Family
-
Amy Chua is a Legalist Mother
Amy Chua's now infamous piece, "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior," has already garnered significant blog reaction. Perhaps most poignant is this comment by Christina Lu at Quora: Drawing from personal experience, the reason why I don't feel this works is… Continue reading
-
A Poem by Wang Wei
A friend (thanks Tracy!) recently gave me David Hinton's translation of poems by Wang Wei, the great Tang poet. I like Hinton's translations of Chinese philosophy, precisely because he translates so much poetry, which, I think, gives him a certain… Continue reading
-
Do not go gentle into that good Dao
Dylan Thomas was not a Daoist. This thought comes to mind today as I mourn my aunt's passing. She was 77 and in chronically bad health for some time. She had to go to the emergency room at about one… Continue reading
-
Taoist Thanksgiving Thoughts
Back in 2005, when this blog was only a few months old, I wrote a post, "A Taoist Thanksgiving," which I have returned to over the years. It places my son, Aidan, who died two and a half years ago,… Continue reading
-
More Taoist Parenting, Please…
This story in the New Yorker, about “over-parenting,” made me think of the possibilities and virtues of Taoist parenting, which I have contemplated here. This excerpt provides some idea of the problem of overbearing parents: Finally comes the Last… Continue reading
-
Realizing our Parents
Laura, at 11D, calls our attention to an article in the Sunday NYT Magazine by Bob Morris, in which he reflects upon his desires to push his elderly father to physical activity beyond what the older man wants. … Continue reading
-
Do Children Need Fathers?
That may seem an odd question to some, but it is inspired by a piece over at Slate by Emily Yoffe. A couple of excerpts: In the last 50 years, there has been an extraordinary decoupling of marriage… Continue reading
-
Admonish Them Gently
Thandiwe D. Watts-Jones has a nice little piece in the Westchester section of today’s NYT about her aging mother’ habit of hoarding things: She must save everything. In the pile of dust I had gathered with a broom, she bent… Continue reading
-
Mencian Child-Rearing
Jeremiah, over at the new and improved Granite Studio, calls me out on the question of child-rearing in Mencius. Glad to be of service… He is discussing the "household instructions" left by a scholar-official long about… Continue reading
-
Walking the Dogs with Confucius and Chuang Tzu
When I am around my dogs – two beagle-mutts, Rudy and Larry – I am more Confucian than Taoist. I was reminded of this again today when my wife and I took them both for a walk. … Continue reading
The Useless Tree 