The Master Said: Make Love, Not War

Abstract

Just over a week ago, we passed the anniversary of a year in which we commem­orated the 50th anniversary of the International Society for Chinese Philosophy (ISCP). This means that exactly half a century has passed since the late Professor Cheng Chung-ying founded this society, which stands as the oldest and largest ac­ademic association in the world dedicated to building bridges between Chinese and global philosophies. The 50th anniversary is, of course, a significant milestone in the history of this association—especially so because we live in a world burdened by a range of global crises. It is precisely for this reason that such bridges, connect­ing diverse traditions and systems of thought, are more important than ever before. We marked this important milestone in past June at the 24th biennial conference of the society, held under the title “Addressing Global Crises and Reimagining Solutions through Chinese Philosophy”. Although today’s most pressing crises are deeply interconnected and can therefore only be addressed on a global level, it is worth noting that the core issues underlying these predicaments—ranging from ecological catastrophe, large-scale migration, and the threat of viral pandemics to the unjust distribution of global wealth, resources, and goods—have, over the past year, increasingly culminated in the growing threat of armed conflicts and wars of aggression. For this reason, we have chosen to dedicate this issue of Asian Studies, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the ISCP and includes selected contributions from the 24th, i.e., the jubilee, conference of the society, to the culture of peace and pacifism within the Chinese philosophical tradition. We regard this theme as especially significant precisely because of the aforemen­tioned culmination of global crises into violent conflict.