The Roof Tile of Tempyō is an emotional historical novel depicting the story of 4 Japanese monks on their study mission in China. Apart from the 4 student monks, the novel also focuses on two other main characters, namely Gōgyō, a monk who spends his entire life transcribing Buddhist texts for Japan and Ganjin, a renowned Buddhist master who is persistent in travelling to japan.
The novel begins with a rough voyage to China, showing the perilous journey weathered by many before them. (Inoue, 1975, 17) Upon reaching China and accustoming themselves to the new culture, the monks request for Tao-hsüan, a teacher of monastic rituals, to go to Japan. [Inoue, 1975, 23] However, this was insufficient as Japan lacks qualified monks to assist in the
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(Inoue, 1975, 6) With this mission, individuals such as Gōgyō are passionate and driven enough to spend their entire life transcribing texts for the transmission to Japan. With this life-time sacrifice, the amount of knowledge and effort placed into the transmission hence greatly increases the pace of cultural borrowing between the nations. Some may argue that poets and traders facilitate cultural borrowing as well which is certainly true. However, in both cases, cultural borrowing is a by-product because unlike religious individuals, the main goal for merchants is to make a profit and the main goal for poets is to write poems for their own country. Their main intention is not to spread their work to Japan, hence if they achieved their goals, they would be contented even if their works never touch Japanese soil. Furthermore, Gōgyō stated that texts brought back to japan are hardly reliable hence he paid much attention to transcribe accurately for the sake of japan. (Inoue, 1975, 32) If traders were left in charge of the scrolls, they will only care about their profits and not the accuracy of the …show more content…
Unlike regular citizens, the monks were braver in facings the voyage as they believe they have divine protection from mishaps. This can be seen from the novel as monks such as Ganjin, will have occasional visions regarding the journey ahead, giving them strength to face the voyage ahead. (Inoue, 1975, 76-77) In addition, regardless of effectiveness, it is without a doubt that praying and chanting help religious individuals mentally prepare themselves for the journey. Hence, before they set sail, they will attempt to quell the wrath of the sea god through the Sutra of the Dragon King and on board the ship, they will offer prayers to the Shinto and Buddhist deities. (Inoue, 1975, 5 &
In the beginning paragraphs of Mrs. Spring Fragrance, Sui Sin Far introduces readers to the Chin Yeuns and their beautiful 18-year-old daughter, Mai Fwi Fan, who goes by her American name, Laura. Sui Sin Far describes the Chin Yeuns as living “in a house furnished in American style, and wore American clothes, yet they religiously observed many Chinese customs, and their ideals of life were the ideals of their Chinese forefathers” (865). Abiding by Chinese tradition, Laura’s parents have “betrothed their daughter” (865) to the son of the Chinese Government school-teacher. Laura confesses to Mrs. Spring Fragrance that she is actually in love with Kai Tzu. Mrs. Spring Fragrance is the only person who knows about the relationship between Laura and Kai Tzu. Unfortunately, for Laura, her betrothal is quickly approaching. Mrs. Spring Fragrance, trying to cheer up her young friend, quotes the famous l...
In the book, Matteo Ricci, a pious Christian, tried to impress the Chinese by using his memory skills. He also hoped that they can be interested in his culture and thus interested in God (p. 140). Under that time fierce political and financial situation and religious fermentation, it was really tough for Ricci and other preachers to preach in China. In order to reach goal which make the people in China believe in god, they went through a lot of difficulties. But also because of these difficulties, they shattered Ricci’s original dream which was easy to preaching in a different country into pieces. Ricci and others thus tried to find another accessible and more realistic way to achieve their goals.
There might be an emotional response at the tragedy of thousands of people plucked from their homes to live in a foreign place, but it is far more effective to show these struggles through the eyes of one person, rather than from an economic or or national viewpoint. Anyi does exactly this in “The Destination”. Anyi never forgets the individual hardships of each character, she demonstrates what “It was not easy to live in Shanghai” (Anyi 137) means to each person. Characterizing their hardships with compassion and understanding that, young or old, changes in China had an effect on all, and all have the right to acknowledge
Chapter one, The Observers, in the Death of Woman Wang demonstrates the accuracy of the local historian; Feng K'o-ts'an, who compiled The Local History of T'an-ch'eng in 1673. The descriptive context of the Local History helps the reader to understand and literally penetrate into people's lives. The use of records of the earthquake of 1668, the White Lotus rising of 1622 and rebels rising vividly described by Feng the extent of suffering the people of T'an-ch'eng went through. Jonathan Spence stresses on how miserable the two-quarter of the seventeen-century were to the diminishing population of the county. The earthquake claimed the lives of nine thousand people, many others died in the White lotus rising, hunger, sickness and banditry. P'u Sung-ling's stories convey that after the loss of the wheat crops there were cases of cannibalism. On top of all of this came the slaughtering of the entire family lines by the bandits. The incredible records of women like Yao and Sun in the Local History present the reader the magnitude of savagery the bandits possessed. All of these factors led to the rise of suicides. The clarity of events Spence given to the reader is overwhelming.
their every day lives. In this novel each major principle of Taoism is followed by an explanation made though a humorous story staring Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends.
...assical Novels of Chinese literature, Journey to the West) is a story of redemption. Although this goes beyond the scope of “The Monkey’s Story”, which ends with Monkey imprisoned under the mountain and condemned as Heaven’s worst criminal, through a “journey to the west” with a Buddhist monk in an effort to retrieve religious scrolls for the Buddha, Monkey is able to shed his violent and troubled past, transcend his identity as a trickster, and ultimately redeem himself. In this way, Monkey can be viewed as a Bildungsroman for Monkey, similar to the way in which The Odyssey can be thought as one for Odysseus. Monkey undergoes a journey towards wholeness, transitioning from a fragmented self dominated by the trickster to a relatively whole self with the overarching archetype of hero. Archetypes do not stay the same forever; they are fluid, dynamic, and ever-changing.
The beginning of the book starts out with Liang’s typical life, which seems normal, he has a family which consist of three children, two older sisters and him the youngest, his two sister’s reside in Changsha 1 his father has an everyday occupation working as a journalist at a local newspaper. Things start to take a turn early in life for Liang Heng, his families politics were always questioned, the mistake mad...
Although written over 600 years apart from each other, Ki no Tsurayuki’s fictionalized depiction of his rough voyage to Kyoto, Tosa Nikki, has many similar qualities to Matsuo Bashō’s Oku no Hosomichi. Their focus on nature and a general journey, whether or not there is a set goal, creates a similar progression in both accounts based on actual events.
The journey Hsun Ching would embark on began as nothing more than weight on his shoulders. Little did he know, it would be an expedition that would change his life forever. Not only changing his perspective on the world, but also life, his personality, and character. All the risks and sacrifices that Hsun Ching has to make during his journey are a very small price to pay for the positive benefits on his life. The journey not only revolutionizes his outlook on the world and life, but also on the Sutra and what it truly means to the world.
The novel tells the story, in a fictional account, of the author's experiences as a young boy in Shanghai at the outbreak of the Second World War. Jim, the third person narrator of the novel, is separated from his parents when the Japanese invade Shanghai at the end of 1941. The first part of the novel tells of his adventures on the streets of Shanghai, trying first of all to find his parents, then to give himself up to the Japanese. When even that fails, Jim's life becomes a simple battle for survival, first of all in Shanghai and then at the hands of the Japanese in a staging camp, where he is effectively sent to die.
“It was a totally new experience for me” (145). Throughout Dai Sijie’s novel, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, the narrator and his companions go through new experiences and opportunities that they had never encountered before. The narrator and his closest friend, Luo, are sent to a village to become more knowledgeable and work. They encounter the tailor’s daughter, or the seamstress; with her, they discover items that were not known as illegal at the time, books. Daj Sijie conveys how influential one’s surrounding environment is through the power of friendship, literature, and happiness.
The author travels to China as an English teacher for the Hunan Medical School. There he stayed for two years picking up many anecdotes along the way. The author already had spent a large amount of his life studying Chinese language and the martial arts. However, when he arrives in China he meets teachers who have dedicated their entire lives to perfecting a particular art or skill, whether it be martial arts or calligraphy.
Prayer was supposed to be a vocational work for the monk, without prayer the monastic life was not sustained. “After the Work of God, all should leave in complete silence and with reverence for God, so that a brother who may wish to pray alone will not be disturbed by the insensitivity of another.” Monks were required to perform physical labor of some sort. “Idleness is the enemy of the soul.” In other words, work as a means of sustenance in the monastery was necessary and was a sign of praise to God. Therefore, “St. Benedict stressed the importance of the person and the relationship of living together.” Also, the Rule gave authority to the Abbot of the monastery whom at the same time had an obligation to consult with the rest of the community the most important issues. Therefore, the whole life of the Benedictine monks was organized from this Rule: duties, obedience, silence, prayer, singing, mealtimes, sleep time, dress and footwear, and so
2. Journey from the Fall. Dir. Ham Tran. Perf. Kieu Chinh and Long Nguyen and Diem
Many Americans today are blind to what life is like in other countries. After watching Hollywood movies where Chinese are only portrayed as either Kung Fu masters or super geniuses, it is no wonder so few Americans know about the reality of China today. But novels like Gold Boy, Emerald Girl, written by Yiyun Li, help to show some of the more somber realities of contemporary China. When reading this novel, it seems as if Yiyun Li is portraying China as being filled with loneliness and despair, bringing about an overall tone of complacency for the novella “Kindness.” But contrary to the tone of this story, Li unveils hope hidden within the encounters of others and their positive and negative influences.