https://www.scmp.com/rss/500194/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3190496/singapore-axes-anti-gay-law-bid-full-lgbtq-rights-asia-remains-long-fight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3190496/singapore-axes-anti-gay-law-bid-full-lgbtq-rights-asia-remains-long-fight?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Aug 2022 00:26:48 +0000 In a few days’ time, Muslims will celebrate Eid ul-Fitr to mark the end of Ramadan, the holy month in the Islamic calendar. Eid ul-Fitr is referred to by different names or variant pronunciations across the world’s Muslim communities, but these different names all share the basic meaning of a feast day celebrating the breaking of the fast. In Mandarin Chinese, it is called kaizhai jie. April saw the world’s three major monotheistic faiths observe important events in their individual religious... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3175765/why-chinese-buddhists-taoists-and-confucians?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3175765/why-chinese-buddhists-taoists-and-confucians?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Apr 2022 03:15:21 +0000 Growing Moral: A Confucian Guide to Life By Stephen C. Angle pub. Oxford University Press As its title suggests, Stephen C. Angle’s new book is not simply an introduction to Confucianism – although it functions very well as that – but a prospectus for it. Angle, professor of philosophy and East Asian Studies at Wesleyan University, in the United States, introduces a personal note at times, remarking on the impact his Confucian beliefs have had upon his own life. Nevertheless, he admits that in... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/books/article/3167678/confucianism-american-professor-and-believer-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/books/article/3167678/confucianism-american-professor-and-believer-its?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Feb 2022 11:15:12 +0000 The reports, published by the South China Morning Post, on the reluctance of young people in mainland China to have children suggest that their choice is chiefly informed by cost. To have children and provide them with proper care and good education involve prohibitive expenses that many young people in China just cannot afford. Many, therefore, choose to remain childless. Some of the more traditional-minded would trot out the hoary chestnut: “Of the three types of non-filial conduct, not... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3137524/3-ways-children-fail-their-parents-traditional?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3137524/3-ways-children-fail-their-parents-traditional?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Jun 2021 02:15:00 +0000 Not having any children means that I am spared the worry over their education, a bane that afflicts almost every parent I know – from the quality of schools and their proximity to their homes, to fretting over little Wing Sze’s grades or Wai Keung’s future prospects. Before the modern era, China had one of the most developed education systems in the world. The very first schools in ancient China were established by the state to educate sons of the high-born. Students at both elementary and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3132391/chinese-education-through-history-six-arts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3132391/chinese-education-through-history-six-arts?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 May 2021 00:45:12 +0000 What do Chinese people believe in? I think they believe in a set of private ethics. Private ethics are related to the gains or losses belonging to oneself and one’s small circle of friends and family, rather than on the greater social good. Chinese people often prefer to operate in ways that are ambiguous and flexible. This is why they often prefer to deal with matters by using personal relationships, rather than strict and clearly-defined public rules. For example, if someone receives a ticket... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/why-china-has-no-civil-society/article/3017837?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/why-china-has-no-civil-society/article/3017837?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Jul 2019 10:58:20 +0000 While China is modernizing fast, the societal pressure to get married continues to cling to tradition. For one, the Confucian view of marriage places the very foundation of society on nuclear family structures. And then there’s the traditional pressure to continue the family’s bloodline. Perhaps above all, parents get anxious when their children stay unmarried beyond their “shelf lives,” believing that their children are less likely to find a partner beyond their 20s, in many parts of China. So... https://www.scmp.com/identity/lgbt-folks-china-swiping-right-fake-straight-marriage/article/2155896?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/identity/lgbt-folks-china-swiping-right-fake-straight-marriage/article/2155896?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Jul 2018 06:00:30 +0000