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Research Paper For Worldbuilding Writing Class
Research Paper For Worldbuilding Writing Class
My Story Premise:
Growing up in a Buddhist boarding school in Amoy, May Lee has always set her goal
of becoming a monk. It's the righteous path, and it's the path that she has always
known would make her mom proud of her. Not everyone has the courage and
determination to set that goal. May is both proud and at peace with it. However,
when everything is right on track, Judie Chen comes into May's life. The new
transfer student startles something in May's heart. May finds herself no longer
devoting her full attention to Buddhism. As the shaving ceremony gets closer, May
discovers a new journey laid ahead that she needs to go on in order to find out what
she truly wants and who she is.
*The section of partial translation to the sources that are in Mandarin is at the
bottom of the document. (Sincere apologies for some Mandarin words don’t look
like they’re in the same font. I can’t seem to find a way to align them. They are
either in the same font but still look different or look alike but in different fonts.)
Keywords: Society, religion, Buddhism, ritual, custom, past, causes, war, import, export,
dynasty, government, colonize, classes, folklore, stories, legend, generations, preach,
revolution, living condition, norms, belief, occupation
1) Internet Source #1 –
暖風與她. (2021, October 13). 廈門疍民習俗. bendi5.com.
https://www.bendi5.com/techan/17785.html
(暖風與她: the screen name, meaning warm breeze and her) (廈門疍民習俗: The
customs of 疍民 in Xiamen/ Amoy. 疍民 means fishermen who live on their boats.)
Two sentence (min) explanation – In this source, not only the blog I cited, but the
website also had many different blogs introducing unique customs in Amoy. These
customs could help me build the world with Amoy’s cultural influences other than
Buddhism.
Developing New Worlds ECW 2841
2) Internet Source #2 –
許, 舒昕. (2022, February 05). 廈門市圖書館舉辦文史沙龍推出閩南傳統年俗專題講
座. 廈門日報. http://xm.fjsen.com/2022-02/05/content_30953667.htm
Two sentence (min) explanation – Xiamen is one of the major harbor cities in
China, and thus greatly influenced by western countries compared to other cities.
Learning its relationship with foreign countries and western influence on it would
be very helpful for my world-building on the aspects of social structure and
people’s lifestyle.
Two sentence (min) explanation – When I saw this journal, I was intrigued by the
idea that migration could a business and even the reason for a city’s prosperity.
After reading a bit into it, I believed this journal could be a great resource for my
story because it introduced a less known social, economic even, aspect of Xiamen.
The understanding of migration element in their society could bring more depth
and authenticity to the story.
5) Image Source –
Squashimono. (2010, May 01). Tulou and the life surrounding it [Photograph].
https://wordpress.org/openverse/image/5ed02238-e04d-411e-ade4-db3f4f1688c7
Developing New Worlds ECW 2841
Two sentence (min) explanation – The round building in the photo is a traditional
architecture in Xiamen. This could be one of the locale options for my
protagonist’s home (when she’s not in school, she might go home. Her family
could be a traditional family). This photo not only shows the traditional
architecture, but it also shows people’s living condition, their customs, their
habits etc. (For example, how they have round tables and gather together.)
Keywords: Society, religion, Buddhism, ritual, custom, past, causes, war, import, export,
dynasty, government, colonize, classes, folklore, stories, legend, generations, preach,
revolution, living condition, norms, belief, occupation
1) Internet Source #1 –
Lim, L. (2010, July 22). Beijing Finds Common Cause With Chinese Buddhists. npr.
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128691021
Two sentence (min) explanation – This article was about Chinese government’s
attitude toward Buddhism. This was crucial information because governments’
attitudes tend to affect the development of things in a society greatly. This source
could help me in my world-building from a political angle and see how Buddhism
Developing New Worlds ECW 2841
2) Internet Source #2 –
The 17th China Xiamen International Buddhist Items & Crafts Fair. (2022, October 20-
24). Xiamenbuddhafair. http://autumn.buddhafair.com/en/
Two sentence (min) explanation – This journal discusses how Buddhism influence
a country, a culture as a soft power, and its connection with its origin, India. This
resource helps me learn about “Buddhism in Amoy” through discussing how this
religion affects the city and its culture, and its relation to the neighboring
country.
Two sentence (min) explanation – This journal discusses the Buddhist networks
across the South China Sea. For instances, how Buddhist knowledge transfer
across regions, and how Buddhist mobility might contribute to the circulation of
people and ideas there. This resource introduces me to the networks between
Xiamen and regions nearby and the Buddhist connections in there.
5) Image Source –
Kirch, A. (2004, April 12). Monk [Photograph].
https://wordpress.org/openverse/image/f3af43ca-7ee6-4dd4-8e0a-efe2c36d15ef
Developing New Worlds ECW 2841
Two sentence (min) explanation – This photo shows an unique scene from
Buddhism that I don’t find familiar in Taiwanese, Buddhist culture. This is a
powerful image for “Buddhism in Amoy”. It could definitely be considered as one
of the visual references for my story.
1) Internet Source #1 –
觀點與視角. (2018, October 25). 佛教十三經都說什麼?賴永海先生的總結很精
闢. 每日頭條 KKnews. https://kknews.cc/zh-tw/fo/4zqnq53.html
2) Internet Source #2 –
原始佛學. (2017, July 21). 佛教十部必讀經典佛經. 壹讀 read.
Developing New Worlds ECW 2841
https://read01.com/7DDm574.html#.Yoj1KppByrd
(釋聖嚴: It’s the name of the author but it’s the Dharma name of monks so it doesn’t
have which part is the first name and which part is the last name. 中國佛教以《法華
經》為基礎的修行方法: The basic practices that Chinese Buddhism execute based on
“The Lotus Sutra”.)
Two sentence (min) explanation – This journal not only teaches us about the
important scripture, but it also leads us to the basic practices that are based on
this specific scripture. This could greatly help me paint the protagonist’s
religious life in details.
Two sentence (min) explanation – In chapter 6 of this book, the author talks
about why and how Buddhist scriptures are not like the Bible from Christianity.
This detailed information could really be the help for building the cultural
essence of a Buddhist story world.
5) Image Source –
Li, M.S. (1963). Chanting The Buddhist Scriptures [Photograph].
https://wordpress.org/openverse/image/69299c67-bf7a-427d-ac12-f64fa5d62bfb
Developing New Worlds ECW 2841
Two sentence (min) explanation – This will help me with my story because it
paints out the scene of Buddhists chanting the scriptures. This is the ritual that
my protagonist is used to and grew up with before she goes on a new journey of
finding herself.
1) Internet Source #1 –
Hsiao, C.A. (n.d.). Ten Most Commonly Seen Dharma Assemblies in Chinese
Buddhism. Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation.
https://www.dharmadrum.org/portal_d8_cnt_page.php?
folder_id=28&cnt_id=64&up_page=1
Developing New Worlds ECW 2841
Two sentence (min) explanation – In the article, there are the most common
Chinese, Buddhist Assemblies. This information could help me plan and paint the
life events for the protagonist/ the story.
2) Internet Source #2 –
Practices in Buddhism. (2022). BBC Bitesize.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zkdbcj6/revision/2
Two sentence (min) explanation – This source provides short and clear
introductions to all the nouns in Buddhism, including practices, different groups
of Buddhists, and so forth. This could really come in handy when I write this story
and need those nouns in English.
Two sentence (min) explanation – The detailed discussion into the assembly is
very helpful. I get to study it and paint the assembly scene with depth and rich
details.
Two sentence (min) explanation – This is the book that has everything about
Chinese Buddhism I need to build the world of this story. This could be
convenient because I get to look for different information within one source.
5) Image Source –
Bragg, J. (2008, September 28). Chinese Buddhist Monks Ceremony Hangzhou
[Photograph]. https://wordpress.org/openverse/image/f1ab8c2f-1a94-47e4-8394-
611b1911d5d8
Developing New Worlds ECW 2841
Two sentence (min) explanation – In this photo, I get to observe what a Chinese
Buddhist ceremony/ assembly looks like. The place, the clothing, the standing
position etc.
1) Internet Source #1 –
Eno, R. (2021, November). Buddhist Art in China: Paintings, Sculptures, and Sutra
Masterpieces. Facts and Details. https://factsanddetails.com/china/cat3/sub11/entry-
5595.html#chapter-12
2) Internet Source #2 –
Boston University Libraries. (2021, September 30). Buddhist Arts. Boston University
Libraries. https://library.bu.edu/buddhistarts
Two sentence (min) explanation – I wasn’t sure which APA format category to
put it in so I went with blog posts. This section of this source was amazing. It had
different sections for Buddhist Arts, museum collections, websites, books, and so
on. This could help me by guiding me to more research on Buddhist Arts.
Mertz, M., & Itoh, T. (2021, October 06). The Study of Buddhist Sculptures from Japan
and China Based on Wood Identification. HAL open
science. https://www.hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02994701
Two sentence (min) explanation – This journal is about the specific category,
wood sculpture, in Buddhist Arts. This could help me dig deeper into Buddhist
Arts. For example, how does Chinese Buddhist wooden sculpture differ from
Japan’s?
Two sentence (min) explanation – Dunhuang murals is one of the major Buddhist
Arts in China. Learning about it could help me grasp a main direction on the
aspect of Buddhist Arts and learn about the uniqueness of Chinese Buddhist Arts.
5) Image Source –
Todd, G. (2017, March 24). Chinese Buddhist Art, 4th to 7th Century AD [Photograph].
https://wordpress.org/openverse/image/84b610f0-bfe0-4732-83bd-3c11b661b9de
Developing New Worlds ECW 2841
Two sentence (min) explanation – The picture shows a delicate work of Buddhist
Art. The colors, the lines, the patterns, the silhouette, and so forth are the things I
need to observe from pictures like this in order to show my readers these details
in my story.
1) Internet Source #1 –
Developing New Worlds ECW 2841
Two sentence (min) explanation – The locations and their pictures in this article
are a great start for me to look at Amoy architecture. The influence on
architecture from colonial time is essential to include in a society when depicting
it.
2) Internet Source #2 –
China Discovery. (n.d.). South Putuo Temple (Nanputuo Temple)- Must-visit Temple on
Xiamen Island. China Discovery.
https://www.chinadiscovery.com/fujian/xiamen/south-putuo-temple.html
Two sentence (min) explanation – South Putuo Temple is the most well-known
Buddhist temple in Xiamen. This source provides a great chance to study the
famous Buddhist architectural work in Xiamen. Studying it would help me build
the location in my story better.
Two sentence (min) explanation – This is a study of both Chinese and Buddhist
architecture. Learning another specific Buddhist architecture other than the
South Putuo Temple would benefit me greatly, giving me a wider vision and wider
range of options to build my story world.
5) Image Source –
Montrasio, J. (2008, September 08). Gulangyu’s Houses [Photograph].
https://wordpress.org/openverse/image/f11b606e-5417-4e51-b37f-b04912825096
Developing New Worlds ECW 2841
Two sentence (min) explanation – This photo shows the houses that ordinary
people from Gulangyu (part of Xiamen) live in. These houses would become part
of my databases for building the ordinary world for my protagonist when she’s
out of school.
Partial Translation:
bedroom door would also require placing two sugar canes with roots and red papers. This
is called “門(men)蔗(jeu)”