Latest Posts
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Bo Xilai, Xi Jinping, and the Fall of the Qin Dynasty
Bo Xilai has been given life in prison. Although we all knew that Bo would be found guilty, I must say I am a bit surprised at the severity of the sentence. Xi Jinping has a very strong incentive to… Continue reading
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Daoist Gun Control Redux
I posted this in January, but the inhuamnity of American gun culture requires us to return, again and again, to the sad topic of firearm violence: The Daodejing takes a dim view of weapons. Passage 31 begins (Legge translation):… Continue reading
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Confucianism is not an Ostentatious Cuisine
A rather depressing post over at Shanghaiist yesterday with a brief video description of "Confucius Cuisine." For whatever reason the short youtube clip was blocked on their site, so I am embedding it below. The "Confucian cuisine" portrayed here is… Continue reading
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Book News: an awkwardly computer-voiced ad on youtube
I received word from my publisher that advance copies of Life, Liberty, and the Pursiut of Dao are on the way. The actual physical volume will soon be in hand. The formal launch date remains September 16th, I believe –… Continue reading
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Sunzi: Against US action in Syria
The impending US strike against Syria brings Sunzi to mind. On the face of it, it appears to be a failure of strategy and policy. The most famous aphorism from Sunzi is 3.3 (from the Griffith translation; Chinese from China… Continue reading
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How Bo Xilai might emerge as a Latter Day Confucian Hero
OK, this is a bit far-fetched, but bear with me…. I have been absorbed these past two days with the Bo Xilai trial (an 18 minute video backgrounder by WSJ here). On Wednesday night (Thursday morning Jinan time) I followed… Continue reading
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What Does the Ideological Crack-Down Mean for China’s Confucians?
The old Twitter feed lit up yesterday afternoon with links to Chris Buckley's story in the NYT: "China Takes Aim at Western Ideas." The lede: Communist Party cadres have filled meeting halls around China to hear a somber, secretive warning… Continue reading
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Han Feizi on why Xi Jinping must destroy Bo Xilai
So it looks like Bo Xilai's trial will start on Thursday. His is a long and sordid story: an ambitious and powerful politician looking to climb to the very top of the CCP pecking order, who ran a deeply corrupt… Continue reading
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Book News: Earlier Publication Date and Excerpt
And now for a spot of shameless self-promotion… It looks like my book – Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Dao: Ancient Chnese Thought in Modern American Life – will be coming out next month, as opposed to the previously… Continue reading
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Additional Thoughts on the China-Egypt Comparison
Following up on the post below, I notice that others have commented on the differences between the horrendous violence in Egypt in the past few days and the "Beijing Massacre" of 1989. Matt Schiavenza, over at The Atlantic, adds… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 