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6Does Confucianism Need a Metaphysical Theory of Human Nature?In James Behuniak (ed.), Appreciating the Chinese Difference: Engaging Roger T. Ames on Methods, Issues, and Roles, Suny Press. pp. 183-201. 2018.
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5Moral Cultivation and Confucian Character: Engaging Joel J. Kupperman (edited book)State University of New York Press. 2014.In this volume, leading scholars in Asian and comparative philosophy take the work of Joel J. Kupperman as a point of departure to consider new perspectives on Confucian ethics. Kupperman is one of the few eminent Western philosophers to have integrated Asian philosophical traditions into his thought, developing a character-based ethics synthesizing Western, Chinese, and Indian philosophies. With their focus on Confucian ethics, contributors respond, expand, and engage in critical dialogue with …Read more
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3Practical Humanism of XU FuguanIn Chung-Ying Cheng & Nicholas Bunnin (eds.), Contemporary Chinese Philosophy, Wiley-blackwell. 2002.This chapter contains section titled: The Sense of Anxiety and the Heart—Mind Culture Bodily Recognition and Embodiment: A Methodology of Chinese Learning Confucian Government by Virtue and Democracy The Chinese Aesthetic Spirit.
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6Mencius’s Theory as a System of the Gongfu to Be Human and to Live a Good Human LifeIn Yang Xiao & Kim-Chong Chong (eds.), Dao Companion to the Philosophy of Mencius, Springer. pp. 469-490. 2023.Mencius’s theory of the gongfu (or art) to be human and live a human life is not just a part of his philosophy, but an overall approach of his philosophy. That is, the primary purpose of his philosophy is to guide people along the right path of life rather than to offer a truth-telling account of reality. Understanding this fact has implications on how Mencius should be interpreted. It resolves puzzling purported logical fallacies in the text of Mencius, and makes Mencius more coherent, intellig…Read more
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Life as aesthetic creativity and appreciation : the Confucian aim of learningIn Peter D. Hershock & Roger T. Ames (eds.), Human beings or human becomings?: a conversation with Confucianism on the concept of person, State University of New York Press. 2021.
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15The Confucian Way of Family under the Gongfu 功夫 Perspective – A Re-description (II)Journal of Chinese Philosophy 49 (2): 163-173. 2022.Unlike typical journal articles that deal with specific issues in detail, this article offers a sketchy comprehensive re-description of the Confucian Way of family that serves the purpose of providing a bird’s-eye view to grasp the fact that, for Confucianism, family is not merely a part of the puzzle of human life, nor merely an ontological entity that serves as the foundation of the Confucian theory, but more a “Way” of living or gongfu 功夫 that comprised of values toward which cultivation of t…Read more
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10The Confucian Way of Family under the Gongfu 功夫 Perspective – A Re-description (I)Journal of Chinese Philosophy 49 (1): 74-82. 2022.Unlike typical journal articles that deal with specific issues in detail, this article offers a sketchy comprehensive re-description of the Confucian Way of family that serves the purpose of providing a bird’s-eye view to grasp the fact that, for Confucianism, family is not merely a part of the puzzle of human life, nor merely an ontological entity that serves as the foundation of the Confucian theory, but more a “Way” of living or gongfu 功夫 (aka kung fu) that comprised of values toward which cu…Read more
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17A Journey to the Way of Gongfu: An Intellectual AutobiographyJournal of World Philosophies 6 (2): 159-170. 2021.Growing out of traumatic life experiences in youth, the author started his lifelong journey in studying and practicing philosophy during the turbulent Cultural Revolution in China. The path took him from a “secret library” in the Worker’s Union Office of a steel plant to universities in China and the US; from seeking personal healing to becoming a public intellectual; from pursuing enlightenment in western philosophies to re-discovering his own Chinese cultural heritage; and from learning to thi…Read more
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IntroductionIn Chenyang Li & Peimin Ni (eds.), Moral Cultivation and Confucian Character: Engaging Joel J. Kupperman, State University of New York Press. pp. 1-13. 2014.
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22Theories of the Heart-mind and Human Nature in the Context of Globalization of Confucianism TodayDao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 20 (1): 25-47. 2021.About 60 years ago, Tang Junyi 唐君毅, Mou Zongsan 牟宗三, Xu Fuguan 徐復觀, and Zhang Junmai 張君勱 published “A Manifesto for a Reappraisal of Sinology and Reconstruction of Chinese Culture.” In the Manifesto, these major representatives of contemporary New Confucianism tried to rectify Westerners’ biases and reestablish Chinese people’s cultural confidence by upholding the Confucian learning of the heart-mind as the core of Chinese culture. Following the same approach, some prominent scholars today conti…Read more
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13Philosophy of Gongfu Revealed through Confucius: Responses to Chenyang L i and Huaiyu W ang ’s Comments on My Book Confucius: The Man and the Way of GongfuDao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 17 (2): 267-276. 2018.
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17Can Bad Guys have Good gongfu?—A Preliminary Exploration of gongfu EthicsJournal of Chinese Philosophy 43 (1-2): 9-31. 2016.This paper tries to explore a gongfu ethics on the basis of traditional Chinese ethical theories. Used in the sense that the Song-Ming Neo-Confucians did, “gongfu” means the art of life in general and not merely the martial arts, although martial arts can be taken as a paradigm example of gongfu. The paper begins with the question “can bad guys have good gongfu,” which leads to three answers, each representing one stage of the dynamic relationship between morality and gongfu: The first is yes, s…Read more
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21Deliberate One-sidedness as a Method of Doing Philosophy: Reflections on Rosemont’s View of the PersonComparative Philosophy 9 (1). 2018.As one of the most influential comparative philosophers of our time, Henry Rosemont, Jr. is known for his unrelenting criticisms against Western libertarian ideas, and for advocating ideas derived from classic Confucian thought. One of the criticisms against him is that his views are one-sided, and hence unfair to Western libertarian ideas. In this paper, I argue that Rosemont’s one-sidedness is deliberate. His theory is not intended to be a balanced account. I will illustrate that Rosemont’s wa…Read more
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Book Review (review)Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 7 473-476. 2008.Yu Xuanmeng 俞宣孟, and He Xirong 賀錫榮, ed., Exploring the Root and Seeking for the Origin : Essays from a New Round of Comparative Studies of Chinese and Western Philosophy 探根尋源: 新一輪中西哲學比較研究論集 Shanghai 上海: Shanghai Yiwen Chubanshe 上海譯文出版社, 2005
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42Y u Xuanmeng 俞宣孟, and H e xirong 賀錫榮, ed., exploring the root and seeking for the origin : Essays from a new round of comparative studies of chinese and western philosophy 探根尋源: 新一輪中西哲學比較研究論集Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 7 (4): 473-476. 2008.
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57Do Not Take Confucians as Kantians: Comments on Liu Qingping’s Interpretation of Confucian TeachingsDao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 7 (1): 45-49. 2008.LIU Qingping’s criticism of Confucian teachings of filial piety, though valuable in stimulating critical attitude toward classic Confucianism, is largely based on misinterpreting Confucians as Kantians. The article tries to show that, unlike the Kantian rule-oriented ethic that provides universal ethical principles, Confucianism focuses on the process of person-making, and the teachings of classic Confucianism are more like gongfu instructions than moral principles. Looking from the gongfu pers…Read more
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61A qigong interpretation of confucianismJournal of Chinese Philosophy 23 (1): 79-97. 1996.Against the overly intellectualistic reading of Confucianism, this paper argues for understanding Confucianism from the perspective of qigong (or gongfu) cultivation that aims at increasing the abilities to lead a good life.
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11Review of The Golden Rule by Jeffrey Wattles (review)Philosophy East and West 49 (2): 214-215. 1999.
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37Confucius Making the Way Great, Rediscovering China SeriesShanghai Translation Publishing House. 2010.Through a systematic "gongfu" reading of Confucius, this book shows how Confucius' ideas are different from dogmatized or overly intellectualistic understandings of Confucianism and how the Master s insights can be a rich resource for re-enchanting the world and the contemporary life. Review: The book is a thoughtful and inspiring presentation of Confucianism as arguably the longest and most influential ethical and spiritual traditions in human history. It is highly readable with many insightful…Read more
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39Teaching Chinese Philosophy On-SiteTeaching Philosophy 22 (3): 281-292. 1999.Despite consistent student interest in Chinese philosophy, the author reports that American students tend to demonstrate a sense of distance from Chinese authors and texts, often exoticizing or romanticizing them. This paper describes one pedagogical strategy that proved highly effective for overcoming this cultural distance which can hinder students’ ability to engage critically or deeply with the material. The author recounts her experience of teaching a six week Chinese philosophy course to i…Read more
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2Hume and the Definition of "Cause"Dissertation, The University of Connecticut. 1991.The thesis aims at analyzing metaphysical implications of the ordinary concept of "cause". The approach is justified through a discussion of Hume's theory of causation, accompanied by discussions about the nature of definition itself. ;Four major metaphysical problems of causation are discussed: The ontological status of cause ; the temporal relation between causes and effects ; the direction of causation ; and causal necessity . ;Through analytical discussions of the existing literatures on tho…Read more
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67Reading Zhongyong as a Gongfu instruction: Comments on Focusing the familiarDao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 3 (2): 189-203. 2004.Roger Ames and David Hall’s Focusing the Falimiar makes a significant contribution to revealing the holistic and dynamic worldview entailed in the Confucian classic--the Zhongyong. Yet their emphasis on metaphysics eclipses an important dimension of the book—the “gongfu” (kungfu) instruction dimension. In this paper, the author first explains this concern by discussing Ames’ and Hall’s translation of the key terms of the book, namely “zhong,” “yong,” and “cheng.” Then he shows that their work, t…Read more
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31Rectify the Heart-Mind for the Art of Living: a Gongfu Perspective on the Confucian Approach to DesirePhilosophy East and West 64 (2): 340-359. 2014.Different from the commonly used moralistic perspective, this article articulates and evaluates major ideas about human desire within the Confucian tradition through a gongfu perspective, and shows that, although there are historical reasons for blaming Confucianism for suppressing human desires and suffocating humanity, what classic Confucianism advocates is ultimately about how to cultivate humanity, transform human desires, and live artistically, and not imposing a rigid normative moral syste…Read more
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8Confucius: The Man and the Way of GongfuRowman & Littlefield Publishers. 2016.Through a systematic introduction of Confucius as a historical figure, a spiritual leader, a philosopher, a political reformer, an educator, and a person, this book offers a comprehensive, lucid, and in-depth articulation of Confucius and his teachings for Western students.
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35The Changing Status of Chinese PhilosophyJournal of Chinese Philosophy 40 (3-4): 583-600. 2013.The article tries to stress the historical nature of the issue about the “legitimacy of Chinese philosophy.” It argues that we are facing an era in which the question will no longer be whether the thoughts of traditional Chinese masters can be comfortably adopted by a foreign “family”; instead, it will be whether we can make the marriage of Chinese traditional thoughts and Western philosophy a constructive process through which philosophy, whether Chinese or Western, can be rejuvenated with rene…Read more
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143How far is Confucius an Aristotelian?: Comments on May Sim’s Remastering Morals with Aristotle and ConfuciusDao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 8 (3): 311-319. 2009.The paper tries to point out that while May Sim’s book is helpful for stimulating critical and systematic comparative study of Aristotle and Confucius, its overly Aristotelian approach results in the author’s misleading assessment of Confucius and Confucianism. Because Confucianism aims primarily at offering systematic instructions of how to live a good life, and not at establishing a theory or finding truth, the true value of Confucianism would be eclipsed if he is taken against an Aristotelian…Read more
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12On ConfuciusWadsworth. 2002.This brief text assists students in understanding Confucius' philosophy and thinking so they can more fully engage in useful, intelligent class dialogue and improve their understanding of course content. Part of the Wadsworth Notes Series,, ON CONFUCIUS is written by a philosopher deeply versed in the philosophy of this key thinker. Like other books in the series, this concise book offers sufficient insight into the thinking of a notable philosopher, better enabling students to engage in reading…Read more
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747Seek and You Will Find It; Let Go and You Will Lose It: Exploring a Confucian Approach to Human DignityDao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 13 (2): 173-198. 2014.While the concept of Menschenwürde (universal human dignity) has served as the foundation for human rights, it is absent in the Confucian tradition. However, this does not mean that Confucianism has no resources for a broadly construed notion of human dignity. Beginning with two underlying dilemmas in the notion of Menschenwürde and explaining how Confucianism is able to avoid them, this essay articulates numerous unique features of a Confucian account of human dignity, and shows that the Confuc…Read more
Areas of Specialization
17th/18th Century Philosophy |
Asian Philosophy |
Areas of Interest
Epistemology |
Philosophy of Action |