The Useless Tree

Confucius/Confucianism

  • Confucianism and Abortion

         The Western Confucian has a series of links reporting on the practice of abortion in South Korea.  It seems that it is widely accepted by both men and women and commonly performed, even though it is restricted, by… Continue reading

  • Confucianism in the Service of Unfreedom

         Kevin Smith, aka The Weifang Radish, emails with a link to an article by  Edward Friedman, "Living Without Freedom in China."  Kevin is particularly interested in how The Useless Tree might respond to this passage: The only way… Continue reading

  • Dereliction of Duty

        Everyone is talking about the horrible revelations of slave labor in the brick kilns of Shanxi province.   Truly depressing.  Hundreds of people, many children, held against their will, in squalid conditions, and forced to work forging bricks.  Dickensian,… Continue reading

  • Confucianism is not Nationalism

        There are so many misuses of Confucianism!  Here is a fairly common one, projecting an image of modern Chinese nationalism back to Confucius.  It is taken from a Washington Post story today: "China Pushes Public To Mind Its… Continue reading

  • Repeat after me: A Father is more than a sperm-producing machine…

            One of the dangers of having a blog, and writing 5-6 days a week, is repetition.  You just cannot help but repeat yourself once in a while.  Well, when I saw this headline in today’s NYT, I… Continue reading

  • Losing the Past

         Nothing demonstrates the shallowness of the revival of Confucianism in China as the destruction of the country’s physical cultural heritage: China’s rapid urbanization has devastated the country’s architectural and cultural heritage sites, state news organizations reported Monday.    … Continue reading

  • The Cost of Insincerity

        Confucius often tells us to stand by our words, to make sure that our actions fulfill our words. The Master said: "If you’re grave and thoughtful, people look to you with the veneration due a noble.  And if… Continue reading

  • Confucius on the Web

         Just noticed this short article in Xinhua about the launch of a web site by the Chinese Confucius Foundation, the organization that oversees the Sage’s family site in Qufu, and which tries to centralize and manage all things… Continue reading

  • Gaokao

         Tomorrow is a big day for Chinese high school students: This year, a record 10 million Chinese youngsters will sit the two-day National College Entrance Exam, starting on Thursday, vying for about half that number of university places.… Continue reading

  • A Woman of Humanity

         We held graduation at my college on Sunday.  I had the privilege of hosting one of our honorary degree recipients: Ms. Shiranee Tilakawardane (scroll down), a Sri Lankan Supreme Court Justice.  What a great experience!        … Continue reading