The Useless Tree

Confucius/Confucianism

  • It’s Not Just Their Physical Health

         Here’s what the China Daily reports (hat tip, CDT): The high-living, high-pressure lifestyles of China’s wealthy are catching up with their health, according to a  recent survey that shows many are paying a high cost for their affluence.… Continue reading

  • Still Yet More on Yu Dan

        A piece in today’s NYT reminds us of the popularity of Yu Dan’s take on The Analects.  Not much value-added here, however.  Yu has been something of celebrity for over a year now.  I have blogged about her… Continue reading

  • Confucians Against The Great Wall

        I saw this story today (hat tip, CDT): The Great Wall of China, built to withstand raiding hordes from the steppes, is now in peril from a far more insidious threat: sandstorms generated by desertification in the country’s… Continue reading

  • Mencius in a Beijing Courtroom

         There was something about this story, related by Roland (scroll down to "Beijing Courtroom Drama), that stuck with me from yesterday.  It is a sad tale of human pain and desperation: In April 2005, the 6-year-old son of… Continue reading

  • Green Confucius

         A few weeks ago I posted a response to a piece from the blog Western Confucian which quoted Pan Yue, a Chinese environmental protection administrator, arguing that ancient Chinese philosophy is especially good in respecting the natural environment. … Continue reading

  • Chinese Solutions to the Religion Problem

         Mark Lilla’s article in last Sunday’s NYT Magazine has been circling through my mind all week.  While he does a great job explicating the ways in which modernization does not fully eradicate our tendency toward religion, which he… Continue reading

  • Arthur Miller’s Irresponsibility

         It seems (hat tip John and Laura) and that the famous US playwright,  Arthur Miller, produced and passed on the sperm (I will not use the verb "fathered") that helped to create a son, Daniel, who had Down… Continue reading

  • So, America Is A Confucian Society…

         Sorry for another drop-off in blogging: we went into New York City for a Yankee game (they lost) and a show (Frost/Nixon).  More on the trip tomorrow.  This evening I saw this AP story and had to post… Continue reading

  • Childhood

         Should we consider childhood a distinct phase of life, separated by some level of maturity and knowledge from adulthood, or should we understand it as a synchronic moment in a larger dynamic process of life which cannot be… Continue reading

  • Confucianism in Communist China

         Maureen Fan has good piece in today’s WaPo on the revival of Confucianism in China: Confucianism is enjoying a resurgence in this country, as more and more Chinese like Guan [who has sent his children to a Confucian… Continue reading