Author Archives: The Doc
Learning from Japan’s Defeat
I want to extract a lesson from history today. I’m going to use an example taken from the strategy of the Japanese military in World War II to make my point, but I assume all my readers are savvy enough … Continue reading
You Need the Humility to Learn
As a graduate student at Stanford, I was a teaching assistant for a year-long course required of freshmen: Cultures, Ideas, and Values. I have no idea whether this particular course still exists, but I still have vivid memories of it. … Continue reading
The Changes
(This post was originally published November 29, 2014.) It is now less than one week before my stay as a visiting scholar at Wuhan University ends. As I sit in an absolutely charming cafe decorated in European style, the walls … Continue reading
China Rising…?
At the beginning of December, I ended a semester as a Visiting Scholar in the School of Philosophy at Wuhan University in China. (Wuhan University is officially ranked as one of the top 10 universities in China overall, and its School … Continue reading
Comments on Hansen, A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought, Chapter 2
Summary and Comments on Hansen, “The Context of Chinese Philosophy,” Chapter 2 of A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought B.W.V.N. 11 June 2014 I was invited to attend and present at a conference on Daoism and paradox at CUNY in … Continue reading
Chinese Philosophy Rankings of the Philosophical Gourmet Report
Because I am on the Advisory Board for the Philosophical Gourmet Report (PRG), I received an inquiry about the potential impact of its Chinese philosophy rankings on the field of Chinese philosophy. I thought I would share my reply in case … Continue reading
Reflections on Chungking Express
Following are some reflections on Wong Kar Wai’s Chungking Express (1994), which I recently screened to my students. This is not really a review, but rather something that one might enjoy reading after watching the film. (Warning: There are SPOILERS … Continue reading
On the Historical Composition and Dating of Texts
I very much enjoyed and learned from the Northeast Conference on Chinese Thought, which was held at Wesleyan earlier this month. This conference was much larger and more expertly organized than the first one at Vassar (where five of us … Continue reading
Review of the Film Spring in a Small Town
EDIT (July 10, 2015): A cut of this film that has been restored by the British Film Institute is now available! This is a review of Spring in a Small Town (1948), which has been hailed as the greatest Chinese film of … Continue reading
在美國研究孔子的學說:三個學派
I found an old memory stick and discovered something interesting. Namely, I sound even more fatuous in Chinese than I do in English! 在美國研究孔子的學說:三個學派 (c) 2007 萬百安 在美國主要有三個學派研究孔子的學說。 (A)第一個是用所謂新儒學的觀點來研究孔 子。(B)第二個是用後現代主義的觀點來研究 孔子。(C)第三個則是用所謂美德倫理的觀點 來研究孔子。關於每個學派,今天我要解 釋:(1)第一:␣這個學派的特點是什麼?(2)␣第 二:這個學派對儒家有什麼看法?(3)第三:␣ 這個學派的優點和缺點是什麼? (A)我首先要講新儒學。(1)新儒學是什 麼?為了瞭解新儒學的特點,我們必需先知 道新儒學是反對什麼看法的。新儒學反對什 麼看法?在二十世紀的前半段,當時有很多 人說孔子的思想沒有價值。這些人覺得孔子 … Continue reading