International Conference on De德 (Virtue) and Mei 美 (Beauty) in Chinese Philosophy
国际学术研讨会（2015, 3月25-27）
In order to promote a deeper understanding of philosophy and culture among civilizations and encourage further professional and cultural exchanges between China and Europe we will hold the conference on virtues and beauty in Venice, Italy, March 25-27, 2015.
为了加深对世界文明的理解和推动中国与欧洲的学术交流，我们将2015年3月25－27在意大利威尼斯大学共同举办首届国际中国德性与美学术研讨会。
Here is another in our occasional series of book reviews. Thanks to Mat for doing this, and comments are, of course, welcome!
Mathew A. Foust Central Connecticut State University
Review of Sam Crane, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Dao: Ancient Chinese Thought in Modern American Life (UK: Wiley Blackwell, 2013), xi + 201 pp.
Sam Crane intends this volume for “people who have an interest in seeing how ancient Chinese thought might cast new light on the present day but who are not yet familiar with the time-honored works” (3), with the belief that Chinese thought can “show us something about our world and ourselves that we might otherwise not see” (10). More specifically, Crane applies concepts and theories from Confucianism and Daoism to several contemporary issues dotting the American landscape. After a chapter explaining key concepts of Confucianism and Daoism, Crane explores how these teachings might be brought to bear on debates arising in virtually every sphere of human life, from birth (e.g., the issue of abortion) to death (e.g., the issue of euthanasia). Although his arguments are occasionally strained by inadequate textual support, his volume is largely able to achieve its stated objectives.
CALL FOR PAPERS
11th Annual Midwest Conference on Chinese Thought
North Central College, Naperville, IL
May 1-2, 2015
The Midwest Conference on Chinese Thought was created to foster dialogue and interaction between scholars and students working on Chinese thought across different disciplines and through a variety of approaches. Submissions are invited for papers on any aspect of Chinese thought, as well as papers dealing with comparative issues that engage Chinese perspectives.
This year’s conference will be held on Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2 at North Central College in Naperville, IL (30 miles west of Chicago). Our keynote speaker will be Donald Harper, Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago. Dr. Harper will discuss the three groups of ancient Laozi manuscripts—the bamboo-slip manuscripts from Guodian, the silk manuscripts from Mawangdui, and the looted bamboo-slip manuscripts acquired by Peking University—from the perspective of current manuscript culture studies and the New Philology in European and Anglo-American textual studies. All three groups of manuscripts predate the first century BCE imperial editorial project which was a defining moment in the formation of the ancient intellectual texts that survive today in printed editions. Ranging in date between 300 and 100 BCE, the three groups of Laozi manuscripts permit us to consider the earlier formation and circulation of the Laozi based on actual manuscripts, and can be the basis for a reassessment of the “original” Laozi.
Please submit a 1-page abstract to Brian Hoffert at bhoffert@noctrl.edu by January 31, 2015 for blind review. For more information about the conference, go to www.indiana.edu/~mcct/home.php or contact Brian Hoffert at bhoffert@noctrl.edu.
The latest issue of Tao has been published.
Frontiers of Philosophy in China 9:3 has been published, and is available on-line. Among other things, there are reviews of:
In case some readers do not have access to this journal, I will add here some snippets from these three reviews.
Macquarie University, Sydney, will be the first in Australia to host an international conference on ancient Chinese thought and the newly recovered ancient bamboo and silk texts, from 8th to 10th December 2014.
Organized by Chinese Studies of the Department of International Studies (Languages and Cultures), Faculty of Arts, the symposium will focus on the latest research of international importance: traditional Chinese thought in the newly recovered ancient texts.
Dates and Venues:
Day 1 – Monday 8th December
Opening Ceremony – 9:30 for 10:00am – 11:00am, Macquarie University Art Gallery, Building E11A
RSVP: dsklee@bigpond.net.au. Limited seats are available.
Conference begins 11:30am – 5:15pm, C5C T1 Theatre (Open to all, free admission)
Day 2 – Tuesday 9th December
9:00am- 5:15pm, Tuesday, W5C 220.
Day 3 – Wednesday 10th December
9:00am- 5:15pm, Wednesday, W5C220
Contact
For details, please contact Dr Shirley Chan, shirley.chan@mq.edu.au, +612 98507021
In the past four decades, the discovery of previously unknown texts dating to the fourth century BCE and to the Han Dynasty, as well as older versions of known texts, has revolutionized the study of early Chinese philosophy and history. The texts are of great significance in understanding the development of the major strands in Chinese thought particularly what we now speak of as “Daoism” and “Confucianism” — that have had enduring significance in many Asian cultures, and in allowing us a fresh opportunity to ask crucial questions about ancient Chinese culture and history. Experts and key researchers in the fields of early Chinese writing and classical Chinese thought are being invited to contribute to the discussion of the topics in terms of modes of manuscript production, Chinese intellectual history, and new interpretations of Chinese thought as revealed in these newly recovered texts. The conference has received overwhelming response from international and local scholars. We expect the bilingual discussion to provide a rare platform for exchange among Chinese and Western scholars, significantly advancing the frontiers of knowledge of early China and traditional Chinese culture. Admission to the conference is free.
There are more than 30 speakers from universities in Australia, China, America, Singapore and Hong Kong including the following:
* Australian National University
* Beijing Normal University
* Bohai University
* Capital Normal University
* Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
* DePaul University
* East China Normal University
* Fudan University
* University of Hawaii
* University of Hong Kong
* Hubei University of Economics
* Ji’ning University
* Lehigh University
* Macquarie University
* University of Melbourne
* Nanjing University
* National University of Singapore
* Peking University
* University of Sydney
* University of Technology Sydney
* Tsinghua University
* Wuhan University
More information is available at: http://arts.mq.edu.au/news_and_events/events/faculty_conferences/reading_the_old_in_the_light_of_the_newly_discovered_chinese_philosophy_and_ancient_chinese_texts
From Sarah Allan (editor): Early China 37 (2014) is now available. You need this journal and the Society for the Study of Early China needs your support. We have kept the price down, only $60 for a regular membership and $40 for a student or retired person, and you get online access as well as the print version. Please subscribe NOW at: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/memServHome?name=SSECHome. Table of Contents follows….
I am excited to note the publication of Yong HUANG’s Why Be Moral? Learning from the Neo-Confucian Cheng Brothers, the fruit of many years of research. The SUNY Press site is here, and Amazon is here. Here is the editorial description:
Yong Huang presents a new way of doing comparative philosophy as he demonstrates the resources for contemporary ethics offered by the Cheng brothers, Cheng Hao (1032–1085) and Cheng Yi (1033–1107), canonical neo-Confucian philosophers. Huang departs from the standard method of Chinese/Western comparison, which tends to interest those already interested in Chinese philosophy. While Western-oriented scholars may be excited to learn about Chinese philosophers who have said things similar to what they or their favored philosophers have to say, they hardly find anything philosophically new from such comparative work. Instead of comparing and contrasting philosophers, each chapter of this book discusses a significant topic in Western moral philosophy, examines the representative views on this topic in the Western tradition, identifies their respective difficulties, and discusses how the Cheng brothers have better things to say on the subject. Topics discussed include why one should be moral, how weakness of will is not possible, whether virtue ethics is self-centered, in what sense the political is also personal, how a moral theory can be of an antitheoretical nature, and whether moral metaphysics is still possible in this postmodern and postmetaphysical age.
Versions of some of the chapters have been published or presented at conferences over the years, so Huang’s general approach is well-known. Now that we have a full, book-length presentation, there is sure to be renewed attention paid to Huang’s important arguments as they concern ethics, the goals and methodology of comparative philosophy, and the interpretation of the Cheng brothers. Discussion welcome!
The first issue of Confluence: An International Journal of World Philosophies has been published; see here for more information and free access to the first issue.
