Section A·Page 8
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The University Daily Kansan
Monday, March 12, 2001
East Asia Outreach Conference dispels myths
By Danny Phillips
writer@kanson.com
Kansas staff writer
Contrary to what some may think, East Asian cultural practices aren't timeless, unchanging or universally accepted.
"Tradition is a process of judgment in which the greatest act of piety is not blind acceptance but criticism," said Lionel Jensen, associate professor of Chinese history at the University of Notre Dame.
He said the best way to understand tradition was to view it as a process of negotiation "of what will be handed down and what will be received."
Jensen was a lecturer that spoke
to a group of 75 educators, instructors and students Saturday afternoon in the Kansas Union as part of the 2001 East Asia Outreach Conference.
The panelists and speakers centered their discussions around the conference's theme, "Inventing and Reinventing Tradition In East Asia."
Conference panel member, John Ertl, a KU graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Anthropology, spent two years teaching in the Japanese town Nishikata, which represents a microcosm of the continually changing traditions in East Asia. He then returned for nine weeks last summer to do research for his
"Tradition is a process of judgment in which the greatest act of piety is not blind acceptance,but criticism."
associate professor of Chinese history,
University of Notre Dame
thesis.
He said Nishikata officials, in an effort to bring the different districts of the town together, which have traditionally had separate identities, created new festivals.
That way, Ertl said, when Nishikata begins a project, the entire town can feel like it's benefiting from it instead of just one district.
The town recently also had a problem with declining population, said Ertl, and town officials were hoping the development of a new industrial park would begin to turn that around.
However, even though the park is attracting new businesses, the population is only gradually increasing because many people who work in the park still commute to Nishikata.
Panel member Dale Slusser discussed the intricate details performed during the Urasenke Tea ceremony. Now himself a tea
instructor, Slusser said students have to go through 10 years of diligent study to become trained in the ceremony.
"We know things are changing," he said.
The ceremony dates back to the 1600s, and it is unclear if the original proscriptions have remained the same throughout the centuries. Slusser said.
The procedures during the tea ceremony are so finely detailed that the entire gathering, complete with a meal and alcohol, takes about four hours to complete.
Although normally, making tea might take 15 minutes. Slusser said, during the ceremony it could take up to 45 minutes.
Not only does the host have to adhere to strict procedures, but so do the guests, usually numbering between three and five, who sit on their legs.
"It sounds absolutely miserable," Slusser said, "but in fact, this is not the case."
He said that it was a very social occasion and that participants partake of caffeine, alcohol and food.
Sarah Donegan, Olathe graduate student, attended the conference and said she especially liked Ertl's slide presentation on Nishikata.
Donegan received her bachelor's in Japanese culture and is now studying urban planning. As a result, she said, Nishikata peaked both of her interests.
Edited by Sydney Wallace
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