Ann-Ping Chin in conversation with Jonathan Spence. They discuss her new book The Authentic Confucius: A Life of Thought and Politics.
Bio
Ann-Ping Chin
Ann-Ping Chin is a Professor of History at Yale.
She has written four books: The Authentic Confucius: A Life of Thought and Politics (Scribner, 2007); Four Sisters of Hofei (Scribner, 2002), a history of China's last century through the lives of four highly educated and accomplished women; Tai Chen on Mencius (Yale University Press, 1990), a study of eighteenth century Chinese intellectual history; and Children of China: Voices from Recent Years (Knopf, 1989), based on interviews with Chinese children living in the People's Republic of China. She has also co-authored, with Jonathan Spence, Chinese Century: A Photographic History of the Last Hundred Years (Random House, 1996).
Jonathan Spence
Professor Jonathan Spence teaches in the field of Chinese history from around 1600 to the present, and on Western images of China since the middle ages. His books include The Death of Woman Wang (1978); The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci (1984); The Question of Hu (1987); Chinese Roundabout: Essays on History and Culture; The Gate of Heavenly Peace: The Chinese and Their Revolution 1895-1980; The Chan's Great Continent: China in Western Minds; and God's Chinese Son (1994). His research often takes him to many Chinese Universities.
Jonathan Spence is president of the American Historical Association for the 2004-2005 term. Recognized as one of the foremost scholars of Chinese civilization from the 16th century to the present, Spence has written extensively on the role of history in shaping modern China. His critically acclaimed The Search for Modern China has become one of the standard texts on the last several hundred years of Chinese history. His recent works include a biography of Mao Zedong and Treason by the Book, exploring an intriguing episode of 18th-century history.
A native of England, Spence holds a bachelor's degree from Cambridge University and master's and doctoral degrees from Yale. He began teaching at Yale in 1965 and was named the Sterling Professor of History in 1993.
His many honors include the William C. DeVane Medal of the Yale Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa in 1978; the Los Angeles Times History Prize in 1982; and the Vursel Prize of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1983. Spence was named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1985. He was a MacArthur Fellow in 1988, and that year was appointed to the Council of Scholars at the Library of Congress.
In June 2001, he was made a Companion of the Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, an honor given by the Queen of England for outstanding achievement.
(born 551 BC, Ch'ü-fu, state of Ludied 479, Lu) Ancient Chinese teacher, philosopher, and political theorist. Born into a poor family, he managed stables and worked as a bookkeeper while educating himself. Mastery of the six artsritual, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and arithmeticand familiarity with history and poetry enabled him to begin a brilliant teaching career in his thirties. Confucius saw education as a process of constant self-improvement and held that its primary function was the training of noblemen (junzi). He saw public service as the natural consequence of education and sought to revitalize Chinese social institutions, including the family, school, community, state, and kingdom. He served in government posts, eventually becoming minister of justice in Lu, but his policies attracted little interest. After a 12-year self-imposed exile during which his circle of students expanded, he returned to Lu at age 67 to teach and write. His life and thoughts are recorded in the Lunyu (Analects). See alsoConfucianism.
These ideas came out after MAO, unfortunately She reads not, The Importance of Living by Lin Yutang, also Confucius is better understood when compared to Lao-Tzu, similar point in History, Also Mencius Confucius disciple. Here Questions are far too emotional, this is what Confucius wished to control, Social Philosopher, influenced by the Buddha! THREE PILLARS, CONFUCIUS, Lao-Tzu and Buddha! All three influence China long before Mao, now communism does not respect history they rewrite history to shape their ego. Ignorance of Communism, like Communist China and Tibet. Confucius never had a job problem, work was a life style not an occupation. THIS IS TYPICAL COMMUNIST CHINA SOFT POWER: All 13 Dynasties, the Chinese always Confucius, never lost that philosophy, Communism tries to take this attachment away from the People. Confucius promoted Thinking for yourself, this is not Communism. This women be littles Confucius, makes him out to be insignificant. Confucianism connected the question of world peace with the cultivation of our personal lives. The individual was important but Communist China says NO to this Confucius thinking! One needs to read Chuangtse Laotse, Mencius, The Art of Thinking is missing in Her discussion She misses the entire Chinese Philosophy, Very SAD, Communism stops original thinking, this is why Communist China has Spies all over the World, no creative original thinking, Communism kills creativity, so they steal info.!