The Useless Tree

Sam Crane

  • No, Confucius cannot save America’s middle class

    My title today is a response to this blog post by David Rohde: "Can Confucius save America's middle class?"  The title really doesn't fit the article, which discusses how a small American city, Bowling Green Kentucky, is attempting to leverage… Continue reading

  • The Dao of Neutrinos

    Last week we heard a lot about the experiment in Europe in which a neutrino was measured as traveling faster than the speed of light, a theoretical impossibility according to Einstein.  And so now we have a spate of articles… Continue reading

  • Last Train Home

    Quite by chance, I watched the documentary, "Last Train Home,' last night. It happened to pop up on television (yah PBS!) as I was watching a baseball game.  I was riveted the whole way through. It is a documentary that… Continue reading

  • Gary Locke shows how China is neither Confucian nor Daoist

    Since arriving in China as the new US Ambassador, Gary Locke has attracted more than the usual attention from Chinese citizens, netizens and commentators.  He is the first Chinese-American to hold this position and his behavior – modest, respectful, frugal… Continue reading

  • Mariano Rivera: Daoist Sage

    Baseball fans out there know that history was made yesterday: New York Yankee Mariano Rivera set the all time record for career saves.  I (and, remember, I am a Daoist Yankee fan…) was lucky enough to listen to the final… Continue reading

  • Why Confucianism will not provide “soft power” to the PRC

    Last year I wrote a paper, and presented it at a couple of think tanks in China, entitled, "Confucianism as Soft Power."  The text has been sitting in my computer ever since; so I have decided to post it here… Continue reading

  • Friday Yi Jing Blogging: Predicting a Williams College Football Victory

    It's been a long time since my last Friday Yi Jing blogging.  I return to it today with a local focus.  In my tutorial on ancient Chinese philosophy today I was referring to the Yi Jing and decided to consult… Continue reading

  • Deng Xiaoping was not a Confucian gentleman

    Just ordered a copy of Ezra Vogel's new biography of Deng Xiaoping.  I look forward to reading it; biography affords a certain immediacy and specificity when working through dynamic historical periods.   The reviews have started to come in already.… Continue reading

  • Mencius: Now more than ever

    Rising socio-economic inequality is a heated topic of discussion in China.  China Digital Times links to several pieces about growing resentment toward the increasingly base and brazen nouveaux riches. This is not a new story.  Economic growth in China has… Continue reading

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