The Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Ecumene
The rise of Asia, especially China, has raised a unique challenge for western political scientists in trying to understand and predict whether civilizational conflict and war will…
Order in Chinese Society: Analysing the Insights of Eric Voegelin and the Confucius Chun Tzu (Part II)
In Part I, the philosophical insights of Eric Voegelin were examined in the work of one of China’s greatest literary figures, Lu Xun. One of the most…
Order in Chinese Society: Analysing the Insight of Eric Voegelin and the Twentieth Century Writer, Lu Xun (Part I)
The aim here is to examine the ordering principle in Chinese society drawing on the philosophical insights of Eric Voegelin and one of China’s greatest literary figures…
How China Escaped the Poverty Trap
How China Escaped the Poverty Trap. Yeun Yuen Ang. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2016. How can poor and weak societies escape poverty traps? What comes…
China’s Reforms and Opening-Up: Since 1517
It was AD 1517. In China then, it was the twelfth year of Emperor Zhengde (1491-1521, reign 1505-1521) in the Ming dynasty. According to the traditional Chinese…
Eric Voegelin and Asia
Predictions of the West’s decline and the rise of Asia have been a recurrent theme in academia, policy studies, and journalism since the emergence of Japan as…
Ethical Dynasty
This examination of Asian culture covers the beliefs that fortified the ruling class while emphasizing those that stood the test of time and that have survived into…
Eric Voegelin’s Asian Political Thought
The rise of Asia in global affairs has forced western thinkers to rethink their assumptions, theories, and conclusions about the region. Eric Voegelin’s Asian Political Thought brings…
Confucian Values in the East Asian Economic Development
The rise of East Asian economies over the past thirty years has mesmerized the world and has garnered attention and inquiries to help explain the phenomenon. Since…
Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution: In Theory and Impact
Introduction Across the globe, the 20th century witnessed several instances of tyrannical regimes and leaders; Chairman Mao Zedong was argued by many to have been one of…
Whither the Growth of Freedom in China? A Postscript to China’s Quest for Liberty
It is a new old book. China’s Quest for Liberty: A Personal History of Freedom was due to be out five years ago. Without the help of…
The Poland of Asia: Korea and the March 1st Movement
Today marks the one hundredth anniversary of the March 1st Movement, which sparked the Korean resistance to Japanese colonial rule (1910-45) and now is celebrated in South…
China’s Hegemony: Four Hundred Years of East Asian Domination
China’s Hegemony: Four Hundred Years of East Asian Domination. Ji-Young Lee. New York: Columbia University Press, 2017. In spite of its status as the sole great…
Symbolic Forms, Political Ideas and the Encounter of Civilizations
The following reflections are a hermeneutical exercise in intercivilizational interpretation. They are undertaken in order to clarify some important problems that arise in the course of comparative…
Jaded Mandarin? Mo Yan’s Search for Order in a People’s Republic
A cursory glance at the news coming out of China is sufficient to let us know all is not well with the People’s Republic. Workers protest against…
