Latest Posts
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The Confucuis Cemetery and Temple in Qufu
Well, I finally made it to Qufu, the hometown and resting place of Confucius. As can be imagined, there are some major historical sites here, the big three (三孔) being: the Confucian Temple (initially built just after his death, in… Continue reading
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Baiyunguan: White Cloud Temple
I went to Baiyunguan – White Cloud Temple – today, a place where Daoism is practiced as a religion. It's an important location, a key site for the Quanzhen sect of Daoism. I have to admit, I do not know… Continue reading
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An American Artist in Beijing
One of the great things about being here is catching up with former students. And one of the great things about having taught for over twenty-five years is that some of those former students lead marvelously creative lives. A great… Continue reading
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More on Teaching Confucianism in China
Another busy week in the classroom here. I want to respond to a couple of comments from my last post (I close comments after one week because of spam attacks) about my experience teaching Confucianism here now. First up, J… Continue reading
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Teaching Confucius in Beijing
I've been here over a week and have hardly had time to even think about blogging. It turns out that getting my class, "Confucianism in America," up and running has been a lot more time-consuming than I realized. The central… Continue reading
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A Summer Course: “Confucianism in America”
I've been away from the blog for far too long: that's what getting behind in both teaching and administrative work will do to you for a while. But it's getting better. The semester is winding down and the grading is… Continue reading
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Universal Culture
Just back from a brief trip to Rome. My first time there. What a fantastic city. We took a day trip as well to Assisi, the birthplace and resting place of St. Francis. And while there I had a riveting… Continue reading
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Is Confucian Reciprocity a “Silver Rule”?
A friend of mine (thanks Karl!) sent me a link to a story in the Irish Times, way back on January 31: Unthinkable: Which ‘golden rule’ of ethics is best, the Christian or Confucian? It is an interview with Yinya… Continue reading
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Filiality and Loss in Nebraska
We saw the movie "Nebraska" a couple of weeks ago and I've been meaning to blog something about it. Let me try to seize this moment to put down a couple of thoughts. My overwhelming sense is that this is… Continue reading
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One More Time: Against Valentine’s Day
From the archives: I think I have always been against Valentine's Day: so obviously constructed to play upon our romantic insecurities to sell cards and flowers. And when I see stories like this one, from today's China Daily, I am… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 