The Useless Tree

Confucius/Confucianism

  • On Throwing Shoes

    A protester at Cambridge University interrupted a speech by Wen Jiabao to hurl both insults (calling him a dictator) and a shoe: The shoe, or course, is reminiscent to the treatment former President (wow, it feels good to be able… Continue reading

  • Confucius at Williams College

    I teach at Williams College.  One of the things I teach is ancient Chinese philosophy, including Confucianism (The Analects, Mencius, Xun Zi).   Yesterday, in a conversation with a colleague, it came to my attention that an interest in Confucianism is… Continue reading

  • Confucian and Taoist Perspectives on the US Economic Crisis

    When stock markets made back some of their losses at the end of 2008, I was hopeful that the economic decline in the US might be easing.  But no.  The past few weeks have brought markets down once again.  Credit… Continue reading

  • Women and Children First: Confucius Would Agree

    The hair-raising crash landing and rescue of flight 1549 has been all over the news the past couple of days.  It is mind-boggling that no one was seriously injured. As I processed the news I noticed something: the invocation of… Continue reading

  • Modernization is not Americanization

    David Marash, a veteran journalist who just spend four months in Shantou, notices how American consumer culture has become common in China: In the United States of the late 1940s and 1950s, people once-shackled by Depression-era want and caution and… Continue reading

  • Arendt and Confucius

    This review in the New Yorker of some books on Hannah Arendt and this post by Peony on Arendt got me to thinking (and that can be dangerous at times).  And that thinking involved Confucius, since I noticed an idea… Continue reading

  • The Particular and the Universal in Human Rights

    Over at A Ku Indeed, Chris and Peony and some others are discussing Daniel Bell's book, East Meets West: Human Rights and Democracy in East Asia. I'm a bit late to the conversation (the end of semester and beginning of… Continue reading

  • Confucius and the Pope

    The Catholic Church has released a new document, "Instructions Dignitas Personae on Certain Bioethical Questions," that applies to a broad range of topics: In a resounding confirmation that the Catholic church's pro-life concern extends to the brave new world of… Continue reading

  • When Power isn’t Power anymore

    A wild story out of Chicago: the governor of Illinois was caught in taped telephone conversations conniving to extract personal material gain from a public political responsibility, the appointment of a person to fill the US Senate seat vacated by… Continue reading

  • Demon Rock and Roll

    Alan Baumler, over at Frog in a Well, has a post up on Xunzi (who I really need to pay more attention to) and music.  Great stuff.  Xunzi (or Hsun Tzu) would definitely banned Eliv Presley: The influence of music… Continue reading