Post by Mina Kaneko on Oct 14, 2015 19:15:58 GMT
"The Expert," is a captivating story -- I enjoyed it a lot, and it has left questions floating around in my head. Chi Ch'ang starts out as an ambitious young man with an inflated ego -- he strives to be the best of the best, and with this immense drive nearly achieves that goal. Kang Ying, however, shows him another way of living: a mental serenity that seems to transcend ego and the material world. While before, Chi Ch'ang is obsessed with the act of archery (the external/physical world), he is later saint-like, almost as though he has entered another world: a spiritual one. He seems to have achieved an enlightenment (resembling Buddhist enlightenment) that focuses in the spiritual and sheds the need for the physical pleasures of life. If in the beginning, he is hot-headed, passionate, even greedy, in the end he is completely passive, at one with the universe (we see this when the thief is mysteriously thwarted from entering his home, for example). If before he finds meaning in life by doing, later he has found meaning by simply "being" (indeed, in some moments it seems he almost doesn't even care- he'a described as impassive, languid).
Is he happy? I wonder. He's definitely peaceful --"happiness" as an emotion sounds almost too subjective, too "pleasurable" and human. What he achieves is something beyond earthly elements. In this way, both stories we read are about spirituality and enlightenment, and they are opposites in many ways. Konko in "Passage to Fudaraku" desires enlightenment but feels he is far from it, he blames himself for it, and is afraid to die. Chi Ch'ang, on the other hand, desires superiority and exceptional talent over others, but discovers an unexpected spiritual meaning and forgets his original pasttime.
"The Expert" also appears to have been written or published in 1942, when Japanese militarism was rampant and oppressive to other Asian countries. I wonder whether "The Expert" is a critique of the egotism of Japan, and a need to return to modest spirituality.
Discussion questions:
-Is Chi Ch'ang content with his life? Where do you think he has gone? In many ways, he seems completely absent from life as others know it, kind of vegetable-like, even. He is peaceful, but also completely devoid of emotion. Do you think the story preaches one way or another of living?
-Nakajima uses Chinese names and characters in "The Expert." Why do you think that is (especially considering the historical context)? What Chinese values are reflected in the story that may differ from Japanese?
"Passage to Fudaraku"
-How do you interpret Konko's fear and resistance to sailing out to his death? Is he cowardly? Or is he just caught in a pressure to continue tradition? Why does he go?
Is he happy? I wonder. He's definitely peaceful --"happiness" as an emotion sounds almost too subjective, too "pleasurable" and human. What he achieves is something beyond earthly elements. In this way, both stories we read are about spirituality and enlightenment, and they are opposites in many ways. Konko in "Passage to Fudaraku" desires enlightenment but feels he is far from it, he blames himself for it, and is afraid to die. Chi Ch'ang, on the other hand, desires superiority and exceptional talent over others, but discovers an unexpected spiritual meaning and forgets his original pasttime.
"The Expert" also appears to have been written or published in 1942, when Japanese militarism was rampant and oppressive to other Asian countries. I wonder whether "The Expert" is a critique of the egotism of Japan, and a need to return to modest spirituality.
Discussion questions:
-Is Chi Ch'ang content with his life? Where do you think he has gone? In many ways, he seems completely absent from life as others know it, kind of vegetable-like, even. He is peaceful, but also completely devoid of emotion. Do you think the story preaches one way or another of living?
-Nakajima uses Chinese names and characters in "The Expert." Why do you think that is (especially considering the historical context)? What Chinese values are reflected in the story that may differ from Japanese?
"Passage to Fudaraku"
-How do you interpret Konko's fear and resistance to sailing out to his death? Is he cowardly? Or is he just caught in a pressure to continue tradition? Why does he go?