inside
china’s spice of life See how food defines the tradition. While China may be a vast country with individual regions, through their spices and their food China is united.
Exploring Colorful Asia
ISSN 1599-4880 volume: 39 | Spring 2014
CONTENTS Director’s Message
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pg
Special column
4 pg
Exploring Colourful Asia
7 12 17 23
Holi- Indian Festival of Colours and Joy Shining Blue Pearl of Central Asia What a Dish, China’s Spice of Life Korea’s Traditional Colours and Their Presence in Daily Life
27 27 30 34 35 38 42 44 47 50
Best Practices Wars Past Used to Promote Peace Education The Mosaic of Understanding Comic Relief Ab Hara’s Dream Special Report Towards Global Capacities Education Interview Making the Right to a Proper Education Universal Letter A Must-be Programme forEducators
SangSaeng, a Korean word with Chinese roots, is composed of two characters: Sang, meaning “mutual” (each other) and Saeng, meaning “life.” Put together, they mean “living together,” “helping each other,” which is our vision for the Asia-Pacific region. SangSaeng aims to be a forum for constructive discussion of issues, methods and experiences in the area of Education for International Understanding. SangSaeng also seeks to promote Global Citizenship Education, which is one of the three priorities of Global Education First Initiative launched by the United Nations in 2012. Signed articles express the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opinions of APCEIU.
Publisher: Utak Chung Editor-in-Chief: Kwanghyun Kim Editor: Sunmi Ji Copy Editor: Yoav Cerralbo Designed by: Seoul Selection Printed by: Pyung Hwa Dang
Peace in My Memory Battling
Dyslexia Through Images and Inspiration
Understanding theAsiaPacific Region Thailand’s Rock Art Opens Gates of History APCEIU in Action
above: A busy street in a small town in china
Facebook /unescoapceiu Twitter @apceiu Google UnescoAPCEIUorg2014 E-mail: sangsaeng@unescoapceiu.org Web: www.unescoapceiu.org/sangsaeng 120, Saemal-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 152-050 Tel: (+82-2) 774-3956 Fax: (+82-2) 774-3958 SangSaeng is published three times a year by the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) under the auspices of UNESCO.
focus
what a dish, china’s spice of life “Experiencing China Through its Regionally Diverse, Distinct Spicy Food” By Geumdan Choe (Exchange Professor, Soochow University, China) cuijd@dreamwiz.com
The country that is China conjures up images of the colour red; a colour that represents luck or good fortune in China and is easily seen everywhere in the country. Besides its predominance in everyday life, the colour red can be found in different types of Chinese food. Most of these dishes are spicy, made with red peppers. Nowadays, Chinese restaurants can be easily spotted in many parts of world, but Chinese dishes served in those restaurants are not the same as the ones that are served in China because they are mostly transformed in order to cater to the local taste palette.
When tourists visit China and try the local food, many of them fail to adapt to the original culinary delights of the country. They end up eating the food that they brought from their home country or lose weight by the time they leave. Local spicy dishes are well beyond their expectation because they are just too hot to bear.
Fennel seeds
Sichuan pepper
cumin right: bowls of common asian spices
cloves PHOTO CREDIT: www.everydayfamilyfavorites.wordpress.com/
tumeric
chickpeas
FOCUS: WHAT A DISH, CHINA’S SPICE OF LIFE
Breaking Down the Spice The Chinese have different preferences in food depending on where they live. Furthermore, Chinese foods can be divided into eight culinary traditions which are not only based on geographical locations but also on the food’s complexity, history, cooking features, climate, resources and life styles. Though there are some overlapping recipes, generally, each cuisine is distinctive and brings its own style and flavour to the mix. These eight regions are Chuan for Sichuan cuisine, Jing for Beijing cuisine,
Spring 2014 | Volume 39
Lu for foods from the Shandong region, Su covers Jiangsu dishes, the region of Hui covers Anhui culinary delights, Xiang is known for Hunan (Mandarin) recipes, Min represents Fujian foods and last but not least is Yue for Guangzhou (Cantonese) cuisine. Dishes in the southern areas taste sweet while people in the northern areas prefer salty foods. In the east, the food is spicy while people in the western areas make their food sour. Some foreigners may say that Chinese dishes are greasy, but the spiciness
found in these dishes removes the greasiness. As you can see from the spicy map of China, in more than half of the country’s regions, Chinese people enjoy spicy foods. Other than people living in Sichuan and Chongqing, there are many other regions where people enjoy spicy foods (made with red peppers) in every meal such as Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui, Fujian, Shanxi, and Shaanxi. At this point, you might wonder why Chinese food gets spicier and redder as
you move to the south. What is the cultural and regional background behind the people’s preference for spicy food? The preference for spicy foods highly depends on the region. The idea that Chinese people love spicy foods probably originated from the people living in Sichuan. Sichuan’s spicy dishes have become popular in many countries, but the level of spiciness is very different from local Sichuan dishes. Sichuan is located in the deep south. It rains every night so you hardly see the sun in the morning.
WHAT A DISH, CHINA’S SPICE OF LIFE In Sichuan, it is a common belief that people fear dishes that are not spicy. Also, if you are a young lady from Sichuan, you are often referred to as a spicy lady because you not only enjoy spicy food but you are also likely to be confident and have a strong character.
Especially, people in Guizhou and Hunan love spicy food and as the intensity of spiciness goes up, so does their enjoyment.
Other than people living in Sichuan and Chongqing, there are many other regions where people enjoy spicy foods (made with red peppers) in every meal such as Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Anhui, Fujian, Shanxi, and Shaanxi.
There is an old saying, “Sichuan dogs would bark if the sun rises in the morning.” The region is humid and there is no heating system. To fight the cold and humidity, people enjoy mapo tofu or Sichuan hotpot. Sichuan peppers grow straight up, in the same direction as the sky it faces and are about the size of an adult pinky finger. Though the size is small, Sichuan peppers taste extremely spicy compared to other peppers.
Resting on top of the melange of ingredients found in a Sichuan hotpot, you may notice pea-sized black reddish Sichuan peppercorns floating in the mix. The fruit of the Sichuan peppercorns is red when it is fully ripe, and turns reddish black when it is dried. The Chinese describe the taste as paralyzing because it makes the inside of one’s mouth and throat dull. Also, long ago, these Sichuan peppercorns were used as an anaesthetic.
Peeking Inside Jars In Sichuan, every house ferments powdered red peppers, garlic and ginger in a special jar. After it has been fully fermented, they use it in cooking. In Hunan, famous dishes are made with pickled fish or pork. More than 70 per cent of Hunan’s population is comprised of the Dong people. Hunan is surrounded by lakes and mountains, so fresh fish and pork are a good source of protein in the region. Due to its hot and humid climate, their ancestors developed salting practices to preserve food. In November and December, people catch fat carp and remove its intestines, then dip it in cheong ju (refined rice wine) to remove the fishy smell. After that, they fill the fish with dried peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and garlic and place them in a jar. They then sprinkle salt on top of the fish and wrap the jar.As a main ingredient, suan yu is made with pork and accentuated with dried peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and garlic between the pieces of pork, and then placed one on top of the other in a jar. Also in this recipe, they sprinkle salt on the food and wrap the jar. After a month, oil secretes from the pork and carp. People may choose to eat it raw or broil it. These dishes are well-suited for serving VIPs or for an important event. Usually, these dishes are sour, salty, and spicy. If you are planning to try this dish for the first time, let me warn you, you may not like the taste. However, people in this region cherish this food, so they save it in a jar and eat it little by little throughout the year. It reminds them of their hometown or their mother’s cuisine. In the past, wealth was represented by how many jars of suan yu or suan rou they had, not by how much livestock or farmland they owned. It shows their love for this certain type of dish.
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FOCUS: WHAT A DISH, CHINA’S SPICE OF LIFE
Necessity is the Mother As we move towards the north, Shanxi is located deep in China and the climate is cold and dry. Due to geological factors, there are limited types of vegetables and fruit that can grow so it is more difficult to cultivate vegetables and fruit that contain vitamin C. In order to curtail this deficit, people in this region also enjoy spicy foods that contain vitamin C-rich peppers. The mode of preparing their foods is by frying powdered red peppers and mixing it with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and black vinegar (local specialty) to make a red pepper paste. This special mix is considered one of the famous dishes from the region. Flour-based foods such as noodles or plain steamed bread are served at every meal. At times, when they do not have any side dishes, they bring out fried red pepper paste and a bowl of black vinegar to mix it with noodles or eat it with plain steamed bread.
“The Chinese prefer the colour red to any other colour and dried red peppers are used in all spicy dishes.”
Spring 2014 | Volume 39
WHAT A DISH, CHINA’S SPICE OF LIFE
Red is Life For Chinese people, red is the colour that blocks all the bad luck and opens a door to prosperity, providing strength and vitality. The Chinese flag is also red, and the same colour is used in many celebrations and events. On the Chinese Lunar New Year for example, the Chinese write chun lian in black on a red background and post it on both sides of their front door. Another example can be found with brides who wear all red clothing from top to bottom including her undergarments during their wedding ceremony. Today, people who still preserve their traditions wear a red belt around their waist every 12 years, the year in which they were born (following the Chinese Zodiac) to prevent any bad luck from occurring. Some put a red and green ribbon around their new car and keep it under their rear bumper until the sunset, wishing or peace. The Chinese use red envelopes for family events. However, there are some people who are not aware of this tradition and put money in a white envelope (used for funerals) which can be considered discourteous in Chinese culture. It seems that many Chinese dishes are red not only because it stimulates appetite but also people wish to share prosperity and abundance through spicy foods.
left: A busy street decorated with traditional chinese ornaments.
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interview
M An Interview with the EFA Global Monitoring Report Team
Catherine Jere, Report Team, UNESCO headquarters cm.jere@unesco.org
aking the Right to a Proper Education Universal
above: A south-east Asian classroom in the middle of a lecture
1
Could you tell us about the main message the report aims to deliver?
In terms of cost, this learning crisis results in $129 million spent annually toward a false economy that has failed to ensure that all children have learnt the basics.
Analysis for the 2013/4 Global Monitoring Report (GMR) reveals a global learning crisis that is hitting the most disadvantaged the hardest. The Report shows that 250 million children are not learning the basics – how to read and write and do basic arithmetic. All the more worrying is that over half of these children are unable to read or write despite having spent at least four years in school.
Central to this crisis is the huge lack of qualified teachers. In a third of countries analysed by the Report, less than three quarters of primary teachers are trained. Children living in poor or remote areas are much less likely to be taught by qualified teachers.
This has a huge impact on the young people in many countries as they enter the marketplace. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, 40 per cent of 15-24 year olds cannot read a single sentence. In South and West Asia, one-third of young women cannot read all or part of a sentence.
Looking across the EFA goals, the Report also shows that, despite progress, many countries are not on track to achieve these goals by 2015. Universal Primary Education, for example, is likely to be missed by a wide margin. Globally, 57 million children are still out of school, the majority of whom are girls. By 2015, less than a third of countries will have adults all literate.
2
INTERVIEW
Could you elaborate on the characteristics that the Asia Pacific region shows in terms of achieving EFA goals?
Overall, the East Asia-Pacific region has made substantial progress towards EFA goals, with almost universal enrolment in primary education and youth literacy, for example. However, pockets of disadvantage and marginalization remain in some countries across the region. In terms of specific targets, enrolment in pre-primary education across the region has doubled from 39 to 62 per cent between 1999 and 2011, still short of the key benchmark of 80 per cent enrolment (Goal 1). For Goal 2, Universal Primary Education, gross enrolment rates have risen from 95 to 97 per cent. However, the retention rate of the last grade of primary education has shown less progress (from 84 to 89 per cent between 1999 and 2011), indicating that a significant minority of children still fail to complete their primary education. Gross secondary enrolment has risen from 62 per cent in 1999 to 80 per cent in 2011, and whilst 8.9 million adolescents of lower secondary school age were out of school in 2011, this does represent a 64 per cent decrease compared with 1999 rates (goal 3).
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Adult literacy has also improved, from 82 to 95 per cent in 2011 (goal 4). Gender parity has been achieved at the secondary level – a GPI of 102 – and primary level enrolments are slightly in favour of girls: a GPI of 103. Some countries still have significant progress to make if EFA goals are to be achieved. Progress towards universal primary education has stagnated in the Philippines with almost a third of primary school age children not in school, 1.46 million children out of a total population of 5.1 million. In terms of the quality of education, several countries in the region score very highly in international benchmarks for learning. They include Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore. In East Asia and the Pacific as a whole, around 15 per cent of children leave school having failed to read and write. In Malaysia, enrolment in secondary education has increased, but learning outcomes have worsened, widening the inequality amongst students.
Below: a woman teaching her class arithmatecs.
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MAKING THE RIGHT TO A PROPER EDUCATION UNIVERSAL
As one of the priorities of the Global Education First Initiative (GEFI) launched by the UN Secretary General, global citizenship education (GCE) toward the post 2015 agenda has been gaining international attention. Please share your thoughts on the ongoing discourse on the post-2015 agendas and GCE, as well.
Education in a globalised world is increasingly putting emphasis on the importance of values, attitudes and communication skills as a crucial complement to the traditional emphasis on knowledge and skills. Whilst the exact definition of GCE is itself contested, there is growing consensus on the need for noncognitive aspects of competencies – such as empathy, openness and aptitudes to interact with those from different backgrounds – to be included in the post-2015 agenda.
PHOTO CREDIT: Karel Prinsloo
In addition to quality, the relevance of education to understanding social, political, cultural and global issues will be an important yardstick for education post-2015. This includes a role for education in supporting peace, human rights, equity, diversity and sustainable development.
education system is likely to be the main mode of delivery for GCE, but there is a growing understanding that this might have to be complemented by non-formal approaches, including ICT modes, to target populations currently outside the formal system and to promote life-long learning. One key issue post-2015 will be governments’ ability to measure GCE competencies, if they are to be adequately monitored and achievements recognized. In the time up to post-2015 education agenda, UNESCO is working with the Learning Metrics Task Force to define what is required to support young people to become global citizens, both in terms of learning outcomes and broad competencies.
GCE is action-orientated and ultimately transformative. As such, global citizenship education should give the learner the opportunity and the competencies to link their own lived experiences to global issues, and should acknowledge that learners themselves can make a powerful contribution to change. In most countries, the formal
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INTERVIEW
Could you give us a brief introduction about the next report entitled “Have we made it?”?
“The 2015 EFA GMR will review how much the EFA movement has contributed to ensuring that all children, young people and adults enjoy their right to an education that meets their basic learning needs. The Report will provide a definitive global assessment of overall progress toward the six EFA
5
Lastly, do you have any message for the global readers of SangSaeng?
“Despite substantial progress towards EFA goals,
goals that were established in Dakar, Senegal in
particularly in East Asia and the Pacific, global
2000, paying particular attention to gaps between
inequalities remain stark. As attention turns
those who benefited and those who did not. This
toward the World Education Forum in the Republic
assessment will provide lessons for the framing of
of Korea next year, we urge readers of SangSaeng
post-2015 education goals and strategies.”
to make their voices heard in ensuring that equity and cooperation are at the heart of any post-2015 global education agenda.”
right: a young girl reading her schoolbooks
EFA Global Monitoring Report (EFAreport@unesco.org)
Developed by an independent team and published by UNESCO, the EFA Global Monitoring Report is the prime instrument to assess global progress towards achieving the six 'Dakar' EFA goals. The team puts together an annual publication that tracks progress, identifies effective policy reforms and best practice in all areas relating to EFA, draws attention to emerging challenges and seeks to promote international cooperation in favour of education. The Report is targeted at decisionmakers at the national and international level, and more broadly, at all those engaged in promoting the right to quality education – teachers, civil society groups, NGOs, researchers and the international community.
PHOTO CREDIT: Amima Sayeed