•  18
    Yin and Yang
    In Harry Willemsen (ed.), Woordenboek filosofie, Uitgeverij Van Gorcum. pp. 617. 1992.
    van Els, Paul. "Yin en Yang" (Yin and Yang). In: Woordenboek filosofie (Dictionary of Philosophy), edited by Harry Willemsen and Peter de Wind, 617. Antwerpen & Apeldoorn: Garant, 2015.
  •  181
    #MeToo avant la lettre
    Filosofie-Tijdschrift 28 (3). 2018.
    van Els, Paul. "#MeToo avant la lettre." Filosofie-Tijdschrift 28, no. 3 (May 2018): 35–39.
  •  154
    Exhortation to Self-Examination (review)
    China Nu 33. 2008.
    van Els, Paul. "Aansporing tot zelfonderzoek" (Exhortation to Self-Examination). Review of De Chinese fascinatie voor de geest (The Chinese Fascination with the Mind), by Dianne Sommers. China Nu 33, no. 4 (2008): 46–47.
  •  166
    New Evidence for the Date of the Wenzi (review)
    China Review International 12. 2005.
    Review of Che Wah Ho's Wenzi zhuzuo niandai xinzheng
  •  224
    Differentiation and Integration in Daoism (review)
    IIAS Newsletter 30 37. 2003.
    Review of Daoist Identity. History, Lineage, and Ritual, by Livia Kohn and Harold D. Roth.
  •  169
    The Wenzi in the Light of History and Archaeology (review)
    China Review International 8. 2002.
    Review of Le Wen zi à la lumière de l'histoire et de l'archéologie (The Wenzi in the Light of History and Archaeology), by Charles Le Blanc.
  •  218
    This chapter studies classifications of warfare in Master Wu, The Four Canons, and Master Wen. In sections one through three, I analyze the classifications in their original contexts. How do they relate to the texts in which they appear? In what way does each classification feed into the overall philosophy of the text? In section four, I compare the three classifications. What are their similarities and differences? In section five, I discuss the possibility of a relationship between the three c…Read more
  •  558
    Sun Tzu: The Art of War. A New Translation by Michael Nylan (review)
    Journal of Chinese Studies 74. 2022.
  • This chapter analyzes the anecdotes tradition of early China. It contains three parts. Part 1 is a case study of a single anecdote, which serves as a typical example of the thriving anecdotal tradition of early China, from the earliest Chinese narrative histories to the end of the Western Han Dynasty. Part 2 continues the case study by analyzing what happened to that single anecdote in texts from the Eastern Han Dynasty onwards, thereby illustrating the rapid decline of the anecdotes tradition o…Read more
  •  264
    Political Rhetoric in Early China
    with Elisa Sabattini
    Extrême-Orient Extrême-Occident 34. 2012.
    Early Chinese thought enjoys a wide appeal, in the scholarly world as much as elsewhere, as people are keen on learning about the ideas of Confucius, Mencius, and other thinkers whose views have shaped traditional Chinese culture. In the study of early Chinese thought, emphasis has long been on what thinkers said, not on how they proffered their views. Even studies that do consider the how, tend to focus on logic and argumentation, rather than rhetoric. Fortunately, in the past few decades growi…Read more
  •  315
    This paper is intended as a gateway to two 2000-year-old manuscripts of the Analects. The first two sections discuss the archaeological context of the discoveries and analyse the manuscripts themselves, including characteristic features of the bamboo strips and the texts inked thereon and notable differences between these and other Analects versions. In these sections, I also critically evaluate present-day Analects studies and offer alternative hypotheses where there is room for debate. The thi…Read more
  •  16
    Chinese Philosophy
    In Harry Willemsen (ed.), Woordenboek filosofie, Uitgeverij Van Gorcum. 1992.
    van Els, Paul. "Chinese filosofie" (Chinese Philosophy). In: Woordenboek filosofie, edited by Harry Willemsen and Peter de Wind, 90–91. Antwerpen & Apeldoorn: Garant, 2015.
  •  7
    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.
  •  13
    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.
  •  7
    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.
  •  12
    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.
  •  185
    Against Offensive Warfare
    Het 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.
  •  214
    Echoes of the Dao
    Het 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.
  •  170
    Humanitarian 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.
  •  148
    Leibniz: 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.
  •  157
    The 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.
  •  155
    A 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.
  •  209
    Accept 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.
  •  235
    Four 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.
  •  187
    Guest Editor's Introduction
    Contemporary 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
  •  194
    New 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.
  •  357
    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
  •  301
    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.
  • Anecdotes in Early China
    with Sarah A. Queen
    In Paul van Els & Sarah Ann Queen (eds.), Between History and Philosophy: Anecdotes in Early China, State University of New York Press. 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
  •  229
    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