Justin Tiwald (University of Hong Kong) is giving a talk, “How Orthodox (Neo-Confucian) Morality Trivializes Human Desires: Dai Zhen’s Main Argument,” at the next Neo-Confucian Studies Seminar on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, 3:30-5:30pm, at the Heyman Center for the Humanities on Columbia University campus.
Category Archives: Confucianism
Episode 24 of “This Is the Way”: Robber Zhi—Honor Among Thieves?
With a big assist from our guest, Stephen C. Walker, we discuss a highly unusual philosophical dialogue in classical Chinese literature, the “Robber Zhi Dialogue” (from the Miscellaneous Chapters of the Zhuangzi). This shocking story shows Confucius attempting to convince the story’s anti-hero (Robber Zhi) to give up his robber lifestyle. By the end of the story, Confucius emerges as the more naive and inauthentic of the two characters, and moral exemplars in general are called into question. Are purveyors of morality also robbers themselves?
Stephen C. Walker’s research page Continue reading →
New Article: Jin on Xu Fuguan
Jin Yutang (Politics and public Administration, HKU) has published a new article in The History of Political Thought titled “Confucian Virtue Politics in Modern Times: A Reappraisal of Xu Fuguan’s Confucian Democracy.” See here for abstract and other information.
2025-26 Columbia Neo-Confucianism Seminar Schedule
In the 2025-26 academic year, the Neo-Confucian Studies Seminar will continue to meet in person at the Heyman Center on Columbia campus, normally 3:30-5:30pm on a Friday.
This year they will host six speakers:
10/10 Justin Tiwald (University of Hong Kong)
11/7 Taisu Zhang (Yale Law School)
12/5 Geoffrey Redmond (Independent scholar)
3/6 Dandan Chen (Farmingdale State College)
4/3 John Lombardini (College of William and Mary
5/1 PJ Ivanhoe (Georgetown University)
For more information, please contact the Seminar’s rapporteur, Ivy Chen <lc3131@columbia.edu>.
CFP: JCPC Special Issue (Open Call)
The Journal of Confucian Philosophy and Culture (JCPC; peer-reviewed; Scopus & ESCI indexed) invites submissions for a Special Issue developed in partnership with the North American Korean Philosophy Association (NAKPA). Although curated with NAKPA, this is an open call: submissions are welcome from all scholars worldwide.
Planned publication: February 2026.
Theme: “Themes from Korean Politics Today: Philosophical and Religious Reflections” (broadly interpreted).
Episode 23 of “This Is the Way”: Confucianism on the Assessment of Character
In this episode, Justin and Richard discuss how historical Confucian philosophers have proposed to recognize people of good moral character (virtue). How, exactly, did they think that we could tell the real virtues apart from the phony ones? And what did the historical Confucians think about the use of written examination essays to “test” for virtue? Continue reading →
ToC: Asian Philosophy 35:3
The newest issue of Asian Philosophy has come out through Taylor and Francis Online. We invite you to check out the articles through this link. Please also find the table of contents below. Continue reading →
Online Lecture on Korean Confucianism
An online seminar by Dr Nikolett Roque-Kőrösi on “Korean Confucianism: Beyond stereotypes and misreadings” is going to be hosted on Thursday 31st July 2025 at 3pm (AWST), 2pm (AEST) and 4pm (Seoul).The talk introduces the basic concepts of Korean Confucianism while challenging some of the common misinterpretations found in Western media and scholarship – and sometimes even within Korea. Please find more details about the lecture here.
Episode 22 of “This Is the Way”: The Good Life in the Analects
What sort of vision of the good life does Confucius recommend? In this episode, we explore one of the most intriguing passages in the Analects (11.26), where Confucius asks four disciples about their deepest aspirations. Three students offer increasingly modest political goals—from Zilu’s grand vision of governing a besieged state to Zihua’s humble wish to serve as a minor functionary in ritual ceremonies. But a fourth student, the musical Zengxi, describes something completely different: a spring day spent with friends and younger students, bathing in the Yi River, enjoying the breeze at the Rain Dance Altar, and returning home singing.
Continue reading →
Episode 21 of “This Is the Way”: Xunzi’s Way—Discovered or Invented?
This episode is our first on the classical Confucian philosopher Xunzi 荀子 (3rd century BCE), who was famous for arguing that human nature is bad and for casting doubt on the more supernatural or superstitious justifications for traditional Confucian rituals, among many other things. Since this is the first episode on an important philosopher, we spend some time in part I discussing his “big picture” philosophical worldview. In part II, we turn to the following question: does Xunzi think of the Confucian Way as something that sages discover or invent? A little reflection on this question shows that it has major implications for how we think about ethics and its foundations, and how much ethical values depend on human convention. Continue reading →
