NationStates Jolt Archive

Chinese philosophy came up in one of my more advanced classes this evening, and I don't recall ever having seen it discussed here. So, to get the ball rolling, I'll simply ask how read ya'll are in it. (There's a poll coming, although it'll limited in choices...)

ancient? modern?

I'm not. But then, I'm not particularly well-read in Western philosophy either...

Confucianism? or Taoism ??? or what.
its like saying western Philosophy when you say Chinese Philosophy. get a little more exact.

confucius say "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun"

Overall. And I buggered up the poll, damn it. Supposed to be multi-choice. (>.<)

oops you didnt make it a multiple choice poll. maybe a mod can edit?

confucius say "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun"

Heh... It's not often thaqt one sees Mao mixed up w/ Confucius...

I've read "The Tao of Pooh", but the only Chinese "philosopher" I've actually read is Sun Tzu.

confucius say "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun"
a revolution is not a tea party--lao tsu

I've read just some bits of Confucious. To sum it up, I know jack shit about Chinese philosophy.

a revolution is not a tea party--lao tsu

Hehe :)

i guess the mods arent on this morning. oh well

ive read them all plus some more modern people.

not that i remember everything about them all. as an amateur i read philosophy and take whatever ideas i find interesting and ignore the rest. i have no incentive to study them in a systematic way.

I've watched that episode of the pink panther with the Chinese philosophy robot yes :p

I'm wondering where Sun Tzu is?

I'm wondering where Sun Tzu is?
that would be the hsun tzu/xun zi option.

damned romanization systems.

Chinese philosophy came up in one of my more advanced classes this evening, and I don't recall ever having seen it discussed here. So, to get the ball rolling, I'll simply ask how read ya'll are in it.
I've studied, all too briefly, Confucius' Analects and delved into the Daodejing.

Being highly interested in virtue ethics, Confucius remains a big source of interest. To but it bluntly, he is, for me, a link between Eastern and Western philosophy.

Or, at least, a good way for someone trained in the Western analytic tradition to get into Eastern/Chinese philosophy.

I've studied, all too briefly, Confucius' Analects and delved into the Daodejing.

Being highly interested in virtue ethics, Confucius remains a big source of interest. To but it bluntly, he is, for me, a link between Eastern and Western philosophy.

Or, at least, a good way for someone trained in the Western analytic tradition to get into Eastern/Chinese philosophy.
i love confucianism. its an extremely powerful, stable way of organizing society.

thinking about it makes me want to write a scifi novel set in the future when we are all chinese (and all chinese are confucians)

that would be the hsun tzu/xun zi option.

damned romanization systems.

I totally missed that. Damned anglicized-Chinese non-pronounced letters.

I've read a little Lao Zi.

I totally missed that. Damned anglicized-Chinese non-pronounced letters.
i think its a conspiracy on the part of publishers who want to make you replace your library of chinese classics so you can be up on how all the names are spelled lately.

I know!...

Nothing about Chinese philosophy.

Mencius should be lumped in with Confucius. His thinking represents more of a subdivision of Confucianism.

I'm wondering where Sun Tzu is?

You don't see von Clausewitz in many books on western philosophy.

I have read Lao Tzu, some Confucius, various other Taoist and Buddhist texts from China, the Book of Changes, books on Chinese alchemy, books on military strategy and philosophy.

I'm wondering where Sun Tzu is?

technically he was a Taoist. he just applied the principles to the military strategy.

I've studied, all too briefly, Confucius' Analects and delved into the Daodejing.

the same here - i actually only read any confucius when a class i was TAing covered it

I've read the Lao-zi and the Zhuangzi, and some of Kongfuzi's Analects, plus The Art of War. This latter, however, I would hesitate to call philosophy; unlike it's Japanese counterpart, A Book of Five Rings, Sun Tzu's work is much more firmly a work of instruction and explanation, as opposed to reflection.

the same here - i actually only read any confucius when a class i was TAing covered it
If you're interested, I'd highly recommend The Analects of Confucius: A Philosophical Translation, translated by Roger Ames and Henry Rosemon.

Not only is it a fantastic translation, an incredibly accurate one if I believe correctly, it's got a great section on the philosophical and linguistic background of Confucius and his Analects, specifically written with students of the Western analytic tradition in mind.

i guess the mods arent on this morning. oh well

I've word that multi choice is not something they're able to edit in. Dang.

I'm wondering where Sun Tzu is?

Not enough room on the poll...

that would be the hsun tzu/xun zi option.

damned romanization systems.

Nooo. Hsun Tzu/Xun Zi and Sun Tzu/Sun Zi are different folks. Hsun Tzu (http://www.iep.utm.edu/x/xunzi.htm) is the Confucian philosopher who argued opposing view of human nature from Mencius - men are naturally bad. Sun Tzu is the Taoist military philosopher.

But yes, indeed. (Hsun is usually rendered with an umlat

I totally missed that. Damned anglicized-Chinese non-pronounced letters.

That's the problem with trying to Anglicize phonemes that don't exist in English.

Mencius should be lumped in with Confucius. His thinking represents more of a subdivision of Confucianism.

Mencius and Hsu Tzu represent two opposing schools of Confucianism. While one shouldn't take the comparisson too far, Confucius, Mencius, and Hsun Tzu might be somewhat analagous to Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau.

Forgot to tack on my list:
Confucius, Mencius, Hsun Tzu, Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Mo Tzu, and Sun Tzu.

I've read the Tao Te Ching, the I Ching, Sun Tzu's Art of War, and part of the Analects of Confucius.

Your poll is broken as you can only select one author.

It's all about the ancestors, BITCH.

Lee Kwan Yew is my favorite Chinese philosopher and the greatest living philosopher.

Your poll is broken as you can only select one author.

Thank you for that...

Overall. And I buggered up the poll, damn it. Supposed to be multi-choice. (>.<)

well read? not even close. better then my geustimate of the average norte americano joe sixpack? very probably yes. but enough for it to really mean anything? dubious, though i suppose possible.

fu tse, check, lao tsu, check (including wa hoo chaing, not just yee ging, check), that other guy toward the end of the list there i checked but can never remember his name, yup, i've read some of his stuff i came accross in a repository of such things on line.

the other's i don't recognize but might have. someone mentioned sun tzu, yup, i've read art of war too.

one problem though, i've only read amerenglish translations, and in most cases only one of each, so i'm not too sure i really got with their ancient authors really intended.

a lot of it's interesting. a lot of it is like what my own conclusions already are or would be anyway. and of course a lot of it isn't.

i still think the important thing about any phylosophy isn't who said what, but being honest with oneself about what makes sense in the context of their own experience and what each of us see around us.

(and in that i suspect only lao tsu would support me, if even him, but that is the sense i get out of it, out of, i forget the actual transliteration spelling, but i remember it looks to me like it's pronounced something like wah hoo chang)

Lee Kwan Yew is my favorite Chinese philosopher and the greatest living philosopher.
The ex-PM of Singapore?

I only read Sun Tzu so far. Maybe he is too popular?

I think it loses a lot as North Americans do not have the cultural references required for reading in depth. Why are Ancestors more important than Descendants? We need the Cliff notes version first, you have to start slow and work your way up.

Why is ancestor and predecessor the same thing and why is there no postdecessor?

The ex-PM of Singapore?
The one and only, I assume. Mayhapse of the Legalist school?

I would consider myself pretty ignorant of Chinese philosophy.

I have read the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu and the Analects of Confucius. I've also read a scattering of books related to Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.

I don't think Sun Tzu's Art of War is particularly philosophical and I personally found it rather unenlightening and uninteresting, but I have read it.

Shouldn't this be multiple choice?

Shouldn't this be multiple choice?

LOL

(Read the thread.)

Shouldn't this be multiple choice?

no.

Does reading a fortune cookie count?

no.

Heheh.

0% Read up on it.

Only thing I know is what I've heard others say.