The Useless Tree

Current Affairs

  • “Corporate life is the enemy of the modern family”

       Such is the conclusion that Laura, over at 11D, is coming to.   She gets to this point not through ideology: she is not a radical feminist.  Rather, she is coming to the realization that "good jobs" might actually be… Continue reading

  • Wishing you Fu for the New Year

        A nice piece in today’s People’s Daily discussing the various meaning of the character "fu," a ubiquitous New Year’s wish.        The character above is shown upside down.  At New Year’s it is common to hang… Continue reading

  • “A Man Without Money Is No Man At All”

        This is apparently an old Chinese proverb (I had not heard it before), and it is mentioned in the opening line of a China Daily story about a Chinese farmer, Liu Fucheng, who has been reduced to begging… Continue reading

  • Confucianism and Marxism

        Simon has a link to an (unlinkable) South China Morning Post piece on how the CCP plans to "modernize" Marxism, thus keeping it at the center of official ideology: Professor Cheng said Beijing aimed to modernise Marxism by… Continue reading

  • Waving the Confucian Flag to Defeat the Confucian Flag

        HK Dave, over at Simon’s World, links to this IHT story on how China is encouraging the study of Chinese language and culture at "Confucian Institutes" around to world in an effort to bolster its "soft power."  … Continue reading

  • US Supreme Court Supports Confucian View of Assisted Suicide

        And you thought it was all about the regulatory power of the federal government versus the state of Oregon’s right to manage the affairs of its citizens.  But the US Supreme Court’s support for Oregon’s assisted suicide law… Continue reading

  • Panlong is Dongzhou

       I was wrong.  I thought the New Year’s holiday would mean fewer public protests and demonstrations.  But I just learned of the violence in Panlong, a village in Guangdong province near the city of Zhongshan, in which local people… Continue reading

  • So, tell me again how Confucianism and Daoism influence consumption in today’s PRC…

        Three stories, and some pictures, from today’s China Daily are a reminder of just how alien Confucianism and Taoism are in contemporary China (and just about everywhere else for that matter): 1.  Here’s a thought: "artificial beauty"  … Continue reading

  • Feel the Taoism

        This is just too good.  Via Danwei, and Shanghaiist, comes a press release from a US advertising firm, JWT, entitled: “Twelve Facts About the Confucian Consumer”.   The funniest is number 2: 2. In China, “fresh” means “alive.” Daoism… Continue reading

  • Lao Tzu as Barbie

        Here’s a depressing story in China Daily: Just as housing and cars drive today’s consumption in China, the cultural industry including cultural and entertainment products and services will be an engine of economic growth, a top Beijing-based think-tank… Continue reading