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4Exhortation to LearningIn Carine Defoort & Nicolas Standaert (eds.), Hemel en Aarde verenigen zich door rituelen: een bloemlezing uit het werk van de Chinese wijsgeer Xunzi, . 2003.van Els, Paul. "Aansporing tot leren" (Exhortation to Learning). In Hemel en Aarde verenigen zich door rituelen: een bloemlezing uit het werk van de Chinese wijsgeer Xunzi, edited by Carine Defoort and Nicolas Standaert, 36–52. Kapellen: Uitgeverij Pelckmans, 2003.
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12Chinese PhilosophyIn Harry Willemsen & Peter de Wind (eds.), Woordenboek filosofie, . 2015.van Els, Paul. "Chinese filosofie" (Chinese Philosophy). In: Woordenboek filosofie, edited by Harry Willemsen and Peter de Wind, 90–91. Antwerpen & Apeldoorn: Garant, 2015.
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9Three Pleas Against WarIn Carine Defoort & Nicolas Standaert (eds.), Tien stellingen tegen Confucius: Het pleidooi van de Chinese wijsgeer Mozi. 2009.van Els, Paul. "Drie pleidooien tegen oorlog" (Three Pleas Against War). In Tien stellingen tegen Confucius: Het pleidooi van de Chinese wijsgeer Mozi, edited by Carine Defoort and Nicolas Standaert, 106–133. Kapellen: Uitgeverij Pelckmans, 2009.
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4Exhortation to LearningIn Carine Defoort & Nicolas Standaert (eds.), Hemel en Aarde verenigen zich door rituelen: een bloemlezing uit het werk van de Chinese wijsgeer Xunzi. 2003.van Els, Paul. "Aansporing tot leren" (Exhortation to Learning). In Hemel en Aarde verenigen zich door rituelen: een bloemlezing uit het werk van de Chinese wijsgeer Xunzi, edited by Carine Defoort and Nicolas Standaert, 36–52. Kapellen: Uitgeverij Pelckmans, 2003.
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8Xunzi: The Person and His WorkIn Carine Defoort & Nicolas Standaert (eds.), Hemel en Aarde verenigen zich door rituelen: een bloemlezing uit het werk van de Chinese wijsgeer Xunzi. 2003.Sato, Masayuki, and Paul van Els. "Xunzi: de persoon en zijn werk" (Xunzi: The Person and His Work). In Hemel en Aarde verenigen zich door rituelen: een bloemlezing uit het werk van de Chinese wijsgeer Xunzi, edited by Carine Defoort and Nicolas Standaert, 15–22. Kapellen: Uitgeverij Pelckmans, 2003.
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115Against Offensive WarfareHet Trage Vuur 40. 2007.van Els, Paul. "Tegen aanvalsoorlogen" (Against Offensive Warfare). Dutch translation of Mozi chapters 17, 18, and 19. Het Trage Vuur 40 (December 2007): 8–19.
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136Echoes of the DaoHet Trage Vuur 40. 2007.van Els, Paul. "Echo's van de Weg" (Echoes of the Dao). Dutch translation of Huainanzi chapter 12. Het Trage Vuur 40 (December 2007): 29–35.
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97Humanitarian in a Food Culture (review)China Nu 33. 2008.van Els, Paul. "Wereldverbeteraar in een eetcultuur" (Humanitarian in a Food Culture). Review of Mencius: Inleiding, vertaling en commentaar, by Karel van der Leeuw. China Nu 33, no. 3 (2008): 46–47.
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107Leibniz: China's Friend in Europe (review)China Nu 31. 2006.van Els, Paul. "Leibniz: China's vriend in Europa" (Leibniz: China's Friend in Europe) Review of Leibniz: Over de Natuurlijke Theologie van de Chinezen, by Karel van der Leeuw. China Nu 31, no. 2 (2006): 46–47.
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93The Master Finally Speaks Dutch (review)Filter 22. 2015.van Els, Paul. "De Meester spreekt nu eindelijk Nederlands" (The Master Finally Speaks Dutch). Review of Confucius: de Gesprekken, by Kristofer Schipper. Filter 22, no. 1 (2015): 55–56.
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106A Non-Existent Doctrine (review)China Nu 31. 2006.van Els, Paul. "Een niet-bestaande leer" (A Non-Existent Doctrine). Review of Confucianisme, by Burchard J. Mansvelt Beck. China Nu 31, no. 1 (2006): 46–47.
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123Accept Fate (review)China Nu 34. 2009.van Els, Paul. "Aanvaard het lot" (Accept Fate). Review of De geschriften van Liezi: de taoïstische kunst van het relativeren, by Jan De Meyer. China Nu 34, no. 1 (2009): 46–47.
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182Four Walls and a Roof Do Not Form a House (review)China Nu 28. 2003.van Els, Paul. "Vier muren en een dak vormen geen huis" (Four Walls and a Roof Do Not Form a House). Review of 25 eeuwen oosterse filosofie, edited by Jan Bor and Karel van der Leeuw. China Nu 28, no. 4 (2003): 34–35.
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118Guest Editor's IntroductionContemporary Chinese Thought 34 (1): 3-18. 2002.Huang-Lao is now generally regarded as a set of ideas that gained currency from the final stages of the Warring States period to well into the Han dynasty. "Huang" stands for Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor; "Lao" refers to Laozi, the "Old Master," who is traditionally regarded as the founder of Daoism. Huang-Lao is thus a combination of ideas attributed to the mythical figures of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi. What those ideas are and how they have manifested themselves in Chinese history remains th…Read more
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123New Perspectives on the Wenzi (review)China Review International 9. 2002.Review of Wenzi xinlun (New Perspectives on the Wenzi), Wenzi ziliao tansuo (Exploration of the Wenzi Materials), and Huainanzi yu Wenzi kaobian (Examination of the Huainanzi and the Wenzi), by DING Yuanzhi.
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211How to End Wars with Words: Three Argumentative Strategies by Mozi and his FollowersIn Carine Defoort & Nicolas Standaert (eds.), The Mozi as an Evolving Text: Different Voices in Early Chinese Thought, Brill. 2013.The Mozi contains at least three distinct arguments against offensive warfare. The "moral argument" claims that offensive warfare is morally wrong. The "economic argument" calculates that the foreseeable costs of a military campaign inevitably outweigh its possible benefits. The "religious argument" warns that military aggression harms the interests of Heaven. This paper discusses these three lines of argumentation, with extensive reference to the original text in translation. The paper explores…Read more
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184The Philosophy of the Proto-WenziIn Xiaogan Liu (ed.), Dao: Companion to Daoist Philosophy, Springer. 2014.This paper presents the main aspects of the proto-Wenzi’s philosophy, with a focus on its intricate relationship with the Laozi. They show that the proto-Wenzi advocates a philosophy of quietude, not only in terms of its content, but also through the rhetoric it uses to create a harmonious synthesis of diverse, and at times even incompatible, ideas.
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Anecdotes in Early ChinaIn Paul van Els & Sarah A. Queen (eds.), Between History and Philosophy: Anecdotes in Early China. 2017.This paper introduces the first English-language book-length study to focus on the rhetorical function of anecdotal narratives across several literary genres of early China. In this volume we seek to clarify the nature and function of early Chinese anecdotes by raising the following questions: What are their characteristic features? What are their generic boundaries, that is to say, how do they relate to other types of narrative? What degree of historical authenticity do they display? How mallea…Read more
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119Persuasion through Definition: Argumentative Features of the Ancient WenziOriens Extremus 45. 2006.This paper aims to reconstruct the politico-philosophical content of the Ancient Wenzi, according to three interrelated questions: How does the text communicate its views to the reader? What are its main ideas? When and where were these ideas first put to writing? Accordingly, after a discussion of preliminaria in section 1, section 2 focuses on the rhetorical devices in the text, section 3 on its key terms, and section 4 on its possible historical context. The goal of this paper is not only to …Read more
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146Tilting Vessels and Collapsing Walls: On the Rhetorical Function of Anecdotes in Early Chinese TextsExtrême-Orient Extrême-Occident 34. 2012.Early Chinese argumentative texts are full of historical anecdotes. These short accounts of events in Chinese history enhance the appeal of the text, but they also have an important rhetorical function in helping the reader understand, accept, and remember the arguments propounded in the text. In this paper I examine the rhetorical function of historical anecdotes in two argumentative texts of the Western Han dynasty (202 BCE-9 CE): Han’s Illustrations of the Odes for Outsiders and The Master of…Read more
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122De heer en het beest: De eerbare mens volgens MenciusTijdschrift Voor Filosofie 82. 2020.Anecdotes play an important role in ancient Chinese philosophical writings. This essay offers a close reading of one anecdote in the Mencius, one of the most influential Confucian texts. This reading provides insight into what it means, according to Mencius, to be a morally superior human being. The goal of this essay is to provide insight into the ethical and political philosophy of Mencius and, more broadly, to provide a guideline for reading Chinese philosophical writings in an attentive and …Read more
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307Moral Beauty and the Beast: Ethical Dilemmas in the MenciusJournal of Confucian Philosophy and Culture 35. 2021.This article analyzes Mencius 7B.23, a concise passage that offers complex ethical dilemmas. It provides a close reading of the passage, along with relevant passages elsewhere in the text and, occasionally, in other texts. The narrow goal of the article is to present a coherent reading of the passage within the context of the Mencius as a whole. This reading suggests that while the passage touches upon a wide range of topics, including personal credibility and political responsibility, the overa…Read more
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10Between History and Philosophy: Anecdotes in Early China (edited book)State University of New York Press. 2017.Between History and Philosophy is the first book-length study in English to focus on the rhetorical functions and forms of anecdotal narratives in early China. Edited by Paul van Els and Sarah A. Queen, this volume advances the thesis that anecdotes—brief, freestanding accounts of single events involving historical figures, and occasionally also unnamed persons, animals, objects, or abstractions—served as an essential tool of persuasion and meaning-making within larger texts. Contributors to the…Read more
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23Confucius spreektPelckmans. 2021.This book contains translations of roughly fifty statements attributed to Confucius. Each statement is followed by an explanation and a reflection on how Confucius can continue to inspire, whether it's on the importance of learning or rituals, self-examination and self-improvement, or virtuous leadership.
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9This monograph, the first of its kind in English, offers a detailed study of the Wenzi, a controversial Chinese philosophical text. The book also sheds light on text production and reception in Chinese history, with its changing views on authorship, originality, authenticity, and forgery.
Leiden, ZH, Netherlands
Areas of Specialization
Classical Chinese Philosophy |
Chinese Philosophy |
Classical Daoism |
Classical Confucianism |
Areas of Interest
Classical Chinese Philosophy |
Chinese Philosophy |
Classical Daoism |
Classical Confucianism |