Tag Archives: readings/research

Cultural Literacy: Mongolia

Posted on May 30, 2025 | Leave a comment

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Mongolia. This is a full-page worksheet with a reading of six sentences–the first one is a bit complicated, but otherwise these are relatively simple declarative sentences–and eight comprehension questions. Most of the work in reading and interpretation on this document involves answering questions to form a mental picture of where exactly Mongolia is in the world.

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.

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Shinden-Zukuri

Posted on May 30, 2025 | Leave a comment

“shinden-zukuri: Japanese architectural style of mansion-estates constructed in the Heian peirod (794-1185). The form consisted of a shinden (central building) to which subsidiary structures are were connected by corridors. The shinden faced south on an open court, across which was a pond garden. The east and west tainoya or subsidiary living quarters, were attached by watadono (wide corridors) from which narrow corridors extended south, ending in small pavilions. This layout resulted in a U-shaped arrangement around the court. See also shoin-zukuri.”

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

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The Weekly Text, 30 May 2025, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Week V: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on The Battle of Midway

Posted on May 30, 2025 | Leave a comment

For the final Friday of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2025, here is a reading on the Battle of Midway along with its attendant vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. This is solid material on one of the turning points in the Pacific Theater of World War II.

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.

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Assur-bani-pal

Posted on May 23, 2025 | Leave a comment

“Assur-bani-pal (or Ashurbanipal, d 626? BC) King of Assyria. The son of Essar-Haddon, Assur-bani-pal ruled Assyria, while his twin brother Samus-sum-yumin ruled Babylonia. Against great odds, Assur-bani-pal maintained his supremacy over Egypt and put down a Tyrian revolt. The most powerful of Assyria’s rulers, he either subjugated or dominated the Manna, the Elamites, and the Cilicians. He also quelled a revolt by his brother in Babylonia and harassed the northern Arabians. However, Assur-bani-pal had overreached himself and exhausted the resources of his own country, to the extent that it collapsed completely not long after his death. He left behind him, however, a legacy of enormous importance for modern times: he had caused to be prepared for his royal library a large number of the most important literary works of the Near East; preserved on tablets, these were excavated in the middle of the 19th century in the ruins of Nineveh, his capital. Some characteristics of Assur-bani-pal are recognizable in the legendary Sardanapalus.”

Excerpted from: Murphy, Bruce, ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

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Mesopotamian Religions

Posted on May 23, 2025 | Leave a comment

“Mesopotamian religions: Religious beliefs and practices of the Sumerians and Akkadians, and later of their successors, the Babylonians and Assyrians, who inhabited ancient Mesopotamia. The deities of Sumer were usually associated with aspects of nature, such as fertility of the fields and livestock. The gods of Assyria and Babylonia, rather than displacing those of Sumer and Akkad, were gradually assimilated into the older system. Among the most important of the many Mesopotamian gods were Anu, the god of heaven; Enki, the god of water; and Enlil, the earth god. Deities were often associated with particular cities. Astral deities such as Shamash and Sin were also worshiped. The Mesopotamians were skilled astrologers who studied the movements of the heavenly bodies. Priests also determined the will of the gods through the observation of omens, especially by reading the entrails of sacrificed animals. The king functioned as the chief priest, presiding at the new-year festival held in spring, when the kingship was renewed and the triumph of the deity over the powers of chaos was celebrated.”

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

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Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi or Mawlana

Posted on May 23, 2025 | Leave a comment

“Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi or Mawlana: (1207?-1273) Anatolian-Persian mystic and poet. He was a theologian and teacher in Anatolia when he met Shams ad-Din, a holy man who revealed to him the mysteries of divine majesty and beauty; their intimate relationship scandalized Rumi’s followers, who had Shams murdered. The Collected Poetry of Shams contains Rumi’s verses on his love for Shams. His main work, the didactic epic Masnavi-ye Manavi (“Spiritual Couplets”), widely influenced Muslim mystical thought and literature. He is believed to have composed poetry while in a state of ecstasy and often accompanied his verses by a whirling dance. After his death, his disciples were organized as the Mawlawiyah order, called in the West the whirling dervishes. Rumi is regarded as the greatest Sufi mystic and poet in the Persian language. In English translation, his work has become widely popular in recent years.”

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

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The Weekly Text, 23 May 2025, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Week IV: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on Yasir Arafat

Posted on May 23, 2025 | Leave a comment

This week’s Text, in observance of the fourth Friday of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2025, is this reading on Yasir Arafat along with its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet.

I’m hard pressed to imagine there is much, if any, demand for these documents; moreover, I understand that Yasir Arafat is a controversial figure. But I also understand that however one perceives Arafat and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), he is an important figure in the the history of part of the world we, after the ancient Greeks and Romans, call Asia.

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.

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Cultural Literacy: The Mikado

Posted on May 16, 2025 | Leave a comment

Strictly speaking, this Cultural Literacy worksheet on The Mikado has little or nothing to do with Asian Pacific History, either locally or globally. I should have known this, because as a middle school student, I served as an usher for a production of the play by my city’s Gilbert and Sullivan repertory company.

But if we think of this play as an attempt at representation, then there is something juicy to talk about here. I doubt Gilbert and Sullivan are exactly au courant in classrooms these days, so I also doubt that this document has much use or currency. Rather than throw it away, however…. Well, enough said.

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.

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Haiku

Posted on May 16, 2025 | Leave a comment

Haiku: A form of Japanese poetry, composed of seventeen syllables in a 5/7/5 pattern. The haiku evokes a complete impression or mood through the juxtaposition of a natural physical element such as a sound or sight, with a phrase to suggest a season or emotion. It developed from the nonstandard linked verse (haikai no renga) popular in the 16th and 17th centuries—the “opening verse” (hokku) of which eventually was treated as in independent form, known today as haiku. Its greatest practitioner was Matsuo Basho, followed by the painter Yosa Buson, Kobayashi Issa, and Masaoka Shiki. Haiku’s emphasis on the immediate and concrete influenced early 20th century Imagism in Europe and America, especially through the influence of Ezra Pound.

Two well-known examples by Basho are the ‘summer grasses’ verse composed on a visit to the site where Yoshitsune was vanquished, and the following:

Furuike ya                                           An ancient pond—

Kawazu tobikomu                           Then the sound of water

Mizu no oto                                        Where a frog plops in”

Excerpted from: Murphy, Bruce, ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

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The Weekly Text, 16 May 2025, Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Week III: A Reading and Comprehension Worksheet on Mohandas Gandhi

Posted on May 16, 2025 | Leave a comment

This week’s Text, for week three of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2025, is this reading on Mohandas Gandhi with its accompanying vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet.

I think it’s safe to assume that I needn’t belabor the world historical importance of the man the world knows by his honorific, Mahatma.

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.

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