2016-2017

Asia has a long history of martial arts. Almost every country has at least one style, many of which have made it to the Western world. Attempting to cover a significant portion of all these styles would take an eternity, so this article will attempt to describe a few of the most well known ones from certain regions in Asia.Kalaripayattu is a martial art from Southern India. There are several subsets of Kalaripayattu, all of them have their own techniques and emphasis. Training takes place in a kalari. A kalari contains altars, and students will perform rituals to ensure practice goes smoothly. Kalaripayattu has an emphasis on flexibility, often compared to a dance. The basics of Kalaripayattu are steps and postures. The postures are named after animals, and are meant to offer their own str...

Andrew Masterman, ‘89 political science major, was the first person to go to abroad to Japan as a cc student. He joined a Japanese production company with three months of formal Japanese language training prior to the trip. As the only foreigner in the company, he was fully immersed in the Japanese culture during this year in Japan. The company was located in a rural part of Japan where people had minimal English skills, although he occasionally found outlets to practice his English with American English teachers. Through this experience, he was able to immensely improve his conversational Japanese skills. After this period, he returned to the United States to pursue a master’s degree in business at the University of Michigan. Upon the completion of his Master’s degree, Masterman worked fo...

Within Asia, food represents a vital historical and cultural lens into the heart of tradition. Asian cuisine has found a place in our society giving rise to a new Americanized cuisine, such as the famous orange chicken or California roll. As a result, Asian cuisine has catered to the American taste and has eliminated some of the most authentic dishes that are harder to find outside of Asia. In this issue, we hope to briefly present some of the unheard Asian dishes that you probably will not find at your local Panda Express or Tokyo Joe’s.Starting off with China, its vast and numerous styles of delicacies vary from region to region. Take the Southern part of China for instance, Pig Blood Curd (aka blood tofu or blood pudding) can be seen commonly served with noodles or rice porridge. To pre...

I awoke to the familiar sound of my iPhone’s alarm. Rolling over onto my side I peered at the little bright screen, 4:30 AM, I was already running late. I pulled on my clothes, brushed my teeth quickly, and walked into the small kitchen to fill up my water bottle. Taro, my host, emerged from his bedroom rubbing his eyes. “Do you need another coil?” he asked. He was, of course, referring to a mosquito coil, a little green spiral about the size of my hand that, when lit, produced a small cloud of smoke that served as an insecticide. These coils are often used by Japanese farmers in the early morning and early evening to ward off the mosquitos that carry the Japanese encephalitis virus. “Yeah,” I replied, “Do you have your lighter? I’ll get them started for us.”By 5:00 AM, Taro and I were dri...

Last spring, Brian Heng (17’) and recent alum, Alejandro Salazar (16’), embarked on a journey that took an anthropological look at Hayao Miyazaki’s popularized film Spirited Away. The trip, funded through an Asian Studies Department Gaylord Prize Grant, Keller Family Venture Grant, and President’s Special Fund for Student Support (now listed under Academic Opportunities Grant) saw the pair travel through Jiufen, Taipei, and Tokyo over a two week period to witness, first hand, Miyazaki’s inspirations for the film, emphasizing architectural, culinary, and cultural aspects that contributed to the authenticity of Spirited Away. Can you describe the project you created with the aid of the Asian Studies Gaylord Prize Grant and why did you choose to travel to the countries you d...

On Thursday, February 2nd, the Asian Studies Department in collaboration with the Chinese Student Association held their annual Lunar New Year Celebration in Gaylord hall. Many Asian countries do not celebrate the New Year on January 1st, as they use a lunar calendar, which is slightly desynchronised from the one Western countries are used to. Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday in China, lasting from Lunar New Year’s Eve to the 15th of the first lunar month. This period is also known as the Spring Festival. This is one of the busiest times in China, as almost everyone rushes to get back to their families and friends. The Asian Studies Department uses this event to showcase students their skills, and let the classes demonstrate their knowledge. They also invite guest groups to showcas...

While the world is steadily becoming more advanced in technology, Asia still dominates the world in their technological advancements and innovations. Here are some interesting advancements in technology coming out of Asia in the next coming years. Waiting for the reality that we will one day have physical home robots to take care of our needs, a Japanese company called Gatebox has created a hologram character that automates your house and acts as a companion. Projected inside a glass tube and hooked up to your home network, the 3D character, Azuma Hikari (逢妻ヒカリ) has the capability to automate certain tasks such as turning lights on or off, interacting with you via conversation, and much more. Interaction with Azuma can be done through voice chat with a camera mounted at the top of the t...

On Saturday April 1st, ASU had it’s annual Asian Culture Night in collaboration with CSA, SASA, and KASA in Bemis Great Hall. The purpose of Asian Culture Night is to showcase the talents of students and groups in the local Colorado area. This annual event is ASU and KASA’s biggest event open to the campus as well as the public.Several student groups contributed to this event. Four students from the Chinese Student Association played their own arrangement of a Digimon song using a guitar (electric and classical), saxophone, erhu (二胡), and piano, complete with singing. Another member also performed a classical Chinese dance to the song “Falling Flowers” (落花). Also, a member from the Students for the Awareness of South Asia performed bharatanatyam, a classical Indian form of dance. In additi...

The 2018 Winter Olympics will be held in PyeongChang (평창) from February 9th to the 25th. A small county in the north eastern section of South Korea, it is known for its mountainous terrain and tourist attractions. The mascot for this event will be a white tiger named Soohorang (수호랑). In Korean mythology, white tigers are guardians of the country and people. Tigers are also a symbol of trust, strength, and protection. Soohorang literally translates into guardian/protector tiger.The symbol/emblem of the 2018 Olympics also has significant meaning. The two symbols are based on the consonants in the characters of PyeongChang. The first symbol represents a place where earth, heaven, and humanity can meet in harmony, while the second symbol represents snow, ice, and the athlete’s performances.The...

On March 10, 2017, South Korea regained its path toward settling into a new government. The former South Korean president, Park Guen-Hye who was well- renowned as a daughter of former South Korean president, Park Jung-Hee, and the head of the conservative party, has officially been removed from office. The constitutional court took this case after the overwhelming vote from the legislation to impeach the South Korean president because of her abuse of power and the scandals that happened over the course of her term.After the scandals were broadcasted nationally, millions of people rallied in front of the Blue House (presidential house), for several months to promulgate and protest for her impeachment from office. The spirit of democracy in the hearts of South Koreans began over 20 years ago...