Chinese Mythology Essay -- essays research papers

Mythology is a collection of myths or the study of ancient traditional stories of gods or heroes, giving an explanation to an unexplained event. For Plato, the fist known user of the term, muthologia meant know more than the telling of stories (Kirk 8). Mythology is an important aspect to the world, today. Through the study of myths help us develop an idea of what the cultures were like. It includes hints that exhibit how they lived their lives. Myth is its serious purpose and its importance to the culture (Lansford 1). Every culture has its own myth that explains about the nature of that particular culture. The Chinese culture has been around for many centuries, its myths have accumulated into varies stories of gods and their culture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   China is the world’s oldest continuous civilization (Cotterel 9). Evidence show the earliest Chinese civilization to be found around 1650 B.C. The beginnings of Chinese mythology, started around the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Influenced by alchemist ideas, Taoist and Buddhist superstitions, various writers created storied about their enigmatic surroundings. The beginning of the Chinese civilization is based on mythology. One of the creation myths is about the beginning of the world. In it, the world began as an egg and cracking open, the top of the shell grew to be the sky, the lower shell became the Earth, and in the middle stepped a man named P’an-gu. Mythology of the ancient Chinese is apparent through art, music and literature. Since, there is no explanation of how the Chinese civilization began; mythology has been a way of explanation to the Chinese culture and other cultures around the world, today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chinese mythology, as with many other cultures, has many gods and goddesses that are in charge of various things. In the Ancient Chinese culture, there are gods and goddesses for every important aspect of the people’s life, even things as unlikely as the stove god and the door god. Other deities that were important to the Chinese people were the gods of the elements such as Chu Jung, the fire god, Lei Kun, the thunder god, the wind god, and the lightning goddess. Most of the element gods devoted themselves to punishing criminals and keeping evil spirits away. There were also important gods in charge of fields such as Kuan Ti, the god of war, Kuan Yin, the goddess of c... ...an anyone could possibly fathom. If everyone became educated about other culture, there would be little to know unknown, and there would probably be less hate in the world. Mythology, the study of myths, gives people an insight to others dreams, hopes, and their fears. We all have hopes, dreams, and fears. By learning about other cultures’ hopes, dreams, and fears we can feel more connected to each other and reach out. Mythology is a key element in keeping peace without shedding blood. Work Cited Cotterel, Arthur. Ancient China. Kirk, Geoffrey Stephen. Myth: its meaning and functions in ancient and other culture   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  California; University of California Press. 1970 Lansford, Tyler. â€Å"Mythology† Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2002. Microsoft   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Corporation, 2002 Owens, D.W. â€Å"Ancient Chinese Mythology: Gods and goddess folklore†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Google.com. November 5, 2003   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Schafer, Edward H. Ancient China. New York; Time Inc.1967 Williams, Brians. Ancient China. Middlesex, England; Reed Educational and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Professional Publishing, Ltd. 1996

Leadership Observation

Apart from the KAIZEN approach being widely practiced in Japan, the one thing which, despite belonging to their culture, has given the Japanese manufactures a competitive edge is their methodology of   inviting open discussion from each n’ every employees of the company on regular basis. Toyota has proved itself to be the world’s best not only in terms of automobiles manufacturing an d assembling but compared to all manufacturing concerns any where in the world. Achieving the status of the market leader wasn’t an easy task! Toyota (Japan) however made it possible. It was only through the participative approach employed by them as a basic requirement of their very corporate culture. Toyota motor corporation (TMC) has been the world’s third largest automaker (2001) offering full range of models from mini-vehicles to large trucks. Global sales of its Toyota & Lexus brands, combined with those of Daihatsu and Hino, totaling 6.17 million units in the calendar year 2002 (Goldoftas & Levine, 1999). On September 11, 2003 it was reported that Toyota gained a learned leading position on the ‘Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI)’ in the 4 automobile sectors. The growth that Toyota has been enjoying is not a one night growth but is part of a longer chain that stems out of their very cultural norms and values. Katsuaki Watanabe, the president of Toyota has much to be accredited with in regard of the Toyota’s recent overwhelming and world renowned growth factor. Toyota’s success is not only because eof any tools or equipment they use; but the encouragement by the there top management people such as Watanabe, who allow the employees to experiment and thus achieve a higher result regarding what they do in the company’s production process. Be it as simple as installing a seat to as complex as designing and offering a new model to the production department. The Toyota Corporation has trusted its employees in delivering their best and they do it very-well. The time is a huge constraint in any organization especially regarding critical and/or strategic decisions regarding the future plans; competitors’ move etc. at Toyota, Watanabe like other of his predecessors has continued the practice even in the time of so much rapid advancements in the technology. The Toyota employees had the solution to the time management too. Each employee knew very well about what he/she was responsible to do and how they did it. At the end of each day when they were gathered they were asked to go through what they did and how they think they can improve it. This reduces the time taken by mangers to keep wandering about which topic they would be covering and the can get the accurate information about each n’ every scenario of what has been going on. In participative leadership, open and easy way communication is critical. Watanabe ensured that and at the production facilities every one assembles in the huge hall assigned for the assembly. This is a step to have a clear communication session between the top management and the other member of the organization. The culture of sharing ideas and the social networking with friends and colleges is part of their practices and they are used to it. Watanabe has been successful in delegating both pleasant and unpleasant task to the employees after giving them enough authority and responsibility regarding their tasks. He as the president, devised the plan of clarifying goal sto each and every employee and to provide support to them so that they can work at their best and update company with confidence on any improvements that they think are necessary, hence resulting in a cumulative positive effect on the overall performance of the company creating a synergy of individual efforts to achieve corporate objectives via allowing effective participation of employees so that they feel that they have a â€Å"say† in the organization’s decision making. The participation of employees, at Toyota, along with Katsuaki Watanabe has yielded significant benefits. References Adler Paul S., Goldoftas Barbara & Levine David I. (1999) Flexibility Versus Efï ¬ ciency? A Case Study of Model Changeovers in the Toyota Production System: Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.   

Curriculum And Instruction Should Be Fluid And Change Essay

In my opinion, all curriculum and instruction should be fluid and change in response to the demographic transition that we are experiencing. At the school that I am currently at, the student demographic continues to shift from a very high representation of white and middle class students, to one the includes students of color, and increasingly, international students as well. Although my school demographic is changing, it is experiencing change at a slower rate than neighboring districts. In response, my district invited a local author to give a keynote address at one of professional development sessions that described his experience of being the â€Å"only† student of color at his school. His address gave us insight into the feelings and emotions he had while experiencing his K-12 education in Northwest Ohio. Our district provided each teacher with a copy of his book and conducting book studies to dive deeper into this topic. Examples of curriculum changes are more teacher-based and individualized to certain classrooms. In Language Arts class, we make a conscious effort to include the works of minority authors throughout the school year, as opposed to a specific month. As we attempt to become more socially just teachers and promote biculturalism in our classroom, it is important to have our students realize that the voices of minority authors are equally important in our studies. Our district has instituted a diversity committee that works with teachers and staff to promoteShow MoreRelatedImpact Of The Common Core State Standards On The Instructional1153 Words   |  5 Pages Impact of the Common Core State Standards on the Instructional Program Before the birth of Common Core, Illinois like many other states had its learning standards to identify what students should know and be able to do pertinent to their grade levels. 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