reports of bandits in the area. We came across a man sprawled on the road next to an open field and pierced with bullets. This was a freshly murdered body of one of the
Can you imagine that everyone rejects you just because you are a girl? That actually happened universally in the last century, specifically in the old China. The gender discrimination was deeply rooted in people’s minds and became a traditional Chinese thinking. Wayson Choy illustrates this kind of discrimination really well in his novel The Jade Peony. In the novel, Grandmother continually reminds Jook-Liang that girl-child is useless, it affect Jook-Liang thinks about people, and change the views of various people. Also, it makes her struggle to assimilate to Chinese and Canadian society. Though, she tries her best to revolt
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Even with her previous experiences at Beijing University and at Big Joy Farm, Wong still held some belief that the Chinese system wasn’t as bad as it was sometimes made out to be. This event proved to her that it was. “The enormity of the massacre hit home…Although it had been years since I was a Maoist, I still had harbored some small hope for China. Now even that was gone” (259). As a reporter Wong was able to view the progression of the protests in leading up to the massacre, and in viewing it understood that the Chinese people were much more independent than they had previously demonstrated over the past 50 years. She had continuously seen the Chinese people following what they were told between learning in school or with physical labor, yet this protest was one of the first large scale displays of the unacceptance of the regime by the people, and the government did not know what to do with it. But because of this, Wong was able to recognize that the people were not reliant on this way of life that they had previously been bound to, but truly could lead for themselves and take control. The massacre awakened Wong both to the reality that the government was not acting to benefit the people, and that the people were more than capable of acting for
Known for her notable achievements in memoirs and fiction, Maxine Hong Kingston published China Men: a literature composed of stories about Chinese men in her family. One story distinguishes the heroic journey of grandfather Ah Goong. Ah Goong worked to build the railroad, but was driven out when it was completed in 1869; he then became a homeless wanderer in San Francisco. Upon hearing this fact, Kingston’s family called him Fleaman as “they did not understand his accomplishments as an American ancestor, a holding, homing ancestor of this place” (Kingston 151). What Kingston actually meant by Ah Goong being “an American ancestor” was that he had many accomplishments, but those achievements weren’t communicated to Kingston’s family. To support this claim, I will talk about how Ah Goong’s accomplishments were silenced by photography and by unfortunate circumstances.
The piece describes what she envisioned her time in China would be like; visions of small talk and drinking tea danced in her head (Schmitt 125). This is a bit admirable to a more reserved person because it shows how outgoing she is when diving into a new culture. However, the reality of a language barrier and day to day behavior settled in. A series of uncomfortable exchanges illustrate the challenge of being accepted into a new culture. Described in the essay are people standing around in bath robes and under garments and popping in and out of rooms like some sort of clown
In Jan Wong’s entrancing expose Red China Blues, she details her plight to take part in a system of “harmony and perfection” (12) that was Maoist China. Wong discloses her trials and tribulations over a course of three decades that sees her searching for her roots and her transformation of ideologies that span over two distinctive forms of Communist governments. This tale is so enticing in due part to the events the author encountered that radically changed her very existence and more importantly, her personal quest for self-discovery.
This memoir of Ma Bo’s sent shock waves throughout China when it was published and was even first banned by the Communist Government. This passionate story paints a clear picture for what the Great Chinese Cultural Revolution was really like. Many Chinese living today can attest to similar if not identical ordeals as expressed in Ma Bo’s story. The toils of being a young Red Guard in inner China were experienced by many if not millions. The horrors and atrocities were wide spread throughout the country, not just in Inner Mongolia. The experiences illustrated in Blood Red Sunset uniquely belong to Ma Bo’s entire generation of mislead Chinese. As expressed in the books dedication the Cultural Revolution
In the “Autobiography of a Chinese immigrant” written in 1903 by Lee Chew, dialogues about his point of view
In “Plight of the Little Emperors” by Taylor Clark the article talks about the difficulties of young children growing up in China.
Red pandas, small mammals related to pandas that live in the himalayas, are the animal I will be telling you all about in this report. The reason I chose the red panda is because they are cute and look very interesting. In this paper, I will be describing the red panda's habitat, there interesting body and their diet.
Once the novel comes to an end, we notice clearly the way Wang Lung changed. In the beginning of the novel we learned many ancient Chinese traditions by observing Wang Lung as a simple peasant, but as he becomes a wealthy landowner his life collapses. This rapid change of social class makes it difficult for anyone who intends to keep their traditional values until their death. This fantastic novel by Pearl S. Buck reminds us that we can never forget our traditional values, because if that happens your life will collapse just the way Wang Lung unfortunately
“UCLA professor Anne K. Mellor points to the Creature's Mongolian race by noting that at the beginning of the novel, Walton and his men have set off on their voyage to China by way of the North Pole.”
The tale “American Born Chinese” by Gene Luch Wang depicts the story of three characters, Monkey, Jin, and Danny. They all have the problem of fitting into their new environments. Jin Wang has to deal with Asian stereotypes. Danny has to deal with embarrassment of his cousin. Lastly, Monkey has to deal with the fact that there is no position for him in the heavenly ranks. However, over time, these characters have to come together to fit in. Yet the question remains: what exactly about fitting in is the problem? Although Jin Wang takes the form of Danny to reject his Chinese roots, the embarrassment of Chin-Knee shows he cannot hide behind a false American identity, thereby delineating that race is the source of his problem.
Ruth Benedict’s anthropological book, Patterns of Culture explores the dualism of culture and personality. Benedict studies different cultures such as the Zuni tribe and the Dobu Indians. Each culture she finds is so different and distinctive in relation to the norm of our society. Each difference is what makes it unique. Benedict compares the likenesses of culture and individuality, “A culture, like an individual, is a more or less consistent pattern of thought or action” (46), but note, they are not the same by use of the word, “like.” Benedict is saying that figuratively, cultures are like personalities. Culture and individuality are intertwined and dependent upon each other for survival.
What animal is black and white and loved all over the world? If you guessed the giant panda, you're right! The giant panda is also known as the panda bear, bamboo bear, or in Chinese as Daxiongmao, the "large bear cat." Actually, its scientific name means "black and white cat-footed animal." Giant pandas are found only in the mountains of central China. They live in dense bamboo and coniferous forests at altitudes of 5,000 to 10,000 feet. The mountains are covered in heavy clouds with torrential rains or dense mist throughout the year. Giant pandas are bear-like in shape with striking black and white markings.