Confucius/Confucianism
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Korean Confucian Thoughts
I was traveling last week, to Seoul and Hong Kong. My primary purpose was to give a couple of talks, though I found some time to meet up with many former students and friends. First, last Monday in Seoul, I… Continue reading
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Confucianism from the bottom-up
After my most pleasant China trip, I am coming to a conclusion: Confucianism works best in the world, especially in the modern world, when it operates as a form of practical ethics, providing ideas that can inform how individuals navigate… Continue reading
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Social Mobility as a Destroyer of Confucian Culture
My China trip continues to go well. I'm in Shanghai now, by way of Nanjing, where I spent one night and gave a talk at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center (good to see my old friend Milo!). Here in the big city… Continue reading
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The Political Implications of Translation: An Example from Confucius
Yesterday I noticed a survey from The Carter Center, on their website US-China Perception Monitor. It investigated how Chinese students studying in the US view Chinese and Western political systems. The results were complex, which is not surprising to anyone… Continue reading
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Daoist Gun Control Redux
I posted this in January, but the inhuamnity of American gun culture requires us to return, again and again, to the sad topic of firearm violence: The Daodejing takes a dim view of weapons. Passage 31 begins (Legge translation):… Continue reading
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How Bo Xilai might emerge as a Latter Day Confucian Hero
OK, this is a bit far-fetched, but bear with me…. I have been absorbed these past two days with the Bo Xilai trial (an 18 minute video backgrounder by WSJ here). On Wednesday night (Thursday morning Jinan time) I followed… Continue reading
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What Does the Ideological Crack-Down Mean for China’s Confucians?
The old Twitter feed lit up yesterday afternoon with links to Chris Buckley's story in the NYT: "China Takes Aim at Western Ideas." The lede: Communist Party cadres have filled meeting halls around China to hear a somber, secretive warning… Continue reading
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Daoism as the Core of Chinese Culture
"Confucianism" is often taken as a metonym for "Chinese culture." It's easy to see why: the educated elite in imperial China, who themselves had to master the Confucian classics, had a material interest in asserting the cultural preeminence of those… Continue reading
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East Asia is not a Confucian Region: The Survey Research Evidence
I am closely reading Doh Chull Shin's book, Confucianism and Democratization in East Asia, for a review that will emerge later this year (or early next). It's quite good: deeply researched with a complex argument. I wanted to note here,… Continue reading
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Walter Benjamin and the Task of Translating Confucianism
It's been a while since I posted, and that is due to my impending China trip (leaving early tomorrow AM!). Although the first portion of the journey is largely fun, escorting a group of alumni from my college to various… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 