Podcast appearances and mentions of zhu xi

The Great Learning (Traditional Chinese: 大學, Simplified: 大学, Pinyin: Dàxué, Korean: 대학, Japanese: 大学, Vietnamese: Đại Học) is one of the Four Books (Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, Analects, Mencius) of Confucianism. The text consists of a short main text attributed to Confucius (孔子) and ten commentary chapters attributed to Zengzi (曾子) the disciple of Confucius. The translation also includes interspersed notes by the 12th-century philosopher Zhu Xi (朱熹). Zhu Xi's master Cheng Yi (程颐) says, "The Great Learning is a Book transmitted by the Confucian School, and forms the gate by which first learners enter into virtue. That we can now perceive the order in which the ancients pursued their learning is solely owing to the preservation of this work, the Analects and Mencius coming after it. Learners must commence their course with this, and then it may be hoped they will be kept from error."

On the great Song Dynasty philosopher who redefined Confucian thought.Support the show

Yasheng Huang 黄亚生 is the author of one of the decade's greatest books about China — The Rise and Fall of the EAST: How Exams, Autocracy, Stability, and Technology Brought China Success and Why They Might Lead to Its Decline. It's a rich book, a product of a career of reflections, with each page delivering something novel and provocative. In this first half of our two-part interview, we discuss… How the imperial examination system (known as keju) shaped Chinese governance, culture, and society, Why autocratic Chinese dynasties benefitted from a meritocratic bureaucracy, Statistical methods for analyzing social mobility in imperial China, How the keju system survived the Mongol conquest, What the tradeoffs in the imperial exam system can teach us about the future economic prospects of China and Taiwan. Co-hosting today is Ilari Mäkelä, host of the On Humans podcast.  NOTES (Courtesy of Ilari) A Rough Timeline of Chinese history: Pre–221 BCE: Disunity (e.g. Warring States)  221 BCE – 220: Unity (Qin & Han dynasties) 220 – 581: Disunity (“Han-Sui Interregnum”) 581 – 1911: Unity (Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties) Historical figures Emperor Wanli 萬曆帝 | Shen Kuo 沈括 (polymath) | Zhu Xi 朱熹 (classical philosopher) | Hong Xiuquan 洪秀全 (leader of the Taiping Rebellion) | Yuan Shikai 袁世凯 (military leader) | Chiang Kai-shek 蔣介石 (military leader and statesman) Modern scholars Ping-ti Ho 何炳棣 (historian) | Clair Yang (economist) | Joseph Needham (scientist and historian) | Daron Acemoglu | James Robinson Historical terms Keju civil service exams | Taiping Rebellion REFERENCES A lot of the original data discussed in the episode is original from Huang's book. As an exception, Huang references his co-authored article on civil service exams and imperial stability, written with Clair Yang. Outtro music: 等着你回来 by 白光, a 1930s Shanghai starlet https://open.spotify.com/track/0aHMT9dIdPDz094fc37Xq0?si=d1591ff2339d421c Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yasheng Huang 黄亚生 is the author of one of the decade's greatest books about China — The Rise and Fall of the EAST: How Exams, Autocracy, Stability, and Technology Brought China Success and Why They Might Lead to Its Decline. It's a rich book, a product of a career of reflections, with each page delivering something novel and provocative. In this first half of our two-part interview, we discuss… How the imperial examination system (known as keju) shaped Chinese governance, culture, and society, Why autocratic Chinese dynasties benefitted from a meritocratic bureaucracy, Statistical methods for analyzing social mobility in imperial China, How the keju system survived the Mongol conquest, What the tradeoffs in the imperial exam system can teach us about the future economic prospects of China and Taiwan. Co-hosting today is Ilari Mäkelä, host of the On Humans podcast.  NOTES (Courtesy of Ilari) A Rough Timeline of Chinese history: Pre–221 BCE: Disunity (e.g. Warring States)  221 BCE – 220: Unity (Qin & Han dynasties) 220 – 581: Disunity (“Han-Sui Interregnum”) 581 – 1911: Unity (Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties) Historical figures Emperor Wanli 萬曆帝 | Shen Kuo 沈括 (polymath) | Zhu Xi 朱熹 (classical philosopher) | Hong Xiuquan 洪秀全 (leader of the Taiping Rebellion) | Yuan Shikai 袁世凯 (military leader) | Chiang Kai-shek 蔣介石 (military leader and statesman) Modern scholars Ping-ti Ho 何炳棣 (historian) | Clair Yang (economist) | Joseph Needham (scientist and historian) | Daron Acemoglu | James Robinson Historical terms Keju civil service exams | Taiping Rebellion REFERENCES A lot of the original data discussed in the episode is original from Huang's book. As an exception, Huang references his co-authored article on civil service exams and imperial stability, written with Clair Yang. Outtro music: 等着你回来 by 白光, a 1930s Shanghai starlet https://open.spotify.com/track/0aHMT9dIdPDz094fc37Xq0?si=d1591ff2339d421c Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The West has ruled history — at least the way history has been written. This is a shame. To tell the story of humans, we must tell the story of us all. So what about the rest? What themes and quirks does their history hide? And what forces, if anything, prevented them of matching Europe's rise?  I aim to cover these topics for several countries and cultures over the next year. But I wanted to start with China. To do so, I've teamed up with Jordan Schneider, the host of ChinaTalk. Our guest is MIT professor Yasheng Huang (黄亚生). Huang is the author of Rise and Fall of the EAST – one of my all-time favorite books on China's past and present.  In this episode, we explore the deep currents shaping China's history. We trace the forces shaping China's early mastery of technology to its falling behind Europe in the modern era. We also discuss the surprising role that standardized exams have played in Chinese history, and why certain democratic elements in China's past actually bolstered the emperor's authority.  The episode covers all of Chinese imperial history, ending with a brief note on the early 20th Century. In part 2, will zoom into China's economic miracle and its uncertain future. NOTES A Rough Timeline of Chinese history: Pre–221 BCE: Disunity (e.g. Warring States)  221 BCE – 220: Unity (Qin & Han dynasties) 220 – 581: Disunity (“Han-Sui Interregnum”) 581 – 1911: Unity (Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties) Historical figures Emperor Wanli 萬曆帝 | Shen Kuo 沈括 (polymath) | Zhu Xi 朱熹 (classical philosopher) | Hong Xiuquan 洪秀全 (leader of the Taiping Rebellion) | Yuan Shikai 袁世凯 (military leader) | Chiang Kai-shek 蔣介石 (military leader and statesman) Modern scholars Ping-ti Ho 何炳棣 (historian) | Clair Yang (economist) | Joseph Needham (scientist and historian) | Daron Acemoglu | James Robinson Historical terms Kējǔ civil service exams | Taiping Rebellion References For more links and some impressive graphs, see this article at OnHumans.Substack.com. LINKS Are you a long-term listener? Join the wonderful group of patrons at ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/OnHumans⁠⁠⁠⁠. For other episodes on economic history, see my series on the ⁠⁠Birth of Modern Prosperity⁠⁠, with Daron Acemoglu, Oded Galor, Brad DeLong, and Branko Milanovic.

We're almost at the end. We continue on in Part 17 with Zhu Xi and his philosophy. There will be more discussion about Qi, Han Studies (Han Xue) and the pushback against Neo Confucianism. We begin looking at the final philosopher in this series, Wang Shouren (a.k.a. Wang Yangming). Then we look at the primary difference between the Cheng-Zhu School vs. the Lu-Wang School. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're almost at the end. We continue on in Part 17 with Zhu Xi and his philosophy. There will be more discussion about Qi, Han Studies (Han Xue) and the pushback against Neo Confucianism. We begin looking at the final philosopher in this series, Wang Shouren (a.k.a. Wang Yangming). Then we look at the primary difference between the Cheng-Zhu School vs. the Lu-Wang School. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're almost at the end. We continue on in Part 17 with Zhu Xi and his philosophy. There will be more discussion about Qi, Han Studies (Han Xue) and the pushback against Neo Confucianism. We begin looking at the final philosopher in this series, Wang Shouren (a.k.a. Wang Yangming). Then we look at the primary difference between the Cheng-Zhu School vs. the Lu-Wang School. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're almost at the end. We continue on in Part 17 with Zhu Xi and his philosophy. There will be more discussion about Qi, Han Studies (Han Xue) and the pushback against Neo Confucianism. We begin looking at the final philosopher in this series, Wang Shouren (a.k.a. Wang Yangming). Then we look at the primary difference between the Cheng-Zhu School vs. the Lu-Wang School. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We'll finish off the Five Founders of Neo Confucianism with the last two, the Cheng Brothers: Cheng Hao 程颢 and Cheng Yi 程颐. Then we'll explore Neo Confucianism through the life of Lu Jiuyuan 陆九渊, also known as Lu Xiangshan 陆象山. and Xin Xue 心学, the School of the Mind. Neo Confucianism also gets a new name: Song Xue 宋学 o Song Studies. We'll also introduce Lu Xiangshan's biggest rival in his day and one of the giants of Confucian philosophy, Zhu Xi 朱熹. In the next episode, we'll examine the life and thought of Zhu Xi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We'll finish off the Five Founders of Neo Confucianism with the last two, the Cheng Brothers: Cheng Hao 程颢 and Cheng Yi 程颐. Then we'll explore Neo Confucianism through the life of Lu Jiuyuan 陆九渊, also known as Lu Xiangshan 陆象山. and Xin Xue 心学, the School of the Mind. Neo Confucianism also gets a new name: Song Xue 宋学 o Song Studies. We'll also introduce Lu Xiangshan's biggest rival in his day and one of the giants of Confucian philosophy, Zhu Xi 朱熹. In the next episode, we'll examine the life and thought of Zhu Xi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We'll finish off the Five Founders of Neo Confucianism with the last two, the Cheng Brothers: Cheng Hao 程颢 and Cheng Yi 程颐. Then we'll explore Neo Confucianism through the life of Lu Jiuyuan 陆九渊, also known as Lu Xiangshan 陆象山. and Xin Xue 心学, the School of the Mind. Neo Confucianism also gets a new name: Song Xue 宋学 o Song Studies. We'll also introduce Lu Xiangshan's biggest rival in his day and one of the giants of Confucian philosophy, Zhu Xi 朱熹. In the next episode, we'll examine the life and thought of Zhu Xi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We'll finish off the Five Founders of Neo Confucianism with the last two, the Cheng Brothers: Cheng Hao 程颢 and Cheng Yi 程颐. Then we'll explore Neo Confucianism through the life of Lu Jiuyuan 陆九渊, also known as Lu Xiangshan 陆象山. and Xin Xue 心学, the School of the Mind. Neo Confucianism also gets a new name: Song Xue 宋学 o Song Studies. We'll also introduce Lu Xiangshan's biggest rival in his day and one of the giants of Confucian philosophy, Zhu Xi 朱熹. In the next episode, we'll examine the life and thought of Zhu Xi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What flows in the veins of the world's oldest continuous civilization? Today we're in the picturesque Mount Wuyi, where a 12th century scholar Zhu Xi spent 50 years and developed Neo-Confucianism. He also became known as a sage, second only to Confucius himself. His ideas have not only been absorbed by the Chinese but have also travelled to other parts of Asia. With China emphasizing a Chinese approach to modernization, it's necessary to find out more about this ancient figure and his ideas. Who is Zhu Xi and how have his ideas helped to shape the Chinese?

What flows in the veins of the world's oldest continuous civilization? Today we're in the picturesque Mount Wuyi, where a 12th century scholar Zhu Xi spent 50 years and developed Neo-Confucianism. He also became known as a sage, second only to Confucius himself. His ideas have not only been absorbed by the Chinese but have also travelled to other parts of Asia. With China emphasizing a Chinese approach to modernization, it's necessary to find out more about this ancient figure and his ideas. Who is Zhu Xi and how have his ideas helped to shape the Chinese?

Boken heter "En global ideologihistoria : från Konfucius till historiens slut" och gäst är författaren Johan Stenfeldt.Den politiska idéhistorien har traditionellt skildrats ur ett västligt perspektiv. Platon och Aristoteles är välkända gestalter, liksom Locke och Marx. Mindre kända är exempelvis Chanakya, Zhu Xi, Kang Youwei och Mulla Sadra. I denna bok ges en förklarande expose över den politiska idéhistorien. Den vidgar också perspektivet genom att jämföra den västerländska traditionen med den politiska idéutvecklingen i andra delar av världen, främst Indien, Kina, och det muslimska kulturområdet.Några av frågorna som diskuteras i programmet är: Vilka universella mönster kan vi se genom den politiska idéhistorien? Uppträder de vid samma tid? Hur har ideologier förflyttats över jorden genom historien, och hur har de förändrats? Lyssna och få en kortversion av boken!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/larafranlarda. Du kan stötta arbetet med podden genom att antingen skänka en engångssumma via swish (till nr 0737719037) eller genom att bli månadsgivare (tillika plusmedlem) för 19kr/mån (15kr+moms). Som plusmedlem får du även lyssna reklamfritt. Länk till plusmedlemskap hittar du här: https://plus.acast.com/s/larafranlarda. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex and Benjamin discuss the state of Confucianism during the Ming Dynasty. Should "li" be understood as "principle" or "pattern"? What is the relationship between li and chi? While some theorists, like Zhu Xi, hold that studying the classics can help clear up your chi, Wang Yangming argues that the virtues are much easier to acquire, because for him li always already exists in the mind. He suggests there is a "unity of acting and knowing," so if a person acts in a virtuous way, that implies they have knowledge. This means that knowledge of the li can be found in the simple benevolent acts of ordinary people. While civil servants can quote classical texts, they may not act with the same benevolence, and if they act poorly they can't have the knowledge they purport to have. We therefore get a critique of civic education that comes from within Confucianism, without appeal to the legalist framework of someone like Lord Shang.

Thomas Aquinas' Law Of Nature And Zhu Xi's Law Of Heaven 多瑪斯的自然律與朱熹的天理 by Angelicum Thomistic Institute

Does human existence have a meaning? If so, is that meaning found in the world outside of us, or is it something we bring to our experience? In Cross-Cultural Existentialism: On the Meaning of Life in Asian and Western Thought (Bloomsbury, 2020) Leah Kalmanson shows how East Asian philosophies challenge the dichotomy implicit in the way this question is often framed. Her book investigates Korean Buddhist meditation, Confucian ritual practices, and Yijing divination. Along the way she argues that the speculative approaches implicit in these traditions, contrary to the views of many modern European philosophers, means that metaphysical theorizing need not be in opposition to cultivating practical techniques and taking subjectivity seriously. Taking the Korean Buddhist nun Kim Iryŏp as her center point, Kalmanson traces lines of historical influence backwards to Song-dynasty Ruist (or “Confucian”) thinkers such as Zhu Xi and considers conceptual connections outwards to modern existentialists such as Georges Bataille, all the while reflecting on one of philosophy's big questions: just what does life mean, if anything? Malcolm Keating is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yale-NUS College. His research focuses on Sanskrit works of philosophy in Indian traditions, in the areas of language and epistemology. He is the author of Language, Meaning, and Use in Indian Philosophy (Bloomsbury Press, 2019) and host of the podcast Sutras & Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Does human existence have a meaning? If so, is that meaning found in the world outside of us, or is it something we bring to our experience? In Cross-Cultural Existentialism: On the Meaning of Life in Asian and Western Thought (Bloomsbury, 2020) Leah Kalmanson shows how East Asian philosophies challenge the dichotomy implicit in the way this question is often framed. Her book investigates Korean Buddhist meditation, Confucian ritual practices, and Yijing divination. Along the way she argues that the speculative approaches implicit in these traditions, contrary to the views of many modern European philosophers, means that metaphysical theorizing need not be in opposition to cultivating practical techniques and taking subjectivity seriously. Taking the Korean Buddhist nun Kim Iryŏp as her center point, Kalmanson traces lines of historical influence backwards to Song-dynasty Ruist (or “Confucian”) thinkers such as Zhu Xi and considers conceptual connections outwards to modern existentialists such as Georges Bataille, all the while reflecting on one of philosophy's big questions: just what does life mean, if anything? Malcolm Keating is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yale-NUS College. His research focuses on Sanskrit works of philosophy in Indian traditions, in the areas of language and epistemology. He is the author of Language, Meaning, and Use in Indian Philosophy (Bloomsbury Press, 2019) and host of the podcast Sutras & Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

Does human existence have a meaning? If so, is that meaning found in the world outside of us, or is it something we bring to our experience? In Cross-Cultural Existentialism: On the Meaning of Life in Asian and Western Thought (Bloomsbury, 2020) Leah Kalmanson shows how East Asian philosophies challenge the dichotomy implicit in the way this question is often framed. Her book investigates Korean Buddhist meditation, Confucian ritual practices, and Yijing divination. Along the way she argues that the speculative approaches implicit in these traditions, contrary to the views of many modern European philosophers, means that metaphysical theorizing need not be in opposition to cultivating practical techniques and taking subjectivity seriously. Taking the Korean Buddhist nun Kim Iryŏp as her center point, Kalmanson traces lines of historical influence backwards to Song-dynasty Ruist (or “Confucian”) thinkers such as Zhu Xi and considers conceptual connections outwards to modern existentialists such as Georges Bataille, all the while reflecting on one of philosophy's big questions: just what does life mean, if anything? Malcolm Keating is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yale-NUS College. His research focuses on Sanskrit works of philosophy in Indian traditions, in the areas of language and epistemology. He is the author of Language, Meaning, and Use in Indian Philosophy (Bloomsbury Press, 2019) and host of the podcast Sutras & Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/philosophy

Does human existence have a meaning? If so, is that meaning found in the world outside of us, or is it something we bring to our experience? In Cross-Cultural Existentialism: On the Meaning of Life in Asian and Western Thought (Bloomsbury, 2020) Leah Kalmanson shows how East Asian philosophies challenge the dichotomy implicit in the way this question is often framed. Her book investigates Korean Buddhist meditation, Confucian ritual practices, and Yijing divination. Along the way she argues that the speculative approaches implicit in these traditions, contrary to the views of many modern European philosophers, means that metaphysical theorizing need not be in opposition to cultivating practical techniques and taking subjectivity seriously. Taking the Korean Buddhist nun Kim Iryŏp as her center point, Kalmanson traces lines of historical influence backwards to Song-dynasty Ruist (or “Confucian”) thinkers such as Zhu Xi and considers conceptual connections outwards to modern existentialists such as Georges Bataille, all the while reflecting on one of philosophy's big questions: just what does life mean, if anything? Malcolm Keating is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yale-NUS College. His research focuses on Sanskrit works of philosophy in Indian traditions, in the areas of language and epistemology. He is the author of Language, Meaning, and Use in Indian Philosophy (Bloomsbury Press, 2019) and host of the podcast Sutras & Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Does human existence have a meaning? If so, is that meaning found in the world outside of us, or is it something we bring to our experience? In Cross-Cultural Existentialism: On the Meaning of Life in Asian and Western Thought (Bloomsbury, 2020) Leah Kalmanson shows how East Asian philosophies challenge the dichotomy implicit in the way this question is often framed. Her book investigates Korean Buddhist meditation, Confucian ritual practices, and Yijing divination. Along the way she argues that the speculative approaches implicit in these traditions, contrary to the views of many modern European philosophers, means that metaphysical theorizing need not be in opposition to cultivating practical techniques and taking subjectivity seriously. Taking the Korean Buddhist nun Kim Iryŏp as her center point, Kalmanson traces lines of historical influence backwards to Song-dynasty Ruist (or “Confucian”) thinkers such as Zhu Xi and considers conceptual connections outwards to modern existentialists such as Georges Bataille, all the while reflecting on one of philosophy's big questions: just what does life mean, if anything? Malcolm Keating is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yale-NUS College. His research focuses on Sanskrit works of philosophy in Indian traditions, in the areas of language and epistemology. He is the author of Language, Meaning, and Use in Indian Philosophy (Bloomsbury Press, 2019) and host of the podcast Sutras & Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

Does human existence have a meaning? If so, is that meaning found in the world outside of us, or is it something we bring to our experience? In Cross-Cultural Existentialism: On the Meaning of Life in Asian and Western Thought (Bloomsbury, 2020) Leah Kalmanson shows how East Asian philosophies challenge the dichotomy implicit in the way this question is often framed. Her book investigates Korean Buddhist meditation, Confucian ritual practices, and Yijing divination. Along the way she argues that the speculative approaches implicit in these traditions, contrary to the views of many modern European philosophers, means that metaphysical theorizing need not be in opposition to cultivating practical techniques and taking subjectivity seriously. Taking the Korean Buddhist nun Kim Iryŏp as her center point, Kalmanson traces lines of historical influence backwards to Song-dynasty Ruist (or “Confucian”) thinkers such as Zhu Xi and considers conceptual connections outwards to modern existentialists such as Georges Bataille, all the while reflecting on one of philosophy's big questions: just what does life mean, if anything? Malcolm Keating is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yale-NUS College. His research focuses on Sanskrit works of philosophy in Indian traditions, in the areas of language and epistemology. He is the author of Language, Meaning, and Use in Indian Philosophy (Bloomsbury Press, 2019) and host of the podcast Sutras & Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/buddhist-studies

Does human existence have a meaning? If so, is that meaning found in the world outside of us, or is it something we bring to our experience? In Cross-Cultural Existentialism: On the Meaning of Life in Asian and Western Thought (Bloomsbury, 2020) Leah Kalmanson shows how East Asian philosophies challenge the dichotomy implicit in the way this question is often framed. Her book investigates Korean Buddhist meditation, Confucian ritual practices, and Yijing divination. Along the way she argues that the speculative approaches implicit in these traditions, contrary to the views of many modern European philosophers, means that metaphysical theorizing need not be in opposition to cultivating practical techniques and taking subjectivity seriously. Taking the Korean Buddhist nun Kim Iryŏp as her center point, Kalmanson traces lines of historical influence backwards to Song-dynasty Ruist (or “Confucian”) thinkers such as Zhu Xi and considers conceptual connections outwards to modern existentialists such as Georges Bataille, all the while reflecting on one of philosophy's big questions: just what does life mean, if anything? Malcolm Keating is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yale-NUS College. His research focuses on Sanskrit works of philosophy in Indian traditions, in the areas of language and epistemology. He is the author of Language, Meaning, and Use in Indian Philosophy (Bloomsbury Press, 2019) and host of the podcast Sutras & Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/korean-studies

Does human existence have a meaning? If so, is that meaning found in the world outside of us, or is it something we bring to our experience? In Cross-Cultural Existentialism: On the Meaning of Life in Asian and Western Thought (Bloomsbury, 2020) Leah Kalmanson shows how East Asian philosophies challenge the dichotomy implicit in the way this question is often framed. Her book investigates Korean Buddhist meditation, Confucian ritual practices, and Yijing divination. Along the way she argues that the speculative approaches implicit in these traditions, contrary to the views of many modern European philosophers, means that metaphysical theorizing need not be in opposition to cultivating practical techniques and taking subjectivity seriously. Taking the Korean Buddhist nun Kim Iryŏp as her center point, Kalmanson traces lines of historical influence backwards to Song-dynasty Ruist (or “Confucian”) thinkers such as Zhu Xi and considers conceptual connections outwards to modern existentialists such as Georges Bataille, all the while reflecting on one of philosophy's big questions: just what does life mean, if anything? Malcolm Keating is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yale-NUS College. His research focuses on Sanskrit works of philosophy in Indian traditions, in the areas of language and epistemology. He is the author of Language, Meaning, and Use in Indian Philosophy (Bloomsbury Press, 2019) and host of the podcast Sutras & Stuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day

In this episode, I talk with Matthew Walker, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Yale-NUS, about ancient philosophy, therapeutic arguments, reading practices, and the Bhagavad Gita. Further Resources Matt Walker's website: https://sites.google.com/site/mattwalker2000/home Aristotle on the Uses of Contemplation: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/aristotle-on-the-uses-of-contemplation/14962F5B7153012A256FB48B5A27CCE8 Aristotle https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle/ Zhu Xi https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/zhu-xi/ Emotions in Indian Philosophy https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/concept-emotion-india/ Music Credits: Brittle Rille by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3460-brittle-rille License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/malcolm-keating/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/malcolm-keating/support

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Book review of "Mengzi", published by Anonymous on March 12, 2022 on LessWrong. Book review of “Mengzi: With Selections From Traditional Commentaries”, trans. Bryan W. Van Norden This is a review of a classical Chinese philosophical text with a heavy focus on virtue ethics and politics. I don't have any knowledge of Classical Chinese, I'm not a philosopher, and I'm not very virtuous. You may instead want to read the SEP entry on Mengzi, or just buy the book and read it – 2300 years of Confucian scholars can't be wrong! Introduction The Confucian or Ruist tradition within Chinese philosophy seems underrated in the West. Everybody likes Buddhism and Daoism. People particularly love pretty-sounding mistranslations of the Daodejing by authors who don't know any Chinese. People love Zen (or Chan, in the Chinese reading of the character). People have even heard of Zhuangzi and/or a butterfly. But almost nothing from Confucianism has percolated into the popular culture. Everyone knows there was a guy named Confucius who went around saying wise stuff, but nobody even knows any of the aphorisms (even though they're often great), let alone actually reading any of the Confucian canon. I think the explanation for this is pretty obvious. Eastern philosophy really started taking off in the West during the 60s. But at that time, there was just no market for a philosophy saying you should obey your parents and elder siblings, be loyal to the state, patiently study old books, and cultivate temperance and good manners. That's still going to be unappealing to a lot of people today (especially to LessWrong readers, who are probably more likely than average to distrust authority, to dislike formal schooling, and to think there is little value in tradition). But I think Confucian philosophy does offer an interesting perspective that is of increasing value. After all, it was developed by and for highly educated scholars who also wanted to have a real-world impact. These were people who were carefully trained from a young age to excel at high-stakes standardized tests that determined their entire future. They studied hard to become intellectuals, yet at the same time wanted to do good in the real world. It even turns out many of them (increasingly so in the Song-Ming period) were interested in mindfulness meditation, with a focus on personal effectiveness rather than the Buddhist focus on enlightenment. After their years of study, they ended up in practical careers, and had to stand in front of powerful officials and try to persuade them to do good, against the forces of corruption and political expedience. I think there may be something of interest to learn from this tradition. And van Norden says: "When people ask me which Confucian classic to read first, I answer without hesitation: the Mengzi." Review of the Book Itself As a Text The book itself consists of a translation of the text of the Mengzi, followed by translations of selected traditional commentaries on the Mengzi. Those commentaries are essential, as Van Norden points out. First, people for many centuries learned the Mengzi alongside its commentaries; and second, many common interpretations of Mengzi in fact come from the commentaries but are often mistakenly read into the text itself. It helps to have them there. A particularly important commentary is that of Zhu Xi, who lived in the 12th century AD, and usually gets compared to a Chinese version of Thomas Aquinas. The Mengzi along with his commentary became one of the four books that formed the basis of the Chinese civil service exam for many centuries to come. Van Norden also throws in his own commentaries from time to time, which has to be fun for a scholar of Confucianism – he gets to participate in this ancient textual tradition. The translation is extremely clear and rea...

Link to original articleWelcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Book review of "Mengzi", published by Anonymous on March 12, 2022 on LessWrong. Book review of “Mengzi: With Selections From Traditional Commentaries”, trans. Bryan W. Van Norden This is a review of a classical Chinese philosophical text with a heavy focus on virtue ethics and politics. I don't have any knowledge of Classical Chinese, I'm not a philosopher, and I'm not very virtuous. You may instead want to read the SEP entry on Mengzi, or just buy the book and read it – 2300 years of Confucian scholars can't be wrong! Introduction The Confucian or Ruist tradition within Chinese philosophy seems underrated in the West. Everybody likes Buddhism and Daoism. People particularly love pretty-sounding mistranslations of the Daodejing by authors who don't know any Chinese. People love Zen (or Chan, in the Chinese reading of the character). People have even heard of Zhuangzi and/or a butterfly. But almost nothing from Confucianism has percolated into the popular culture. Everyone knows there was a guy named Confucius who went around saying wise stuff, but nobody even knows any of the aphorisms (even though they're often great), let alone actually reading any of the Confucian canon. I think the explanation for this is pretty obvious. Eastern philosophy really started taking off in the West during the 60s. But at that time, there was just no market for a philosophy saying you should obey your parents and elder siblings, be loyal to the state, patiently study old books, and cultivate temperance and good manners. That's still going to be unappealing to a lot of people today (especially to LessWrong readers, who are probably more likely than average to distrust authority, to dislike formal schooling, and to think there is little value in tradition). But I think Confucian philosophy does offer an interesting perspective that is of increasing value. After all, it was developed by and for highly educated scholars who also wanted to have a real-world impact. These were people who were carefully trained from a young age to excel at high-stakes standardized tests that determined their entire future. They studied hard to become intellectuals, yet at the same time wanted to do good in the real world. It even turns out many of them (increasingly so in the Song-Ming period) were interested in mindfulness meditation, with a focus on personal effectiveness rather than the Buddhist focus on enlightenment. After their years of study, they ended up in practical careers, and had to stand in front of powerful officials and try to persuade them to do good, against the forces of corruption and political expedience. I think there may be something of interest to learn from this tradition. And van Norden says: "When people ask me which Confucian classic to read first, I answer without hesitation: the Mengzi." Review of the Book Itself As a Text The book itself consists of a translation of the text of the Mengzi, followed by translations of selected traditional commentaries on the Mengzi. Those commentaries are essential, as Van Norden points out. First, people for many centuries learned the Mengzi alongside its commentaries; and second, many common interpretations of Mengzi in fact come from the commentaries but are often mistakenly read into the text itself. It helps to have them there. A particularly important commentary is that of Zhu Xi, who lived in the 12th century AD, and usually gets compared to a Chinese version of Thomas Aquinas. The Mengzi along with his commentary became one of the four books that formed the basis of the Chinese civil service exam for many centuries to come. Van Norden also throws in his own commentaries from time to time, which has to be fun for a scholar of Confucianism – he gets to participate in this ancient textual tradition. The translation is extremely clear and rea...

Neo-Confucianism has made a strong comeback through the synthesis of its various doctrines under the philosophical guidance of Zhu Xi of the Southern Song court. He and his likeminded ministers seek to bring back the perfection of eras gone by by being perfectly morally upright, and expecting everyone else to do the same. But when it turns out that certain other loose-living party-boys like Chancellor Han Tuozhou and Emperor Ningzong aren't so thrilled about their buzzkilling ways, it will set up a massive conflict at court. Time Period Covered: 1194-1202 CE Major Historical Figures: Emperor Ninzong Chancellor Han Tuohzou Minister Zhu Xi

Neo-Confucianism has made a strong comeback through the synthesis of its various doctrines under the philosophical guidance of Zhu Xi of the Southern Song court. He and his likeminded ministers seek to bring back the perfection of eras gone by by being perfectly morally upright, and expecting everyone else to do the same. But when it turns out that certain other loose-living party-boys like Chancellor Han Tuozhou and Emperor Ningzong aren’t so thrilled about their buzzkilling ways, it will set up a massive conflict at court.Time Period Covered:1194-1202 CEMajor Historical Figures:Emperor NingzongChancellor Han TuohzouMinister Zhu Xi  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Kirill Ole Thompson presents Delving into the Daxue (Great Learning) with Zhu Xi: The Way to Moral Clarity, Ethical Efficacy and Deeper Resonance. Intoduction by Dr. Annie Zeng (1:27-6:16). (Note sound lappses at 15:17-16:18; 35:07-35:48; 47:54-49:44) In the round table discussion offered at the UAA Campus Bookstore, Kirill Ole Thompson discusses Zhu Xi’s work called Great Learning, which investigates the relationship between mind purification and moral institutions. Within this focus, Kirill Ole Thompson examines the Book of Change & Songs of the South and the way appropriate judgments and responses are made. Kirill Ole Thompson is Professor of Foreign Languages & Literature at Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities & Social Sciences, National Taiwan University. He specializes in Chinese philosophy, Zhu Xi (1130-1200) and the Song-Ming Neo Confucian masters. Currently, his research includes investigating the implications in traditional Chinese philosophy regarding the environment and climate change. This event is sponsored by UAA Confucius Institute, UAA Philosophy Department, UAA Office of the Provost, and UAA Campus Bookstore,and Moose's Tooth.

Taught by Mike Billington, EIR Asia Desk. The role of Confucianism in Chinese history is key to understanding China’s current leadership in the creation of the New Paradigm. Within the depths of Chinese history, this goes back to the conflict of Confucius and Mencius against Daoism and legalism in ancient China, the role of Zhu Xi and the Song Dynasty Confucian Renaissance in the 11th and 12th centuries, and the Confucian views of Sun Yat-sen in the 20th century. This Confucian tradition is in harmony with the humanist currents of western thought, typified by the contributions of Socrates and Plato, Nicholas of Cusa, and Friedrich Schiller.

This is an all Neo-Confucian episode. The last episode, Laszlo introduced three of the five founders of Neo-Confucianism: Zhou Dunyi, Shao Yong, and Zhang Zai. This time we finish off with the remaining two founders: the Cheng Brothers, Cheng Hao, and Cheng Yi. And taking this rich harvest to the next level is Zhu Xi. The basic tenets of Neo-Confucianism are introduced, with a focus on lǐ (principle) and xīn (mind) and how these two concepts caused a great divide in the two main schools of Neo-Confucianism. Qì (life-force) is also examined, and how that fits into the big picture. The episode closes with an introduction to the extraordinary life of someone getting a lot of press these days in China, Wang Yangming, and his contributions to Neo-Confucianism.   

What makes something a poem? What defines “poetry,” and how has that changed over space and time? Critics and Commentators: The ‘Book of Poems’ as Classic and Literature (Harvard University Press, 2012) considers such questions as they chart a path through literary studies in Chinese history. From the comparative poetics of a Han dynasty “critic in the borderlands” to the theories of May Fourth intellectuals, Bruce Rusk’s elegantly written and carefully argued new book traces the changing relationships between secular and canonical poetry over 25 centuries of verse in China. Rusk introduces readers to a cast of fascinating characters in the course of this journey, from a versifying “drive-by” poet to a gifted craftsman of textual forgeries. In the course of an analysis of the changing modes of inscribing relationships between classical studies and other fields in China, we learn about poems on stone and metal, literary time-travel, ploughing emperors, and how to excavate the first drafts of Zhu Xi. This is an exceptionally rich account that ranges from the history of literary anthologies to the circulation of interpretive tropes in poetic commentaries, and in doing so it transcends the disciplinary boundaries of historical and literary studies of China. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What makes something a poem? What defines “poetry,” and how has that changed over space and time? Critics and Commentators: The ‘Book of Poems’ as Classic and Literature (Harvard University Press, 2012) considers such questions as they chart a path through literary studies in Chinese history. From the comparative poetics of a Han dynasty “critic in the borderlands” to the theories of May Fourth intellectuals, Bruce Rusk’s elegantly written and carefully argued new book traces the changing relationships between secular and canonical poetry over 25 centuries of verse in China. Rusk introduces readers to a cast of fascinating characters in the course of this journey, from a versifying “drive-by” poet to a gifted craftsman of textual forgeries. In the course of an analysis of the changing modes of inscribing relationships between classical studies and other fields in China, we learn about poems on stone and metal, literary time-travel, ploughing emperors, and how to excavate the first drafts of Zhu Xi. This is an exceptionally rich account that ranges from the history of literary anthologies to the circulation of interpretive tropes in poetic commentaries, and in doing so it transcends the disciplinary boundaries of historical and literary studies of China. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What makes something a poem? What defines “poetry,” and how has that changed over space and time? Critics and Commentators: The ‘Book of Poems’ as Classic and Literature (Harvard University Press, 2012) considers such questions as they chart a path through literary studies in Chinese history. From the comparative poetics of a Han dynasty “critic in the borderlands” to the theories of May Fourth intellectuals, Bruce Rusk’s elegantly written and carefully argued new book traces the changing relationships between secular and canonical poetry over 25 centuries of verse in China. Rusk introduces readers to a cast of fascinating characters in the course of this journey, from a versifying “drive-by” poet to a gifted craftsman of textual forgeries. In the course of an analysis of the changing modes of inscribing relationships between classical studies and other fields in China, we learn about poems on stone and metal, literary time-travel, ploughing emperors, and how to excavate the first drafts of Zhu Xi. This is an exceptionally rich account that ranges from the history of literary anthologies to the circulation of interpretive tropes in poetic commentaries, and in doing so it transcends the disciplinary boundaries of historical and literary studies of China. Enjoy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The topic of my dissertation is the political and philosophical thought of Lü Zuqian (1137-1181), one of the key players in the history of the "True Way Learning" (Daoxue) in Southern Song China and a close associate of Zhu Xi (1130-1200). Focusing on core concepts in Lü’s writings like self-cultivation, imperial sovereignty, law, rites, institutions and reform, this study advances a new interpretation of Lü Zuqian's modes of thinking. The comparison of Lü Zuqian's political ideas to those of contemporaries such as Zhu Xi, Zhang Shi (1133-1180), Lu Jiuyuan (1139-1193), Chen Liang (1143-1194) and Ye Shi (1150-1223) clarifies the political language and the political engagements of Daoxue thinkers. This case study tries to explain the fundamental nature of political Daoxue discourse between 1160 and 1180 and to shed new light on the interpretation of "Neo-Confucian" thought in general.