{"id":18278,"date":"2018-06-21T09:12:21","date_gmt":"2018-06-21T16:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=18278"},"modified":"2018-06-21T09:12:21","modified_gmt":"2018-06-21T16:12:21","slug":"generational-shame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/generational-shame\/","title":{"rendered":"Generational Shame"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yang\u2019s books Boxers <\/i>and Saints[1]<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/i>, were both captivating and heart retching at the same time.\u00a0 I am not an avid graphic novel reader so I entered into these books a little leery of what to expect.\u00a0 I was surprised how engaging these books were and how if began a discussion in my circles in ways that I wish all books we read would.\u00a0 The history of China is relevant to the world we are all working and living in today; especially as we understand how our own countries have and will play a part in the future.<\/p>\n

I am at a campground this week with 11 other people and they have observed me reading these graphic novels.\u00a0 What started as curiosity and turned into a fight for who will read it next.\u00a0 As on today about \u00bd of the group has read both books with a few more interested in starting.\u00a0 I say this because it has produced a discussion about several aspects found in this book th\"\"<\/a>at are subtle enough for some to miss.\u00a0 The first aspect from one of my Hong Kong friends on this trip was the Kungfu fighting style that he observed in Hong Kong growing up called \u201cShenDa\u201d.\u00a0 Shen means \u201cgod\u201d and da means \u201cfight\u201d.\u00a0 He tells me that the Shenda masters open themselves up to the demon possession and take on the power and name of one of the ancient gods.\u00a0 He as observed that while in this state the kungfu Shenda masters are not able to be cut with knives and are given extra strength in a fight.\u00a0 When reading the book on the boxers, there were such similarities between what the boxers were taught and the Shenda masters were able to do. In my first reading this book my western culture told me that this spiritual power was just a symbolic or patriotic expression for those that were rallying against an oppressive regime.\u00a0 To hear my friend\u2019s first hand account of growing up in Hong Kong and seeing this type of fight throws my western mind in a loop.\u00a0 \u00a0This made me go back to the book and see that there were rituals taught and a choice to open oneself to the power and spirits for the purpose of gaining victory.<\/p>\n

There is one other aspect that I am a little leery of writing about but being out of my work country feel as those I can broach it.\u00a0 As I am sure many on you will write about, Tsang History of Hong Kong was a book on the loss of face for a country with a long memory.\u00a0 In the late 1800\u2019s every major power at that time wanted a piece of the China market.\u00a0 The book on Hong Kong wrote a lot about the British and the major issues China had with the British Crown.\u00a0 The truth is that the British were tired of paying so much for the Chinese tea and they wanted a way to be abl\"\"<\/a>e to not only buy but to sell items in China; like Opium. This lack of respect and push from all major powers resulted in the Opium Wars and later the annex of Hong Kong by British) and Macau (by Portuguese).\u00a0 For the Chinese civilization that has a history of power, creativity, and dominance of its neighbors this was a global slap in the face that has relegated it to a second (or third) class country for many generations.\u00a0 The end of the last century and the beginning of this one, China has emerged as a growing force and the country to watch.\u00a0 This country of 1.6 billion and a growing economy, has the money and wealth to play the long game.\u00a0 For a decade or more, China has been moving up the old silk road, into Africa, South America, and many Asian countries to negotiate deals for long term relationships.\u00a0 I heard someone say last year, \u201cthere are Chinese everywhere\u201d and I believe this is by design.\u00a0 I am not a conspiracy theorist but do believe that China is making up for lost time.\u00a0 There is a retribution that desires to balance the shame of the opium wars.\u00a0 All of Chinese live in the Ying \/Yang\u00a0 light\/ shadow.\u00a0 Life has to be in balance\u2026shame has to be accounted for, even it is done to your forefathers. This balance (or the reversal of shame) is a major agenda of the current administration.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The president (or emperor as some Chinese are calling him) has set goals not to bring about a happy people, or content lifestyle.\u00a0 He has set goals to eradicate poverty by 2020, to building a stronger economy, more powerful military\u2026with the intend not just raising this country to be a superpower in the eyes of the world, but to be the most powerful one.\u00a0 If he is able to gain the public status that this country so desires, then what happens internally is not important.\u00a0 The country\u2019s agenda doesn\u2019t address the growing retirement community, or the educational problems, or the issues of basic care.\u00a0 The people\u2019s happiness is not the most important agenda item; control is.\u00a0You might say how does all that related to the Boxers and Saints<\/i> books?\u00a0 It relates because just as Christianity was associated with the foreign devils in the 1880s, it is once again being labeled as a yoke that needs to be overcome in order for us to gain the status they are due.\u00a0 This is a stressful time for all groups working and living in China.\u00a0 The future is unknown and the work that we are all involved in my come to a halt at any point.\u00a0 Jenn, I have so loved and enjoyed the country you live and work.\u00a0 It has been a breath of fresh air that I have needed.\u00a0 This country as well as the one I get to work reminds me that the USA is so young and brash.\u00a0 Many places have a pride and sorrow that lasts many generations.\u00a0\u00a0 Healing needs to take place not only in individuals but also among the communities where this dishonor is remembered.\u00a0 When the people of God make it a point to cross the normal barriers and forgive, God is able to move in and through that dishonor to bringing healing and one day full restoration.<\/p>\n

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[1]<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> Yang, Gene Luen. Boxers and Saints.<\/em> (First Second Books, 2013)<\/p>\n

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Yang\u2019s books Boxers and Saints[1], were both captivating and heart retching at the same time.\u00a0 I am not an avid graphic novel reader so I entered into these books a little leery of what to expect.\u00a0 I was surprised how engaging these books were and how if began a discussion in my circles in ways […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1311],"class_list":["post-18278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-gene-luen-yang","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18278"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18284,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18278\/revisions\/18284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}