History
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Reply to my Diaspora Fenqing Nationalist Critics
For the Record: one of the commenters on this post has, on another blog, accused me of "banning" him. That is not true. I suspect he ran into a bit of trouble with the Captcha system in Typepad Comments, and… Continue reading
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Great Leap Famine Denial
In my other class this semester, contemporary Chinese politics, we are getting ready to consider the Great Leap Famine. In noodling around the internet in search of the any new bits of information, I have found several examples of what… Continue reading
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Lin Xiling and the Necessity of Dissent
A new semester is upon us and I am preparing for this week's classes on Chinese politics. On Thursday we will be thinking about the big events of the 1950s: the Hundred Flowers Campaign; the Anti-Rightist Movement; the Great Leap… Continue reading
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Yang Jisheng is a Confucian Sage, and Mao Zedong was an Inhumane Qin Shihuangdi Wannabe
We hear a lot these days about the revival of Confucianism in China. Some argue that it will bring something like political meritocracy and moral leadership to the PRC. But these outcomes are fairly remote, obstructed as they are by… Continue reading
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When Martin Jacques Fools the World
Couldn't resist the title, which came to mind after I read this recent BBC commentary by Martin Jacques: "Is China more legitimate than the West?" (his book is entiteld When China Rules the World) There are many problems with the… Continue reading
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The Chinese Political System is not a Meritocracy
Daniel A. Bell has a piece today in the CSM, arguing that the PRC political system is, basically, a meritocracy that holds lessons that might correct the flaws of US democracy. Bell is a philosopher and he tends to operate… Continue reading
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The Northern Wei Dynasty Comes to Williamstown
For anyone in the northeast United States this summer and early autumn, you really need to see the new exhibit at the Clark Art Institute in my hometown, Williamstown, MA, entitled: Unearthed: Recent Archaeological Discoveries from Northern China. The centerpiece… Continue reading
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The Mencian Critique of the Terracotta Warriors
Word comes of a new excavation of even more terracotta warriors and figures at the massive burial site of the first Qin Emperor. But whenever I think of Qin and his subterranean army, Mencius comes to mind. And Mencius gives… Continue reading
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Reply to Eric X. Li: Cultures are not Incommensurable and the CCP is not Confucuian
Over at the Huffington Post, Rachel Beitarie interviews Eric X. Li, under the title "Democracy is not the Answer." Li, who describes himself as a Shanghai venture capitalist (which carries a bit of irony, as I will attempt to demonstrate),… Continue reading
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Yan Xuetong, History and Philosophy
Sorry for the blog silence – lots of work and distractions. But I'm back now… Yesterday's op-ed in the NYT by Chinese international relations academic, Yan Xuetong, has sparked a great deal of discussion on listservs and web sites. Manyul… Continue reading
The Useless Tree 