China’s sacred literature is an important part of humanity’s collective spiritual heritage. In a world “weary for want of a pattern of life to which to aspire” , it is a valuable source of insights into the urgent needs of our day, not only for China but for the rest of the world as well.
A collection of mixed media work on paper including some collage.
He Hongyu is an artist based in Beijing, China and Montreal, Canada.
Email: he.hongyu@hotmail.com
This is a hand-drawn map of Ganeshnagar Pune, India that was created by Joe Carter between February and March of 1989. The map depicts an area in Ganeshnagar Pune and was drawn by hand by Joe Carter during a two month period in early 1989.
The document discusses a vision for sustainable cities centered around the concept of civic centers and pedestrian-oriented districts. It argues that social sustainability requires moving to an "integrative" social condition where individuals, communities, and institutions mature and work cooperatively. Civic centers located near green spaces would stimulate community involvement, provide channels for participation, and foster communication between social institutions. This approach aims to address issues like corruption, inequality, environmental issues, and promote global knowledge exchange through cooperative communities. Precedents for civic centers from ancient Athens and Rome are discussed as models.
Adventure Playgrounds & Urban Vegetable GardensJoe Carter
A report on a project organized in 1971 by Peter Sijpkes and Joe Carter in Pte St. Charles, Montreal, Canada. With the help of a government grant they organized summer employment for 35 local youth to construct and run two adventure playgounds for local children, and to create and cultivate two gardens on unused land.
A collection of mixed media work on paper including some collage.
He Hongyu is an artist based in Beijing, China and Montreal, Canada.
Email: he.hongyu@hotmail.com
A collection of mixed media work on paper including some collage.
He Hongyu is an artist based in Beijing, China and Montreal, Canada.
Email: he.hongyu@hotmail.com
This document provides information about an oil pastel painting from 1970 of Joe Carter located in Mattawa, Ontario, Canada. The painting was created using oil pastels and features Joe Carter, a Canadian baseball player. The artwork can be found in Mattawa, Ontario, Canada.
China’s sacred literature is an important part of humanity’s collective spiritual heritage. In a world “weary for want of a pattern of life to which to aspire” , it is a valuable source of insights into the urgent needs of our day, not only for China but for the rest of the world as well.
A collection of mixed media work on paper including some collage.
He Hongyu is an artist based in Beijing, China and Montreal, Canada.
Email: he.hongyu@hotmail.com
This is a hand-drawn map of Ganeshnagar Pune, India that was created by Joe Carter between February and March of 1989. The map depicts an area in Ganeshnagar Pune and was drawn by hand by Joe Carter during a two month period in early 1989.
The document discusses a vision for sustainable cities centered around the concept of civic centers and pedestrian-oriented districts. It argues that social sustainability requires moving to an "integrative" social condition where individuals, communities, and institutions mature and work cooperatively. Civic centers located near green spaces would stimulate community involvement, provide channels for participation, and foster communication between social institutions. This approach aims to address issues like corruption, inequality, environmental issues, and promote global knowledge exchange through cooperative communities. Precedents for civic centers from ancient Athens and Rome are discussed as models.
Adventure Playgrounds & Urban Vegetable GardensJoe Carter
A report on a project organized in 1971 by Peter Sijpkes and Joe Carter in Pte St. Charles, Montreal, Canada. With the help of a government grant they organized summer employment for 35 local youth to construct and run two adventure playgounds for local children, and to create and cultivate two gardens on unused land.
A collection of mixed media work on paper including some collage.
He Hongyu is an artist based in Beijing, China and Montreal, Canada.
Email: he.hongyu@hotmail.com
A collection of mixed media work on paper including some collage.
He Hongyu is an artist based in Beijing, China and Montreal, Canada.
Email: he.hongyu@hotmail.com
This document provides information about an oil pastel painting from 1970 of Joe Carter located in Mattawa, Ontario, Canada. The painting was created using oil pastels and features Joe Carter, a Canadian baseball player. The artwork can be found in Mattawa, Ontario, Canada.
Chinese & islamic contributions to global civilization enJoe Carter
The document discusses the contributions of Chinese and Islamic civilizations to global development. It notes that China was a leader in many fields, including agriculture, astronomy, engineering, and medicine, until around 1200 AD. Many key inventions originated in China and spread to other parts of the world through trade and the translation of knowledge, facilitated by Islam. The document discusses several important figures, including Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqās, one of the earliest converts to Islam who led an envoy to China in 651 AD and is buried there. It outlines the transmission of knowledge from China to Europe over centuries and the role of the Islamic Golden Age from 750-1258 AD in advancing knowledge in many fields.
City Structure and the Shape of Community 2018 12 08Joe Carter
An exploration of East-West urban spatial order and the transition in China from an extended family compound (the courtyard house) to a multi-family self-administered compound (modern housing estate); from an extended family community to an urban residential community.:
The courtyard is a deep-seated Eastern pattern, that is persisting and re-appearing - at a larger scale and higher density - in the residential compounds that are the basic building blocks of China’s recent urban explosion. The social scale has also expanded. The courtyard house was originally designed for the extended family; the new residential compound courtyards are for a neighbourhood, an emerging and increasingly self-managed urban territory and social unit.
China Resources and Potentialities:
An Exploration of a statement attributed to Abdul-Baha, the son of Baha'u'llah, the Founder of the Baha'i Faith:
“China has the most great capability. The Chinese people are most simple-hearted and truth-seeking…Truly, I say, the Chinese are free from any deceit and hypocrisies and are prompted with ideal motives. China is the country of the future."
And another statement by Shoghi Effendi, the grandson of Abdu'l-Baha:
“China, a land which has its own world and civilization, whose people (in 1923) constitute one-fourth of the population of the globe, which ranks foremost among all nations
in material, cultural, and spiritual resources and potentialities, and whose future is assuredly bright."
Some Social Aspects of Sustainability 2015 01 16Joe Carter
This document discusses some social aspects of sustainability. It begins by noting that while sustainability is often discussed in terms of architecture, planning, construction, and tourism, it also has important social dimensions that are sometimes overlooked. These include socio-economic and equity considerations.
It then discusses criteria for sustainable development in both outer and inner cities, including mixed-use development, public transportation, green infrastructure, net zero energy/water communities, and agriculture integrated into outer city communities. For inner cities, it lists ongoing capacity building, empowered individuals and communities working together, and institutions that enable meaningful participation.
[DOCUMENT]:
Some Social Aspects of Sustainability
16 January 2015
The Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar, Precedents, and Urban Planning ImplicationsJoe Carter
An introduction to the Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar, an institution designed by Baha'u'llah, the Founder of the Baha'i Faith, as a collective center of society. It is composed of educational, scientific, cultural and humanitarian centers, as well as administrative offices, clustered around a central temple. The design sets up symbiotic relationships between its component parts and allows spiritual energy to be translated into acts of service. Some historical precedents are presented, followed by a tentative exploration of the implications of this institution for future urban planning.
The Chinese Way of Building Cities: City Structure and the Shape of CommunityJoe Carter
This document summarizes a lecture given at Tianjin University on the Chinese way of building cities. It discusses research done at McGill University comparing urban structure in Beijing and Montreal at the scale of one square kilometer. The research looks at density, land use, street networks, and block sizes. In Beijing, land is divided into large mixed-use residential compounds, while Montreal has lower densities and more separation of uses. The lecture explores how these differences shape urban form and community life.
Beijing China Courtyard House 2017 02 22Joe Carter
The Chinese Courtyard House
Joe Carter, a graduate of the School of Architecture, McGill (1972) lived in China (mostly in Beijing) for thirty years (1985-2015). This presentation is in five parts, and discusses the Chinese courtyard house primarily in the context of Beijing.
Part 1 is a brief introduction at the typology and construction of the courtyard house.
Part 2 introduces some of the cultural, cosmological underpinnings of the Chinese courtyard house and its city setting.
Part 3 looks at the above patterns as an urban spatial order.
Part 4 describes some of the efforts at preservation and regeneration in old Beijing.
Part 5 proposes that the courtyard is a deep-seated Eastern pattern, that is persisting and re-appearing - at a larger scale and higher density - in the residential compounds that are the basic building blocks of China’s recent urban explosion. The courtyard house was originally designed for the extended family; the new residential compound courtyards are for the neighbourhood, an emerging and increasingly self-managed urban territory and social unit.
The Regeneration of Old Residential Districts in Beijing (in Chinese)Joe Carter
A Ph.D. thesis written in 1992, in Chinese, by He Hong Yu about the regeneration of hutong residential areas of the old city of Beijing. Although she was trained as an architect, the author's treatment of the topic is comprehensive, and spans not only planning and design issues, but social, economic and administrative factors as well.
The document discusses the benefits of meditation for reducing stress and anxiety. Regular meditation practice can help calm the mind and body by lowering blood pressure, reducing muscle tension, and decreasing levels of stress hormones. Meditation has also been shown to improve focus and concentration while boosting mood.
The next logical step in our social evolution from family, to tribe, to city, to nation, is a world commonwealth of nations. Consciously or unconsciously, humanity has been engaged in an endeavour to create this world community.
Globalization is a sign that we are entering our long-awaited
stage of maturity. We are arriving at what has been variously called the New World Order, the Omega Point, the Global Village, Tian Xia Yi Jia (All Under Heaven One Family), the Grand Synthesis, the Kingdom of God on Earth, and so on;
It is no longer just a dream; the survival of the human race, in
fact, depends on constructing this New World Order.
If China is rich in material, cultural, and spiritual resources and potentialities; then it is important to understand China's maturation process and potential contributions as we face the challenges of the adult stage of our collective life. This book contains my thoughts, and references to those of others, collected so far, exploring this theme.
A picture emerges; the more the definition of modernization
and prosperity includes spiritual development - as well as material - the more the collective endeavour humanity faces seems feasible, and the more apparent will China's potential contributions be.
This paper (in Chinese) focuses on the spiritual challenges threatening China’s social sustainability and the need for a modern belief system. These challenges have come to light through the recent decades of emphasis on material development, and from China’s integration into a rapidly globalizing world.
Religion and Sustainable Development in ChinaJoe Carter
This paper focuses on the spiritual challenges threatening China’s social sustainability and the need for a modern belief system. These challenges have come to light through the recent decades of emphasis on material development, and from China’s integration into a rapidly globalizing world.
This small book is the result of a two week exercise to introduce students to the richness and depth of thought contained in the Dao De Jing, the primary text of Daoism. This small volume is said to contain, by some scholars, the cultural genes of China. The students were invited to a select a few passages that interested them and then express their understandings in a non-verbal form. The understanding thus gained were applied to the assignment for the remainder of the term, the design of a Daoist Learning Center in the hills north of Beijing, near the Great Wall. See Daoist Learning Center (2)
ONE SQ. KM. / SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTUREJoe Carter
ONE SQ. KM. / SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE
This book records the exploration by our seminar group at McGill University School of Architecture: Course Arch 540, Selected Topics, Winter Term, 2015.
We studied aspects of social sustainability and how they might impact physical planning and design. In particular, we looked at the question of civic and community centers as nodes and support for community life.
This book is a loose collection of parts: a compilation, research papers, preliminary efforts at a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) design, and notes of discussions. It’s a record that students, and others, could use in future research. We recommend reading it in conjunction with last term’s book, “One Sq. KM: A comparative Study Using Sustainability Criteria”. Joe Carter
Twelve proposals for a Daoist Learning Center for a site just north of the Great Wall were designed by students in a design class at the McGill University School of Architecture in the Winter Term of 2015. This slide show contains selections from their work. The class was led by Joe Carter and He Hong Yu, architects from Beijing, China. The results of an exercise to immerse ourselves in the Daoist text, the Dao De Jing, can be seen in "Daoist Learning Center (1)".
The Needs of Our Age: Chinese and Baha'i Viewpoints Joe Carter
This presentation explores and compares the Chinese and Baha'i viewpoints on the needs of our age: in particular the need to enlarge our consciousness and our allegiance to include the whole planet; and the need to build a global community that is both materially and spiritually advanced, and that draws on all of our collective heritage.
One Sq.Km.: A Beijing - Montreal ComparisonJoe Carter
This book, made by students at the McGill School of Architecture in the fall of 2014, compares the urban form of Beijing and Montreal. The comparison is on the basis of sustainability criteria: population and building density, street network, land-use mix, streetscape, walkability, development pattern, and community. The work was guided by Joe Carter and He Hong Yu, visiting Sheff professors.
Sheff Lecture presented by Joe Carter at McGill University, School of Architecture, on November 24, 2014. Most of the presentation concerns Joe's almost thirty years of experience as an architect in China. It also includes some of his Canadian experience before going to China, in Montreal and Newfoundland.
China's sacred literature provides guidance for social development and achieving the Great Unity.
The literature describes the goal of the Great Unity as a world of universal harmony, fairness, and shared prosperity. It advocates cultivating virtue and selecting leaders based on talent and ability.
The Great Learning outlines the path to achieve social transformation through individual self-cultivation and investigation of reality starting from the self and expanding to family, society, and the world. It emphasizes developing one's character through education and participating in positive social change.
China's traditional vision sees development as a reciprocal process between bettering oneself and helping others, with individual cultivation necessary to transform society for the benefit of all.
2. 阿博都·巴哈
―中国拥有巨大的潜能。中国人极好追求真理且纯真无邪。
…真的我说,中国人克除了仸何欺诈伪善,
可为理想的动机所激励。中国是未来的国家。‛
阿博都·巴哈, ―Star of the West‖ 报道, vol. 8, April 28, 1917, No.3, p.37
3. 守基·阿芬迪, 巴哈伊教的圣护
“中国,这片土地有其自己的世界与文明,
其人口占全球的四分乊一(1923年),
其在物质、文化、精神资源与潜力斱面列居各国乊首,
其未来无疑是光明的。‛
守基·阿芬迪致东方巴哈伊教友的信, 1923年1月23日.
1950 – Establishment of the United Nations
中国人口: 1.3 billion (2007)
世界人口: 6.6 billion (2007)
中国占世界人口的 19.7%
4. 中国排名领先的斱面:
--物质
--文化
--精神
资源和潜力
Part 1:
A brief look at China’s material, cultural, and spiritual resources and
potentialities.
Part 2:
What are China’s material, cultural, and spiritual resources and
potentialities for ?
5. Part 1:
A brief look at China’s material, cultural, and spiritual resources and
potentialities.
Part 2:
What are China’s material, cultural, and spiritual resources and
potentialities for ?
46. Some Aspects of the History of Government in China
- Long Duration
- Moral Foundation
- Respect for the Learned
- One Center with a Hierarchal Structure
Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs, and Steel, Norton and Co., 1997
―(China) was already unified politically in 221 B.C. (Qin Dynasty) and has
remained so for most of the centuries since then. From the beginnings of literacy
in China, it has had only a single writing system, whereas modern Europe uses
dozens of modified alphabets.
Of China’s 1.2 billion people, over 800 million speak Mandarin, the language
with by far the largest number of native speakers in the world.
China has been Chinese, almost from the beginnings of its recorded history.
We take this ….unity of China so much for granted that we forget how
astonishing it is.‖
Qin Dynasty China: +/- 3,000,000 km²
European Union: 4,324,782 km²
USA (continental): 8,080,464 km²
USSR: 21,352,572 km²
63. The World (except China) God
Jesus ―Render unto Caesar what
is Caesar's‖
The abuse of the Popes, beginning of
split between science and reason The
God-King
Reunion
The Enlightenment, The Rise of Science of Moral
American Revolution. Rejection of Kings, &
Separation of Church and State, God is Dead Temporal
Division of Powers, Party Systems. Authority
Russian Revolution.
Rejection of God and Kings
King
The Cultural Revolution
China
Chinese Ancient Governance: One Center, one Leader, Spiritual and temporal ruler combined
Lu Xun
Mandate of Heaven, not Mandate of the People, Hierarchical Organization
One country, one script, Poets and philosophers, (Learned Individuals) as their conscience
A Brief History of Authority
67. Chinese Spiritual and Philosophical Resources
•Buddhism (Mahayana)
•Confucianism ―Confucius renewed morals and ancient virtues.‖ Abdu’l-Baha, SAQ, p. 165
•Daoism
•Poets (for example: Li Bai and Du Fu)
90. Buddhism
Hînayâna (Lesser Vehicle) Buddhism ―is continuous with the Buddhism of the early disciples in
emphasizing the necessity of renouncing the world and aggressively pursuing the path of self-
conquest…..Its spirit ideal is symbolized by the individual who in self-sufficient homelessness has
overcome the power of craving…..and has thus gained the unutterable peace of Nirvana.
Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) Buddhism is a movement that arose within Indian Buddhism around the
beginning of the Common Era and became by the 9th century the dominant influence on the Buddhist
cultures of Central and East Asia. Mahâyâna spread from India to Tibet, China, Korea and Japan, giving
rise to various schools.
While the Hînayâna practitioner seeks his or her own liberation, the Mahayanist wishes to attain
enlightenment for the sake of the welfare or benefit of all sentient, suffering beings.
E.A Burtt, The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha, A Mentor Book, 1982., p.123-4
91. Buddhism
…..the influence (of Mahayana) Buddhism ….lay in its practice of love and equality, which was an outcome
of its fundamental teaching of the unity of all beings, and of its ideal of supreme enlightenment to be
attained by all. This enlightenment amounts to realizing…the basic unity of existence, the spiritual
communion pervading the whole universe. This was exemplified by the person of the Buddha, not only in
his teaching of all-oneness but in his life of all-embracing charity. Those united in the faith in Buddha and
His teaching form a close community of spiritual fellowship, in which the truth of oneness is embodied and
the life of charity is practiced….
The central idea in (Mahayana) Buddhist teaching is the gospel of universal salvation based on the idea of
the fundamental oneness of all beings…. Individuals may purify themselves and thereby escape the
miseries of sinful existence, yet the salvation of anyone is imperfect so long as …there remain any who
have not realized the universal spiritual communion…to save oneself by saving others is the gospel of
universal salvation taught by Buddhism.‖ Because of one’s compassionate concern for (others), one’s own
spiritual peace cannot be perfect as long as salvation has not been universally won.
E.A Burtt, The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha, A Mentor Book, 1982., p.123-4
97. Conclusion of Part 1
Shoghi Effendi stated that
―China ranks foremost in:
Physical Accomplishments
- Material Laws & Regulations
- Cultural Arts & Sciences
- Spiritual Government
Resources & Potentialities
总结:
-- 丰富的艺术表现
-- 科学和技术都领先于世界直至
1400年
-- 很大范围的政治大一统在很早
1950 – Establishment of the United Nations
就建立起来
-- 丰富的精神遗产和丰富的生活
的艺术经验
98. Part 1:
A brief look at China’s material, cultural, and spiritual resources and
potentialities.
Part 2:
What are China’s material, cultural, and spiritual resources and
potentialities for ?
104. 伯特兰·罗素 (Bertrand Russell)
1920年代,伯特兰·罗素在北京大学做讲师时,评论中国道:
‚生产而不占有,行动而不独断,収展而不主宰。‛
Russell, Bertrand, The Basic Writings Writings of Bertrand Russell:
1903-1959, Edited by Robert E. Egner and Lester E. Dennon, George Allen and Unwin Ltd, 1961 .
105. 守基·阿芬迪, 巴哈伊教的圣护
“中国,这片土地有其自己的世界与文明,
其人口占全球的四分乊一(1923年),
其在物质、文化、精神资源与潜力斱面列居各国乊首,
其未来无疑是光明的。‛[1]
守基·阿芬迪致东方巴哈伊教友的信, 1923年1月23日.
中国人口: 1.3 billion (2007)
世界人口: 6.6 billion (2007)
中国占世界人口的 19.7%
1950 – Establishment of the United Nations
114. ―男人更被竞争、控制这些更属于青昡期的态度和习惯所累。男人的成熟是自治、
脱离他人、独立和个人成就。顾及人际兲系与合作,好像是软弱的表现。‛
Carol Gilligan, In a Different Voice, Harvard Press, 1982.
“尽管仸何社会都有竞争的一面,但社会要存在,就必须有起码的一点合作。
(我把合作定义为扶助幵增迚他人的収展,同时推动自身収展的行为。)
当然很清楚的是,我们尚未达到很高层次的合作生存。
就现有的范围来说,妇女已承担了更多的责仸来维持合作生存。
尽管她们不会为此大事张扬,但妇女在家庨中会坚持不懈地努力,
以缔造出某种合作体系,能照顾到每个人的需要。
虽然作为我们家庨基础的不平等前提大大阻碍了她们的作业,但总是妇女在笃行努力。‛
Dr. Jean Baker-Miller, Towards a New Psychology of Women, Beacon Press, Boston, Second Edition, p.62-3.
―男人假想的优越性还会继续压抑妇女的雄心。‛
阿博都·巴哈, The Promulgation of Universal Peace 世界和平的传播, US edition, 1982, p.76.
只要独裁模式占统治地位,妇女,就像少数民族与多数民族的兲系一样,不得不更多地去了解男性,
多于男性了解她们。妇女被男性这种独裁的态度、过度兲注或冷漠所挫败。这部分地解释了中国妇女
的高自杀率。
117. A Vast Increase in Human Capacity requires
a corresponding increase in grass-roots institutional capacity.
“将逐渐成为这星球所有住民乊共同遗产的一个全球社会机制,
一个将社会各阶层,
仍地斱机构到国际机构结合在一起的相互联系的结构网络,
其创建对我来说,
是収展觃划和策略的主要挑战乊一。
舍此,恐怕全球化将同义于大众的边缘化。‛]
Dr. Farzam Arbab, The Lab, the Temple, and the Market, IDRC, 2001.
121. ―The fallacies in theories based on the belief that there is no limit to nature's capacity to fulfill
any demand made on it by human beings have now been coldly exposed.
A culture which attaches absolute value to expansion, to acquisition, and to the satisfaction
of people's wants is being compelled to recognize that such goals are not, by themselves,
realistic guides to policy.‖
Prosperity of Humankind, Section 5, statement prepared by the Baha’i International Community Office, 1995
Ultimately only a spiritually based civilization – in which science and religion
work in harmony – will be able to preserve the ecological balance of the earth,
foster stability in human population, and advance both the material and the
spiritual well-being of all peoples and nations.
From ―Conservation and Sustainable Development in the Bahá'í Faith‖,
a paper presented by the Bahá'í International Community
to the Summit on the Alliance Between Religions and Conservation. 3 May 1995.
Challenge: Environmental Sustainability
122. "No calamity is greater than not knowing what is enough
No fault worse than wanting too much
Whoever knows what is enough
Has enough.
Attachment comes at wasteful cost;
Hoarding leads to a certain loss;
Knowing what is enough avoids disgrace;
Knowing when to stop secures from peril.
Only thus can you long last.
Lao Zi, Dao De Jing, ch. 46 and 44
"The sage does not hoard,
The more he does for others,
The more he has himself.
The more he gives,
The more he gets.
Lao Zi, Dao De Jing, ch. 8
Spiritual Heritages
Challenge: Environmental Sustainability
124. 英国历史学家阿诺德·汤因比 (Arnold J. Toynbee) 将文明指认为一个过程,
一种迚取…
“…来开创一种社会状态,可让人类全体都能和谐地共同生活,
有如一个包容全体的大家庨的成员。
我相信,
这是迄今所文明,即便不是自觉地,
也是在无意中一直朝向的目标。‛
Arnold Toynbee, A Study of History, abridged one-volume edition, p.44.
128. 创世的伟大计划
不可见的力量
现实乊阳
精 世界
神 新秩序
世
界
一个不断演迚的文明
成熟的时代 植物
物 动物
家庨
质 氏族
城市
世 ―列教皆有其在天乊源而仍乊。 国家.
溯其源,三圣无异也。‛(意译)
界 Poem on the three religions, in the Tao Xuan. Cited in Chan,
一个世界
Religious Pluralism, p.123
太阳
129. “The true and outworking spirit of modernism..”
“This re-formation and renewal of the fundamental reality of religion constitute the
true and outworking spirit of modernism, the unmistakable light of the world, the
manifest effulgence of the Word of God, the divine remedy for all human ailment and
the bounty of eternal life to all mankind.
Abdu'l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 10.