On Western and Chinese Conception of Time: a Comparative Study
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'New Era' Should Have Ended US Debate on Beijing's Ambitions
Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission Hearing on “A ‘China Model?’ Beijing’s Promotion of Alternative Global Norms and Standards” March 13, 2020 “How Xi Jinping’s ‘New Era’ Should Have Ended U.S. Debate on Beijing’s Ambitions” Daniel Tobin Faculty Member, China Studies, National Intelligence University and Senior Associate (Non-resident), Freeman Chair in China Studies, Center for Strategic and International Studies Senator Talent, Senator Goodwin, Honorable Commissioners, thank you for inviting me to testify on China’s promotion of alternative global norms and standards. I am grateful for the opportunity to submit the following statement for the record. Since I teach at National Intelligence University (NIU) which is part of the Department of Defense (DoD), I need to begin by making clear that all statements of fact and opinion below are wholly my own and do not represent the views of NIU, DoD, any of its components, or of the U.S. government. You have asked me to discuss whether China seeks an alternative global order, what that order would look like and aim to achieve, how Beijing sees its future role as differing from the role the United States enjoys today, and also to address the parts played respectively by the Party’s ideology and by its invocation of “Chinese culture” when talking about its ambitions to lead the reform of global governance.1 I want to approach these questions by dissecting the meaning of the “new era for socialism with Chinese characteristics” Xi Jinping proclaimed at the Communist Party of China’s 19th National Congress (afterwards “19th Party Congress”) in October 2017. -
Voronina, "Comments on Krzysztof Michalski's the Flame of Eternity
Volume 8, No 1, Spring 2013 ISSN 1932-1066 Comments on Krzysztof Michalski's The Flame of Eternity Lydia Voronina Boston, MA [email protected] Abstract: Emphasizing romantic tendencies in Nietzsche's philosophy allowed Krzysztof Michalski to build a more comprehensive context for the understanding of his most cryptic philosophical concepts, such as Nihilism, Over- man, the Will to power, the Eternal Return. Describing life in terms of constant advancement of itself, opening new possibilities, the flame which "ignites" human body and soul, etc, also positioned Michalski closer to spirituality as a human condition and existential interpretation of Christianity which implies reliving life and death of Christ as a real event that one lives through and that burns one's heart, i.e. not as leaned from reading texts or listening to a teacher. The image of fire implies constant changing, unrest, never-ending passing away and becoming phases of reality and seems losing its present phase. This makes Michalski's perspective on Nietzsche and his existential view of Christianity vulnerable because both of them lack a sufficient foundation for the sustainable present that requires various constants and makes it possible for life to be lived. Keywords: Nietzsche, Friedrich; life; eternity; spontaneity; spirituality; Romanticism; existential Christianity; death of God; eternal return; overman; time; temporality. People often say that to understand a Romantic you have occurrence of itself through the eternal game of self- to be even a more incurable Romantic or to understand a asserting forces, becomes Michalski's major explanatory mystic you have to be a more comprehensive mystic. -
The Cultural and Religious Background of Sexual Vampirism in Ancient China
Theology & Sexuality Volume 12(3): 285-308 Copyright © 2006 SAGE Publications London, Thousand Oaks CA, New Delhi http://TSE.sagepub.com DOI: 10.1177/1355835806065383 The Cultural and Religious Background of Sexual Vampirism in Ancient China Paul R. Goldin [email protected] Abstract This paper considers sexual macrobiotic techniques of ancient China in their cultural and religious milieu, focusing on the text known as Secret Instructions ofthe Jade Bedchamber, which explains how the Spirit Mother of the West, originally an ordinary human being like anyone else, devoured the life force of numerous young boys by copulating with them, and there- by transformed herself into a famed goddess. Although many previous studies of Chinese sexuality have highlighted such methods (the noted historian R.H. van Gulik was the first to refer to them as 'sexual vampirism'), it has rarely been asked why learned and intelligent people of the past took them seriously. The inquiry here, by considering some of the most common ancient criticisms of these practices, concludes that practitioners did not regard decay as an inescapable characteristic of matter; consequently it was widely believed that, if the cosmic processes were correctly under- stood, one could devise techniques that may forestall senectitude indefinitely. Keywords: sexual vampirism, macrobiotics, sex practices, Chinese religion, qi, Daoism Secret Instructions ofthe Jade Bedchamber {Yufang bijue S Ml^^) is a macro- biotic manual, aimed at men of leisure wealthy enough to own harems, outlining a regimen of sexual exercises that is supposed to confer immor- tality if practiced over a sufficient period. The original work is lost, but substantial fragments of it have been preserved in Ishimpo B'O:^, a Japanese chrestomathy of Chinese medical texts compiled by Tamba Yasuyori ^MMU (912-995) in 982. -
The Chinese Continuum of Self-Cultivation
The Chinese Continuum of Self-Cultivation The Chinese Continuum of Self-Cultivation: A Confucian-Deweyan Learning Model By Christine A. Hale The Chinese Continuum of Self-Cultivation: A Confucian-Deweyan Learning Model By Christine A. Hale This book first published 2016 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2016 by Christine A. Hale All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-8525-8 ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-8525-6 Dedicated to: Ben-Ami Scharfstein My mentor, who over the many years encouraged ‘natural, well-motivated miracles’ to come to pass TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures............................................................................................. ix Foreword .................................................................................................... xi Roger T. Ames Preface ....................................................................................................... xv Acknowledgements ................................................................................. xvii Chapter One ................................................................................................. 1 Introduction -
Religion in China BKGA 85 Religion Inchina and Bernhard Scheid Edited by Max Deeg Major Concepts and Minority Positions MAX DEEG, BERNHARD SCHEID (EDS.)
Religions of foreign origin have shaped Chinese cultural history much stronger than generally assumed and continue to have impact on Chinese society in varying regional degrees. The essays collected in the present volume put a special emphasis on these “foreign” and less familiar aspects of Chinese religion. Apart from an introductory article on Daoism (the BKGA 85 BKGA Religion in China prototypical autochthonous religion of China), the volume reflects China’s encounter with religions of the so-called Western Regions, starting from the adoption of Indian Buddhism to early settlements of religious minorities from the Near East (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism) and the early modern debates between Confucians and Christian missionaries. Contemporary Major Concepts and religious minorities, their specific social problems, and their regional diversities are discussed in the cases of Abrahamitic traditions in China. The volume therefore contributes to our understanding of most recent and Minority Positions potentially violent religio-political phenomena such as, for instance, Islamist movements in the People’s Republic of China. Religion in China Religion ∙ Max DEEG is Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Cardiff. His research interests include in particular Buddhist narratives and their roles for the construction of identity in premodern Buddhist communities. Bernhard SCHEID is a senior research fellow at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on the history of Japanese religions and the interaction of Buddhism with local religions, in particular with Japanese Shintō. Max Deeg, Bernhard Scheid (eds.) Deeg, Max Bernhard ISBN 978-3-7001-7759-3 Edited by Max Deeg and Bernhard Scheid Printed and bound in the EU SBph 862 MAX DEEG, BERNHARD SCHEID (EDS.) RELIGION IN CHINA: MAJOR CONCEPTS AND MINORITY POSITIONS ÖSTERREICHISCHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN PHILOSOPHISCH-HISTORISCHE KLASSE SITZUNGSBERICHTE, 862. -
Chinese Philosophy
CHINESE PHILOSOPHY Vatican Relations: Problems of Conflicting Authority, 1976–1986 EARLY HISTORY (Cambridge 1992). J. LEUNG, Wenhua Jidutu: Xianxiang yu lunz- heng (Cultural Christian: Phenomenon and Argument) (Hong Shang Dynasty (c.1600–c.1045 B.C.). Chinese Kong 1997). K. C. LIU, ed. American Missionaries in China: Papers philosophical thought took definite shape during the reign from Harvard Seminars (Cambridge 1966). Lutheran World Feder- of the Shang dynasty in Bronze Age China. During this ation/Pro Mundi Vita. Christianity and the New China (South Pasa- period, the primeval forms of ancestor veneration in Neo- dena 1976). L. T. LYALL, New Spring in China? (London 1979). J. G. LUTZ, ed. Christian Missions in China: Evangelist of What? lithic Chinese cultures had evolved to relatively sophisti- (Boston 1965). D. E. MACINNIS, Religion in China Today: Policy cated rituals that the Shang ruling house offered to their and Practice (Maryknoll, NY 1989). D. MACINNIS and X. A. ZHENG, ancestors and to Shangdi, the supreme deity who was a Religion under Socialism in China (Armonk, NY 1991). R. MAD- deified ancestor and progenitor of the Shang ruling fami- SEN, China Catholics: Tragedy and Hope in an Emerging Civil So- ciety (Berkeley 1998). R. MALEK and M. PLATE Chinas Katholiken ly. A class of shamans emerged, tasked with divination suchen neue (Freiburg 1987). Missiones Catholicae cura S. Con- and astrology using oracle bones for the benefit of the rul- gregationis de Propaganda Fide descriptae statistica (Rome 1901, ing class. Archaeological excavations have uncovered 1907, 1922, 1927). J. METZLER, ed. Sacrae Congregationis de Pro- elaborate bronze sacrificial vessels and other parapherna- paganda Fide Memoria Rerum, 1622–1972 (Rome 1976). -
Confessional Peculiarity of Chinese Islam Nurzat M
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL & SCIENCE EDUCATION 2016, VOL. 11, NO. 15, 7906-7915 OPEN ACCESS Confessional Peculiarity of Chinese Islam Nurzat M. Mukana, Sagadi B. Bulekbayeva, Ainura D. Kurmanaliyevaa, Sultanmurat U. Abzhalova and Bekzhan B. Meirbayeva aAl-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, KAZAKHSTAN ABSTRACT This paper considers features of Islam among Muslim peoples in China. Along with the traditional religions of China - Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam influenced noticeable impact on the formation of Chinese civilization. The followers of Islam have a significant impact on ethno-religious, political, economic and cultural relations of the Chinese society. Ethno-cultural heterogeneity of Chinese Islam has defined its confessional identity. The peculiarity of Chinese Islam is determined, firstly, with its religious heterogeneity. In China there all three main branches of Islam: Sunnism, Shiism, and Sufism. Secondly, the unique nature of Chinese Islam is defined by close relationship with the traditional religions of China (Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism) and Chinese population folk beliefs. Chinese Islam has incorporated many specific feat ures of the traditional religious culture of China, which heavily influenced on the religious consciousness and religious activities of Chinese Muslims. KEYWORDS ARTICLE HISTORY Chinese Muslims, history of Islam, confessional Received 21 March 2016 heterogeneity, Islamic branches, religions of China Revised 05 June 2016 Accepted 19 June 2016 Introduction Political and ethno-cultural processes taking place in contemporary Chinese society lead us to a deeper study of the religious history of China (Ho et al., 2014). Along with the traditional religions of China - Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam influenced noticeable impact on the formation of Chinese civilization (Tsin, 2009; Erie & Carlson, 2014; Gulfiia, Parfilova & Karimova, 2016). -
Compte Rendu De Barbara Hendrischke, the Scripture on Great Peace
Compte rendu de Barbara Hendrischke, The Scripture on Great Peace. The Taiping jing and the Beginnings of Daoism (Berkeley: The University of California Press, 2006) Grégoire Espesset To cite this version: Grégoire Espesset. Compte rendu de Barbara Hendrischke, The Scripture on Great Peace. The Taiping jing and the Beginnings of Daoism (Berkeley: The University of California Press, 2006). 2008. halshs-00672928 HAL Id: halshs-00672928 https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00672928 Submitted on 22 Feb 2012 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Barbara Hendrischke (trad.), The Scripture on Great Peace. The Taiping jing and the Beginnings of Daoism, Berkeley: The University of California Press (“Daoist Classic Series” no. 3), 2006. X + 410 pages A hundred years ago, L. Wieger (1856-1933) compiled the first Western catalogue of the works included in the Taoist Canon of the Ming 汗 dynasty, the fifteenth-century Zhengtong daozang い濯洋沮. The entry therein dealing with the Taiping jing ′l眠 (Scripture of Great Peace) today shows both a blatant incomprehension of the material and disdain: “Sorte de somme, de valeur plus que médiocre, quoiqu’on prétende qu’elle fut révélée par Lao-tzeu en personne. -
Confucian Self-Cultivation and Daoist Personhood: Implications for Peace Education
Front. Educ. China 2013, 8(1): 62–79 DOI 10.3868/s110-002-013-0006-0 RESEARCH ARTICLE Hongyu WANG Confucian Self-Cultivation and Daoist Personhood: Implications for Peace Education Abstract This essay argues that the concept of reaching peace within in order to sustain peace outside in classical Confucianism and Daoism offers us important lessons for peace education in the contemporary age. Building harmonious connections between differences in one’s personhood paves a path for negotiating interconnections across conflicting multiplicities in the outside world. The essay starts by discussing the Confucian and Daoist notions of personhood as a microcosmic universe connected to a macrocosmic universe. Second, the historical context of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period in which Confucianism and Daoism emerged are briefly reviewed. Third, Confucian self-cultivation and the Daoist conception of personhood are discussed. Fourth, relational issues of harmony in difference and tranquility in turbulence are analyzed. Lastly, inner peace reaching outer peace in leadership and governing is formulated in terms of the unity between means and end in peace education. Keywords peace, Confucianism, Daoism, harmony in difference Introduction While the contemporary age has brought unprecedented interconnectedness across the globe and in everyday life, it has also simultaneously witnessed fragmentation, conflict, and ethnic and religious warfare. Can Confucianism and Daoism, first formulated in ancient China, be useful for addressing our contemporary concerns about bringing peace out of conflict? This essay argues that the Confucian and Daoist traditions of reaching peace within in order to sustain peace outside offer us important lessons. Building harmonious connections between differences in one’s personhood paves a path for negotiating interconnections across conflicting multiplicities in the outside world. -
Nietzsche, Eternal Recurrence, and the Horror of Existence Philip J
Santa Clara University Scholar Commons Philosophy College of Arts & Sciences Spring 2007 Nietzsche, Eternal Recurrence, and the Horror of Existence Philip J. Kain Santa Clara University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.scu.edu/phi Part of the Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation Kain, P. J. "Nietzsche, Eternal Recurrence, and the Horror of Existence," The ourJ nal of Nietzsche Studies, 33 (2007): 49-63. Copyright © 2007 The eP nnsylvania State University Press. This article is used by permission of The eP nnsylvania State University Press. http://doi.org/10.1353/nie.2007.0007 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Arts & Sciences at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Philosophy by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Nietzsche, Eternal Recurrence, and the Horror of Existence PHILIP J. KAIN I t the center ofNietzsche's vision lies his concept of the "terror and horror A of existence" (BT 3). As he puts it in The Birth of Tragedy: There is an ancient story that King Midas hunted in the forest a long time for the wise Silenus, the companion of Dionysus .... When Silenus at last fell into his hands, the king asked what was the best and most desirable of all things for man. Fixed and immovable, the demigod said not a word, till at last, urged by the king, he gave a shrill laugh and broke out into these words: "Oh, wretched ephemeral race, children of chance and misery, why do you compel me to tell you what it would be most expedient for you not to hear? What is best of all is utterly beyond your reach: not to be born, not to be, to be nothing. -
Nietzsche for Physicists
Nietzsche for physicists Juliano C. S. Neves∗ Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Instituto de Matemática, Estatística e Computação Científica, CEP. 13083-859, Campinas, SP, Brazil Abstract One of the most important philosophers in history, the German Friedrich Nietzsche, is almost ignored by physicists. This author who declared the death of God in the 19th century was a science enthusiast, especially in the second period of his work. With the aid of the physical concept of force, Nietzsche created his concept of will to power. After thinking about energy conservation, the German philosopher had some inspiration for creating his concept of eternal recurrence. In this article, some influences of physics on Nietzsche are pointed out, and the topicality of his epistemological position—the perspectivism—is discussed. Considering the concept of will to power, I propose that the perspectivism leads to an interpretation where physics and science in general are viewed as a game. Keywords: Perspectivism, Nietzsche, Eternal Recurrence, Physics 1 Introduction: an obscure philosopher? The man who said “God is dead” (GS §108)1 is a popular philosopher well-regarded world- wide. Nietzsche is a strong reference in philosophy, psychology, sociology and the arts. But did Nietzsche have any influence on natural sciences, especially on physics? Among physi- cists and scientists in general, the thinker who created a philosophy that argues against the Platonism is known as an obscure or irrationalist philosopher. However, contrary to common arXiv:1611.08193v3 [physics.hist-ph] 15 May 2018 ideas, although Nietzsche was critical about absolute rationalism, he was not an irrationalist. Nietzsche criticized the hubris of reason (the Socratic rationalism2): the belief that mankind ∗[email protected] 1Nietzsche’s works are indicated by the initials, with the correspondent sections or aphorisms, established by the critical edition of the complete works edited by Colli and Montinari [Nietzsche, 1978]. -
A Comparison Between Ancient Greek and Chinese Philosophy on Politics Qihan Long1, A
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 215 3rd International Conference on Modern Management, Education Technology, and Social Science (MMETSS 2018) A Comparison between Ancient Greek and Chinese Philosophy on Politics Qihan Long1, a 1 BA History, Royal Holloway University of London, Surrey, TW20 0EX, England aemail Keywords: Ancient Greek philosophy, Chinese philosophy, Politics Abstract. Although being two opposite ends of the Eurasian continent, the Greek and Chinese philosophers in the period of 600 BC to 300 BC came with some similar cures for the government. Both Greek and Chinese philosophers emphasized the importance of harmony, virtue and music in politics. Furthermore, in regard to the differences between ancient Greek and ancient Chinese philosophies on politics, it is interesting to note that Aristotle described democracy as the most tolerable one of three perverted form of government. Despite the fact that ancient China never truly formed an aristocracy nor a constitutional political entity, the ideas of Western and Eastern philosophers resonated with each other and formed the brightest light in the human history. 1. Introduction From 600 BC to 300 BC, it was a golden age for philosophy. Ideas and thoughts were formed in different areas in the world. During this period, great philosophers appeared from Greece in the west to China in the east. In the west, the most prominent philosophers were Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, while in the east, the great philosophers, such as Lao Zi, Confucius and Han Fei accomplished their works in China. Most of the philosophers in that period addressed the ideal form of government and how to rule a state.