The Useless Tree

Confucius/Confucianism

  • Man and Nature are One

    It's a central concept of Chinese aesthetics: the unity of man and nature – 天人合一.   And it comes up in a blog post by Evan Osnos over at The New Yorker.  He is writing about Xu Bing, an artist,… Continue reading

  • The US is becoming a Confucian Society

    OK, not really.  But this report, on how American parents are spending more time with their children, suggests that more attention is being paid to the cultivation and care of our closest loving relationships: Working parents perpetually agonize that they… Continue reading

  • Why Don’t We Call China a “Legalist Society”?

    I am catching up on my work here (the forty papers that have been sitting on my desk are now graded and returned to students!); so, I can get back to some of the ideas that were running through my… Continue reading

  • Cultural Distinctiveness and Historical Continuity

    I had a great day yesterday.  A very engaging and productive time at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.  Some good responses to my presentation on Confucianism and soft power, and even better, broad-ranging conversation afterward.  Much to think about… Continue reading

  • Shanghai and the Cultural Implications of Emulative Spending

    Tomorrow I will give two talks here: one to the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and the other to the Foreign Correspondent's Club of Shanghai.  In both cases, one point that I will raise is the notion that China is… Continue reading

  • Talks and Walks in Beijing

    A quick update from Beijing… I gave two talks in the last two days. It was essentially the same presentation in both spots, my paper, "Confucianism as Soft Power," in which I argue that Confucianism will likely not serve as… Continue reading

  • Confucian Sovereignty

    A quick shout out to Stephen Angle, over at Warp, Weft and Way, who has a post on his evolving thoughts on the relationship of sovereignty and democracy in Mencius.  The post is short but the comments go on a… Continue reading

  • China’s State Sports General Administration is un-Confucian!

    This story from Chinahush is just another example of how the Sage is forgotten in his homeland: Yesterday morning, deputy director of the State Sports General Administration, the International Olympic Committee Vice-Chairman Yu Zaiqing participated in the National Political Consultative… Continue reading

  • Mozi gets some love

    Italian journalist Francesco Sisci continues his study of ancient Chinese philosophy with a story today in the Asia Times: "A New Battle for Confucius." (h/t Western Confucian).  It is a brief review of a new translation of Mozi (ca. 430… Continue reading

  • East Asia is not Confucian

    Materialism of an un-Confucian sort has popped up in various ways of late, and here is one more instance (h/t Western Confucian): More than two-thirds of Koreans consider money the most important sign of success, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll… Continue reading