Confucian figures should take part in creating peaceful election: VP

February 12, 2024

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Vice President (VP) Ma'ruf Amin appealed to Confucian figures to play a role in creating peaceful election when delivering an online speech at the 2575 Kongzili Chinese New Year National Celebration at Balai Samudera here on Monday.

"I invite all parties to participate in making this important national agenda a success. Confucian religious figures should play a bigger role in supporting calm and peaceful elections," Amin remarked.

Source: https://en.antaranews.com/news/305679/confucian-figures-should-take-part-in-creating-peaceful-election-vp

WOMEN OF THE RED DRAGON: CHINESE MYTHOLOGY AS A CATALYST FOR FEMINISM

February 9, 2024

The male gaze defines Chinese women as adorable and docile lotus blossoms–that is, subservient and shy women created for the pleasure of men. Make no mistake, though: There are many powerhouse feminists in Chinese mythology who have reiterated for centuries that Asian women are not play-things. Mythological women such as Bai Mudan and Chinese goddesses Nuwa and Mazu combat objectification and redefine age-old narratives...

Game changer: How mahjong helped Jewish and Asian Americans overcome racism

July 13, 2021

(RNS) — A century ago, marginalized Americans seeking to be assimilated into the country’s “melting pot” gravitated to an Asian game of chance that one Chinese critic considered to be as morally dangerous as footbinding and opium.

Today, a new book on mahjong and its cultural journey in the U.S. suggests that there is much to learn from the game’s history, particularly how to put the rising anti-Asian and anti-Jewish hatred of our time in context.

Mahjong was born in mid- to late-19th-century Chinese gambling houses, where men clacked its game tiles, bearing...

Aging for Amateurs: More about masks and Confucius on noble behavior

June 21, 2021

A letter to the editor of this newspaper two weeks ago described mask-wearing in fully vaccinated folks as protecting the mask-wearers from unvaccinated people. That’s true, but it also protects the unvaccinated from the rare but possible spread of COVID-19 from fully vaccinated individuals (who might or might not have symptoms).

The letter writer also talked about wearing a mask since the beginning of the pandemic to keep from spreading COVID-19 in the event that she was an asymptomatic carrier, before vaccines were available. The letter writer’s behavior brought to mind what...

Colorado State University to close its Confucius Institute on June 30

June 18, 2021

Colorado State University’s Confucius Institute will close its doors for good on June 30.

The Institute has been operating since 2012 and was “a leading provider of Mandarin language and cultural programming in Northern Colorado,” according to CSU.

CSU said its decision to close the Institute followed the passing of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, which prevents the Department of Defense from giving funds to “an institution of higher education that hosts a Confucius Institute” unless the funds are provided directly to students as assistance....