The Useless Tree

Politics

  • Confucius on Strategy

    Analects 13.17; When he was regent in Chu Fu, Adept Hsia asked about governing, and the Master said: "Don't rush things, and don't think about small gains.  If you rush around, your efforts will lead nowhere.  And if you worry… Continue reading

  • Effective Leadership

    I am, finally, returning to my book, which is pretty much and extension of the theme of this blog: ancient Chinese thought in modern American life.  I am on chapter six, which deals with Daoist and Confucian views of public… Continue reading

  • Obama is reading Sun Tzu, not the Tao Te Ching

    I'm emerging from the end of semester craziness.  My teaching is done for the semester (save one meeting with an independent study group this afternoon – always a pleasant meeting of minds) and the big pile of grading will not… Continue reading

  • Liberal Zhuangzi

    I've been a bit jet-lagged since arriving home late Wednesday night.  And I'm also behind in all sorts of work.  So, it has been hard to find time to blog.  But I wanted to make note of this post by… Continue reading

  • Confucian Sovereignty

    A quick shout out to Stephen Angle, over at Warp, Weft and Way, who has a post on his evolving thoughts on the relationship of sovereignty and democracy in Mencius.  The post is short but the comments go on a… Continue reading

  • China’s State Sports General Administration is un-Confucian!

    This story from Chinahush is just another example of how the Sage is forgotten in his homeland: Yesterday morning, deputy director of the State Sports General Administration, the International Olympic Committee Vice-Chairman Yu Zaiqing participated in the National Political Consultative… Continue reading

  • Mao Thoughts

    A random confluence…. I am running a group independent study in connection with my Nationalism in East Asia class.  Three students could not fit the class into their schedules; so we work off the syllabus and meet once a week… Continue reading

  • Daniel Bell: A Chinese Confucian Party?

    Daniel Bell published a piece last week in the Toronto Globe and Mail, "The Chinese Confucian Party?"  For those who know Daniel's work, the argument here is familiar.  He points to political reformers within the CCP (which is still the… Continue reading

  • Zhuangzi on Nationalism

    This is going to be a bit round about, but bear with me… Today in my East Asia Nationalism class we were discussing Benedict Anderson's classic text, Imagined Communities.  At one point, in considering the origins and rise of nationalism,… Continue reading

  • Learning Nationalism

    In my class on East Asian nationalism were are reading the introduction and afterword of Liah Greenfeld's book, Nationalism: Five Roads to Modernity.  It is quite different from the Gellner book I mentioned in posts below.  She is much more… Continue reading