East Asian Cultures Mon/Wed4/6/14From Mao To Mozart Reaction PaperTan ShuZhens experience of being a prisoner during the Cultural Revolution was harsh, but based on prior knowledge of how people were treated during the revolution; its not surprising that it happened in China. However, I still feel angry at the way the teachers were treated in prison. On one side, these music teachers were teaching the Chinese youth something beautiful, something that wouldnt hurt anyone with its existence, and on the other side we see that the music teachers were beaten and tortured for doing something that brought happiness to families. After each scene where children in the Conservatory would play their instruments, the movie illustrated illumination on not only Sterns face, but also the faces of everyone in the room when the children played their music. Based on this, music would have been a tool to brighten everyone elses day before the revolution, so it must have been a confusing time for the teachers who cannot see that they are doing anything wrong. Its also very difficult to imagine what kind of hell the other teachers endured in prison - enough for ten of them to commit suicide. Im also angry about the injustice served. As Tan Shu Zhens punishment, he endured fourteen months in a small cell under the Conservatory where he worked; I feel like this sort of punishment does not equate to the level of wrongdoing that he committed. His sentence was almost in the spirit of the Qin dynasty where there were harsh punishments, regardless of the severity of a crime. It tugs at my heartstrings that when people are given the opportunity to punish someone, they take it and conform with the movement. However, if theres one aspect of Shu Zhens punishment that I admire, it is its aftermath. I admire Shu Zhens strength to come out and tell everyone how terrible his punishment conditions were and even more to return to the Conservatory to become the Vice-Director. His story reminds us all that no matter what adversities you face, you cant give up on yourself. Meanwhile, I loved Sterns humor when he was trying to teach the students how to play more expressively. He made them extremely comfortable to play how they feel, and it was refreshing to watch them play and listen to their emotions as they churned out the music instead of rigidly pounding out the notes.On aspect of the educational culture in china struck me from the movie. Ive always known that Chinas schooling is extremely competitive, and watching the young school children audition to the Conservatory at such a young age makes me feel in awe: firstly, because they have to leave their families to go study music at a boarding school, and secondly because of this, they have to discover independence at such an early age. It scares me a little bit how good at music they are, but it also makes me feel very happy for them because it shows how hard they work to perfect something. Its also inspiring to watch because through their accomplishments at the school, it is how their future will be defined. During one scene where a young Chinese boy played piano for Stern, the whole room was completely concentrated on the boy. No one looked at anything else, nor paid attention to anything else until the boy finished with a smile. It was like everyone forgot about their current paints, and it was so beautiful.