'The Confucian Analects' - A Fresh Look at A Classic from Ancient China
Thu Oct 27, 11:00 AM - Thu Oct 27, 12:30 PM

About The Lecture:

Confucius was the founder of Chinese education, learning, and culture.
He is often said to have put great emphasis on rituals, ceremonies, and
politeness. However, a look into records of cultured persons whom
Confucius judged reveal something different: An attitude of learning and
politeness was in the times of Confucius often used to disguise
atrocious and terrifying acts. The stories that were told about many of
his most educated contemporaries in ancient Chinese sources are full of
illicit sex, blood, and murder.

By retelling some of these stories, this talk will take a fresh look at the “Confucian Analects,” the most important book that young men and women in traditional China (and surrounding Asian countries) were brought up with. Although more than a dozen translations have been made into English within the last thirty years, it still remains full of unsolved riddles and passages, the
meaning of which can be grasped only by a very attentive reader.

About The Guest Speaker:

Dr. Hans van Ess: studied Sinology, Turkic Studies, and philosophy in Hamburg and Shanghai, and received his Ph.D. in 1992. He held an assistant position at the University of Heidelberg from 1995 to 1998. In 1998 he took over a chair at the Institute for Sinology at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich. Since 2013 he has been Vice-President for International Affairs at LMU, and since 2019 he has served as Vice-President for Research. His most important recent publications include Die 101 wichtigsten Fragen. China ("The 101 Most Important Questions: China", München: C.H. Beck 2008), Hu Hong. Worte Kennen. Zhiyan ("Hu Hong, Knowing Words – Zhiyan", Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig: Verlag der Weltreligionen 2009) and Der Daoismus. Von Laozi bis heute ("Taoism: From Laozi to Today", München: C.H. Beck 2011).

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