The Useless Tree

Current Affairs

  • Additional Thoughts on the China-Egypt Comparison

    Following up on the post below, I notice that others have commented on the differences between the horrendous violence in Egypt in the past few days and the "Beijing Massacre" of 1989.   Matt Schiavenza, over at The Atlantic, adds… Continue reading

  • Egypt is not China

    Let me put on my contemporary Chinese politics cap for a moment to comment on the horrible events unfolding in Cairo.  I notice, on Twitter, that comparisons are already being drawn between the violent crackdown on Egypt and the Beijing… Continue reading

  • 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

  • “An Era of Lost Faith”?

    A piece in Caixin about a questionable qigong "master," brings up a larger point, one that provides some insight into China's current cultural climate. In considering why successful business people and government cadres seek out spiritual guidance from questionable sources,… Continue reading

  • Chinese Middle Class Aspirations

    Just returned to the US after a three week China trip.  The jet lag is starting to clear, and I can finally return to the blog.  I wasn't able to write as I traveled because, at first, the pace of… Continue reading

  • It’s Hard Out Here For A Daoist

    A disheartening, if not completely unexpected, story in China Daily today (h/t Sinocism) on the ways in which the growing materialism of Chinese society is undermining the practice of Daoist religion: Taoist abbot Yuan Zhihong has a complicated attitude toward… Continue reading

  • Elderly caring for elderly may be good, but it’s not Confucian

    A sadly familiar story – the declining amount of time and attention younger Chinese people can and do spend with their aging parents and grandparents – was in the news again this week. On Sunday, Reuters ran a piece: "Greying… Continue reading

  • Organizational Psychology Confirms Confucius: Helping Others is the Best Way to Help Yourself

    Just saw this piece in the NYT: "Is Giving the Secret to Getting Ahead?"  This graf gets at the main idea: Organizational psychology has long concerned itself with how to design work so that people will enjoy it and want… Continue reading

  • American Daoism

    Sometimes I despair that some of my favorite books – the Daodejing and Zhuangzi – seem wholly irrelevant to the materialism and competitiveness of contemporary American life.  And then along comes an article like this: Living With Less. A Lot… Continue reading

  • Daoist Gun Control

    The Daodejing takes a dim view of weapons.  Passage 31 begins (Legge translation): Now arms, however beautiful, are instruments of evil omen, hateful, it may be said, to all creatures. Therefore they who have the Dao do not like to… Continue reading