The Useless Tree

Sam Crane

  • The Impossibility of a Confucian Society

    Reading Hanfeizi with my tutorial this week, I am reminded of the sharp differences between Confucianism and Legalism, at least in the minds of the pre-Qin proponents of each of those schools of thought.  Of course, it is a supreme… Continue reading

  • The Breakdown of Family Duty in China

    China is becoming more like the United States, and not in good ways.  I remember back in the 1990's, people like Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew argued that "Asian Values," which for him were always rooted in Chinese culture, contrasted sharply… Continue reading

  • A Daoist Turn on Disability

    A beautiful piece (thanks Laura for sending it along!) in The Chronicle of Higher Education by a father, an English professor, reflecting upon the life of his 10 year old son, who is disabled.  Although their circumstances are somewhat different,… Continue reading

  • Confucian-Manqué

    In the November 8th issue of The New Yorker, Zha Jinying has a great piece on the Chinese writer/governmental official Wang Meng (link might require subscription).  Wang is a complex character, author of a famous story criticial of the bureaucratic… Continue reading

  • A Taoist Businessman

    A great piece in Sunday's NYT Magazine on contemoprary religious Taoism in China.  It covers a lot of ground, mentions the inter-relationship of relgious and philsophical Taoism, and provides several examples of the reinvention of Taoist tradition.  But one thing… Continue reading

  • Zhuangzi consoles Democrats on Republican control of the US House of Representatives

    Birth and death, living and dead, failure and success, poverty and wealth, honor and dishonor, slander and praise, hunger and thirst, hot and cold – such are the transformations of this world, the movements of its inevitable nature.  They keep… Continue reading

  • Thoughts on the Stewart/Colbert Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

    Yes, I attended the gigantic (200,000+ people) rally on the Washington Mall on Saturday.  It was a blast.  A lot of fun.  Very well directed and performed, with a bit of political sincerity thrown in at the end.  It would… Continue reading

  • Thoughts on the Yankees’ Loss

    The New York Yankees lost the Americal League Championship series to the Texas Rangers last night.  An old high school friend (Hi Richard!) facebooked me and asked for any solace that might be gained from ancient Chinese philosophy.  As a… Continue reading

  • A Mencius Moment

    Work is piling up again. Time is fleeting – not enough of it to blog as much as I would like.  But here is a thought from Menicus, whom we are reading in my tutorial this week.  No need for… Continue reading

  • Those You’ve Known

    Today is Aidan's birthday.  His nineteenth birthday.  The day confronts me with my many selves, one of which is father of a disabled child and another of which is father of a child passed away.  The past infuses the present,… Continue reading