Places in Asian American Pacific Islander History: Canal Street and The Bowery, Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City

Babylon

“Babylon An ancient city in Mesopotamia, first prominent under Hammurabi who made it capital of the kingdom of Babylonia. The city (now in ruins) lay on the Euphrates 55 miles south of present-day Baghdad and was noted for its luxury, its fortifications, and particularly for the ‘Hanging Gardens,’ which were one the Seven Wonders of the World.”

Excerpted from: Wright, Edmund, Ed. The Oxford Desk Encyclopedia of World History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Cultural Literacy: Upanishads

Last but not least this morning, here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on the Upanishads. This is a half-page worksheet with a reading of one sentence and one comprehension question.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Adana

“Adana: City (population 2019: 1,769,000) south central Turkey, on the Seyhan River. An agricultural and industrial center and one of Turkey’s largest cities, it probably overlies a Hittite settlement that dates from c.1400 BC. Conquered by Alexander the Great in 335-334 BC, it was later a Roman military station. It came under the rule of the Abbasid Arabs at the end of the 7th century AD and changed hands intermittently until the establishment of the Turkmen dynasty in 1378. Adana’s prosperity has long derived from the fertile valleys behind it and its position as a bridgehead on the Anatolian-Arabian trade routes.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

Cultural Literacy: Uzbekistan

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Uzbekistan. This is full-page worksheet with a three-sentence reading and seven comprehension questions. You’ll notice that several of the questions (and you’ll find this in most of the Cultural Literacy worksheets that deal with nation-states) deal with the geographical location–bordering states around the compass rose, basically–of the country in question.

These questions, and the sentences that inform the answers, can be a bit much for emergent readers or students using English as a second language. Your can easily (this document, like nearly everything you’ll find on Mark’s Text Terminal, is formatted in word for ease of adaptation and manipulation) edit out those questions, as well as the sentences that drive them. Similarly, these can be simplified.

But bear in mind that I saw these as an opportunity for students with low literacy to stretch out a bit, and deal with some readings with a slightly greater pattern of complexity.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

9 Rasa

“9 Rasa: Sengaram * Hasyam * Raudram * Karunyam * Bibhatsam * Bhayanakam * Viram * Abduhtam * Santam

The Nine Rasa are a culture refrain underlying Indian popular art, music, theater, comics, and cinema. They are noisy, plebeian, and fun-loving.

Sengaram (love, attractiveness, and the erotic) is presided over by Lord Vishnu and colored light green. Hasyam (laughter, mirth, and comedy) is presided over by Pramata and colored white. Raudram (fury) is presided over by Rudra and colored red. Karunyam (compassion and tragedy) has Yama as its presiding deity and is colored grey. Bibhatsam (disgust, aversion, and the pathetic) is presided over by Shiva and colored blue. Bhayanakam (horror) is presided over by Kali and colored black. Viram (heroic endeavor) has as its presiding deity Indra, and is colored yellow. Abdhutam (wonder and amazement) has Lord Brahma and is colored bright yellow. Santam (peace and tranquility) has the presiding deity of Vishnu and is colored blue.”

Excerpted from: Rogerson, Barnaby. Rogerson’s Book of Numbers: The Culture of Numbers–from 1,001 Nights to the Seven Wonders of the World. New York: Picador, 2013.

The Weekly Text, 8 May 2026, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Week II: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on Sufism

OK, for the second week of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2026, Mark’s Text Terminal offers as its Weekly Text this reading on Sufism and its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. Sufism, as you may know, is a mystical sect of Islam.

Are you aware that there are as many as 73 sects in Islam? And that there are a group of Muslims known as “non-denominational Muslims?” We Americans tend to think of Islam as homogenous–and, alas, in the view of far too many people in the United States, sinister.

It behooves us to know, understand, and respect our neighbors.

If you find typos in these documents, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Yamazaki Ansai

“Yamazaki Ansai: (1619-1682) Japanese exponent of the philosophy of the Chinese Neo-Confucianist Zhu Xi. Early in life he was a Buddhist monk, but he gradually rejected Buddhism in favor of Confucianism, which he began to teach to thousands of students. He reduced Neo-Confucianism to a simple moral code, which he then blended with native Shinto religious doctrines. He equated Neo-Confucian principles and theories with Shinto legends and divinity, creating a philosophical system that took on greater authority that its sources possessed alone. His thought was one of the sources of the extreme nationalism and emperor worship that developed later in Japan.”

Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.

Cultural Literacy: Taoism

Here, in what appears to be a spate of posts on religious and philosophical themes, is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Taoism. This is a half-page worksheet with a two-sentence reading and two comprehension questions. A basic, symmetrical introduction to this school of thought and belief.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.

Buddha

“Buddha A title given to successive teachers (past and future) of Buddhism, although it usually denotes the founder of Buddhism, Siddartha Gautama (c. 563 BC-c. 489 BC). Although born an Indian prince (in what is now Nepal), he renounced his kingdom, wife, and child to become an ascetic, taking religious instruction until he attained enlightenment (nirvana) through meditation beneath a bo tree in the village of Bodhgaya. He then taught all who wanted to learn, regardless of sex, class or caste, until his death. ‘Buddha’ means ‘enlightened’ in Sanskrit.”

Excerpted from: Wright, Edmund, Ed. The Oxford Desk Encyclopedia of World History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Cultural Literacy: Yin and Yang

This Cultural Literacy worksheet on the concept of yin and yang might be of some use in your classroom. I know it was something that greatly interested my pals and me back in high school.

This is half-page worksheet with a reading of two longish sentences and two comprehension questions. I don’t think these two sentences, while long, will cause much problems for students, even those struggling with reading. But what do you think?

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.