Women are to be recognised for the first time as descendants of Confucius in a new family tree of the ancient Chinese philosopher, Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday. "We have to adapt to the times," it quoted Kong Dehong, a descendant heading the fifth update of the family tree, as saying, adding that more than 1 million descendants of Confucius will be added.This is what I was trying to get at . (more)
When reading an old text, particularly on morals or politics, it's easy to ascribe the author modern views. Confucius, for instance, talks in terms translated as "sage", "gentleman" or "benevolent man", or often uses male pronouns. When reading this I find I reflexively interpret these as gender-neutral. It's similar to Barbara Jordan's sentiments on the US Constitution. Jordan was the first black woman from a Southern state to serve in the US House of Representatives.
Earlier today, we heard the beginning of the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States: "We, the people." It's a very eloquent beginning. But when that document was completed on the seventeenth of September in 1787, I was not included in that "We, the people." I felt somehow for many years that George Washington and Alexander Hamilton just left me out by mistake.(more)
