In the July 11 & 18 edition of the New Yorker (sorry no web link available) there is a profile of a couple of high flying, rich, socially connected, cosmopolitan real estate developers in Beijing (Jianying Zha, "Letter… Continue reading

     The awful attacks in London have brought the war on terrorism back to the center of attention.  Confucians and Taoists, famously pacifist both, have little to say about how to respond to armed assault.  Chinese philosophy, however, has… Continue reading

What can be said about such brutality?  In the lines below, from the Tao Te Ching, the "Executioner" refers to the natural ebb and flow of life and death: The Executioner’s killing is perennial, it’s true.  But to undertake the… Continue reading

Warning: an attempt at humor follows: Here’s a political insight that most Americans have probably not realized: George W. Bush comes very close to the ideal leader described by the ancient Chinese philosophy of Taoism. And, in true Taoist fashion,… Continue reading

In May, a story broke about how Korean scientists had made a significant breakthrough in therapeutic cloning for stem cell research.  At the time I thought, great, here is an example of how the society-centered orientation of Confucianism, even when… Continue reading