ThoughtGallery.org > Ethical Dilemmas: Religion and the Rebuilding of China’s Moral Foundations

Ethical Dilemmas: Religion and the Rebuilding of China’s Moral Foundations

Religion and traditional Chinese values did not do well in China during the years before Deng Xiaoping began to relax controls over society in 1978. Confucian philosophy was outlawed, and spiritual faith was harshly punished during the violent years of the Cultural Revolution. Over decades of political campaigns, the country’s traditional moral foundations were decimated. Today, religion is flourishing again, and the Communist Party is embracing Confucian thought. What impact is the spiritual revival having on ethics and politics in China today? Come hear Ian Johnson, author of the highly acclaimed book, The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao, in conversation with Tao Jiang, a scholar of Chinese thought at Rutgers University.

Ian Johnson is a Pulitzer-Prize winning writer focusing on society, religion, and history. He works out of Beijing and Berlin, where he also teaches and advises academic journals and think tanks. He is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books and The New York Times, and his work has also appeared in The New Yorker and National Geographic. Johnson has published three books and contributed chapters to three others. His newest book, The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao, describes China’s religious revival and its implications for politics and society.

Tao Jiang is the director of Center for Chinese Studies (http://rccs.rutgers.edu) and associate professor in the Religion Department at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. His primary research interest is classical Chinese thought, Mahāyāna Buddhist thought, and a comparative approach to ideas. He is the author of Contexts and Dialogue: Yogācāra Buddhism and Modern Psychology on the Subliminal Mind and the co-editor of The Reception and Rendition of Freud in China: China’s Freudian Slip. He is finishing a book manuscript on classical Chinese philosophy. Jiang co-directs the Rutgers Workshop on Chinese Philosophy and co-chairs the Neo-Confucian Studies Seminar at Columbia University.











When: Thu., Jun. 7, 2018 at 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Where: China Institute
100 Washington St.
212-744-8181
Price: Free
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Religion and traditional Chinese values did not do well in China during the years before Deng Xiaoping began to relax controls over society in 1978. Confucian philosophy was outlawed, and spiritual faith was harshly punished during the violent years of the Cultural Revolution. Over decades of political campaigns, the country’s traditional moral foundations were decimated. Today, religion is flourishing again, and the Communist Party is embracing Confucian thought. What impact is the spiritual revival having on ethics and politics in China today? Come hear Ian Johnson, author of the highly acclaimed book, The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao, in conversation with Tao Jiang, a scholar of Chinese thought at Rutgers University.

Ian Johnson is a Pulitzer-Prize winning writer focusing on society, religion, and history. He works out of Beijing and Berlin, where he also teaches and advises academic journals and think tanks. He is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books and The New York Times, and his work has also appeared in The New Yorker and National Geographic. Johnson has published three books and contributed chapters to three others. His newest book, The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao, describes China’s religious revival and its implications for politics and society.

Tao Jiang is the director of Center for Chinese Studies (http://rccs.rutgers.edu) and associate professor in the Religion Department at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. His primary research interest is classical Chinese thought, Mahāyāna Buddhist thought, and a comparative approach to ideas. He is the author of Contexts and Dialogue: Yogācāra Buddhism and Modern Psychology on the Subliminal Mind and the co-editor of The Reception and Rendition of Freud in China: China’s Freudian Slip. He is finishing a book manuscript on classical Chinese philosophy. Jiang co-directs the Rutgers Workshop on Chinese Philosophy and co-chairs the Neo-Confucian Studies Seminar at Columbia University.

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