Blog #8

responding to 275-300

Please summarize the points Hessler is making about women in China in this section.  Then respond to what he's saying in terms of your gut reaction (thoughts and feelings) and your more considered analysis of what he's saying.

On page 275 Hessler states that "Fuling women were far more likely than men to feel isolated and frustrated." He goes on to say that money was a male quality and that men controlled most of the money in Fuling. Woman had accessories that showed they were from the upper class but these accessories were not as materialistic as what the men wore. When it came to jobs men had a greater chance of getting one than women did. My gut reaction to what Hessler is saying is that men came first and women came second in Fuling’s society. Men were considered a hierarchy than women and had the upper hand in every day-to-day living. This can possibly explain Hessler’s observation when he said, "Fuling women were far more likely than men to feel isolated and frustrated" because the men created boundaries for the women and by doing so they made women feel isolated and frustrated. 

Blog #8

Please summarize the points Hessler is making about women in China in this section.  Then respond to what he's saying in terms of your gut reaction (thoughts and feelings) and your more considered analysis of what he's saying. (275p-300p)

When reading this section, I learned that Fuling women were far more likely than men to feel isolated and frustrated. Women were not known to make the money. Men were associated with men and style and class. Money was a male quality in Fuling. Fuling women were always wearing accessories that showed they were from the upper class. Men had more opportunities than women when it came to work. Women were always somewhat mysterious and foreign, but they were always uniquitous in certain jobs, such as "waitresses, shop assistants, and train attendents..." There was also something Fuling people spoke of which was, san pei xiaojie, meaning "three-with girls". Men would drink with them and doing karaoke, and then dance with them. And if the man paid enough money, sometimes the "three-with girls" would perform the "with." Meaning they would sleep with the man. Love affairs were very common. A man would usually be the one searching for the woman to have the affair with. People said that when women had affairs, they were stealing that man. Fuling woman lived under economic pressures and complicated expectations. 

responding to 275-300

Please summarize the points Hessler is making about women in China in this section.  Then respond to what he's saying in terms of your gut reaction (thoughts and feelings) and your more considered analysis of what he's saying. 

I hope Id be able to post sometime during the break or sooner.
In river town I really appreciate the different type of culture surrounding the book. I think its great how hes not only learning about the different background he is now surrounded by but also learning about himself while all this is happening. Its very introspective.

I hope to add more of my blog post soon

Rivertown is an in depth look into the culture and customs of China from the perspective through 2 American teachers. I will upload my earlier blogposts ASAP.

Blog #7

My current feeling about money is that people misuse it and take advantage of the money they are given from their parents or other family members. People don't know the real meaning and importance of money. Many people use money in frivolous spending periods.I grew up on an island where it's known for "old retired rich folks" and people would immediately associate me as a "born into rich family petty girl." Unfortunately for the most part, people on this island are all petty and the complete opposite of cheap. People would always rub money in each others faces and I became so sick of the whole money-social standing. Of course I know it must be nice to have enough money to have no care in the world, but I believe that because I didn't have an unlimited fund, I was able to learn how to handle my own money and make my own way through growing up.

Mackenzie Ogden

blog post 250-275

Peter's description of money in China compared to the American view in pages 250-275 has quite a bit of contrast between the two. There is a part of the section where Peter describes his salary and the that he disperses it throughout the month. He basically says that he spends his money on unnecessary things and food. Hessler bought a fishing pole only for it to sit in the living room of his house and collect dust. He does things like this with his money because he has nothing to pay for or bills to worry about. If he saves his money that he earned he would have about 400 American dollars a month. From what Hessler illustrates in this section, Chinese people are very generous about giving money no matter how much they have. Even to show respect, Chinese students will pay for their instructors lunches if they happen to be out at the same place. Peter found this to be very uncomfortable and would even pay for his meals before students would come into the restaurant. Although the Chinese are very giving when it comes to money, they are also fined to many things. The only good aspect about the fines and jobs is that the Chinese government will make sure that they have a job to pay for the fine. I think that America should take more consideration into that aspect of the government when they give tickets and fines to people that have no source of money. Chinese are fined for having more than one child, failing exams, missing morning exercise, and many other things. These fines teach the citizens to be more responsible and lets them know that there are consequences to all of their actions and choices in life.

Post 7

Peter Hessler describes his attitude towards money on page 254. He states, “Money meant very little to me in Fuling. I made one thousand yuan a month, while the average per capita income for a Chinese urban household was 430 yuan-fifty-odd American dollars, at the official exchange rate of slightly more than eight yuan to the dollar. In rural areas the per capita income was only 175 yuan a month, but peasants could stretch money further because they grew their own food.” This statement is interesting because he must have found it important/different that money didn’t mean all that much to him if he was going to write a whole chapter on it. It seems like he makes a lot more than the other people who lived in Fuling. Peter continues to talk about buying things for no reason; he just bought objects that caught his eye. It almost seems like he was bored so he decided to go out and buy random things to fix his boredom. On page 259 Peter Hessler tries to analyze why Chairman Moa hated money so much. He states, “Moa was the father of New China, and perhaps it was in reaction to him that the Chinese nowadays spent so much time thinking and talking about money. Or maybe it was simply that now they had more than ever before, with more ways to earn and spend it, and yet with all that new money it still wasn’t enough.” This quote is interesting because it seems like the people who have the most money rather have less money and the people with little money rather have more. I think this same idea happens in the United States where the people who have money don’t become bored and the people who don’t have money always have something to do and want more. Right now I’m a little nervous about money because I’m a college student and it’s rare if a college student has a lot of money. Even though I don’t have a lot of money I don’t feel bored, in fact I feel like I want to do more to get money. This same feeling is probably what the people in Fuling  feel like too.

Post #6

As Peter Hessler talks about how the Chinese are as whole, it fascinates me. He describes the Chinese as being initially confusing and so different, but as he goes on to live in their culture, he finds that the Chinese are rather predictable. If you ask one person in America about their views on a certain political concept and then ask another, their ideas and feelings on that subject are going to most likely vary between the two. This country encourages controversy and giving people the right to speak up about what they think. China, on the other hand- at least how Hessler describes it- is so standardized that people all respond to the same question about rather controversial topics, in the same way. When Peter tells the story about the Chinese people assuming Jews are wise, it makes me feel sad for the their culture because they have such a naïve view of other cultures and traditions around the world.

Because of their lack of education on these worldly subjects, this further explains why the Chinese are so easily influenced by their government system. Much earlier in the novel, Hessler touches on this control the government has on China by saying, “Perhaps by my standards they were politically brainwashed, but compared to the past they were remarkably free” (pg 23). So, even though Chinese culture still comes off a bit brainwashed and politically ruled, their culture has significantly changed since the horrible times of foot binding and lack of education. 

responding to 250-275

Peter Hessler has quite a bit to say about money in this section, describing the Chinese attitude toward money as something distinct maybe from American attitudes, as well as describing his own attitude toward money in the particular context of his life as a Peace Corps worker. 

Summarize the important points PH is making about the Chinese relationship to money, citing specific examples he uses. Also explain very briefly his own situation regarding money. 

Then, explain your own current feeling about money, as well as the prevailing attitude toward money in the culture you grew up with, considering both near-in culture and larger culture in this. Compare all of this to the prevailing Chinese feeling about money that Hessler describes. 

250-350 words

Post 6

The priest of Fuling is a man in his early 80s who survived very harsh conditions during the Great Cutltural Revolution. His church was “was constructed by French missionaries in 1861 (220)”. Above the church there is propaganda sign that talks about the Four Modernizations which are priest of Fuling, Father Li Hairou, who “is more than four times as old as the Four Modernizations (220)”. Father Li is a short man; probably less than five feet but what makes him stand out is his “proud nose” and his bright white teeth which calls "a species of Modernization". He eyes show more emotion then his low and raspy voice.

During Father Li’s mass's they are said in Chinese unless he has pain in his kidneys or knee then he says them in Latin since it is faster that way. However, there are times when he is in too much pain and does not say mass at all but that hardly happens. “He is strong, although he moves slowly  and there is a pronounced dignity in his carriage. Most Elderly people in China have this dignity, because they live in a culture where age commands unquestioned respect… (221)”

The significance of Father Li is that he survived the Great Cultural Revolution who believed Catholicism was a foreign teaching which sent him to the countryside. There he survived poverty, starvation and the torment of the Red Guards who constantly watched him and made march through the streets wearing a sign saying “Down with the Imperialism’s Faithful Running Dog! (223)” This is one of the many stories that Peter Hessler gives about the people who survived the Cultural Revolution and who also believe it was a waste of time. However, Hessler also gives stories about his students who respect Mao Zedong. As an observer of culture Hessler must respect each individual’s ideas and morals for him to really understand a culture such as China's. He could always pick side but then his role as an observer would not be fulfilled.

Mimi Zycherman

Post 6

On page 233 Hessler discuses the view on Hitler in the Chinese culture. Hessler states, “Out of curiosity I often asked the Chinese about him, and many people said the same thing-that he had made some mistakes, but he had been a great leader who did some fine things for his country.” This quote is a significant part of Hessler’s picture of the Chinese culture because it expresses the dedication that the Chinese are taught to have for their leader. The Chinese are taught to trust in their leader, which makes sense since their country is communist. Since they aren’t able to decide on their leader they are taught to trust in them so there won’t be a revolution. I am curious as to how the Chinese define “mistakes.” People in America don’t think Hitler’s actions were just “mistakes” we consider him and his actions to be horrific and unacceptable.   

Blog #6

-the priest in Fuling
-the Chinese view of Hitler
-the Chinese view of Jewish people
-an incident with a woman who approaches him at a teahouse
Choose one of these, summarize Hessler's description of the item, and explain its larger significance for Hessler's picture of Chinese culture and his role as an observer of that culture.  (250-350 words)

"Most of us have two contrary ideas--that Hitler was a great leader, and that he was a crazy man who did terrible things. We have both of these ideas at once, you see. And I think people believe that he is an interesting character, and that also makes them like him. He's very interesting to watch" (234). It seems that the Chinese don't really care much about what Hitler was all about, instead they care more about how he was to watch. 
"Perhaps the strangest part of the Chinese fascination with Hitler was that simultaneously they had a deep respect for the Jewish people" (234). To me it seems like the Chinese don't really understand the gravity of what all is Hitler. If the Chinese truly believed that "Jews were the next best thing..." (234) then they clearly would not feel the same way about Hitler. 

Mackenzie Ogden

responding to 200-250

In this section Peter Hessler describes, among other aspects of his experience:

the priest in Fuling
the Chinese view of Hitler
the Chinese view of Jewish people
an incident with a woman who approaches him a teahouse

Choose one of these, summarize Hessler's description of the item, and explain its larger significance for Hessler's picture of Chinese culture and his role as an observer of that culture.  (250-350 words)