Latest Posts
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Why History Matters
Blogging has fallen off a bit of late because the new semester has begun and class preparation demands my time. Indeed, it demands my time in ways I cannot anticipate; and so, the beginnings of semesters are especially disorienting for… Continue reading
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Driven to Distraction
Last week a discussion took place at Peony's and Manyul's blogs on Confucius' lament, in Analects 15.13, which runs something like this: "It is a rare man who would turn his mind to virtue when he could follow love instead." Well,… Continue reading
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Inclusive Care
Reading Mozi for a class and thought I should post this paragraph, as it is a sentiment always worth pondering: But how can partiality be replaced by universality? If men were to regard the states of others as they regard… Continue reading
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Can a Black Person be Chinese? – Update
Last September I wrote a post, "Can a Black Man be Chinese?," that attracted a fair amount of attention. I followed this up with a briefer thought, "Can a Black Woman be Chinese?" Interestingly, Evan Osnos, at the New Yorker,… Continue reading
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How Confucian was Confucius?
A few weeks back I was reading Annping Chin's book, The Authentic Confucius, and an idea came to me (which only now am I blogging): Confucius may not as been as Confucian as we think. This idea emerges when we… Continue reading
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On Throwing Shoes
A protester at Cambridge University interrupted a speech by Wen Jiabao to hurl both insults (calling him a dictator) and a shoe: The shoe, or course, is reminiscent to the treatment former President (wow, it feels good to be able… Continue reading
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A Poem by Wang Wei
A friend (thanks Tracy!) recently gave me David Hinton's translation of poems by Wang Wei, the great Tang poet. I like Hinton's translations of Chinese philosophy, precisely because he translates so much poetry, which, I think, gives him a certain… Continue reading
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Do not go gentle into that good Dao
Dylan Thomas was not a Daoist. This thought comes to mind today as I mourn my aunt's passing. She was 77 and in chronically bad health for some time. She had to go to the emergency room at about one… Continue reading
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Confucius at Williams College
I teach at Williams College. One of the things I teach is ancient Chinese philosophy, including Confucianism (The Analects, Mencius, Xun Zi). Yesterday, in a conversation with a colleague, it came to my attention that an interest in Confucianism is… Continue reading
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Spring
Today is Spring Festival, Qun Jie. We tend to say "Chinese New Year" but, while it is true that it may be the most important family holiday for many Chinese people, it also signals something universal: the beginning of Spring. … Continue reading
The Useless Tree 