标签：freedom

A Second Discussion of Fang Yaohan: Wild Animals and Freedom of Speech

Culture & Public Commentary2012.02.01
A Second Discussion of Fang Yaohan: Wild Animals and Freedom of Speech
Some people say the Han Han affair is yet another diversion of public attention: there are so many major matters concerning the national economy and people’s livelihoods worth following, yet internet users are gathered around such a boring little incident. In my view, although Fang Jiaozhu’s performance was boring, paying attention to this event is by no means unimportant. Because for our present environment, this question is no less secondary than any other: what exactly is freedom of speech? Many people will say that even if Fang Zhouzi said something wrong, he should not be punished by law, because to protect freedom of speech, one cannot punish someone for their…
culture China scholarship freedom
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2012年2月1日
“The Kingly Way” — The Road to the Supreme Good

Chinese Civilization & the Way of Chinese2012.01.26
“The Kingly Way” — The Road to the Supreme Good
You can read this article as a continuation of this earlier one: Freedom vs. Equality—I Am a Right-Wing Socialist In that essay I expressed a certain resistance to “equality”: equality in the sense of a condition for freedom, or equality as the rules that must be observed for the game of competition to unfold—those senses of equality I certainly support. But equality for equality’s sake, taking equality as a principle, is not something I agree with. So if one does not champion equality, must one necessarily tolerate “inequality”? Not necessarily. One reason for opposing “equality” is that it is an overly abstract concept; in fact, equality always requires a standard…
philosophy China freedom autobiography
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2012年1月26日
Freedom vs. Equality — I Am a Right-Wing Socialist

Enlightenment & the Spirit of Freedom2012.01.17
Freedom vs. Equality — I Am a Right-Wing Socialist
Last month I posted an article talking about my impressions of the two Wu teachers’ gathering, and as a result a commenter who was criticizing Professor Wu Tong showed up and we exchanged several rounds in the thread below. It’s not that I absolutely had to defend Professor Wu Tong; after all, my dealings with him have mostly been public and not much private, and I wouldn’t dare pound my chest and guarantee that he himself is beyond reproach. But taking the matter strictly on its merits, and judging only from the circumstances presented by the accuser, I still couldn’t help wanting to defend him: not only Professor Wu Tong,…
freedom autobiography value politics
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2012年1月17日
Love of Wisdom and Patriotism

Life & Notes2011.12.17
Love of Wisdom and Patriotism
Yesterday the two Wu teachers had a gathering, and Old Wu [Bei Wu laoshi] got quite drunk and launched into a grand speech. Unlike when he is drunk in other settings, he said many things that he would only say in front of his disciples. Teacher Wu mentioned that, during his lifetime, he would certainly PUSH us; gold always shines in the end, but don’t count on Teacher Wu living too long—we have to make a name for ourselves within fifteen years… (Although Teacher Wu said drunkenness means speaking logically, in fact there were still some problems at the level of logic.) In the end, Teacher Wu came to the…
philosophy China scholarship freedom
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2011年12月17日
Politics Is Dispute—Starting from the Smoke-Free Campus

Culture & Public Commentary2011.11.03
Politics Is Dispute—Starting from the Smoke-Free Campus
I don’t know when the sign “This campus is a smoke-free school” was first hung at Peking University’s gate. I once even saw security guards seriously stop people who were coming in with cigarettes in their mouths. Today, in the midst of the poisonous haze (November 1), I noticed this sign again, so I’ll jot down a few thoughts while I’m at it~ I don’t smoke, and I don’t like other people smoking around me. But I do not support a “smoke-free campus.” In particular, a “smoke-free Peking University” is even worse. Because a smoking ban runs counter to freedom. Smoking is harmful, and it affects other people’s physical and…
culture China freedom commentary
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2011年11月3日
Is the University a Public Sphere? — Further Thoughts on Publicly Posting Grades and Publicly Critiquing Assignments

History of Science & Scholarship2011.10.10
Is the University a Public Sphere? — Further Thoughts on Publicly Posting Grades and Publicly Critiquing Assignments
It’s once again time for grading in the history of science survey course. This course has always had the tradition of publishing grades, and this time should be no exception. Of course, I seem to be getting softer and softer lately; the harsh roasting of bad assignments may more likely be shifted into private messages rather than being publicly posted under real names. But the excellent students still absolutely deserve public praise. Last year I explained: Why post the grades? Now that I’ve recently finished reading Arendt, it may be worth giving that earlier account a further interpretation. It is said that American universities place enormous emphasis on “privacy”; information…
scholarship freedom public sphere university
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2011年10月10日
Arendt Reading Notes

Culture & Public Commentary2011.09.28
Arendt Reading Notes
Finally finished reading Arendt’s The Human Condition, and feel immensely relieved… Let me make some notes.. Wang Yinli’s Chinese translation of The Human Condition is basically pretty good. Though I didn’t compare it line by line with the English original, on the whole I could make sense of it, and there probably won’t be any major misunderstandings. The problem, however, is that her translation is still rather awkward. In the translator’s afterword, she also writes that she follows the principle of “literal translation,” saying that “literal translation has already become a consensus in the translation of academic works,” and so she tries not to change the original word order. I…
book reading notes freedom Aristotle
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2011年9月28日
What Is Democracy? Livelihood? Equality? Democracy Is Article 35 of the Constitution

Culture & Public Commentary2011.03.02
What Is Democracy? Livelihood? Equality? Democracy Is Article 35 of the Constitution
This article had been planned before winter vacation, but in a moment of inattention it has dragged on until now. Let me finish a section first: I previously posted a status update, and although it seemed to get stuck on follow5 for quite a while, it finally synced successfully: “In my view, democracy is neither universal suffrage nor some kind of equality. Democracy is Article 35 of the Constitution. Freedom of speech and freedom of association. That is the core of democracy. Electoral systems and distributive systems are separate issues. Democracy is a matter of power, not of rights.” There were a few replies on the school intranet, but…
culture freedom democracy trust
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2011年3月2日
The benevolent are invincible: some associations

Culture & Public Commentary2010.10.09
The benevolent are invincible: some associations
Sensitive words have won the Sensitive Nobel Prize; in any case, that is worth celebrating. Unfortunately, China still seems not to have a “citizen” who has won the Sensitive Nobel Prize. A lot of classmates on the campus network have once again dug up Mr. Sensitive Word’s “final statement” from the eve of last Christmas to share. It was titled “I Have No Enemies,” and of course the relevant information was quickly harmonized. I ought to have reposted this article, but for the safety of my blog, I decided against it. To express remembrance and respect, I will at least quote one line here; I won’t note the source, since…
culture freedom politics Confucianism
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2010年10月9日
The Political Mission of College Students?

Culture & Public Commentary2010.06.03
The Political Mission of College Students?
A few days ago I discussed this question with someone: is a college student’s mission to study diligently, or should one play some kind of political role? Of course, a university is not merely a vocational technical school; it is not meant to cultivate “talent” but to cultivate “persons,” and as a fully developed person, one naturally includes one’s social and political role as well as one’s historical mission. There is no question about that. However, when students bring up college students’ political role, what comes to mind are only all kinds of thunderous “student movements”; in other words, if one says that students should bear a political mission, it…
culture scholarship freedom politics
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2010年6月3日