ilh24's Blog

Corporeal or Gesturo-haptic Writing

Rotman, Brian B. "Corporeal or Gesturo-haptic Writing." Configurations 10 (2002): 423-438.


our Western historical and religious being and cultural self-identity as alphabeticism


Artaud's program of theatrical embodiment—his refusal to subordinate the stage to the performance of written scripts instead of the imperatives and possibilities of screams, shouts, gestures, primitive signals, and silences—did for modern theater what Pollock's refusal of intentionality and his insertion of the body onto the canvas did for painting: a reestablishing of the gesturo-haptic at the expense of the depictive, the representational, the linguistic, and the symbolic. (433)

Posted on 2009-08-13 01:38:56, 0 comments. Read this article.
From Yuanqi (Primal Energy) to Wenqi (Literary Pneuma): A Philosophical Study of a Chinese Aesthetic

Gu, Ming D. "From Yuanqi (Primal Energy) to Wenqi (Literary Pneuma): A Philosophical Study of a Chinese Aesthetic." Philosophy East and West 59 (2009): 22-46.


-It was believed that the universe was made up of ch’i but this ch’i varied in consistency. The grosser ch’i, being heavy, settled to become the earth, while the refined ch’i, being light, rose to become the sky. Man, being halfway between the two, is a harmonious mixture of the two kinds of ch’i. His body consists of grosser ch’i while his heart is the seat of the refined ch’i. The blood, being neither as solid as the body nor as refined as the breath, lies somewhere in between, but as it is not static and circulates in the body it is more akin to the refined ch’i. Hence the term hsüeh ch’i (blood and ch’i). It is in virtue of the refined ch’i that a man is alive and his faculties can function properly.29(27) 29. D. C. Lau, trans., Mencius (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1970), “Introduction,” p. 24.


- In Chinese philosophy, matter (物質) is substance that has shape. The substance that has a finite form is constituted by qi, but the qi does not necessarily have “form” and “substance.” Zhang Dainian writes: “Qi is a formless being. It is not nonbeing; it is being. But qi does not have form. It is a formless being that can assume form.”33 In a binary system, qi is just the opposite of li 理, or an idea that is an immaterial principle. Qi is materialistic in nature. It is a force, or an energy. That is why it is translated variously as “material force” or “vital energy.”(28)

-on qi: “The Yellow Emperor said, ‘I have learned that a human being has energy, spirit, body liquids, blood, and pulse. I consider these the variegated forms of qi.’”37(29) 37. Huangdi neijing 黃帝內經 (Inner classic of the Yellow Emperor), juan 6, in Ershi’er zi 二十二子 (Writings of twenty-two masters) (Shanghai: Shanghai Guji Chubanshe, 1986), p. 1016.


-In traditional Chinese thought, lingqi 靈氣 (pneuma), the soul of life, is a concept abstracted from the act of breathing. From breathing to speech there is but one step in between, which is sound. One ancient scholar expressed in a few words the movement from the primal qi of the universe through human qi to sound: “The qi gives rise to form, the form to sound; when the sound forms a pattern, pitch-pipes are ready.”39 Poetry is chanted in rhythmic patterns. When it is consigned to paper, it becomes writing. Just as songs rise from rhythmic patterns, so with belles lettres. Su Zhe 蘇轍 related literary writing to qi and declared in unequivocal terms that “Writing is that which is formed by qi.”40(29) 40. Su Zhe 蘇轍, “Shang Sumi Hantaiwei shu” 上樞密韓太尉書, in Zhongguo lidai wenlun xuan, 2 : 311.

-I suggest that the appearance of Cao Pi’s idea of wenqi serves as a landmark indicating that the transition from qi as a metaphysical concept to a category of aesthetics was now complete. This transition can clearly be seen in the fact that wenqi is a reconceiving of the operations of the Dao in aesthetic terms. (30)


-The theory of wenqi describes a system of aesthetic principles that govern the creative and shaping forces operating in the space of three intertwined entities: the macrocosm of the universe including human society, the microcosm of the writer, and the microcosm of his writing. An aspect of the theory that involves the relationship between the macrocosm of the universe and the microcosm of the writer governs a writer’s physio-biological endowment from nature, his socio-psychological conditioning by culture, and the cultivation of his aesthetic sensibility and creative ability within society. What evolves out of the relationship between the microcosm of the writer and microcosm of his writing governs the writer’s identity, motivation, inspiration, writing style, et cetera, and the combination of these makes a writing reflect the totality [End Page 40] of the macrocosm of the universe and the microcosm of the writer. Thus, wenqi theory is not merely a theory of the relation of a writer’s talent and personality to his writing style. It is a theory of the totality of artistic creativity.(40,41)

Posted on 2009-08-12 23:56:25, 0 comments. Read this article.
Self as Image in Asian Theory and Practice

Self as Image in Asian Theory and Practice. State University of New York Press, May 1998. !!/user/ilh24/article/5397603!

"the phenomena of landscape and culture in China are closedly related to the ecological issues of place, space and slef"(Hay quoted by 30)

Posted on 2009-08-08 13:42:24, 0 comments. Read this article.
Poetic Space: Ch'ien Hsuan and the Association of Painting and Poetry

Hay, John. "Poetic Space: Ch'ien Hsuan and the Association of Painting and Poetry." Words and Images: Chinese Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting. Ed. John P. O'Neil, Barbara Burn, Ann Lucke, Greer Allen, and Peter Antony. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Princeton Univ Pr, 1991. 173-198.

Posted on 2009-08-07 13:25:35, 0 comments. Read this article.
Chinese History and the Question of Orientalism

Dirlik, Arif. "Chinese History and the Question of Orientalism." History and Theory 35 (1996): 96-118.

(116)Diasporic Chinese vs Chinese in China

"The strategy of containment is the other side of coin to pursuit of a "Chinese" identity in a global culture."

Posted on 2009-08-07 13:02:15, 0 comments. Read this article.
The Post-Colonial Studies Reader

Ashcroft, Bill. The Post-Colonial Studies Reader. 2 edition. Routledge, January 2006.

chapter 68 The Body as Cultural Signifier. from 'Achebe's Arrow of God: The kinetic Idiom of an Unmasking' Kunapipi9(2),1989.' by Russell McDougall. p300 "The Western 'approach to rhythm is called divisive becaues we divide the music into standard units of time', Chernoff tells us: As we mark the time by tapping or clapping our hands, we are separating the music into easily comprehensible units of time... It is this fact, that Western musicians count together from the same starting point, which enables a conductor to stand in front of more than a hundred men and women playing in an orchestra and keep them together with his baton. Rhythm is something we follw. (quoted in Thompson 1979:41-2)"

Posted on 2009-07-21 14:53:02, 0 comments. Read this article.
The Spiritual Revolution: Why Religion is Giving Way to Spirituality

I want to read this sociology book about religion. It seems very interesting. I feel it will help me understand the scholar's writing about the religion. but maybe I need to come out my some observation first before I jump into this. so i won't be contaminate by the sholars' purpose and research design for their own methodology.

Posted on 2009-06-14 10:21:19, 0 comments. Read this article.
How to prepare the Conference?

Subject: Conference protocols: 625 words is 5 minutes

Lacey was kind enough to type up her notes from our session on everything you need to know for our Sunday conference. I attach them here.

Please note, 1 page is 250 words (Courier 10 cpi, normal margin, full double space). 2 1/2 pages is 625 words. That should be exactly 5 minutes.

Thank you Lacey! Here is it: How to make a splash at our conference.

It will start at 8:30 in the morning with opening remarks, etc it will be a real conference except in miniature, an exquisite little conference. small but perfect and it is essential that everyone follows guidelines

There will be chairs, discussants and panelists... the assignments will be made based on ppl's interests.

Academics are by and large poor performers, you can find out a lot about a person by their performance at a conference, the trick is to do a good job.

Prepare your oral presentation. it should be tight and delivered well. no more than 625 words . 625 wds = 5 minutes. this is critically important. Academics are usually scrupulous abt time. going over time is the rudest thing you can do, it is theft. This is not an idle exercise, it is abt the size of an abstract, the kind you would submit to places to have pprs accepted for a conference.

Write concise, short sentences, be explicit from the outset about the point, direct, very clearly organized, should have a good sense of structure (complexity isnt an advantage here) It doesnt hurt to tell audience what to anticipate.. also dont let a/v props and equipment overwhelm your presentation, use a/v effectively. it should be completely integrated

dont take presentation time to shwo video. sometimes if it isnt too obtrusive you can have it run in the background with no sound... all of this needs to be integrated and integral. also get a buddy to do your a/v stuff for you, you should be worry free during your presentation and then you can do the same for them

run slides through before you show them

use slides.etc appropriately so that you dont upstage yourself

(photographics on 17th will do slides for you, $5 each)

handouts are very effective way to convey point. menu, diagrams, charts, lists, statistics, outlines, quotes... somethings work better as a handout than a projection.

humor appropriately used is always appreciated, when it is done well it is called wit, not gratutitous. also abt presentation, rememebr spoken language is differnt from written language... it has to be focused and you cant present everything... need to convey sense of whole project and then focus on one or two aspects. to give whole project and then something for us to be concrete and specific about and vivid. do it in a way that carries the argument

good to repeat yourself: (1)tell them what you are going to tell them (2) tell them (3) tell them what you told them.

strategic, short pithy quotes sometimes help out

avoid passive voice -- it takes the agency out of the writing, it isnt clear who did something. also avoid embedded , complicated sentences

delivery -- eye contact, mustnt rush and if you know you are within the time limit you wont have to... even mark the point of emphasis on your copy so to remind you while you are reading to slow down


should be engaged in what you are reading


CHAIR ask individual panelist to give a sentence abt how they would like to be introduced and then announce panel... say a few words abt the rationale of the panel and introduce panel... chair is also time keeper. digital watch is best. You can pass a "one minute left note" one way of getting around this is letting the chair know in advance that you are within the time limit and for them not to worry. there will be 15-25 minutes of open discusson moderated by the chair

DISCUSSANTS academic improvisitory theatre .. listens and responds on the spot ... pl need practice at this. bkg's favorite part of a conference... have to listen carefully to everything. bkg will take notes in 2 columns..in one side what she hears and the other what she is thinking. notes are a good way to pay attention. usually towards the end of a panel you get a sense of a sequence or idea or theme or project .... then you get 2 minutes to present your thoughts. the discussants job is to prime the panel, to think across papers.

AUDIENCE important role. It is their job to make certain that all of the panelists are being paid attention to. that questions are being directed to everyone. chair can address question to someone also. you have a responsibility to pose questions to others, your job to ask interesting questions, avoid grandstanding (20 minute questions) this is inappropriate, requires judgement abt how much airspace to take up.

with bad papers you are in the position of the alchemist, to make gold out of shit. you can use the opportunity to say something interesting, generate discussion of what the topic could have said, a salvage operation

these presentations are their own worst punishment, they dont require any more harm than necessary

a conference is a place to show supprt for collegues and for them to show their support for you. be there for each other, in body and spirit.

have fun! -- Lacey Torge

Posted on 2009-06-09 13:49:03, 0 comments. Read this article.
start my thesis

today I am going to start to use citeulike to organize my thesis's huge crossing references.

Posted on 2009-06-03 23:39:00, 0 comments. Read this article.