China's New Confucianism: Politics and Everyday Life in a Changing Society
"This revival is the subject of political philosopher Daniel A. Bell's trenchant and surprisingly personalChina's New Confucianism. Bell was the first foreigner hired since the Cultural Revolution to teach humanities at Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University; one of the few Western professors in the country, he enjoys a unique outsider/insider perspective."--Michael Levitin,Los Angeles Times Book Review"This interesting and insightful volume by Bell offers an insider's account of a rapidly changing society in China and seeks to debunk a variety of crude stereotypes of Confucians."--S.K. Ma,Choice"Bell, who teaches politics at Beijing's crack Tsinghua University, is well placed to comment on changing Chinese attitudes. He detects signs of a reviving interest in, and practice of, pre-communist traditions, whether in the lecture hall, in the streets, or inside karaoke bars...China's New Confucianismwisely refrains from any grand schematic overview. Rather, this is an informed and thoughtful interim response to an important contemporary trend."--Justin Wintle,The Independent"In [China's New Confucianism], [Bell] talks about such subjects as why Communist Party leaders invoke centuries-old Confucian values now? Why do senior communist leaders dye their hair black? Why the Chinese view that human rights should not have priority over national sovereignty? The adventurous professor even talks about why sexual intercourse with karaoke bar girls in China is often preceded by singing a duet. Bell draws on various social scenes in today's China and provides a Confucian explanation...In the book, Bell offers his personal observations on some Western 'misunderstandings' about China."--Sunny Lee,Asia Times Online"Daniel Bell has been able to breathe fresh life into an ancient and one largely-dismissed subject--and by doing so, has shown readers the possible benefits of the reintroduction of parts of Confucianism into modern Chinese society.China's New Confucianismis a great reminder of the wisdom--as well as some of the prejudices--of previous generations of thinkers and leaders."--Kit Gillet,China International Business"[C]hina's New Confucianismis certainly provocative. . . . Mr. Bell succeeds in using Confucianism to explicate everyday phenomena, but he is most convincing in political theory."--April Rabkin,Far Eastern Economic Review"This is an informative and entertaining book on the problems and challenges of contemporary China. . . . [I]t is learned, sensible, and heartfelt."--On-cho Ng,Centre Daily Times"China's New Confucianismstands out for not conforming to a preordained Western conceptual framework. The personal anecdotes are interesting and Bell displays cultural sensitivity throughout."--Lanxin Xiang,Survival"Daniel Bell is winningly realistic about the difficulties involved in adapting Confucian practices to a more egalitarian world and uniquely capable as a scholar in this area. . . . Bell's scholarly discussions . . . draw on a subtle and wide-ranging grasp of the classics of Chinese political philosophy."--Brian Walker,China Quarterly