Latest Posts
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Why No Chinese Terrorists?
Chan Akya has a notable piece in today’s Asia Times, "Islam and the absence of Chinese terrorists." Akya makes a culturalist argument, suggesting that deep historical forces, manifest in various elements of traditional Chinese culture, especially including Buddhism,… Continue reading
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Chuang Tzu on the “Eight Honors and Disgraces”
Back in April I commented on the "Eight Honors and Disgraces" campaign in the PRC press. It is a throwback to old-fashioned socialist, and quasi-Confucian, ethical exhortation: a series of slogans meant to define public and political morality. … Continue reading
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There Goes Pluto!
After much wrangling, the International Astronomers Union has demoted Pluto from "planet" to "dwarf planet." Does it matter what we call it? Maybe not. It brings Walt Whitman to mind: When I heard the Learn’d Astronomer When I… Continue reading
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This is Not what Confucius had in mind!
A story from the BBC (original Xinhua story here): China acts on funeral strippers Five people have been detained in China for running striptease send-offs at funerals, state media say. The once-common events are held to boost the… Continue reading
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The Best Way to Care for the Aged: Put them to Work?
Two articles in People’s Daily raise some interesting questions when read together. First, we have "China expects communities to take more care of elderly people," which tells us: China is encouraging communities to provide services for… Continue reading
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The Fame Motive
In today’s NYT we have this article,"The Fame Motive," which considers our desire to find personal validation in the attention of others: Money and power are handy, but millions of ambitious people are after something other than the… Continue reading
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Modern Love: Late-Onset Fatherhood
Rand Richard Cooper has a nice piece in Sunday’s NYT "Modern Love"column on being an older father. He was 46 when his wife, nine years his junior, became pregnant with their first child. Many questions popped into his… Continue reading
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Baseball Fate
I just have to take a moment to recognize a great moment in the storied history of the New York Yankees: a five game sweep of that other team from a northeastern city, a series reminiscent of the… Continue reading
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Beijing Weekend: Confucius is not a capitalist
A little something this week on how Confucian thought relates to modern economic practice. The China Daily web link is here. Full text below the jump. Continue reading
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Taoism is not Corrupt
I just found an article at the Asia Times that discusses government corruption in India, China and Indonesia. An interesting comparison, but it had this rather bizarre paragraph: Culturally, the Taoist framework of self-maximization has much to do… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 