The Useless Tree

Sam Crane

  • Bo Xilai: The end of elite political unity in China?

    The news last night of the rather abrupt political demise of Bo Xilai has set the world of Chinese political analysts alight.  What can it mean? I think this point is well taken: For 20 years, says Peking University politics… Continue reading

  • Confucius is Politically Bolder than Wen Jiabao

    Chinese Premier,  Wen Jiabao, gave his last NPC press conference in his official capacity.  His term of office, and political career, is winding down.  Next year another, most likely Li Keqiang, will be in the seat, taking questions from the… Continue reading

  • How Confucian is the US?

    I hadn't realized just how widespread the concept of "filial responsibility" is in American jurisprudence.  It turns out that 28 states have laws on the books that state that children are responsible for the care of their elderly parents.  … Continue reading

  • Breaking News! Zhuangzi is right: there is no human nature

    Over at the NPR blog (ht Sullivan), Cosmos and Culture, Barbara J. King, biological anthropologist, tells us: …I would assert that there is no set-in-stone human nature. Anthropological studies show that humans respond with incredible plasticity to the social and… Continue reading

  • A Confucian Critique of Santorum’s Environmental Denialism

    Rick Santorum, who somehow is being taken seriously by Republican primary voters, rejects the idea that global warming is a real phenomenon and that it is connected to human activity on the planet.  He castigated President Obama for having a… Continue reading

  • Confucianism is not a Religion

    Now, there's an attention-grabbing headline.  It seems almost arrogant to so directly claim a clear answer to the rather complex question: is Confucianism a religion?  But I put it up there to insert myself into the perennial debate, which has… Continue reading

  • Jeremy Lin and Chinese Soft Power

      Let me add my voice to the chorus: Linsanity is Lintastic! By now, everyone knows Jeremy Lin and his marvelous emergence in the NBA.   Not only in the US, but in China as well, where he seems to… Continue reading

  • When “Confucianism” isn’t really Confucianism

    Alistair J. Nicholas, an expatriate pr exec in Beijing, pens a piece in the China Daily that reflects upon cultural differences between China and the West, especially in corporate workplaces.  There are some useful insights into how to get things… Continue reading

  • Confucianism’s Problem with Modernity – a brief comment

    I am reading Ernst Gellner's book, Nations and Nationalism for my class on nationalism in East Asia.  I have read this book several times (and blogged about it here and here and here) and I am quite aware of its… Continue reading

  • The Limits of Confucian Revivalism in Korea

    Yes, I fell off the end of the earth for a while.  My daughter has been auditioning for BFA acting programs and we've been on the road a fair amount the last couple of weeks – at the precise time… Continue reading