Latest Posts
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Thoughts on March 19th
Three years ago today Aidan died. Passage 11 of the Daodejing is turning in my head today; Thirty spokes gathered at each hub:absence makes the cart work.A storage jar fashioned our of clay:absence makes the jar work.Door and windows cut… Continue reading
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Confucius: The Movie
OK, we knew at some point this had to happen: the major big budget PRC movie on Confucius. Jeremiah is on the story. After the criticism that emerged within China about Slumdog Millionaire and Kung Fu Panda, the prospects are… Continue reading
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Confucius on the AIG Bonuses
Bonuses going to AIG execs. What would Confucius do? He would certainly disapprove, as this excerpt from Analects 14.1 suggests: Yuan Szu asked about disgrace, and the Master said: "To enjoy a salary when your country abides in the Way… Continue reading
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North Korea is not Confucian
Props to The Western Confucian for finding and countering this column in the Financial Times: "N Korea is More Confucian Cult than rogue state.", which gives us this wildly unhelpful line: No analogy is perfect but that view of North… Continue reading
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Learning Chinese with Sexy Beijing
So I 'm getting ready for my trip to China and one thing I have to do is sharpen up my ear. You see, I have let my Chinese lapse some. I could be more persistent in finding ways to… Continue reading
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Finagrette’s Handshake
It's been a bit busy around here of late. We are getting close to our Spring Break and student assignments are due, which means office hours are busier and everything is more hectic. For me there is the added work… Continue reading
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Obama Does the Confucian (but not the Daoist) Thing on Stem Cells
Yesterday President Obama eased certain limits on embryonic stem cell research in the US. There are still various questions and restrictions remaining, especially on the issue of whether public money should be spent on experimentation on embryonic stems cells, but… Continue reading
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More on the Politics of Cultural Openness
Rebecca MacKinnon has a post (and the video) of a talk she gave a few days ago at the Berkman Center on "China and the Global Internet." She makes the key point that the CCP has already lost control of… Continue reading
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The Politics of Cultural Openness
Here's a story from the Time of India (hat tip CDT): Chinese critics believe that Slumdog Millionaire won the Oscar awards because of its political content. Some sections of the Chinese media are using the movie to indirectly complain that… Continue reading
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On Herbert Fingarette
Chris, at A Ku Indeed!, and Peony, at Tang Dynasty Times, have started a discussion of Herbert Fingarette's marvelous little book, Confucius: The Secular as Sacred. I'll be following along and commenting at both places. And, if you're interested, here… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 