Dig week is upon us, and this week is appropriately named, Digging China! To start off the week, campers introduced themselves to their groups, and put names to faces. Soon afterward, Yellow and Red group were off in the Chinese rotunda, learning about the different ideologies that existed in Ancient China and how they came together to form Ancient Chinese culture.
They first learned about Daoism. Legend says that its founder, Laozi, noticed that the Zhou dynasty was declining, and he wanted to flee China toward the west. At the western-most Chinese border, there stood a guard who failed to convince Laozi to stay in China, but convinced him to write a book about his ideas, and thus Daoism was born. The campers listened intently about how Daoists believed that there is a harmony in nature, and man must be a part of that harmony. They learned how the Daoists believed that without bad, there would not be good, and the importance of the yin and yang.
Next, they learned with fascination about Buddhism, and how a prince was locked away from the dangers of the outside world in his palace for many years, and when he finally walked out, he saw aging, sickness, and death for the very first time. He decided that he would give up his principality, and find the true meaning of life, giving up all pleasures in hope of reaching enlightenment.
And lastly, they learned about Confucianism. They learned that Confucius believed that for everybody to live happily, there must be order. He believed that family was the most important relation in all of China. The campers learned about how family played a part in order, and would soon see how all three beliefs, Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism all came together to form Ancient Chinese culture.
For their activity, Yellow and Red groupers became museum conservators, taking turns cleaning and assembling ancient pottery in preparation for the excavation that will come tomorrow!
Anthropologists in the Making Summer Camp 