More Chinese Propaganda

Breitbart: Film Glorifying Emperor Xi Becomes China’s Highest-Grossing Documentary



"But!" Does this article quality as a nice try? Comparative Analysis of Eastern and Western Tyranny

A Qing Dynasty Novel in English Translation

The Scholars (儒林外史), cited by Steve Sailer in It's Just Tiger Mothers, All the Way Down!, referring to a post in Marginal Revolution. A criticism of Chinese meritocracy and the examination system.

Confucian Courtesies

Post by HanCinema.

Too late?

Another Encounter Between East and West

Post by Schumacher College.

Eric Hall on Confucianism

Imaginative Conservative: Confusing Confucianism with Collectivism

Tu Weiming

Website.
Philosophy Now interview.

He is no longer director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute. I see that he was giving some public lectures last year at Stanford. I missed out... but some vidoes are available below.





Confucian Humanism as Spiritual Exercise
Confucian Humanism as Scholarly Inquiry

Marek Jeziorek has some more videos of Professor Tu.

In a documentary by Bill Moyers -

Parts 2 and 3.

Homi Bhabha hosts Tu Weiming (杜维明) on 2010-04-07 at Harvard Humanities Center

Stanford Pan-Asian Music Festival

This weekend, coinciding with the Asian Lunar New Year. Schedule of events.

Stanford Live
Workshop and Demonstration
SF Classical Voice

Related:
Confucius Institute

Confucian Federalism

Begun on April 10, 11:19 AM.

There is the claim that the Constitution deliberately provides for easy mobility of Americans, so that they can check  leave a state that has become tyrannical. From the Analects:

This is what I've learned: leaders of countries and noble houses don't worry about having too few people, they worry about equitable rule; and they don't worry about the living in poverty, they worry about the people living in peace. If rule is equitable, there's no poverty. If there's harmony, there's no lack of people. And if there's peace, there's no rebellion. If a ruler's like this, and people in far-off lands still don't turn to him, he cultivates his Integrity to attract them. And after they're attracted, he brings them peace.

(I'm not going to look for a better translation or the Chinese original at this time. This translation does not offer the traditional? numbering of passages.)

Is it assumed by Confucians that whole clans would be moving, or would individual men (and their families) migrate as well? (How would that be morally permissible, given the importance of filial piety?) And what do clans do about the remains of their ancestors? Would these have to be transferred as well? What, then, of rootedness? (Were differences in culture and language among the Han slight at that time?)

Confucians were not republicans, but this does not mean that those who are made to be subject to the rule of others do not themselves seek the common good and judge rulers accordingly. I think Confucius truly believed that the virtuous ruler would attract people from all over to his state, and that this is not just exaggerated rhetoric used for the purpose of getting patrons among the ruling class.

Back to the Constitution and the Anglo-American states -- one would think that in polities claiming to be republics that the impulse to republicanism, and hence a jealous regard for self-rule against tyranny, would be stronger. Why flee to another state if those around you share your beliefs and judgments? Wouldn't it be easier to organize resistance to a bad state government? Did anyone in the early period write about this possibility, in distinction to the tyranny of the federal government? What remedies were touted? Where is the evidence that the post-Revolution Americans advocated migration as a political response to bad state government? (Moving for economic gain was prominent even before the Revolution.)

If a successful resistance is impossible to mount because it lacks popular support (or sufficient numbers to sacrifice), then escape into another state may be an option. But it shouldn't be the first response to a tyrannical government? But is it really possible for a democracy to develop without many, if not the majority, of the citizens becoming vicious first?

Someone posted this on FB: "The virtuous man is driven by responsibility, the non-virtuous man is driven by profit." - The Analects, Chapter IV

Well, virtuous man is a questionable translation of the original Chinese junzi (君子), though other Confucian terms do refer to qualities which not one does not have merely because one is a human being - they are acquired somehow. This must be an older translation, but at the moment I can't check if it is Legge's.

Anyway, there may be some agreement among members of different traditions that a virtuous action is one that is in accord with reason, and that virtue is some sort of habit. But what sort of reason? How does one reason well (practical reason)? How does this differ from "calculative" reason, which is in accordance with "base" desires? And what is the relationship between reason and the various appetites? Is virtue merely rule-following (like various proponents of the New Natural Law Theory would hold)? Or is it more than that?

I was reading about the Six Martyred Ministers this afternoon, because the KBS drama The Princess' Man (공주의 남자), while fictional, is based on the events of their time. There are a lot of tests of relationships and their virtues, such as loyalty. I couldn't think of any Uhmerican movie or TV drama that really examines the virtues of interpersonal relationships.

Beyond the Global Culture War

Google Books
website
profile for the author at the Center for Chinese and American studies

Gene Expression: 10 Questions for Adam K. Webb

4) My understanding is that the attitude of the Chinese mandarin class toward Xunzi, the early Confucian who most emphasized ritual as opposed to heart, was ambivalent because of the fact that it was his students who became the base for Legalism. On the other hand, some scholars contend that State Confucianism as it emerged under the Han dynasty owed a great deal to Xunzi and Legalism even though rhetorically it reviled them. What is your attitude toward Xunzi? Do ritual, heart and piety stand shoulder to shoulder, or do you emphasize one in your personal constellation of values?

I's true that some of Xunzi's students became the founders of Legalism. But I suspect he would have frowned on the path they took. The Legalists were hard-headed pragmatists who tended to scoff at ethics. (They're eerily modern-sounding....) Xunzi was no soft idealist, but he was deeply committed to Confucianism. He was much like Aristotle in appreciating that living an ethical life required being habituated to good practices first. People needed to learn how to be good, through ritual and custom and law, rather than just relying on an innate goodness to come out, as Mencius tended to stress. While the later Confucian high culture elevated Mencius over Xunzi, perhaps because he seemed more idealistic, all the stress on custom and study smacked of Xunzi. Premodern China spoke Mencius but lived Xunzi, and benefited from doing both.

Speaking for myself, I tend to think heart is more important than ritual, as you put it. That's probably because I see rituals varying across cultures, while the bettering of the heart at which they aim is more universal. I’m interested in common ground, and that often seems the easiest place to look. That said, I'm very aware of how important habits, instilled by a culture, are in forming people and sustaining their better natures. It's very easy to talk about one's heart as the most important thing, and then slide into a kind of shapeless complacency, especially if a society on the whole is not very hospitable to virtue. Rituals can fortify. I imagine Xunzi would agree: rituals are important, but they're important because of where they lead, which is to the heart.

Adam K. Webb on Beyond the Global Culture War

A review by "Bonald."

The Western Confucian: The Korean on Confucianism and Korea

The Thorn Birds

Begun on May 4.

 *spoiler warning*

Puzzled

Learning local ways promotes religion
Chinese teachings from the past can help people live better lives and improve society today (via the Western Confucian)

Much of Confucianism is compatible with Catholic Christianity, but I am struck by what the author writes here--if so much that she has learned through her encounter with traditional Chinese culture/religion is so new to her that she thinks that Chinese Catholics need to learn the same lessons as well for a fuller, more effective Christianity, what sort of Christianity has she been practicing up to this point? (Love of neighbor and integral development, anyone?) Her writing would seem to imply that she had not experienced these activities within the context of Catholic practice before. Chinese Catholicism sounds almost as isolated, individualistic, and fragmented as typical American Catholicism.

I would think that the underground Catholic communities have a strong sense of solidarity and the exercise of charity among their members, but outreach to outsiders may be limited, for reasons we can readily understand. (The fear of persecution.) Is the author a member of an underground community or of the Patriotic Association?

Chronicle of Higher Ed: Yale and National U. of Singapore Set Plans for New Liberal-Arts College

Aristotle Meets Confucius

Asian universities, by contrast, have traditionally stressed specialized, career-focused training. But the idea of a liberal-arts education, with an emphasis on critical inquiry, has begun to gain traction across the Asian continent, and Mr. Levin said he hoped the Yale-NUS collaboration could prove to be a model for the region.

That would be in keeping with Yale's history as a leader in the development of American liberal-arts education in the early 19th century, Mr. Levin said. This new breed of liberal education will marry Eastern and Western intellectual traditions and cultural perspectives. For example, Mr. Levin envisions a course comparing the works of Aristotle and Confucius, who lived less than two centuries apart.

Returning to Yale's roots as a liberal-arts innovator was "irresistible," Mr. Levin said, adding that Yale had passed on other offers of international partnerships.

But if employers don't respect the degree, will anyone enroll in the program?

Pertinacious Papist looks to Confucianism

to explain Why there is no looting in Japan.

I wonder though how much of an influence Confucianism had on the masses in Japan.

Homogeneity is mentioned as a reason for why there is no looting (if indeed this is the case) not as an explanation in itself. Rather, it is the absence of one cause of intersocial conflict -- multiculturalism. By itself, it is not enough to explain moral behavior -- one must look at the culture.


REP
SEP
Japanese Neo-Confucianism

First Things: Thomas Merton and Confucianism by Wm. Theodore de Bary
Why the contemplative never got the religion quite right

Another example of "state Confucianism"

ATimes: Confucian answer to 'clowns' By Antoaneta Becker
China's Confucius Prize debacle
China's Confucius peace prize has chaotic launch...
Nobel Peace Prize: Confucius prize? Never heard of it, says the winner
Confucius Prize Winner Absent From Ceremony
China counters Nobel Peace Prize with Confucius Peace Prize


(For a differentiation of the various kinds of Confucianism, see John Berthrong's Transformations of the Confucian Way.)

Rod Dreher, Wendell Berry, American Confucius

A comment on this post tells me that the video for the Saint Anthony of Padua Institute lecture on Matteo Ricci is now online--

Conflict and Accommodation: Matteo Riccis Approach to Catholic Evangelization in China


(Part 1 of 10)

The Useless Tree: Confucius and Education Reform in Korea (via the Western Confucian)

There are many models of "liberal education" -- with which version of liberal education in the West is this Confucian ideal most aligned? What is the goal of a liberal education: practical, speculative, or both? It could be said that Confucianism advocates a "humane education," centered on ren. As presented by Mr. Crane, Confucian liberal education has much in common with the program put forth by Aristotle in the Politics. It has less in common with the medieval ideal, which was centered not on moral development as much as intellectual development. The liberal arts were the tools needed to prepare the intellect for further studies in philosophy and theology. (A foundation in the arts were also required for the professional degrees: medicine, law, etc.)

In the Renaissance we see a return to an ideal of a liberal education as being practical? For those, especially the sons of the elites, aspiring to be statesmen and so on? It would seem for Aristotle at least, the state would be involved in the moral component of education. However, there was a speculative end to his program as well, since a few would be prepared for the study of philosophy. I do not think the speculative component was as pronounced, if it was present, in Renaissance ideals, but I should check Vives and others. (Even though Jesuit formation and university education included philosophy and theology, I believe the apex of the curriculum was not metaphysics or speculative theology, but moral theology. But maybe the source I read was incorrect.)

As for Confucian liberal education, there has historically been a debate within Confucianism as to what moral training consists in -- how does the junzi, the gentleman, become virtuous? Through practice, meditation, or study? And how broadly should li, rites, be understood? While Aristotle does lay out a program of education, it should not be understood as being separate from the acquisition and practice of virtue. With some members of the Confucian school, this integration is not so clear. (But I do think that it is present in the Analects.)

While it would be advantageous to restore some sort of humane learning to East Asian society, I do not think it is going to happen in time to prevent social breakdown in the event of severe economic collapse.

Begun on April 26.

Francesco Sisci, A new battle for Confucius

A new battle for Confucius By Francesco Sisci (via the Western Confucian)

A new translation of Mozi's corpus has been made available by the Chinese University Press:
The Mozi: A Complete Translation by Ian Johnston (Translator). The Chinese University Press (December 15, 2009). ISBN-10: 9629962705. Price US$85, 1,032 pages.

It looks like the same translation is being published by Columbia University Press here in the States. Too bad it's not bilingual.

Mr. Sisci writes:

Furthermore, Mozi's doctrine of "universal love" sounded like the idea of Christian love propagated in the 17th century, as well as like the drive to egalitarianism by the communists in the 20th century.

The Confucianis criticized the Mohists for obliterating social relations -- if this charge is accurate (I haven't read the complete Mohist corpus, only selections), then Mozi and his followers are more like liberals than Christians. The Christian tradition has a doctrine of universal love (which is not identical with Confucian ren, given that the object of charity is primarily God), but it also recognizes that there is an order in charity. Moreover, we have different duties to people, according to their relation to us, or what they have done for us. Hence, the allied virtues to justice. I do not recall what the Mohist account of justice is, and whether they recognize these duties. It's something I'll have to research, if I obtain a copy of the complete corpus.

He also contrasts Mozi with Sunzi:

Importantly, the book provides a basis to reconsider an important aspect of Chinese traditional thinking - military strategy. Johnston is the first person to provide both a credible Chinese textual reconstruction and a translation of Mozi's military chapters. Mozi theorized about defensive wars and his followers, the Mohists, were renowned tacticians who helped organize the defense of small states being attacked by larger ones.

This was at a time when small states were being gobbled up by large ones competing for dominance in the Chinese central plain. The aggressive theories of famous strategist Sunzi helped conceive those and many other future wars of attack, whereas Mozi argued against aggressive wars.

It is very likely that, as popularly described in the unsuccessful 2006 Chinese-Japanese movie production Mo Gong, in the Third century BC Mohist militants aided small states to withstand attacks and then tried to apply radical political and social reforms that went against the interests of the local elites.

Johnston's translation of Mozi could cast new light on Sunzi's theories and Chinese strategic thinking. It's possible that gong, a word commonly understood as aggressive war, at the time meant more precisely war by a large force against a small one, as Lu Xiang, a modern student of Sunzi argues in a forthcoming essay. This kind of war is what Sunzi preferred and Mozi opposed.

Sunzi does not appear to be in favor of unjust wars of aggression, as he does discuss the moral component of victory. Teachers of maneuver warfare and 3GW claim Sunzi as one of their own; numbers may be important if one is one the attack, so it is not clear to me that this is a justification of conquest of smaller polities by larger polities. Did Mozi advocate a purely reactive form of warfare? If so, he would seem to be a bit too idealistic, to the point of causing defeat for anyone who followed his teachings. I remember reading one issue of Lone Wolf and Cub in which the protagonist tells a dying samurai who was disgraced because he did not stay with his lord's palaquin but chose instead to go on the offensive against assassins that attack and defense are the same, since they have the same object.

(How deep is Mr. Sisci's understanding of contemporary Chinese society and classical Chinese culture? He seems to be an apologist for the present government and the Patriotic Associations.)

I'd like to read up on Mohist logic. (Indian logic too.)

Related links:
墨子
Mozi - Chinese Text Project
SEP
Mozi and Confucianism