I am really excited to bring this symposium to my campus next weekend! I have worked hard for the past few months with a super talented team of colleagues at Puget Sound and at the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation! Recognizing the intersections of racial and gender biases against Asian American women, this symposium aims to share stories of challenges and triumphs in the lives of three accomplished Asian American women leaders, and engage our students and the community in a discussion about workplace diversity, breaking through the bamboo ceiling, and other race and gender related issues, particularly in light of the recent surge of anti-AAPI violence and racism.
Empowering Asian Americans: Women in Leadership A SYMPOSIUM
10:00-11:30 am, Saturday, October 2 In Person @ Tahoma Room or Virtual Attendance Featured speakers include:
Puget Sound Trustee Emerita Jill Nishi ’89 | Bio Washington Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu | Bio Attorney and Entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan ’07 | Bio
Registration required for in-person or virtual attendance. Click here to register.
This short poem was composed in Chinese and translated into English by Ying two months before he turned 60; he called his motto:
耳順之後 After sixty, 返樸歸陋 Return to simplicity. 去繁除舊 Rid complexity and bad habits. 心闊體瘦 Stay light-hearted and fit. 言簡意透 Don’t babble; Be clear. 寬容勿究 Forgive; Never push too far. 無嗔無憂 No anger, no worry, 瞑念暢遊 Let the mind soar beyond boundary
As I reflect on Ying’s life, I re-translated this poem as a tribute, and I think it accurately describes my brother Ying in his final years.
After turning sixty I no longer need much baggage around me Removing the unnecessary and ridding the old My body shrinks but my mind is about to explode With fewer words I am now even more persuasive Forbearing is the virtue and not to be plaintive No worry no sorrow Close my eyes with dreams into tomorrow
Jeffrey McIntosh teaches mindful drinking of good and clean Pu’er, a tea that is only grown in Yunnan with limited supplies and complex economics. I tasted the Bulang Raw Pu’er that was produced from Denong (德农 Dénóng) Premium Pu-erh Tea. Coming from the ancient tea forest of Bulang Mountain (布朗山 Bùlǎng shān), this Pu’er is tender and delicate, with a light malt aroma that turns more fragrant and sweet after 5 to 6 brews. I only had time to brew a few times and probably was rushed in my preparation when I first tried it so the tea leaves did not open to offer their full flavor. I learned later that the honeyed fragrance and sweetness (回甘 huí gān) would come out much more profusely in later brews.
My third try of this tea was with two other tea enthusiasts.Such delicate tea requires precision in brewing and accurate water temperature (185° F or 85 ° C – follow the instructions on the package). The three of us enjoyed 15 brews, and were pleasantly surprised by how the flavor lingers!
What a fabulous clean tea and rare find! (Denong’s packaging was also delightful!) When you have such a great tea, it is so important to brew it correctly, and take your time to sip and enjoy.
But shouldn’t I already know about mindful drinking? It requires patience, focus, and leisure, which many of us in our busy schedules just don’t have! I’m again reminded of the wisdom that Tang monk, Ling Yi (灵一), shared with us more than 1000 years ago:
野泉煙火白雲間，Amidst wild spring bonfire and misty clouds,
坐飲香茶愛此山。Sipping fragrant tea in this beloved mountain.
岩下維舟不忍去，My tied boat underneath the rock lingers,
青溪流水暮潺潺。Till dusk along the clear floating steam.
Co-curricular experiential & cultural learning experience
I have read more reports and heard from more colleagues these two years that the Chinese program enrollment numbers have either plateaued or decreased. At my university, enrollment has remained in general strong, however, we did see one of our smallest incoming 1st-year language classes this fall. I hope it’s just a blip and the numbers will bounce back next fall, but as most private higher ed institutions are facing enrollment drop, the prospect of continuing growth in Chinese program is looking grim. My university has invested the past 30 years to build a solid Chinese program, and as one of the senior faculty members, I feel particularly responsible to ensure the program’s continuing success.
Here are some of the advices I have gathered in my research and readings, given by fellow teachers, administrators and researchers in the field:
1. Rethink course goals for beginning learners: motivation to continue vs. developing linguistic accuracy and fluency; 2. Identify more ways inside and outside classroom to motivate and engage students in the process of learning Chinese as a foreign language; 3. De-mystify the myth that “Chinese is too hard to learn”; re-evaluate course design to mollify learner anxiety; 4. Develop pedagogy and resources for making learning Chinese an intellectually stimulating educational experience; 5. Better address learning issues within a class or a program facing
overwhelming number of students of Chinese background;
6. Increase campus advocacy; come up with creative and doable ways to recruit students;
7. Make study abroad more accessible especially for STEM students, and more affordable for all;
8. Find ways to change negative views of China among young Americans, … or wait until China’s pop culture and pop stars to gain more global recognition.
Serious reflections & discussions of these issues will help all of us in the field to better cope and correct the trend. I look forward to attending the 3rd Chinese Innovation Forum tomorrow to network with colleagues to share ideas and learn.
Reference articles: – American Students Lose Interest in China Studies, Nikkei Asian Review, April 15, 2017
– Why is China so …Uncool?George Gao, Foreign Policy, March 8, 2017. – A New Era for Chinese for Chinese Language, Jennifer Walker, July/August 2016 issue of International Educator magazine. – Issues in Chinese Language Teaching in Australian Schools, Jane Orton, Chinese Education and Society, Volume 49, 2016 – Issue 6. – Tasks and Learner Motivation in Learning Chinese as a Foreign Language, Youjin Ruan, Xiaoju Duan &Xiang Yun Du, Language, Culture and Curriculum, Volume 28, 2015 – Issue 2.
I have been in search of a good silver teapot for sometime. The Sage of Tea, Lu Yu, more than 1,400 years ago, wrote about metal teapots, which were called “Fu” [鍑fǔ]. Fu was made out of cast iron, which was of course not the best materials for teapots . Porcelain and stone-made pots offer much cleaner inner surface but both are breakable, Lu Yu noted, and he praised silver pots as undoubtedly the best in this regard. “Silver tea pots are the cleanest.” [ 用銀為之，至潔，但涉於侈麗。] Silver is a rare metal and a luxury material for tea pots. It was true then and now.
I still don’t own a good silver teapot but I do have a random collection of vintage metal tea and coffee pots. Many of them are early 1900 Dutch or American-made pewter (錫鉛合金) pieces, which I use for decorative purpose while serving Chinese tea. Old pewter pieces are interesting to look at but not safe to use as they contain lead. Such incongruous mix-and-match of the East and the West, I have found, actually adds interest to one’s tea appreciation experience.
Go to Solid Silver Tea Pot Buying Guide to learn more about how to select a quality silver pot for your taste and needs. Tea Master’s Blog has a great entry about brewing Chinese tea in silver teapots.
I attended Dr. Nancy Wyane’sWOMEN ADVANCING TOGETHERTM workshops and came way realizing that self-promotion is skill many of us are lacking. It is about how to effectively promoting your achievements and making further connections with people and communities around you. Dr. Wyane offered good strategies in her workshops.
I added mine below, thinking especially about Chinese language teachers in K-12 and their common struggles to get recognized and funding from administration.
1. Self promotion always starts with self reflection: what you have
achieved and not yet achieved, what you have done well and what
you could have improved.
2. Document not just your but your students’ (or your team’s) achievements.
3. Reach out to your colleagues, administrators, parents, and alums.
4. Use social media to share news about you, and to connect your community.
5. Invite people from outside your community whenever possible to attend your events.
6. Practice not just what to say to promote yourself and your work, but when and how to say it.
7. Be assertive but not abrasive; be informative but not repetitive.
8. Believe in yourself and be passionate about what you believe in.
9. Always follow up to report or recap, give recognition and gratitude to those involved, invite whoever you reach out for feedback and further collaborations.
10. Praise others for their work, listen to others when they share their achievements with you.
I have been preparing for a presentation at our annul Chinese language teachers conference. Reading a few really great books about the history of Chinese Tea: John C Evans’ Tea in China: The History of China’s National Drink (1992); James A. Benn’s Tea in China: A Religious and Cultural History (2015); Bret Hinsch’s The Rise of Tea Culture in China:The Invention of the Individual (2016). Many late nights with cups of tea. And when I read Tang Poet Lu Tong’s stanza, I felt every bit of his sentiment:
The first bowl moistens my lips and throat.
The second bowl banishes my loneliness and melancholy.
The third bowl penetrates my withered entrails.
Finding nothing there except five thousand scrolls of writing.
The fourth bowl raises a light perspiration,
As all the inequities I have suffered in my life
Are flushed out through my pores.
The fifth bowl purifies my flesh and bones.
The sixth bowl allows me to communicate with immortals.
The seven bowl I need not drink,
I am only aware of a pure wind rising beneath my two arms.
The mountains of Penglai, what is this place?
I, Master of the Jade Stream, ride this pure wind and wish to return.
-James, A. Benn, Tea in China (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2015), 14-15.
Being invited to attend my university’s first Posse Plus Retreat this past weekend was an inspiring experience. I was made aware of issues and concerns in my community that I have not previously paid attention to. The retreat provided a space for voices across age, racial, gender, sexual orientation and rank differences to come together and hear each other out. I came away with this thought:
As a person of color, a woman of Asian background, and an immigrant, I have to speak up, LOUD AND CLEAR!
I attend a retreat over the weekend and had to sit for long periods of time for two days. I quickly realized how lucky I am being a language teacher that I actually stand and move around a lot doing my work. Sitting on a chair, according to Shawn Stevenson, the Nutrition Expert, actually “smacking our health.” He said that it is an “awkward 90 degree position” that makes “certain muscles completely shutting off, while others are being dramatically over-stressed.” Learn more about resting squat as a deep stretch at http://theshawnstevensonmodel.com/resting-squat/.
