The 2025 Workshop of “Comparative Philosophy Forum – Beijing” will be held July 22, 2025, Beijing. This year’s workshop is on the theme of”Doing Chinese Philosophy Through Cross-Tradition Engagement: Making Original Contributions to the Development of Philosophy.” Please read this document to find more details on the workshop.
On-cho Ng on “Dai Zhen’s Hermeneutics” in Neo-Confucian Studies Seminar at Columbia on May 2
On Friday, May 2, 3:30-5:30pm, On-cho Ng will present a paper, “Dai Zhen’s Hermeneutics” in the Neo-Confucian Studies Seminar at Columbia University. We will meet at our regular location, The Heyman Center for the Humanities (74 Morningside Dr, New York, NY 10027). On-cho Ng is Professor of Asian Studies and Philosophy, and Founding Head of the Asian Studies Department (2012-2021), at the Pennsylvania State University. Primarily a specialist in late imperial Chinese intellectual history, he has published on a wide range of topics, such as Confucian hermeneutics, religiosity, ethics, and historiography. His books include Cheng-Zhu Confucianism in the Early Qing, Mirroring the Past, The Imperative of Understanding, and Theory and Practice of Zen. His dozens of articles have appeared in venues such as the Journal of Chinese Religions, Dao, Philosophy East and West, Journal of Chinese Philosophy, Journal of World History, and the Journal of the History of Ideas. He is editor of the Book Series on Chinese intellectual history (National Taiwan University) and associate editor of the Journal of Chinese Philosophy. He has been chair/co-chair of the Neo-Confucian Studies Seminar for two decades.
Important: for non-Columbia guests, please RSVP by emailing Sapphire Qiaochu Tang at qt2154@columbia.edu no later than Wednesday, April 23, to be granted access to the campus. Once the registration email is sent, please expect an email with a QR code to access campus. The email will come from: CU Guest Access <caladminnoreply@columbia.edu. Please make sure to bring a valid ID, and please arrive early. You can also request the pre-circulated paper from Sapphire.
New Book: Rošker, Chinese Philosophy in Transcultural Contexts
Chinese Philosophy in Transcultural Contexts: Comparative Approaches and the Method of Sublation has just been published by Bloomsbury. In this book, Jana S. Rošker presents a novel dialectical method to our comprehension of diverse philosophical ideas. Analyzing philosophical discourses that have emerged in China and the Sinophone region, Rošker applies the method to examples from across the history of thought. From Ancient Chinese logicians to 20th-century intellectuals, she connects thinkers and offers fresh insights into key aspects of philosophy. The result is a series of vibrant dialogues among different intellectual traditions, providing new understandings of transcultural philosophical interactions. To find the full text, please see this site.
四海为学 Collaborative Learning Project Book Discussion
Dear Colleagues,
On April 14th at 21:00 Beijing time the 四海为学 Collaborative Learning Project will host a book discussion of Professor David Shoemaker’s Wisecracks: Humor and Morality in Everyday Life.
For details and the Zoom link please see our event page: https://www.sihaiweixue.org/david-shoemaker-book-discussion
(Note that no pre-registration or passcode is required.)
Online Lecture on Korean Confucian Practice
Please join the upcoming virtual talk by Dr. Lee Sangmin, who will discuss the finger-severing practice in Early Chosŏn Korea.
The event will take place on April 24, 5:00 – 6:30pm (LA Time) / 8:00 – 09:30pm (New York Time) / April 25, 09:00 – 10:30am (Seoul Time).
The event will take place on April 24, 5:00 – 6:30pm (LA Time) / 8:00 – 09:30pm (New York Time) / April 25, 09:00 – 10:30am (Seoul Time).
New Book: Marchal and Wang, eds., Subjectivity and Selfhood in Chinese Philosophy
The inaugural volume of Amsterdam University Press’s “East Asian Philosophy and Political Thought” series has just been published: Subjectivity and Selfhood in Chinese Philosophy: Phenomenological, Comparative and Historical Perspectives, eds. Kai Marchal and Ellie Hua Wang. Please click the link here for more information.
The series is generally interested in any work in East Asian philosophy, but also aims to promote East Asian political thought and political philosophy. Those working on a book project, including an edited volume, that engages with East Asian thought and philosophy broadly defined are welcomed to submit to the series through this link.
Job Opening: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Philosophy Department is seeking to appoint a part-time lecturer for Chinese philosophy. Please read more for details of the job and the application process.
Episode 19 of “This Is the Way”: Zhu Xi on the Unity of the Virtues
This episode is really about two things. First, it’s about the claim that many instantiations of one virtue necessarily come packaged with other virtues. For example, you can’t have great humaneness or benevolence in your charitable giving to other people unless you also show a certain amount of ritual respect to them. Second, it’s about the view that one virtue in particular — the virtue of humaneness or good caring (ren 仁) — is more central or fundamental than the others. The Neo-Confucian philosopher Zhu Xi (1130-1200) proposes that we can understand both the unity of virtues and the central importance of humaneness (ren) by thinking about the unity of the seasons and the central importance of the spring for the other seasons. We attempt to unpack these ideas (and some of the relevant seasonal associations) as they are presented by one of the Confucian tradition’s most subtle and complicated philosophers. Continue reading →
7th Rutgers Workshop on Chinese Philosophy: An International Conference on “Moral Conflict in Early Chinese Philosophy”
The 7th Rutgers Workshop on Chinese Philosophy (RWCP) will take place in person in New Brunswick, NJ, on April 10-11, 2025. This year’s workshop will be a two-day international conference, with the theme “Moral Conflict in Early Chinese Philosophy.” Scholars of early Chinese philosophy from Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America will engage each other and the audience on this important topic. Everybody is welcome. Space is limited and registration is required. Here’s the link for more details: https://rccs.rutgers.edu/component/jevents/icalrepeat.detail/2025/04/10/2446/54/seventh-rutgers-workshop-on-chinese-philosophy?Itemid=147
New Book: Radice, Ritual Performance in Early Chinese Thought
Thomas Radice’s Ritual Performance in Early Chinese Thought: A Dramaturgical Perspective has been recently published by Bloomsbury. Please see here for more information, and read on for the publisher’s summary.
