It is tempting to indulge in visual insights that Chinese philosophy is permeated with a spirit like the crooked tree branch looming through the mountain mist above a lone fishing boat on the contemplative lake in the painting of Ma Y...
According to China’s Lunar Calendar, the Clear and Bright Day (清明節) will be on April 4 this year (2016). Traditionally, this is the time for families to visit their ancestors’ tombs to perform a ritual of ‘ancestor devotion’ (祭祖). For...
Philosophy skeptics have a tendency to sniffingly dismiss the field as useless. “What’s the point?” they ask, shrugging at the greatest ideas in human history. Well, besides the intellectual pursuit of the truth etc., one point of phi...
The importance of loving yourself is a common catchphrase among feel-good gurus and the subject of
Confucius (K'ung Fu-tzu) was born of a rather impoverished family of noble descent in the state of Lu (in modern Shantung). He quickly achieved a reputation for scholarship and learning. During his life, he witnessed the disintegratio...
On the first day of his class on ancient Chinese philosophy, professor Michael Puett makes a promise to all the students:
If you take the ideas in these texts seriously, they will change your life.Big ...
South Korea has character and it shows. A recent visit for the Journalists World Forum for Peace was a great opportunity to see this nation. Battling with nuclear and missile tensions, it yet marches ahead – with beauty and grace. The...
