Li has received Shepherd Centre's 2009 Australian Father of the Year Award and has been Honoured a Doctorate for his contribution to Arts and Literature by the Australian Catholic University.
Thanks Katie for this book choice I'm looking forward to reading it and even more to our discussion on it later in the month.
Hello ladies,
ReplyDeleteI am loving our book choice for this month !!
Here is something you may want to ponder while we read [thanks litlovers]
Lets consider the roles of talent v discipline and perseverance. What about the role of an inspiring teacher ? Sue, I am sure you have lots of experience with that.
Hello ladies
ReplyDeleteI'm posting early because the book has to be returned to the library tomorrow - and I need to think about next month's book. I might chicken out and send you the introduction, Nancy.
Thanks for suggesting the book, Katie, and for focusing the discussion, Nancy.
First, a general comment – I enjoyed the insights the book provided into the political situation in China as Li Cunxin grew up. The ease with which millions of people can be brainwashed is frightening. The horrifying manipulation of young people was just awful. Clearly, this is not the only government which has been successful in this way – Nazi Germany, post WW2 East Germany, North Korea . . .but it can’t only be fascist and communist governments which attempt to control their populations: to what extent are our views manipulated? All countries have history curriculums which paint a glowing picture of government actions; our media has a pervasive and often malign influence. In Britain in WW1, the most jingoistic publications were owned by the same person who manufactured the armaments. There again, I’m republican, which may destroy my argument in this time of massive media support for royalty.
Thinking about talent versus discipline and perseverance: the life stories of the talented suggest you have to have discipline and perseverance. T.S. Eliot worked in a bank. Philip Larkin was a librarian. It’s as though they needed a routine in which to work. A really important aspect of creativity is discipline. I don’t mean you necessarily need the routine of a job, but you do need the self-discipline to put in the hours needed to master the basics – as Li Cunxin discovered. And I can’t believe Einstein just wandered into the laboratory when he felt like it. You have to be a really creative thinker to be a good scientist, but successful research depends on establishing routine.
But without the talent, it’s impossible. Teaching has taught me that. Given roughly equal ability, the student who works hardest in an appropriately focused way will always be most successful. Working with average ability students who work really hard is an eye-opener: they achieve beyond expectation. Working with hard working low ability students can be heart breaking.
Li Cunxin was gifted a flexible body and must have always had the potential to be a good dancer, but it seems it was the work which made the difference. And you have to be selfish to give the time needed, as I think he was. At various times, he put himself and his need to be free to develop his talent above everything else. T.S. Eliot was not good to his wife. By all accounts, Larkin was not a nice man.
I’m not sure it’s an inspiring teacher that’s needed so much as one who recognises the right moment to provide certain information, suggest a course of action or just give emotional support – and, of course, knows how to best to provide that input. It’s perfectly possible to be full of useful ideas, support, and thoroughly antagonise your student.
When students are asked to identify what makes a good teacher, it’s the personal qualities they identify first, not the teacher’s subject knowledge. Teaching is creating a good relationship: to be inspiring that’s where you must be successful. We could discuss endlessly what constitutes a good relationship between student and teacher. For Li Cunxin that seemed to change as he matured and as he moved cultures. A successful teacher in Mao’s China may not have been successful in a modern American secondary school, for example.
I am pontificating again – a teacher’s problem. I’ll close by saying that I thought the book was very interesting, but had Li Cunxin been in my writing class he would have had to work much harder to obtain a A!
Hello Sue and Nancy!
ReplyDeleteHope you are both well. Nothing but work and house work here, I’m afraid.
First I have to say that I really enjoyed this novel. Every time Li succeed, I cheered. Every time he hit a seemingly insurmountable obstacle, I shared his disappointment. It was an amazing tale of perseverance and determination! The way Li pushed himself, how his teachers motivated him, how his family supported him, it was all mesmerizing. I had a hard time putting it down. Teacher Xiao was my favorite of all Li’s teachers. I felt he knew best how to motivate and push Li.
My mother in law was born in Hong Kong. She has told me some stories of how poor her family was when she was growing up. Given their age difference, it’s frightening to see that the levels of poverty in China did not chance much between my mother-in-law’s childhood and Li’s childhood (approximately 10 years later). From what Franklin’s mother tells me, there is still a lot of poverty in various regions of China today. Poverty, in my opinion, can be a monumental motivator. Which do you, ladies, think motivated Li more: family honor or monetary gain (for his family’s sake)?
I do not know if I agree with you Sue about Li having a flexible body. During the examination, Li says “They kept asking me if it hurt. Of course it hurt: it was excruciating! But I was determined to be chosen…” (page 107). I think the conditioning of the ballet school is what made his body so flexible. It was not a natural ability. So many amazing athletes condition their bodies to do extraordinary things. However, I do agree that the work is probably what made the difference in Li’s dancing. I also agree that you need self-discipline and practice. Very few people can turn out like Einstein.
I think Li’s story involved more perseverance and discipline rather than talent. Li pushed himself harder than any other student at the school. Would you say that Li’s success involved a lot of luck too?
I take your point, Katie, about the flexibility. The fact that his teacher identified him to take the examination encouraged me to assume he'd demonstrated something the other students did not possess. It could have been political correctness rather than physical flexibility, though.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think you are right about the luck. From the teacher who first singled him out to his second wife, there was always someone to support him. Returning to America involved luck, too. But there again, you could say he attracted people to him, and he capitalised on any opportunity thrown his way, so he made his own luck. An incredible person, really.
Difficult to assess which motivated him most: family honour or monetary gain because of what it could bring - but I think I'd go for monetary gain. He took asylum in America which could have brought great hardship and shame to his family - hardship because of loss of political status and shame because neighbours were likely to say he had abandoned his family, the most shameful thing a son could do.
And poverty is certainly a great motivator, as the Malaysian government recognised. In Malaysia, the Chinese are actively discriminated against. It was believed the poverty they had suffered and escaped in China made them sharper, more energetic, more motivated than the indigenous Malays, who needed to be protected from the economic competition provided by the immigrant Chinese communities. Measures were taken to favour Malays in areas like education and employment. These are still in operation today, tp the distress of Amnesty International.
In my own country, there are those who believe the government rewards poverty. Some people are activating for welfare cuts to encourage recipients to make a greater contribution to the economy. Have we come full circle?
This novel has certainly provided us with much to think about. Thanks, katie
Hello Ladies,
ReplyDeleteMy apologies for being so late with my comments. The Uni brats have been home for a week and I find the time slips by too fast.
I've noticed how quickly we are reading our way through our booklist and so have a few suggestions to add.
The God Of Small Things by Arundhati Roy.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hossein.
Memoirs Of A Geisha by Arthur Golden.
You may have already read them, let me know what you think.
Now on to Mao's Last Dancer.
I really enjoyed the first part of Cunxin's story. I felt as captivated as you were Katie by his descriptions of his early life and the poverty and hardships he faced and by the close family ties and simple pleasures they found in such a harsh existence.
I was particularly moved by the plight of Cunyuan. The passages in the book where he describes his hopelessness and helplessness with his life."Why do we live in this world ? There is no colour in this life! I'm twenty four years old! There is no end to this suffering" The frog who can't leave the well, I just find his desperation so sad.
I guess that's why I found myself a little more sceptical in the latter stages of the book with Cunxin's story of his family so selflessly supporting him. It may be my cynical mind but that does feel like a selfish and self absorbed thing to believe.
I found the insights into communist China fascinating and like you Sue, find it frightening how easily we can all be manipulated by governments. Makes me a little paranoid how our own pollies spin us.
I also agree that natural ability can only take you so far and in this day of supreme athletes I believe, he who works hardest and smartest wins. I also believe in this day and age winning seems to be all that matters to these high achievers. As you said Sue, it takes a self very focused individual to achieve this.
The dedication Cunxin shows to his art is nothing short of amazing and as has been said before, poverty is a great motivator.
Thanks Katie for suggesting this book, I find with each of our suggestions I am learning so much and enjoying so many different styles of writing and stories.
Good choices, Nancy. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHope you had a good time with the "children". Wonderful that they come home for their holidays.
We have more visitors. Must be moving to the seaside.
Going to cook scrambled eggs.
Sue