The As A Metaphor For The State Of A Nation Essay

Education now is something that is a way of life, just as eating is. However historically, education was one of the only ways to stand out in society, to be a ‘gentlemen’. Hsun Tzu and Frederick Douglas, though worlds apart, share many similarities on their view of education and what it should be like; at the same time, each text contains key elements that show how different their views can be and the reason behind it.

during the Zhou Dynasty, China was experiencing a great deal of political turmoil. A major part of this era was called the Period of the Warring States. It was a time when there were numerous wars that occurred due to the conflict that existed between seven states. (Watkins, 2013) These warring states were the Han, Wu, Zhao, Chu, Qi, Yan and Jin. According to Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler of the book Traditions and Encounters, “This period forced some people to reflect on the nature of society, and the roles of humans beings within society.” The authors continued saying that it forced others to “identify principles that would restore political and social order.” (Bentley & Ziegler, 2011) The principles of Confucianism were established and followed in order to help the citizens of China to live and govern their communities more efficiently. Through Confucianism, Confucius helped legitimize China’s rule and bring about order in the mist of turmoil. The effects of Confucius’ principles are still seen and felt today in many aspects of modern day Chinese society. Veritably, there were points throughout Chinese history where Confucianism affected almost every aspect of life in China. Confucius has impacted the development of Chinese thought and culture in various ways from education to politics, to familial relationships.

This had led to British completely outmuscling the Chinese with their far superior technology, as well as forcing the Chinese into a treaty that opened up numerous ports in China, allowed Westerners to move to China, as well as pay reparations to the British. This utter defeat showed the Chinese that they needed to adapt, and our second document, a map forecasting the partition of China amongst various nations, showed them that they needed to make those changes quick. All of this led to arguments between groups who felt China needed to self-strengthen and those who feared the increasing influence of Western ideals that could be brought on by learning more about the West in order to better defend against it. This is shown in our third document on self-strengtheners, such as Feng Guifen who argues for youths to be taught in Western languages and sciences in order to best defend against them. This document shows further the nationalism within China, as well as the importance of traditions, ideals, and values, as both sides argue their points based on protecting them from Western

In “Plight of the Little Emperors” by Taylor Clark the article talks about the difficulties of young children growing up in China.

The Sun of the Revolution by Liang Heng, is intriguing and vivid, and gives us a complex and compelling perspective on Chines culture during a confusing time period. We get the opportunity to learn the story of a young man with a promising future, but an unpleasant childhood. Liang Heng was exposed to every aspect of the Cultural Revolution in China, and shares his experiences with us, since the book is written from Liang perspective, we do not have a biased opinion from an elite member in the Chinese society nor the poor we get an honest opinion from the People’s Republic of China. Liang only had the fortunate opportunity of expressing these events due his relationship with his wife, An American woman whom helps him write the book. When

Confucianism is a traditional ideology that has already penetrated into every Chinese head. Its main principle is to follow the past, changes and new technologies or new objects are not necessary. Whatever happened in the past are the best standards to follow. The way that Qing government responded after being defeated in the Opium War was shocking from current perspective. China accepted all the unfair treaties to cover the

Throughout the history of this nation, the Constitution, from the formation to the execution thereof, has set forth the precedent for the demonstration of excessive federal power that is clearly illustrated by history and modern America. Sufficient documentation to back up this premise includes primary documents such as James Madison’s Federalist No. 10, the Constitution of the United States, and other historical pieces. Ample consideration should be given to the paramount decisions of America’s elected officials in critical moments as well in the very construction of the American system of government that favors federalism.

As the people of Omelas continued to accept the truth of their city, some have begun to see the child as more of an it than a person and regarded the child similar to a wild animal. “One of them may come in and kick the child to make it stand up. The others never come close, but peer in at it with frightened, disgusted eyes” (245). Not only do the residents accept the child’s misery, they have also

I believe that this individualistic ideal is indeed a consideration in why such a great emphasis is placed on study and academic success both in ancient and modern China. But whilst looking into the topic, I discovered that there was an underlying model of communitarianism with their ethos on study. Chinese people believe that a sound education does not only ensure the future of the individual, but also the future and the development of the family and country on the whole. What this means is the Chinese people believe that that only through study, will China be able to ensure the longevity of its people and nation. The maxim from the Three-Character Scripture (an ancient Chinese writing) states, “if no proper education is given to children, their nature will go bad.” I believe the word “nature” can easily be substituted for the overall health of the future of the nation.

reform naturally removed some of the assumptions for revolution and impeded its progress. This helped to sharpen the already intense conflicts that occurred between the reformists and the revolutionaries. In efforts to check this unfavorable tide, the Chinese student revolutionaries in Tokyo extended their war of words to physical combat. Unfortunately the revolutionaries victory over the reformists in Tokyo was not equal to (5=Zhaoxing, Li, “Seeking Common Ground,”

The government in the United States supposedly revolves around American ideals such as equality and diversity; however, this is simply not the case as perpetuated by class inequalities. The meaning of democracy has been skewed in the United States to represent something entirely different than it did in 1776. Today, American democracy behaves more like an aristocracy, where the upper class exercises power within the government and state, influencing discourse and therefore the laws and resources in our country, which are purportedly “for the people”. Democracy is presumed to provide everyone with equal political power, but the government in today’s America, although seemingly following this ideal model, does not. Instead, the elite upper class has a monopoly over the political influence and are the sole benefactors from public policies due to their influence over the policy making process. The upper class has an overall benefit from class inequality, as it greatly impacts American ‘democracy’ through the significant power gained through money and status, leadership roles that impact government, and the influence in the policymaking process that creates upper class advantages.

One experience so far in China that left a strong impression on my mind was a visit to the Shaanxi museum of history. Our tour guide was a locally educated young woman in her twenties. As she took us through the different periods of Chinese history, at every exhibit showing some sort of tool or mechanistic contraption she would turn and say “as you can see, the Chinese people are very smart!” She also recounted a story in which she was very offended that an American made a comment that Chinese people are short, to which she replied “yes, we are, but we have five thousand years of history and culture!” Both the richness and vastness of Chinese history was a huge source of pride for her, as her slightly illogical response to the American’s comment shows. In retrospect, her age denotes that she grew up on the government’s campaign in the 1990s to educated students about China’s greatness, to foster pride.

Furthermore, the Marxist revolutionary government of Communist China dealt with Confucianism negatively. “In the early 20th century, both before and after the fall of the Qing dynasty, Confucianism was harshly criticized by the New Culture Movement. (Adler 6)” The assumption of this movement was that “virtually everything about China’s traditional culture was holding it back from becoming a modern nation-state.” In fact, Confucianism was high on the list of culprits in this “blanket rejection” of traditional China. “The New Culture Movement criticized Confucianism for its age and gender-based hierarchies, which had become quite rigid during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Communist thinkers also joined this anti-Confucian trend, so by the time of the Communist victory in 1949 Confucianism in mainland China seemed virtually dead. (Adler 7)” “After the Communists took power their anti-Confucian rhetoric only increased. In addition to their professed opposition to social hierarchies, they viewed Confucianism as a feudal ideology. (Adler 8)”

A nation is said to exist when it could traced its origins through the state, in which it associate itself with, histories. Additionally, the cultural elites must be established and well-versed in writing and speaking the national language. There must also be a valid reason for its claim on a certain territory. It is only when these three requirements are fulfilled will the international community consider their claim for a nation (Hobsbawm, 1990: 37). Disagreements, however, tend to arise in the political community over the definition of a nation. This essay will try to list out the different approaches employed in defining a nation starting from a nation being a natural cultural entity to it being politically and

Being bombarded by the Confucian studies, the reform leaders had no intention of reforming the social order. They did not ever realize that social reform was necessary for a country to become modernize. For example, they did not stress the importance of western learning. Besides, they had little idea of universal education which was the foundation for the strength of the west. The limited scope of the reform led to the failure of the Self-strengthening Movement. Being influenced by their confidence in Confucianism, the Chinese thought that the Chinese state and society was perfect and there should not be reform