Episode 9
Amanpreet Kaur, Ethan Wang, Richard Wang & Zhe Han
Day 9
The Confucian Definition to Leadership: An emergent quality of character radiating and making others to follow based on respect and trust the leader generates: charisma.
This beautiful Tuesday started with an Ecotonos simulation activity that covered multicultural group dynamics. We were split into three different cultural groups. Each with their own rules, norms, and ideals. In our small groups we each came up with a story of how our cultures and societies came to be and why we believed what we believed. We then drew a picture to depict what our society would look like.
It was all fun and games until our groups got split up and two people from each group had to migrate to another society while also carrying their original cultures and beliefs with them. And once again, there we were at square one, told to depict a new hybrid community where these two cultures and belief systems would coincide. This was quite tough since some of the cultures had quite opposite beliefs and norms. But with some efficient problem solving we all were able to do it. It was a matter of first identifying our problems and conflicts, then brainstorming how we would work around these issues and finally coming up with a mutually fair and acceptable solution. In the end, it became quite clear how important it is to be understanding and accepting of differences by voicing and listening to one another’s concerns, and above all, to always be open to new ideas and change.
We then had a leadership chat with Professor Wang Changxi of Renmin University. Professor Wang Changxi is a famous expert in English language teaching and research and has published many English language learning books. In addition to being a man of great success he is a wonderfully humble soul who shared with us, a lot about Chinese leadership theories alongside western leadership theories. It became evident how family and community is central to the Chinese culture and can even be seen in the realm of leadership.
In the afternoon we visited the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR). Dr. Wang Yicheng introduced us to the institute and its research focus as well as the graduate programs offered at IWHR. Later we went to an IWHR laboratory at another site where we had the opportunity to learn about water processing/testing and atmospheric pollutants testing. In the evening, we went to the north campus of IWHR and had dinner with IWHR students. During dinner we discussed the similarities and differences of the Chinese and American education systems. In small groups, students discussed the challenges and difficulties they encountered thus far in earning their education (SAT’s/ACT’s, Gao Kao, etc.) and what steered them to be where they are today. We ended the night off with a fun Karaoke session, and tons of laughter with our new friends at IWHR.
