“After Liberation we weren't supposed to read old books anymore. But I managed to collect quite a few Taoist books and I hid all the important ones away.”
Master Yang (mass-terr yang)
Taoist monk
IMAGE SOURCE: Steven R Johnson. Cover photo. Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits. | QUOTE SOURCE: Bill Porter. Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits. Mercury House. 1993.
QUOTE CONTEXT: “When the Cultural Revolution came they started burning books and arresting people. By that time I knew what was inside the books. So when the Red Guards came and demanded we hand over the books, I brought out a whole chest of them, including things I had written. They took everything into the kitchen and burned it.”
QUOTE QUESTION: What knowledge would you hide away when the invaders come?
IMAGE CONTEXT: Master Yang, the blind Taoist.
IMAGE QUESTION: What do you see with your eyes closed?
MEDIA LITERACY CONTEXT: The quote and the photo are both from a book about Chinese hermits.
MEDIA LITERACY QUESTION: What forms of expression would you choose if you were making a book about your people?
LEARN ABOUT THE ZHONGNAN MOUNTAIN HERMITS
Read Road to Heaven: encounters with Chinese Hermits by Bill Porter
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