Category Archives: Confucianism

New book: Confucianism at War: 1931-1945

Routledge has just published a book edited by Shaun O’Dwyer, Confucianism at War: 1931-1945. The book brings together original research by East Asian and European scholars – some of it published for the first time in English – which demonstrates that Confucianism was “a potent and also contested cultural resource for promoting national cohesion, war mobilization, and expansionism in East Asia between the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and the end of World War II in 1945.” More information on the book can be found here. Thanks to Dongxian Jiang (Fordham) for the pointer.

New Book: Chan, Towards Confucian Republicanism

Oxford has recently published Elton Chan’s Towards Confucian Republicanism: Democracy as Virtue Politics. In the book, Chan develops a theoretical framework of Confucianism for the twenty-first century. Chan argues that liberal Confucians must take seriously the internal authoritarian leanings of Confucianism–and then argue against such strands of the Confucian tradition. He shows that Confucians are keen on concentrating power in the hands of the virtuous not merely for promoting order and material livelihood, but also for general moral cultivation. Yet this use of political and moral hierarchy as institutional platforms for perfectionist development is self-defeating.

To counter the authoritarian turn in Confucian scholarship, Chan articulates a vision of a hybrid political order that brings together Confucianism and republican democracy. He makes the case that Confucianism stands a much higher chance of achieving its political and moral ideals–good governance and collective virtuous cultivation–when merged with republicanism. Covering a uniquely wide range of Confucian classics and outlining his novel vision for Confucianism, Chan addresses pressing issues in contemporary political philosophy, including virtue politics, balance of power, civic education, public reason constraint, and the role of civil society.

To access the book for further reading, please visit this site.

Episode 15 of “This Is the Way”: Ritual in the Analects

It is indisputable that ritual is at the heart of Confucianism—buy why? In this episode we examine Analects 3.17 in which Confucius seems keen to defend a ritual sacrifice of a lamb which his student regards as excessive. We discuss this passage in light of Richard Wollheim’s paper, “The Sheep and the Ceremony” which offers a deep and illuminating exploration of this passage and the value of ritual more broadly. We examine questions about the possibility of seeing ritual as intrinsically valuable or constitutive of a good human life, and offer some suggestions about why the Confucians may have been right to place such significant weight on ritual practice. Continue reading →

Episode 14 of “This Is the Way”: Women in the Analects

In the received version of the Analects, it’s quite apparent that all of Confucius’s disciples were men. So one might wonder: is this an ethics built just for men? Today we are happy to be joined by Professor Erin Cline, Tagliabue Professor at Georgetown University, to discuss this timely issue, focusing on a controversial passage that features the only woman cited by name in the Analects, Nanzi 南子. Professor Cline argues that the conventional reading of this passage is wrong and that a more plausible understanding of it is important for addressing common criticisms of patriarchy and sexism in the Analects. We also explore various pedagogical themes and strategies for teaching the Analects to students. Continue reading →

四海为学 “Collaborative Learning“ Lecture by Mark Csikszentmihalyi

On December 10th at 9:00am Beijing time the 四海为学 “Collaborative Learning” Project will host a lecture by Professor Mark Csikszentmihalyi, titled “Portrayals of the Disciples and the Development of Early Confucianism”. To find details and the Zoom link, please visit the project’s event page. No pre-registration or passcode is required is required for Zoom participation.
A list of the project’s upcoming events can be found at the calendar here.

Conference: The Waves that Follow (New Books in Chinese Philosophy)

Tsinghua University will hold a hybrid conference titled “The Waves that Follow: New Books in Chinese Philosophy” from December 7 to 9, 2024. The conference invites young scholars worldwide who have published new books in the field of Chinese philosophy within the past one to two years to share fresh perspectives, new methods, and innovative research directions from their works, aiming to foster exchange and development. Additionally, senior scholars who have devoted many years to Chinese philosophy will engage in in-depth discussions on the research presented by this new generation.

Time: 8 December, 2024/ Beijing time (UTC +08:00), 8:00 – 18:30

Venue: Room 124, Humanity school, Tsinghua University
Zoom Meeting ID: 938 634 5943

Find the information on speakers and event arrangements in this pdf.

Comparative Essays on Hume, Confucianism, and Buddhism

A new issue of Hume Studies (49:2) includes three comparative essays that look at Hume’s moral, aesthetic and epistemological projects on taste, tradition and the self, side by side with Confucian texts such as Mengzi, Analects, and Xunzi, as well as works on Buddhist concepts like the two truths. Please read more to see information regarding the essays: Continue reading →

四海为学 “Collaborative Learning“ Lecture by Tim Connolly

On November 26th at 9:00am Beijing time the 四海为学 “Collaborative Learning” Project will host a lecture by Professor Tim Connolly, titled ““Sharing Transformative Experience: A Confucian Perspective”. To find details and the Zoom link, please visit the project’s event page. No pre-registration or passcode is required is required for Zoom participation.
A list of the project’s upcoming events can be found at the calendar here.

Episode 13 of “This Is the Way”: Family Before State

Confucianism is well known for prioritizing familial responsibilities and love over other competing demands such as public interest or duties to the state. In this episode we explore two of the best known passages from early Confucianism that some modern scholars believe makes Confucianism morally problematic. The first passage we discuss is the “Upright Gong” passage, Analects 13.18, which has Confucius advocating mutual “covering up” of crimes by fathers and sons. The second passage is Mengzi 7A35, in which Mengzi is asked what the sage king Shun would have done if his father had committed murder. Mengzi’s answer, briefly stated, is that Shun would have given up his throne and would have fled with his father to care for him for the rest of his life.

Through these passages we explore questions about justice, consequentialist ethics, and the nature of moral dilemmas (and Confucian ways of handling them). Continue reading →

Two articles in Hypatia

Two articles related to Chinese philosophy have appeared over the last year in the journal Hypatia:

  • Sor-hoon Tan, “Confucian Family Ideal and Same-Sex Marriage: A Feminist Confucian Perspective” (Hypatia , Volume 39 , Issue 3 , Summer 2024 , pp. 597 – 615; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/hyp.2023.100)
  • Subin Lee, “Confucian Familialism and the Crisis of Care” (Hypatia , Volume 39 , Issue 3 , Summer 2024 , pp. 597 – 615; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/hyp.2024.50)

Click on the DOI links for abstracts and more information.