August 2-12, Language: English, a great line-up of scholars. See this link for details:
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/rt71u6CJ0KpN0YFPf2MNdA
Category Archives: Chinese philosophy – 中國哲學 – 中国哲学
Two Upcoming Collaborative Learning Events
Dear Colleagues,
Next week the 四海为学 Collaborative Learning Project will host two roundtables:
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May 11th at 9:00am Beijing time: “Nothingness (無) in the Zhuangzi.”
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May 11th at 19:00 Beijing time: “Transformation and/in the Zhuangzi.”
Please feel free to advertise these events or share them with anyone. All our events are free and open to everyone. Note that no pre-registration or passcode is required for any 四海为学 events.
For a list of upcoming events see our calendar here.
Sincerely,
Paul J. D’Ambrosio
New Book: Richard King, “The lord a lord, the minister a minister, the father a father, the son a son.” Roles and virtues in Plato, Aristotle, the Mencius and the Xunzi
Richard King’s new book on roles and virtues in Plato, Aristotle, the Mencius and the Xunzi is published and available open access.
The website for the book is here, and the book is downloadable from there. The book is written in English (even though the website is in German).
Lecturer in Daoism: Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Monash University has advertised a permanent lectureship in Daoist philosophy. Details are available here.
Deadline for applications is 17th May 2026.
New Book: Kim, A Confucian Theory of Power
Sungmoon Kim’s A Confucian Theory of Power has been published by Manchester University Press (https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526182661/). The book contains a lead essay by Kim, responses from several theorists, and Kim’s replies.
CFP: 2026 NECCT at Bentley University
We are pleased to announce that the 2026 meeting of theNortheast Conference on Chinese Thought (NECCT)will be held October 30–31, 2026, at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts. This annual conference brings together scholars and graduate students working on Chinese thought across disciplines and methodologies, and welcomes both historically focused and comparative work engaging Chinese perspectives.
Philip J. Ivanhoe at Columbia on May 1, 5-7pm
Joint session by the Neo-Confucian Studies Seminar and the Comparative Philosophy Seminar at Columbia
Philip J. Ivanhoe (Georgetown): Chinese and Korean Neo-Confucian Views on Not Transferring One’s Anger
ABSTRACT: Early Chinese Confucians believed that in certain circumstances anger is a proper emotion to have, express, and act upon but that it is a potential source of moral error and difficult to control; therefore, it requires special attention and management. Neo-Confucian thinkers in China and Korea accepted and defended these beliefs but offered quite distinctive analyses of what anger is and how it should be attended to, exercised, and managed. They often developed their ideas by reflecting and commenting on the early Confucian teaching of Not Transferring One’s Anger, first seen in the Analects, to explain their views on anger and in particular how to control and direct it. I will describe and explain some representative Confucian views on anger in China and Korea and argue that while the standard neo-Confucian account of anger is not plausible in certain respects, it offers an excellent model or template for thinking about anger and a method for achieving the kind of anger management that we require in order to live well in the contemporary world. I will further argue that the need to understand and manage anger is a particularly pressing problem for people today because, given the nature of our times, for a variety of reasons, it is a much greater liability for wellbeing and humanity than it was in the past.
DATE: Friday, May 1st
TIME: 5:00-7:00pm EDT
LOCATION: Faculty House (64 Morningside Dr, New York, NY 10027)
A hybrid talk on Yang Zhu by Erica Brindley on Thursday, April 23, 3:30-5pm EDT
Erica Brindley (Penn State) is giving a talk, “Understanding Yang Zhu’s “Joy in Life” Philosophy in Ancient and Medieval Texts,” at Rutgers this Thursday, April 23, 3:30-5pm. It’s a hybrid talk. Click on the title for more details, including the link to register for Zoom streaming.
Bell Reviews Bruya and Li, trans., Dialogues of Confucius
A review by Daniel Bell of Brian Bruya and Wenwen Li, trans., Dialogues of Confucius: The Complete Text (Princeton, 2026) has been published in the Times Literary Supplement. An excerpt:
…A magnificent new translation by Brian Bruya and Wenwen Li introduces this treasure of intellectual history to the anglophone world. We now know much more about Confucius the person, and about the context for some of the puzzling quotes in the Analects. Best of all, we learn new arguments that push the boundaries of the rich and complex Confucian tradition in new directions….
Episode 33 of “This Is the Way”: Carrots, Sticks, and Rituals
What’s the best way to fight corruption: harsh laws and fear of punishment, or rituals and moral transformation? In this episode we discuss a deep disagreement that takes its inspiration from the political philosophies of the Confucian philosopher Xunzi and the Legalist philosopher Han Feizi. We are also happily joined by Professor Daniel Bell of the University of Hong Kong, one of the world’s leading experts in Chinese political thought. Bell reimagines the views of Xunzi and Han Feizi in his book Why Ancient Chinese Political Thought Matters: Four Dialogues on Chinese Past, Present, and Future. There he stages he stages the debate as a dialogue between a modern-day Professor Xun and his student Han Fei, set against the backdrop of the recent anti-corruption campaign in the People’s Republic of China. The conversation ranges from the psychology of rewards and punishments to meritocracy, institutional design, the question of whether good governance can ever be decoupled from good character, and whether Confucians might be the true realists after all. Continue reading →
