The Useless Tree

Sam Crane

  • When did Jiang Zemin Die?

    Rumors have been circulating in Beijing the last day or two about the absence of former CCP General Secretary Jiang Zemin from Friday's big 90th anniversary Party.  And now the Chinese internet censors have taken fairly assertive action to block… Continue reading

  • A Taoist Fourth of July, 2011

    My annual reflection (first posted five years ago!): It may seem improbable but I think we can find a Taoist angle on the US Independence Day, July 4th, holiday.      Patriotism and nationalism, which are basically what July 4th… Continue reading

  • Ninety Years of the Chinese Communist Party

    Ninety years ago today, the Chinese Communist Party was founded in Shanghai.  There's a big celebration in Beijing, and Chinese media are in overdrive reporting on the successes of the Party.  To round out the picture a bit, I thought… Continue reading

  • Tennessee Williams and Chinese Philosophy

    As regular readers (both of you) know: I have an interest in theater and recently appeared in a college production of "Streetcar Named Desire."  So, it was marvelous last night to see the riveting production of the same show put… Continue reading

  • The Just Sentence

    A piece in the NYT today on the deliberations by Judge Denny Chin in New York on the sentencing for uber-fraudster Bernie Madoff.  Judge Chin imposed the maximum of maximum sentence, the accumulated total of the maximums of all the… Continue reading

  • Just how Confucian was the Han Dynasty? And what does that suggest for today’s Confucian revival?

    It is generally understood that, following the Qin repression, Confucianism was revived and given government sponsorship under the Han Dynasty.  The conventional wisdom goes something like this: Under the rule of Emperor Wu 漢武帝 (r. 141-87 BCE), Dong Zhongshu 董仲舒,… Continue reading

  • More on Being Black and Chinese

    Hard to believe that it is almost three years ago that I posted "Can a Black Man be Chinese?," a somewhat long (by blog standards) reflection on race, ethnicity and national identity.  And I would be remiss if I did… Continue reading

  • Mozi and Foreign Policy

    A piece in the China Daily today invokes the great anti-Confucian, Mozi, as an inspiration for contemporary PRC foreign policy. Here's a short summary of some Mohist principles from the article: Mozi said defensive strategies are more conducive than offensive… Continue reading

  • Rappin’ the Classics

    This is fun, even if a bit strained (thanks to commenter dma)… but, what the heck, it's Bloomsday: time to be irreverent:   Continue reading

  • How Mencius Undermines Tyrants

    I was reminded today of Mencius as I read this op-ed piece in the NYT: "How Tyrants Endure".   First a bit of background… Mencius is associated with the concept of "right of rebellion:" if a ruler is behaving badly,… Continue reading