Personal Narrative: Jiaxing

596 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Ancient literature influence on modern culture

My hometown, Jiaxing, located in the central east China, has served as a hub of communication between the north and south since the ancient time. In the previous decades, it is the most economically dynamic area of the nation, where historic moments meet the modern development. Growing up in a place where different cultural elements meet and mix, I am deeply attracted by different historic stories. That is how I developed a strong passion of reading. My readings, covering a wide variety and some controversial topics, have enriched my life and contributed to the development of my critical thinking. I have also trained myself to reflect on what I read objectively and dive deeper in research when I find something interesting. In particular, Dr. Kissinger has introduced a different perspective for me to rethink the part of history in our high school textbook. To discover that part of history I began to search different sources for more details and diversified views provide me a well-rounded understanding of the past. The desire for ultimate truth also encourages me to pursue my further education at a top university in the United States, where diversity is valued and encouraged. And the improvement in English and research skills I am looking forward to receiving will also allow me to have access to more valuable and authentic information to take me closer to more advanced knowledge. …show more content…

Instead of merely falling in love with the winners, I try to summarize the reasons contributing to their victories. From the Roman army’s strategical formations and their creative use of shields, to combination of sizes, shapes and positions of the armor on vehicles in WWII, they are all important contributing elements and thought-provoking. Through these stunning plots of history, I gradually found out the power of knowledge and the ability to think out of the box are the keys of our

Show More
Related

  • Firsthand Accounts of World War I

    2167 Words  | 5 Pages

    World War I is marked by its extraordinary brutality and violence due to the technological advancement in the late 18th century and early 19th century that made killing easier, more methodical and inhumane. It was a war that saw a transition from traditional warfare to a “modern” warfare. Calvary charges were replaced with tanks; swords were replaced with machine guns; strategic and decisive battles were r...

    Read More

  • World War One Battlefield Tactics

    1099 Words  | 3 Pages

    The First World War witnessed an appalling number of casualties. Due partly to this fact, some historians, developed the perception that commanders on both sides depended on only one disastrous approach to breaking the stalemate. These historians attributed the loss of life to the reliance on soldiers charging across no-man’s land only to be mowed down by enemy machineguns. The accuracy of this, however, is fallacious because both the German’s and Allies developed and used a variety of tactics during the war. The main reason for battlefield success and eventual victory by the Allies came from the transformation of battlefield tactics; nevertheless, moral played a major role by greatly affecting the development of new tactics and the final outcome of the war.

    Read More

  • Roman Grand Strategy in the Mid 4th Century

    2705 Words  | 6 Pages

    In order to discuss the idea of a grand strategy, it is first necessary to admit the inevitable difficulties in finding and interpreting evidence for or against one. It is hard to talk of a Roman ...

    Read More

  • Women's Role During World War II

    818 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even though half of a century separates us from the unforgettable event, it left horrible memories especially in those who saw, felt and experienced World War II which was waged on land, on sea, and in the air all over the earth for approximately six years. Whether it’s a battle, hospital, or holocaust, there are so many stories from the survivors, who can teach us not only about the profession of arms, but also about military preparations, global strategies and combined operations in the coalition war against fascism.

    Read More

  • Oliver Cromwell: A Man of Conviction

    1488 Words  | 3 Pages

    Prior to the Second World War the British and German militaries were studies in contrast. The British military was a small, professional army designed to win quick victories using mobility and technology...

    Read More

  • Sun Tzu's Impact on Historical Warfare Strategies

    2372 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Art of War is a treatise written in Ancient China that discusses the most and least effective military strategies for successful warfare according to Sun Tzu, a military general whose existence is still debated to this day. While not every military commander in the history of warfare has read it, the strategies provided can be used as a way to assess said commanders and the effectiveness of their campaigns. In Sun Tzu 's own words, “The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat:--let such a one be dismissed!”1 This paper will discuss various iconic battles throughout history and how closely the leading commanders of each army followed the advice of Sun Tzu. Despite the fact that Sun Tzu lived hundreds of years before many of these battles took place, the

    Read More

  • The Battle of France

    2520 Words  | 6 Pages

    Warfare was in a state of transition. Older commanders and generals in the French and British militaries were very cavalry and infantry focused. These commanders believed that cavalry, infantry, and artillery would assure victory in any circumstance, against any foe. They clung to the static tactics of the bygone World War I era. World War I had been fought primarily on French soil, and the military as well as the government never wanted that to happen again, therefore they wanted to reinforce their main border against any future German. Little did they know that only twenty two years later they would be bested by German forces in a way that would shock the world. This research will be analyzing many important assumptions, oversights,...

    Read More

  • Hannibal And Rome: The Success Of The First Punic War

    2434 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the darkest hour of the Roman Republic, an army was led against all odds to reign supreme on the Italian peninsula. Led through sheer military genius, the Carthaginian Army laid waste to everything the might of Rome could muster. For years on end, Italy was the stage for the greatest military orchestra the world had yet seen, conducted by a master of strategy and warfare. Hannibal, son of Hamilcar Barca, laid siege to the very idea of Rome’s military prowess. Despite absolute dominance of the Italian peninsula for several years, his success can not be credited to his brilliance and mastery of strategy. Hannibal’s success can be primarily attributed to Rome’s failure to respond at key points of his advance into Italy.

    Read More

  • Robert Citino's Analysis

    1280 Words  | 3 Pages

    Citino cites ample evidence to show that Germany, and Prussia before it, had always sought to fight short wars because of its paucity of resources and central position in Europe. Short wars necessitated speed, audacity and nimble operational maneuvers. In turn, these priotities required commanders to be aggressive and seize the earliest possible moment to try to force a battlefield decision. Citino presents repeated examples of this pattern as a hallmark of Prussian/German operations from the seventeenth century to the early phase of World War II. For Citino, this is the German way of war: a war of movement intended to bring a sudden and decisive victory. Simply put, Citino sees that Germany (and Prussia before it) simply did not have the luxury of time in fighting, which necessitated the development of Bewegungskrieg early on in the Prussian military tradition. For Citino, blitzkrieg merely constitutes the effective adaptation of new technologies to this traditional Prussian/German style of

    Read More

  • A Literary Criticism of "The Three Little Pigs" Through a Mythilogical Lense

    939 Words  | 2 Pages

    Every enduring object or idea lasts because ordinary people focused on their goal and ignored the temptation of taking the easy path that leads to failure. History illustrates that great feats require arduous labor and wise preparation. During World War II, the Allies attacked a less than fully prepared German defense in Normandy on D-Day, which became a foothold in Europe for the Allies. The Chinese spent over 1,700 years developing the 3,700 mile-long Great Wall that successfully protected their country from Mongol invaders. The key difference in the outcomes of these events lies in the determination and preparation of the opposing sides. In the end, the more prepared side exploited the shortcomings of its opposition. Many writers have gained inspiration from the effects strong wills have had on human history, and the fruit of one forgotten author has remained a staple example of the benefits of labor since the Mid-Nineteenth Century.

    Read More

  • Napoleon Bonaparte

    1396 Words  | 3 Pages

    Napoleon's Last Victory and the Emergence of Modern War, Epstein, Robert M. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. N.p.: University P of Kansas, June.

    Read More

  • The Art of War, by Sun Tzu

    2023 Words  | 5 Pages

    After twenty-five hundred years, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War still reigns supreme. In that long span of time, numerous empires have risen, expanded and collapsed. Wars have reached and ravaged almost every point on the planet. Humans have evolved from using swords and spears to using machine guns and missiles. Parts of the world have been colonized and have risen to prominence where once people thought there was no land. The Art of War has withstood all of this and stayed the most important source of military strategy for over two millennia. No other military document, and in fact few other written books at all, have come close to lasting this long. If ever asked: Can something as old as The Art of War remain relevant today, when it’s subject matter has changed so drastically in so long a time? The answer for now, and maybe forever, is a resounding ‘yes’.

    Read More

  • The Chinese Cultural Revolution

    1696 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hoobler, Dorothy, Thomas Hoobler, and Michael Kort, comps. China: Regional Studies Series. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Globe Fearon, 1993. 174-177.

    Read More

  • Learning Chinese-Personal Narrative

    1935 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 1995, I decided to volunteer as a missionary for my church. On the application form, there was no space for suggestions as to where in the world I would like to serve as a missionary. Church leaders assign missionaries to the place they feel we should go. I was surprised with the assignment to serve in Taiwan, speaking Mandarin Chinese. I had no previous experience with Chinese people or their language, so I felt fortunate that the church provides 2 months of intensive language training before the missionary even gets on the plane. During my 2 months in the language-training center, I found out just how different Mandarin Chinese is from my native language. The time went by quickly, and after obtaining a very tenuous grasp on the basics of Mandarin, I got on the plane and flew to Taiwan. Upon arriving there, I was assigned a companion who had been in Taiwan for just over a year and a half. From my first day in Taiwan, I was expected to dive headfirst into the task of teaching people about the church. I found that although at the Missionary Training Center I had learned to put together basic sentences, there was a whole other level of the language that I still needed to consider—the discourse level. The pursuit of clear and fluent discourse has been a focus of mine ever since. I always hoped that I would eventually "pick up" the finer points of Mandarin Chinese purely through contact with the people. The church did provide us with some study aids. However, these study aids amounted only to vocabulary lists and a few grammar hints which were either very basic or not altogether accurate. I discovered a trend, which has been accurately pointed out by Bourgerie (1997:107...

    Read More

  • China: Rising to Be the Next Superpower?

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    The rise in China from a poor, stagnant country to a major economic power within a time span of twenty-eight years is often described by analysts as one of the greatest success stories in these present times. With China receiving an increase in the amount of trade business from many countries around the world, they may soon be a major competitor to surpass the U.S. China became the second largest economy, last year, overtaking Japan which had held that position since 1968 (Gallup). China could become the world’s largest economy in decades.

    Read More

More about Personal Narrative: Jiaxing

Open Document