Paul van Els
Leiden University, Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS), Faculty Member
- I am a university lecturer at the Institute for Area Studies of Leiden University in The Netherlands. My area of expe... moreI am a university lecturer at the Institute for Area Studies of Leiden University in The Netherlands. My area of expertise is early Chinese thought. That is, I study Chinese philosophical texts, thinkers, and traditions from the centuries leading up to the beginning of the Common Era. More information is available at http://paulvanels.nledit
This book contains translations of roughly fifty statements attributed to Confucius. Each statement is followed by an explanation and a reflection on how Confucius can continue to inspire, whether it's on the importance of learning or... more
This book contains translations of roughly fifty statements attributed to Confucius. Each statement is followed by an explanation and a reflection on how Confucius can continue to inspire, whether it's on the importance of learning or rituals, self-examination and self-improvement, or virtuous leadership.
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The Wenzi is a Chinese philosophical text that enjoyed considerable prestige in the centuries following its creation, over two-thousand years ago. When questions regarding its authenticity arose, the text was branded a forgery and... more
The Wenzi is a Chinese philosophical text that enjoyed considerable prestige in the centuries following its creation, over two-thousand years ago. When questions regarding its authenticity arose, the text was branded a forgery and consigned to near oblivion. The discovery of an age-old Wenzi manuscript, inked on strips of bamboo, refueled interest in the text. In this combined study of the bamboo manuscript and the received text, Van Els argues that they belong to two distinct text traditions as he studies the date, authorship, and philosophy of each tradition, as well as the reception history of the received text. This study sheds light on text production and reception in Chinese history, with its changing views on authorship, originality, authenticity, and forgery, both past and present.
Research Interests: Chinese Philosophy, Daoist Philosophy, Daoism, Chinese Philology, Taoism (History), and 19 moreTaoism (Philosophy), Classical Chinese Philosophy, Taoism, Warring States (Chinese) Thought, Zhuangzi, Daoism, Taoism, Early Chinese Philosophy, Taoismo, early Chinese thought, Wenzi, Chinese thought, Traditional Chinese Philosophy, Ancient Chinese Philosophy, Chinese Political Thought, Daoist studies, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Daoism, Ancient Chinese Thought and Philosophy, Classical Daoism, Development of Taoism, and Early Chinese Philosophy and Literature
Between History and Philosophy is the first book-length study in English to focus on the rhetorical functions and forms of anecdotal narratives in early China. Edited by Paul van Els and Sarah A. Queen, this volume advances the thesis... more
Between History and Philosophy is the first book-length study in English to focus on the rhetorical functions and forms of anecdotal narratives in early China. Edited by Paul van Els and Sarah A. Queen, this volume advances the thesis that anecdotes — brief, freestanding accounts of single events involving historical figures, and occasionally also unnamed persons, animals, objects, or abstractions — served as an essential tool of persuasion and meaning-making within larger texts. Contributors to the volume analyze the use of anecdotes from the Warring States Period to the Han Dynasty, including their relations to other types of narrative, their circulation and reception, and their central position as a mode of argumentation in a variety of historical and philosophical genres.
Research Interests: Chinese Philosophy, Chinese Studies, Chinese Language and Culture, Chinese Politics, Ancient Chinese Texts, and 11 moreClassical Chinese literature, Early China, Chinese history (History), Chinese literature, Early Chinese History, Warring States (Chinese) Thought, Early Chinese Philosophy, Chinese thought, Early Chinese texts, Ancient Chinese Philosophy, and Chinese Political Thought
This article analyzes Mencius 7B.23, a concise passage that offers complex ethical dilemmas. It provides a close reading of the passage, along with relevant passages elsewhere in the text and, occasionally, in other texts. The narrow goal... more
This article analyzes Mencius 7B.23, a concise passage that offers complex ethical dilemmas. It provides a close reading of the passage, along with relevant passages elsewhere in the text and, occasionally, in other texts. The narrow goal of the article is to present a coherent reading of the passage within the context of the Mencius as a whole. This reading suggests that while the passage touches upon a wide range of topics, including personal credibility and political responsibility, the overarching concern is on being a morally superior person, on the difficult dilemmas such people may face, and on how they would respond to them. More broadly, the article shows that while the philosophical practice of "weighing circumstances" (quan 權) allows moral agents in exceptional cases to break certain moral or ritual rules, Mencius seems unwilling to apply this discretion when morality as a whole, or the integrity of the person who embodies it (shi 士), are involved.
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The Art of War (or Sun Tzu) abounds with practical strategic and tactical advice which, while intended for use in warfare, can be applied to almost any professional or personal crisis or conflict. In recent decades this ancient Chinese... more
The Art of War (or Sun Tzu) abounds with practical strategic and tactical advice which, while intended for use in warfare, can be applied to almost any professional or personal crisis or conflict. In recent decades this ancient Chinese military classic has been adapted for a variety of non-military purposes in fields as diverse as trade, law, sports, and love. Intrigued by the text's seemingly limitless applicability, this article analyzes when, where, why, and how present-day adapters applied the ancient military text to modern non-military issues. The article also reflects on the value of Art of War adaptations , especially vis-à-vis translations, as it highlights the diverse ways in which an age-old Chinese text is made relevant to modern readers worldwide.
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In this introductory chapter of the book Between History and Philosophy, Paul van Els and Sarah A. Queen discuss characteristic features of early Chinese anecdotes. They first outline a more general understanding of anecdotes, based on... more
In this introductory chapter of the book Between History and Philosophy, Paul van Els and Sarah A. Queen discuss characteristic features of early Chinese anecdotes. They first outline a more general understanding of anecdotes, based on scholarly literature that focuses predominantly on anecdotes in German, English, and other European languages. Then, they analyze how anecdotes in the Chinese tradition correspond to, and differ from, the more general understanding of anecdotes.
Research Interests: Chinese Philosophy, Chinese Studies, Chinese Language and Culture, Classical Chinese literature, Early China, and 8 moreChinese history (History), Chinese literature, Classical Chinese Philosophy, Early Chinese History, Classical Chinese Intellectual History, Early Chinese Philosophy, Early Chinese texts, and Chinese literature and history
In Chapter 10 “Old Stories No Longer Told: The End of the Anecdotes Tradition of Early China” of the book Between History and Philosophy: Anecdotes in Early China, Paul van Els demonstrates that, although anecdotes occur across historical... more
In Chapter 10 “Old Stories No Longer Told: The End of the Anecdotes Tradition of Early China” of the book Between History and Philosophy: Anecdotes in Early China, Paul van Els demonstrates that, although anecdotes occur across historical periods and literary genres, the specific anecdotes that were omnipresent in philosophical argumentation in early China, were hardly deployed in later texts. In this closing chapter, van Els offers tentative explanations for the decline.
Research Interests: Chinese Philosophy, Chinese Studies, China studies, Classical Chinese literature, Early China, and 10 moreChinese history (History), Chinese literature, Classical Chinese Philosophy, Early Chinese History, Warring States (Chinese) Thought, Classical Chinese Intellectual History, Early Chinese Philosophy, Chinese thought, Early Chinese texts, and Ancient Chinese Thought and Philosophy
This paper is intended as a gateway to two 2,000 year old Analects manuscripts. The first two sections discuss the tombs, discoveries, and analyses of the manuscripts. They describe characteristic features of the bamboo strips and the... more
This paper is intended as a gateway to two 2,000 year old Analects manuscripts. The first two sections discuss the tombs, discoveries, and analyses of the manuscripts. They describe characteristic features of the bamboo strips and the texts inked thereon, and they mention notable differences between these and other Analects versions. In these sections, I also critically evaluate present-day Analects studies, offering alternative hypotheses when theirs leave room for debate. The third and final section of the paper discusses what I consider the most fascinating (and most complex) issue regarding the manuscripts: their provenance. In that section, I examine when, where, and why the Analects was copied onto the bamboo strips. The ultimate goal of this paper is to present a nuanced understanding of the two bamboo manuscripts that conveys the fascinating insights they offer yet also explores the limitations of what these manuscripts can actually tell us.
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Early Chinese thought enjoys a wide appeal, in the scholarly world as much as elsewhere, as people are keen on learning about the ideas of Confucius, Mencius, and other thinkers whose views have shaped traditional Chinese culture. In the... more
Early Chinese thought enjoys a wide appeal, in the scholarly world as much as elsewhere, as people are keen on learning about the ideas of Confucius, Mencius, and other thinkers whose views have shaped traditional Chinese culture. In the study of early Chinese thought, emphasis has long been on what thinkers said, not on how they proffered their views. Even studies that do consider the how, tend to focus on logic and argumentation, rather than rhetoric. Fortunately, in the past few decades growing attention has been paid to Chinese rhetoric which has led to an impressive number of publications. This publication feeds into the current debate on Chinese rhetoric by exploring facets that have hitherto been underemphasized, if explored at all.
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This paper analyzes how anecdotes are made to work in early Chinese texts as a powerful rhetorical device to promote one’s world-view in the competitive politico-philosophical arena of the Western Han dynasty.
Research Interests: Rhetoric (Languages and Linguistics), Rhetoric, Chinese Philosophy, Classical rhetoric, Early China, and 9 moreConfucianism, Classical Chinese Philosophy, Han Dynasty, Anecdotal Literature, Warring States (Chinese) Thought, Anecdotes, Early Chinese Philosophy, Anecdotal Theory, and Exemplary Anecdotes
This paper discusses three lines of argumentation against warfare in the Mozi, with extensive reference to the original text in translation. I explore what the argument in each of the three chapters entails, to whom it may have been... more
This paper discusses three lines of argumentation against warfare in the Mozi, with extensive reference to the original text in translation. I explore what the argument in each of the three chapters entails, to whom it may have been addressed, and how persuasive it is from a modern academic perspective. To contextualize the three lines of argumentation, I occasionally refer to other parts of the Mozi and to other early Chinese politico-philosophical writings. In the final section, I give examples of how these arguments were used in practice, at least according to the anecdotes in the latter part of the received Mozi. My ultimate goal is to show how the Mohists actively adapted their argumentative strategies so as to find the best words to end wars.
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This paper studies classifications of warfare in Master Wu, The Four Canons, and Master Wen. In sections one through three, I analyze the classifications in their original contexts. How do they relate to the texts in which they appear? In... more
This paper studies classifications of warfare in Master Wu, The Four Canons, and Master Wen. In sections one through three, I analyze the classifications in their original contexts. How do they relate to the texts in which they appear? In what way does each classification feed into the overall philosophy of the text? In section four, I compare the three classifications. What are their similarities and differences? In section five, I discuss the possibility of a relationship between the three classifications. Are any perhaps directly and demonstrably influenced by another? I hypothesize that the classification of warfare in Master Wu may have served as a source for those in The Four Canons and Master Wen. In section six, I explore the development of classifications of warfare in writings from the Warring States period to the early Han dynasty. How did the classifications evolve from military–strategic writings to texts of politico–philosophical nature? Finally, in section seven, I survey the impact of classifications on the wider political debate on warfare in those days. Did classifications influence the debate? If so, to what effect?
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In 1973, Chinese archaeologists excavated a tomb of considerable dimensions near Dingzhou. This tomb, which dates to the Former Han dynasty, yielded a rich array of funerary furnishings, including jadeware, goldware, bronzeware,... more
In 1973, Chinese archaeologists excavated a tomb of considerable dimensions near Dingzhou. This tomb, which dates to the Former Han dynasty, yielded a rich array of funerary furnishings, including jadeware, goldware, bronzeware, lacquerware and a large cache of inscribed bamboo strips, with significant potential for study. Sadly, though, the tomb and its contents were struck by several disastrous events (robbery, fire, earthquake). These disasters severely affected the quantity and quality of the find and may have tempered scholarly enthusiasm for Dingzhou, which remains little-known to date. This paper, the first English-language specialized study of the topic, provides an overall account of the Dingzhou discovery; it draws attention to fundamental issues regarding the tomb (e.g. its date) and the manuscripts (e.g. their transcription); and it explores the significance of the tomb and its contents, and their potential importance for the study of early imperial Chinese history, philosophy, literature and culture.
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This paper presents the main aspects of the proto-Wenzi’s philosophy, with a focus on its intricate relationship with the Laozi. They show that the proto- Wenzi advocates a philosophy of quietude, not only in terms of its content, but... more
This paper presents the main aspects of the proto-Wenzi’s philosophy, with a focus on its intricate relationship with the Laozi. They show that the proto- Wenzi advocates a philosophy of quietude, not only in terms of its content, but also through the rhetoric it uses to create a harmonious synthesis of diverse, and at times even incompatible, ideas.
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The academic journal Contemporary Chinese Thought features translations of current and influential Chinese writings on aspects of philosophy. This issue contains essays by Guo Zhanbo, Yu Mingguang, Zhang Weihua, and Tan Jianhui on... more
The academic journal Contemporary Chinese Thought features translations of current and influential Chinese writings on aspects of philosophy. This issue contains essays by Guo Zhanbo, Yu Mingguang, Zhang Weihua, and Tan Jianhui on Huang-Lao, the philosophical current named after Huangdi (the Yellow Emperor) and Laozi (the Old Master).
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Database of Religious History entry on the Wenzi 文子.