By Dr. Quan Le [This is part of an ongoing series on the historic efforts in the east and western cultural matrices to create an educational system that can produce true philosopher kings with a focus on the traditions and efforts of Plato and his spiritual brother Confucius. To access part I-II click here, and parts III-VII click…
Tag: Aesthetical Education
A Journey with Jeff J. Brown Through China’s History, Political-Economy and Culture
In our first official Rising Tide Foundation Podcast, Cynthia Chung and Matthew Ehret interview China Rising Radio’s Jeff J. Brown on all things China. In this extensive discussion, Jeff goes through the historic voyages of Admiral Zheng He generations before Columbus which brought commerce, culture and trade to Africa, Europe and even the Americas in…
From Event 201 to SPARS 2025: Predictive Programming, the Future and You
By David Gosselin We suffer more in imagination than in reality —Seneca From apocalyptic Day After Tomorrow doomsday scenarios to predictions of imminent cyber attacks with “covid-like characteristics,” while there is no shortage of doomsday scenarios in our age, the promise of a hopeful future or prospect of revival seems almost non-existent. But might this be…
Leibniz: Scientist, Sinophile and Bridge Between East and West
By Matthew Ehret Many people would be surprised to discover that Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716), a German polymath and logician best known for his discovery of Calculus, was one of the most important sinophiles of the 17th century, whose writings were instrumental in bringing the idea of Chinese culture and civilization to Europe. Leibniz recognized the value…
The BRICS as an Antidote to the Intellectual Nothingness of Cultural Relativism
The rampant anti-Chinese (and Russian) bias pervasive in today’s society has a lot to do with the fact that people have been conditioned by a very messy world outlook known as “cultural relativism”. While attractive on the surface due to its promotion of “respect and toleration” for other cultures on the one hand and its…
OF MINDS & MEN: On Universal History and the Creation of Aristocratic Men (Part III-VII)
By Quan Le [Click here for part I-II] There is an enlightening conversation between Confucius (551-479 BCE) and his close student Zigong (520-456 BCE) that has been recorded in the Ten Wings or Shi Yi 十 翼 (Shi2 Yi4), the indispensable philosophical appendix of the I Ching, the Book of Change. Zigong 子 贡 (Zi3…
OF MINDS & MEN: On Universal History and the Creation of Aristocratic Men (Part I-II)
By Dr. Quan Le Introduction Sometimes, anecdotes can be incredibly revealing : For instance, there is a common adage which features an Indian proudly saying to his Chinese friend “Look at the 135 Indian CEOs managing American companies”. His Chinese friend says in turn “Look at the 135 (in 2023) Chinese corporations on the Fortune…
The Power of Metaphor
By David Gosselin Metaphor should not be approached as some “thing,” but as a transformative power, the invisible process by which “things” come into being. Using metaphor, even very simple language and very common-place images can be brought into new, unique constellations. Contrary to the sundry definitions of metaphor proffered by many school teachers and…
On Reviving Plato’s and Shelley’s ‘Enthusiasm’
By Gerry Therrien Here is a transcript of Gerry Therrien lecture as the epilogue to the RTF symposium “Rediscovering the Lost Art of Statecraft.” It is a must see/read! At our Wednesday Evening Reading Club, back in February, we read Michael Billington’s article on ‘The Deconstructionist Assault on China’s Cultural Optimism’, and in the article,…
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Cross Rhythms of the Soul
This Rising Tide Foundation lecture is delivered by Dr. Valeria Nolan titled Sergei Rachmaninoff: Cross Rhythms of the Soul, based on her recently published biography of the renowned composer-conductor-virtuoso pianist. The work evolved out of a multi-year project that included five Russian Rachmaninoff scholars and Nollan’s interviews with the composer’s grandson in Switzerland. The lecture…