Thorsten Pattberg Quotes

The shengren is the single most important concept in Chinese history.

Star Wars is Chinese Taoism. -- Star Wars is Taoism in American garb (2015), China Daily, Beijing

Capitalism forces nations to compete for market shares, natural resources, and human capital. Less obvious so, they also compete for names, brands, and terminologies.

Any sage can do philosophy, but not every philosopher is a sage.

Not a single Buddha, bodhisattva, or shengren in Europe, but in Asia: all philosophers and saints? What is that probability?

The vocabularies in the world add up, they do not overlap. Translation is something else.

Of all the cultures that have disappeared from the world, not a single farewell letter or suicide note has been unearthed.

Calling Confucius a philosopher is the wrong classification. Like calling a whale a fish.

The cognitive preeminence of East-Asians in several intellectual and artistic disciplines is fascinating and terrifying to look at.

Just like in Europe in the feudal days, the typical Chinese public servant today drags himself around with little or no money, and thus stays close to his master. In the past, that was the emperor, now it is the party. Can China's new government end corruption? (2013), The Japan Times, Tokyo