For the literature we read Monkey, it was about a stone Monkey who becomes king to a group of Monkey’s after passing through a waterfall and returning unscathed. Although beforehand he had disrupted the Halls of Heaven and had been sealed under a mountain by Buddha. Eventually the time comes when the Monkey must become the disciple of a Buddhist Monk, named Tripitaka. The Monkey was trying to be helpful to Tripitaka however, when they were attacked by a group of bandits. However, the monkey could have easily scarred the bandits away; he slays them as they start to run. This displeases Tripitaka and he asks the Monkey to leave. Eventually the two meet up and Tripitaka uses a spell on the Monkey to make him loyal. The music piece this week, The Running Brook, flowed like a running stream. It was played with a stringed instrument, probably some sort of guqin. The song started off slowly and increased in speed a few times during the piece. It also slowed during the piece, giving you the since of a flowing brook. For the art we looked at several different pieces of Chinese art. However the terracotta soldiers stood out to me because none of the thousands of soldiers were exactly the same. The grand scale of all the soldiers is amazing.
From reading the story Monkey, I have learned that the Chinese philosophy of Confucianism values self-restraint and control. I learned that the Monkey in the story lacked self-control and was a little hyperactive at times. Throughout the story the Monkey learns that to be an immortal he needs to follow the way. He finds the way to master self-restraint and control was through li, or rituals with Tripitaka. The music piece, The Running Brook, showed how through self-control you can create music that is pleasing to listen to. While the terracotta soldiers all varying in style showed how Confucianism could be as successful as a governmental system.
328 words.
