The Useless Tree

From AcademicBlogs

The Useless Tree is written by Sam Crane, Professor at Williams College in the USA. The main theme of the blog is: "Ancient Chinese Thought in Modern American Life," but it would be more accurate to also include "Modern Chinese Life" in that title. Basically, the blog surveys daily news stories from the US and China - and ocassionally other countries (Singapore, South Korea, France, Japan, etc.) - and reflects on current affairs with the help of Confucian and Taoist (and sometimes Legalist) texts (The Analects, Mencius, the Tao Te Ching, Chuang Tzu, Han Fei Tzu). The great military strategist Sun Tzu also makes some appearances. The point is to demonstrate the contemporary relevance of ancient thought.