COLORS OF THE MOUNTAIN

Author: Da Chen

COLORS OF THE MOUNTAIN

• "Colors of the Mountain" by Da Chen is an autobiography on the life of Da Chen growing up in China during the rule of Mao Zedong.

• Landlord Reform- significant numbers of landlords were beaten to death at mass meetings organized by the Communist Party as land was taken from them and given to poorer peasants

• Da Chen’s family was frowned upon because his grandfather was a landlord. Mao targeted landlords and people who were the family of landlords.

• Grandpa Chen couldn’t leave the house for fear of being beaten, his father hauled off regularly to labor camps, and the children were spit on in the streets.

• Da Chen seemed destined for a life of poverty, shame, and hunger.

• Ran off from his village in fear off being killed.

• Finds friendship with a gang of hoodlums

• Meets an elderly Chinese Baptist woman who teaches him English and opens the door to a new life and able to attend Beijing Language Institute.

• Chen’s brother also gets the opportunity to make a new life for himself.

THE LIFESPAN PERSPECTIVE

• Development is lifelong

• No one single age period has a greater impact than another

• Different events over the course of life during each major period all have equal effects on changes that may take place.

MAJOR PERIODSOF HUMANDEVELOPMENT

Middle Childhood (6-11yrs)

*improved athletic ability

*More logical thought processes

*Master basic literacy skills

*Advances in self understanding

*Morality and friendship

*Peer-group membership

Adolescence (11-18yrs)*Adult size bodies

*Thoughts more abstract & idealistic

*School achievements more serious

*Defines personal values & goals

Early Adulthood (18-40yrs)*Completing education or start of work

*Forming intimate relationships

*Establishing individual lifestyle

MAJOR DOMAINS OF DEVELOPMENT

Physical DevelopmentChanges body size & proportion, appearance, body systems function different, and physical health

Cognitive DevelopmentChanges in attention, memory, academic and everyday knowledge, problem solving

Emotional & Social DevelopmentChanges in self-understanding, knowledge about other people, friendships, behavior, moral reasoning

LIFESPAN PERSPECTIVE

Multidimensional• Challenges and adjustments of life

are affected by a blend of biological, psychological, and social forces.

Multidirectional• During every major period

development is expressed jointly by growth and decline

LIFESPAN PERSPECTIVE PLASTIC

Human traits can be changed (molded as plastic can be), but people maintain a certain durability of identity (also like plastic, which takes a long time to disintegrate). Intellectual performance remains flexible as we age. Then overtime it gradually becomes less plastic, because both capacity and opportunity for change has reduced. Different for every individual because life experiences are diverse.

LIFESPAN PERSPECTIVE

MULTIPLE-INTERACTING FORCES

Biological*Science of life and of living organisms

*Life processes or characteristics

Historical*record of events, as of the life or development of a people or institution, often including an explanation of or commentary on those events

Social & Culture*Of or relating to human society and its modes of organization

*Socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.

RESILIENCE-ABILITY TO ADAPT EFFECTIVELY IN THE FACE OF THREATS TO DEVELOPMENT

*PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS- high intelligence, temperament

*PARENTAL RELATIONSHIP- a close relationship to at least one parent provides warmth supports

*SOCIAL SUPPORT OUTSIDE THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY-some type of support if cannot be received from a parent

*COMMUNITY RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES- a chance to build a bridge for better life quality and feeling of selfworth

AFTER MATH After attending Beijing Language Institute, Chen moved to United States to attend college in Nebraska where he was offered a fellowship to teach and study. He then then attended Columbia University Law School and worked as an investment banker on wall street. Currently he lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with his wife and two children. His mother lives with him after the death of his father. One sister also resides in New York and the other remains in Beijing with his brother.

REFERENCES• Berk,L. E. (2010). Exploring Lifespan Development. Self-Understanding.

257-258.Boston: Pearson.

• Chen, Da. (1999). Colors of the Mountain. New York: Random House

• Fairbank, J.K. (1992). Establishing control of state and countryside. China A New History. 345- 349 Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

• Grada, C.O. (2011). Famines Past, Famines Future. Development & Change, 42(1), 49-69. doi ; 10.1111/j.1467-7660.2010.01677.x

• Jowett, A.J. (1990). China: The great leap of disaster or China: The great famine or China: The harvest of Death or. Focus, 40(3), 19

• Mallet, P., & Rodriguez-Tome, G. (1999). Social anxiety with peers in 9- to- 14-year olds. Development process and relations with self-consciousness and perceived peer acceptance. European Journal of Psychology of Education-EJPE (Springer Science & Business Media B.V.)

• Stop Bullying, N. (2004). Providing support to youth who are bullied: tips for school personnel (and other adults). Prevention Researcher, 11(3), 18

ABSTRACT• "Colors of the Mountain" by Da Chen is an autobiography on the life of Da

Chen growing up in China during the rule of Mao Zedong and the landlord reform organized by the Communist Party as land was taken from landowners and given to poorer peasants. Da Chen’s family was frowned upon because his grandfather was a landlord. Mao targeted landlords and people who were the family of landlords. Throughout the book Chen searches for acceptance because all he knows is torture and torment because of his political stance. Chen goes through many stages of development. His development throughout the book can best be describe using The Lifespan Perspective: A balanced point of view. The Lifespan Development Perspective says that development is lifelong, no one single age period has a greater impact than another, and different events over the course of life during each major period all have equal effects on changes that may take place.