Latest Posts
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Su Fei is Not an Imperialist
From Danwei today we learn that its video series, Sexy Beijing, has been branded as cultural imperialism by students at the London School of Economics. I rise in defense of the lady: Su Fei is not a cultural… Continue reading
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Another Taoist Easter
A steady snow is falling here on this Easter day. When I step outside I am surrounded by a chorus of birds; a flock of robins passed through the backyard yesterday and may still be perched in the… Continue reading
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Dick Cheney, Please Read Mencius
The Vice President cannot seem to accept reality; he is impervious to facts. He says, on a right-wing radio show, that al-Qaeda really did have a close, working relationship with Saddam Hussein, a charge that is rebutted fairly… Continue reading
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Virtual Qing Ming
I’m not sure if today is the exact day (because the exact day is calculated based on the Chinese calender), but it is the day usually referred to as Qing Ming. This is the day when, according to… Continue reading
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Bush Lost the War….
….pass it on From Kay: Continue reading
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The Desire for War
Some conservative pundits are dismayed that the UK-Iran standoff has ended peacefully. They seem to believe it better to have taken take up arms, however implausible and destructive, than accept a deal, perhaps even a prisoner swap of… Continue reading
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Bush Lost the War – Pass it on
AND MORE: Several other blogs have posted: Signs of Insanity, Be Lambic or Green, and 95% Certain. Best of all Songs of Unforgetting created a picture! Check out her side bar. I’ve posted it up top. ANOTHER UPDATE: Two more… Continue reading
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Who (Hu?) are they talking about?
I’m getting ready to read Chuang Tzu with my tutorial students next week. One thing that always fascinates me with this text is its skepticism toward language. It so sharply and smartly questions the capacity of words to… Continue reading
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Dissing the Oracle
Here’s a short piece (hat tip Western Confucian) about a Korean intellectual, Mun Yong-jik, who denigrates the I Ching: He has now turned his passion toward the Book of Changes,” or the I Ching, an ancient Chinese divination… Continue reading
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Flexible Ritual – Where’s Elijah?
One of the key concepts of Confucianism is Ritual – Li. The term has a somewhat negative connotation in contemporary English, suggesting something dryly formal, done without feeling or commitment, just going through the motions. This is not,… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 