ignorance is bliss, but also blinding. knowledge is power, but also fear.
is there a happy medium?
i have always thought myself smart, but there is a difference between smart and educated. between smart and aware. i was not aware, for a long time.
education is necessary for development, but the type of education is crucial. not only must one learn how the natural part of the world works, but also the unnatural--the history of the human race, the science of synthetic elements, the current conflicts racing across the ticker tape in times square.
i would say 'go forth,' and learn, but i would risk being sued by levi's. so i'll refrain.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Sunday, June 19, 2011
buenos dias, mis amigas. or amigos, if there is atleast one male follower among us. the days when i forget my spanish are the odd ones, seeing as i have been studying it longer than any other language(save for good ol' ENGLISH). i am at a loss for how to spend my time, as i have a lot of it but i have no plans and for some reason being lazy isnt quite as appealing as it used to be. we never seem to have enough free time when we want it, and yet when we do have it we have no use for it. would someone care to explain to me why that is? i would like to spend my time making cupcakes, but alas, i have no frosting or frosting ingredients and no one to eat them. oh poo. au revoir.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Ciao, residents of the universe. i have recently returned from Italy, or what my friend likes to call The Old Country(la paese vecchia). there was lots of sleeping, and busing, and picture taking, and blackmail-picture taking, and ruins, and sheep, and furry trees, and small beds, and strange bathrooms, and playgrounds, and italian residents(some of whom were nice and others who were snotty). i think i took 1000 pictures, and unfortunately facebook doesnt like to cooperate when i want to upload photos. i think its jealous that i didnt take it with me. the wifi was very slow there. can someone please explain to me why the DCPS spring break was so late this year? every school system around us seemed to have it a month earlier than we did. very odd.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
what is the point of chemistry? i mean, i know that it is essential to modern medicine and pretty much everything, but why is it such a pain to learn? also, why is winter so long? it seems to last forever. it never seems to get warm until about may or june, when we're just dying in the heat because air conditioning always just happens to break when you really need it. so we're stuck taking our finals in 85 degree heat and dreaming of the ocean or atleast that a nice breeze would blow open a window so we wouldnt be so overheated. extremes are never pleasant.
Monday, January 18, 2010
a year later. Mr. W is gone, and all is right with the world. blogs are kind of out now, too. twitter is killing them. according to one friend, "twitter should die in a hole." i agree. it is poisoning the minds of innocent children. but blogs are awesome because you can post whatever you want and no one cares. and no one reads them anymore, either, so it really doesnt matter. hello world! this is my blog.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
China Project
Dear Genghis Khan,
I am an ambassador from the country of England. King Edward II has read Marco Polo’s writings. He is impressed and feels that Europe is behind the times and needs to advance in terms of technology, society, philosophy, and religion. It is his opinion that by emulating the last few hundred years of Chinese history, starting with the rebirth of Confucian ideas, we would be able to improve the societies of Europe and stabilize the governments throughout the continent. As an ambassador, the King would like me to come to China and learn how your empire has expanded and advanced so greatly.
The government of England is interested in learning more about how your great country got to where it is today. We are impressed by your civil service system. We are looking forward to learning more about how Confucian ideas led to equality of opportunity, hope, respect, and participation. We appreciate, and would like to learn more about, your civil service system: how it leads to a fairer government, how it increased the number of applicants for better jobs, and how it led to educated people replacing the founding elite. We are fascinated about how the reinvented civil service system resulted in less rebellion and, in turn, a more stable government.
I understand that prior to the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism was the dominant philosophy and influenced the government for many years. At first, only merchants and intellectuals were interested in the new ideas. Over time, it became more attractive to many people. It gained support among the ruling classes. Buddhists became advisers at the imperial court. However, in the end, Buddhism lost favor in court and was increasingly vulnerable to attack.
During the Tang Dynasty, people of China began to reject Buddhist rule and the Buddhist way of life. Buddhism was criticized for being a foreign religion. Buddhist monasteries had acquired thousands of acres of land and serfs. With land came corruption. The government reacted strongly and no longer supported it. Instead they gave their support to a revived version of the Confucian philosophy.
`Also during the Tang dynasty, a re-birthed form of Confucianism became more prominent. This new form was known as Neo-Confucianism. This form of the philosophy was a response to Buddhism. Neo-Confucianism says that the world is real, not an illusion. It also says that fulfillment comes from participation in life, not withdrawal. The goal of individuals is to move beyond the material world to reach union with the Supreme Ultimate. This is accomplished by a careful examination of the moral principles that rule the universe. Because of this rebirth of Confucian ideas, there was an infusion of hope throughout China.
This infusion of hope occurred because Neo-Confucianism was focused on the here and now. It was also focused on the pursuit of happiness. In response, the people of China wanted a better life. They worked harder, which led to an economic explosion. Some believe there was a one thousand percent increase in agricultural production. Because of the agricultural and economic explosion, people turned to the system of specialization and the country became more advanced.
The excess food generated by the agricultural explosion permitted the Chinese to build an agricultural trade, and in turn to trade other products. Four very important goods led to the rebirth of the Silk Road: the compass, paper, the printing press, and gunpowder. Gunpowder led to a more powerful empire and a more protected one as well. Paper led to more precise documentation. Together with the printing press, paper spread new ideas and religions all over the Eastern World. The advent of widespread printing helped to circulate Confucian teachings and educate more and more eligible candidates for the civil service exam. The compass made navigation much more efficient, and led to the expansion of the empire because it could conquer faraway places.
As I mentioned before, the English government much admires your civil service system. When the civil service exam was recreated based on Confucian ideas, there was an incredible increase of applicants for good government jobs. The number of exam takers for the low-level prefectural exams rose from 30,000 annual candidates in the early eleventh century to 400,000 candidates by the late thirteenth century. Education replaced birthright. This led to a better government, because educated people were in office -- as opposed to people who had powerful families.
By the late eleventh century, the founding elite class had been replaced by the scholar-gentry class. This signaled the beginning of a new imperial bureaucracy that brought a stabilizing influence on the politics of China. The government was fair and not corrupt, so there was less rebellion and protesting. All of this led to a more powerful, stable, and prosperous country. Education replacing birthright was also the chief avenue to social mobility and life of pleasure in Hangchow, which we have all heard and read about form Marco Polo.
The Civil Service Exam was the chief vehicle for the descendants of former serfs to participate in the good life that resulted in increased output, prosperity, and happiness. The Confucian ideas it was based on caused the people who were given government jobs to be able to work together and be more tolerant of one another. The respect and participation that the ideas taught made people more accepting of diversity and gave way to new ideas and methods, which benefited the government. Your civil service exam was the perfect way for the descendants of former serfs to be able to live the life of a middle or upper class citizens of China. With increased social mobility, cities such as Hangchow flourished, as Marco Polo has written.
Overall, I believe you can tell from my writing that we in England are highly impressed by your successful country. We would very much like to try to use your methods to make our country more efficient and prosperous. We hope that using the Civil Service System and infusing Confucian thought throughout our country will help us to be a more powerful, prosperous, and stable country. Your country is a great example for the world. We hope that one day England will also be a great example.
As I have stated, my King requests that you permit me to travel to China to learn more about your systems. In addition, he asks that you permit me, on my return home, to bring several civil servants back to England. We would like them to share their “rags to riches” stories to infuse hope and desire of a better life throughout our country and overall make it a better one. We hope that the stories will inspire our people to work harder and make England a better country. If you are willing to let us travel to your country and return home with people to inspire our own success, I can assure you that we will be your ally if any trouble comes your way. We will help you defend your country, as you are helping us become a more advanced country.
Sincerely, Ambassador Strauss
I am an ambassador from the country of England. King Edward II has read Marco Polo’s writings. He is impressed and feels that Europe is behind the times and needs to advance in terms of technology, society, philosophy, and religion. It is his opinion that by emulating the last few hundred years of Chinese history, starting with the rebirth of Confucian ideas, we would be able to improve the societies of Europe and stabilize the governments throughout the continent. As an ambassador, the King would like me to come to China and learn how your empire has expanded and advanced so greatly.
The government of England is interested in learning more about how your great country got to where it is today. We are impressed by your civil service system. We are looking forward to learning more about how Confucian ideas led to equality of opportunity, hope, respect, and participation. We appreciate, and would like to learn more about, your civil service system: how it leads to a fairer government, how it increased the number of applicants for better jobs, and how it led to educated people replacing the founding elite. We are fascinated about how the reinvented civil service system resulted in less rebellion and, in turn, a more stable government.
I understand that prior to the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism was the dominant philosophy and influenced the government for many years. At first, only merchants and intellectuals were interested in the new ideas. Over time, it became more attractive to many people. It gained support among the ruling classes. Buddhists became advisers at the imperial court. However, in the end, Buddhism lost favor in court and was increasingly vulnerable to attack.
During the Tang Dynasty, people of China began to reject Buddhist rule and the Buddhist way of life. Buddhism was criticized for being a foreign religion. Buddhist monasteries had acquired thousands of acres of land and serfs. With land came corruption. The government reacted strongly and no longer supported it. Instead they gave their support to a revived version of the Confucian philosophy.
`Also during the Tang dynasty, a re-birthed form of Confucianism became more prominent. This new form was known as Neo-Confucianism. This form of the philosophy was a response to Buddhism. Neo-Confucianism says that the world is real, not an illusion. It also says that fulfillment comes from participation in life, not withdrawal. The goal of individuals is to move beyond the material world to reach union with the Supreme Ultimate. This is accomplished by a careful examination of the moral principles that rule the universe. Because of this rebirth of Confucian ideas, there was an infusion of hope throughout China.
This infusion of hope occurred because Neo-Confucianism was focused on the here and now. It was also focused on the pursuit of happiness. In response, the people of China wanted a better life. They worked harder, which led to an economic explosion. Some believe there was a one thousand percent increase in agricultural production. Because of the agricultural and economic explosion, people turned to the system of specialization and the country became more advanced.
The excess food generated by the agricultural explosion permitted the Chinese to build an agricultural trade, and in turn to trade other products. Four very important goods led to the rebirth of the Silk Road: the compass, paper, the printing press, and gunpowder. Gunpowder led to a more powerful empire and a more protected one as well. Paper led to more precise documentation. Together with the printing press, paper spread new ideas and religions all over the Eastern World. The advent of widespread printing helped to circulate Confucian teachings and educate more and more eligible candidates for the civil service exam. The compass made navigation much more efficient, and led to the expansion of the empire because it could conquer faraway places.
As I mentioned before, the English government much admires your civil service system. When the civil service exam was recreated based on Confucian ideas, there was an incredible increase of applicants for good government jobs. The number of exam takers for the low-level prefectural exams rose from 30,000 annual candidates in the early eleventh century to 400,000 candidates by the late thirteenth century. Education replaced birthright. This led to a better government, because educated people were in office -- as opposed to people who had powerful families.
By the late eleventh century, the founding elite class had been replaced by the scholar-gentry class. This signaled the beginning of a new imperial bureaucracy that brought a stabilizing influence on the politics of China. The government was fair and not corrupt, so there was less rebellion and protesting. All of this led to a more powerful, stable, and prosperous country. Education replacing birthright was also the chief avenue to social mobility and life of pleasure in Hangchow, which we have all heard and read about form Marco Polo.
The Civil Service Exam was the chief vehicle for the descendants of former serfs to participate in the good life that resulted in increased output, prosperity, and happiness. The Confucian ideas it was based on caused the people who were given government jobs to be able to work together and be more tolerant of one another. The respect and participation that the ideas taught made people more accepting of diversity and gave way to new ideas and methods, which benefited the government. Your civil service exam was the perfect way for the descendants of former serfs to be able to live the life of a middle or upper class citizens of China. With increased social mobility, cities such as Hangchow flourished, as Marco Polo has written.
Overall, I believe you can tell from my writing that we in England are highly impressed by your successful country. We would very much like to try to use your methods to make our country more efficient and prosperous. We hope that using the Civil Service System and infusing Confucian thought throughout our country will help us to be a more powerful, prosperous, and stable country. Your country is a great example for the world. We hope that one day England will also be a great example.
As I have stated, my King requests that you permit me to travel to China to learn more about your systems. In addition, he asks that you permit me, on my return home, to bring several civil servants back to England. We would like them to share their “rags to riches” stories to infuse hope and desire of a better life throughout our country and overall make it a better one. We hope that the stories will inspire our people to work harder and make England a better country. If you are willing to let us travel to your country and return home with people to inspire our own success, I can assure you that we will be your ally if any trouble comes your way. We will help you defend your country, as you are helping us become a more advanced country.
Sincerely, Ambassador Strauss
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