Pattberg's Diary of a Mad Imperialist, With an Essay on the Spirit of the German People

By Thorsten J. Pattberg, PhD

"GERMAN culture is unique, not universal. Certain characteristics explain why Germany became what it became, and did onto others what it had to. Ever since their discovery of China, German missionaries and philosophers had feverishly tried to convert the Chinese to Christianity and the Greco-Hellenic ways. That included a form of brutal ‘language imperialism' by which all important Chinese key terminologies were translated into biblical and philosophical words and categories. The result, to this day, is a German ‘Chinabild’ [China image] that is virtually Chinese-free."

This work, comprising two incredible pieces on the Germans in China, and one exclusive interview, is available both as ebook and in paperback [click on the images below]:

Amazon.com: Diary of a Mad Imperialist: With an Essay on The Spirit of the German People eBook: Thorsten Pattberg: Kindle Store

Diary of a Mad Imperialist - With an Essay on the Spirit of the German People: Dr. Thorsten Pattberg: 9780984209149: Amazon.com: Books

• Paperback: 42 pages
• Publisher: LoD Press, New York (December 18, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 098420914X
• ISBN-13: 978-0984209149

Dr. Thorsten J. Pattberg (裴德思 Pei Desi) is a German philosopher and cultural critic.

He has written and published extensively about Global language, the Competition for terminologies, and the End of translation. He discovered the Shengren as a unique, untranslatable, non-European archetype of wisdom; is the founder of Language Imperialism; and is actively promoting Eastern thought, in particular Chinese terminologies, on a global scale.

The Japan Stuffs Daily is out!

Shout-out to Japan Stuffs for successful launch of website and favorable mentioning! Good luck to your cause!

http://paper.li/JapanStuffs/1330864604?edition_id=670debc0-79e7-11e5-8ba2-0cc47a0d1609

Japan Stuffs is an Online Portal of made-in-Japan products available from Japanese sellers to foreign buyers. Email: japan.stuffs@yahoo.com http://www.noppin.com

Pattberg: Most Westerners have no idea of what ren, datong and tianxia mean

"Even the most educated Westerners may have no idea of what such terms as ren, datong and tianxia mean," said Thorsten Pattberg, a German philosopher and cultural critic.

The first book of a new series titled Key Concepts in Chinese Thought and Culture is expected to shed light on the aforementioned issue.

The book, which is scheduled to be published by Beijing-based Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP) in early June, translates 100 terms in ancient Chinese literary, philosophical and historical writings into English and explains them in both Chinese and English. Below each item, there are short citations extracted from ancient writings to illustrate how the expressions used to be employed.

The Key Concepts in Chinese Thought and Culture Project was launched in December 2013, when the Ministry of Education, the State Language Commission and 10 other departments jointly rolled out the initiative. Over 70 renowned domestic and foreign experts in history, philosophy, literature and translation were involved in the process. [...']

http://www.bjreview.com.cn/culture/txt/2015-05/18/content_688355.htm

Happy times with Xu Guangqi and the MPG-CAS Scientists at PICB in Shanghai 2007

SHANGHAI - 今年是徐光启和意大利人利玛窦合作翻译的《几何原本》中文版出版400周年，为纪念这一重要历史事件，中国科学院、上海市徐汇区人民政府、中国科学院上海生命科学研究院联合发起纪念徐光启的活动，于10月14日至19日由我所承办“徐光启《几何原本》中文译本出版400周年纪念会暨《计算生物学中的异同》国际学术研讨会”。来自德国、法国、英国、意大利、日本、韩国、美国、中国等国家，涵盖数学、天文、农业、社会学等研究领域的近30位科学家共聚上海，与上海地区的学生们一起，纪念徐光启的科学贡献，探讨现代前沿科学。这是国内首次举办国际性的徐光启纪念活动。[...]

作者：Susan Xu    新闻时间：2007-10-17
Source: http://www.picb.ac.cn/picb-dynamic/Desktop/news/news.jsp?ID=110&ntype=institute

What is Language Imperialism? (Video)

Imperialism, according to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, is "the extension or imposition of power, authority, or influence" over another nation. Consequently, linguistic imperialism is the extension or imposition of one’s own language over another’s. Martin Luther's Bible translation is a good example, Georg Hegel's German Die Philosophie der Weltgeschichte (1830) is another; the former made the Bible German, the latter made world history German. Language imperialism is more surgical than that: It is the translation of foreign key terminologies into familiar vocabulary of one’s own language tradition in order to claim deutungshoheit, to diminish another culture’s originality, or to pretend to have full comprehension of a foreign topic by simply switching into one’s own lingua. So even if a nation is not strong enough to impose its own language over another’s, like Germany could never conquer the Chinese people, it could always try to steal important cultural property by giving it German names. [WATCH VIDEO ON YOUTUBE]

ASNET Talk (Tokyo University): Knowledge is a Polyglot

ASNET - Tokyo University - Pattberg: Knowledge is a Polyglot: Japan and China in the Global Competition for Terminologies (Jan 8, 2015)
DOWNLOAD PDF: http://www.asnet.u-tokyo.ac.jp/files/img/AS2014winter3.pdf

The End of Sagehood and the Last Sage of Europe (Video)

In this essay, Dr. Thorsten J. Pattberg discusses the difference between sages and philosophers and saints. He compares the sage cultures of the East with the philosopher culture of the West, and calls Jesus Christ 'the last sage of Europe' because the "messiah" cunningly deprived human beings of their highest wisdom and delegate it all to God.

NEW: WeToldYouSo1 is an Educational and Activism Channel - Plz Subscribe!

WeToldYouSo1 is an educational and activism channel. As of Oct 31, 2014, we became the media library for 'East-West Dichotomy' (website) and 'You've Heard About It' (blog). 

Our main focus is on language, empire, political theory, philosophy of history, and East-Asian thought. The channel's admin is Mya.

More Than 150,000 Read The East-West Dichotomy

Featured this month in China Today magazine:

Does a universe of differences separate the two hemispheres that make up Eastern and Western cultures? Or, even in our multicultural world, has the phenomenon always been that of either the West wind dominating in the East, or the East wind dominating in the West? Is equilibrium between the two great cultural systems of China and the West possible?

RELATED The Chinese Really Love Harvard (And Turning It Into A Chinese Outpost) -Thought Catalog

German scholar Thorsten Pattberg has been comparing the cultures of China and the West in his online blogs since 2009. His in-depth philosophical, aesthetic, and sociological analyses include cultural comparative studies – from Zhuang Zi to Jackie Chan, from the Confucian concept “Heaven and men are a unit; they form the one” (“天人之际，合而为一”) to the modern Olympics slogan “One World, One Dream,” and from Plato to Nicolaus Copernicus.

RELATED The Resurrection of Non-Western Civilizations -Big Think

The author’s vivid language and apt examples that pinpoint similarities and differences between Eastern and Western cultures touch as well on contemporary social topics. In the process of writing, Pattberg has also communicated online with his readers, so further piquing their interest.

Around 150,000 people in the U.S. have read and downloaded his articles, which have now been compiled and published in the book, The East-West Dichotomy: The Conceptual Contrast between Eastern and Western Cultures. [...]

READ MORE AT: http://www.chinaculture.org/info/2014-08/12/content_556302.htm

Pick a face (or two)

Haha, this is hilarious! Check out this online avatar creator PICKAFACE.NET!

Can Asians think? Yes, and no

BEIJING - A book published in 2001 entitled 'Can Asians think?' recently surfaced on my desk again after having met its famous author, Kishore Mahbubani, in Beijing in October 2013. Mr. Mahbubani is a Dean, Professor, former diplomat, and author of other East-West books like his latest 'Asia, the West, and the Logic of One World' or, his best known one, 'The New Asian Hemisphere'. The 'Can Asians think?' question is both rhetorical and self-deprecating, if not self-loathing. Asia was believed to be on top of things until small European powers set out to colonize the world. That Asians can think is unquestionable the case since Rene Descartes, the French philosopher, reminded us that he who thinks necessarily exists - Cogito, ergo sum -; yet what Mr. Mahbubani has in mind, I think, is the quality of that Asian thinking.

Leaving the great Western philosophers, inventors, and Nobel Laureates aside, the Western hemisphere for the last 300 years of Western imperialism, colonialism, and orientalism, has been credited with leading humanity not only into bloody wars but also into the Ages of Enlightenment, Sciences and Technologies, Modernity, Globalization, and, finally, the total Westernization of economics, politics, scholarship, education, entertainment, and the arts. Even uniquely Asian originals can only achieve global recognition and credentials - like Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism - if those traditions are studied and understood by the West and leading Western scholars, and it is still the case, as a general rule, that Asians who want to study their own cultures, must do so in the United States or Europe because it's there where they have all the theories.

Mr. Mahbubani argues in this book and his three others that the East, having absorbed and studied the Western theories, is now coming back onto the stage of world history with some sort of peaceful vengeance. What is more, the East was always thinking, Mr. Mahbubani argues, but quite differently from the West and therefore never quite being understood by Western analysts. This line of argument falls well into the well-known East-West discourse which argues that there is some kind of benign, spiritual competition going on between East and West, as ancient as the 'Greeks versus the Persians', that has seen the 'West versus the rest' throughout the centuries competing not only for the better arts and the better theories, but also for world domination. Mr. Mahbubani believes that certain Asian values like hard-working, filial piety, love for learning, patriarchy, and Confucian family values were ill-advisable in the past, but might be just the right formula to success in the 21st century. [Read more on Asian Values here.]

Despite Asia's rise little has been reported on what Asian intellectuals truly think when they are not just thinking about the West. Mr. Mahbubani's education, career, and intellectual output (he writes in beautiful English) are but the products of his westernization.

To keep up to date with news from China you can follow me on Twitter, Big Think, or my Website.

Islam should contribute to our global civilization

Islam should contribute to our global civilization and come to the table where the future rules of the games are formulated.
This rough version of a transcript from a shaky interview on Building-Bridges-TV (Istanbul) came to light recently at Diplomacy Post. The website looks great, lots of prominent analysts, philosophers, political analysts etc. The team around Burcu Cekmece, the Executive Producer at the Building Bridges Initiative, is very dedicated and persistent. Hope that I can join and write a column about recent events in China and how the relate to Turkey and the Middle East. China has officially 20 million Muslims, although unofficial numbers say more than 40 million. I also hope to be able to write something about the Turkish-German relations and the European Union. So much to do, so little time...

What's the Global Language?

Pattberg on Global Language and The End of Translation, Beijing 2013

What's the Global Language?

"The true 'global language' would be radically different from today's English (or any other major language); it would need to adopt the originality and the tens of thousands of words provided by humankind's other language traditions on top of it." -- T. Pattberg, The East-West Dichotomy (2013), Foreign Language Press, Beijing

I'm so excited to begin offering more public talks on 'Global language' and the 'End of translation' this winter 2013/2014, and I can't wait to expand the universe of Chinese (and other non-European) concepts and terminologies during my stay in Japan (and, hopefully, a brief excursion to the US).

Meanwhile, check out the new edition of The East-West Dichotomy (2013) available soon in book stores in China, university libraries, and in global online stores. I still have some free author copies, just send me an email at pattberg 'at' pku.edu.cn. Best!

Thorsten Pattberg with YANG Rui, famed Chinese journalist and CCTV International Presenter

YANG RUI and Thorsten Pattberg, Beijing Forum 2013

BEIJING FORUM 2013 – No other media figure has helped to accommodate if not to shape China’s rise more in the recent decade than YANG Rui, the CCTV International Presenter and host of ‘Dialogue’, an English-speaking political TV program. Mr. Yang has been called the Larry King of China, and his show Dialogue is watched by tens of millions. He recently drew criticism in particular for his anti-foreign, xenophobic remarks on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, and in general for his aggressive personality and stance against foreign media that tends to report China in an unfavorable light. I met him at the Alliance of Civilizations meeting during the Beijing Forum 2013, where he shared his views on how China should be presented and respected by international media, and how especially CCTV tries to convey a China image from the point of view of the majority of the Chinese, which is naturally and often very different from Western-based media. Mr. Yang enjoys cult-status and has attracted a huge fellowship of Chinese students who regularly flock to his CCTV show(s) not only to student current international affairs and culture trends but also to study Political and Culture English. Among expats and foreign students in China, Yang Rui is known as probably the most international and recognizable Chinese media personality of the decade. [VISIT EAST-WEST DICHOTOMY]

Pattberg: Translations reduce the world to what we already know

Thorsten Pattberg, Peking University, 2013

This article appeared in Trouw, a Dutch newspaper, on Aug 17, 2013

Excerpt from Hans van der Gaarden's Blog post 'Ver-Taal'

"Translations reduce the world to what we already know" reads a provocative quote in a recent opinion article entitled ‘Learning about China using the correct words’ published by Trouw newspaper on August 17. The quote originates from the German linguist Thorsten Pattberg who works at Peking University. His plea to let some Chinese words untranslated is defended by the Hong Kong-based communications specialist Adrienne Simons. –Hans van der Gaarden

Excerpt from ‘Met woorden leer je China pas écht kennen’, Aug 17, 2013, by Adrienne Simons:

“China is unloved and unknown. This is primarily a communication and language problem. What the West sees in China, it often sees through English language glasses. That obscures the view more than we think.”

“Talking past each other results in a relationship based on misunderstanding, mistrust and removal. It’s no different between countries. But China has become too big and too influential to be kept at a distance.”

“This means that Asian academics, artists and journalists cultural should introduce Chinese concepts using the original terms, instead of thinking about how Americans would call those things. It also means that Western opinion makers should do likewise and make an effort to understand China in the future, and what better way is there than learning Chinese words.”

The original op-ed is written in Dutch. It can be READ HERE.

Pattberg: How We Will Write in the Future (Video)

BEIJING - In order to preserve the full power and authenticity of any culture really we would have to preserve them their key terminologies -those words and concepts that are demonstrably difficult, if not impossible, to translate without infringing onto their culture's intellectual property rights. The English language has already adopted loads of foreign loanwords, but often in an arbitrary manner, more by chance and goodwill than by any disciplined, organized, and accountable methodology. In other words, for example Western translators, until now, practically could do whatever they wanted with Asian concepts; and Asian ideas, no matter how old and no matter how genuine, enjoyed little to no moral, scientific, or legal protection from being omitted, prohibited, or translated into convenient, often over-used European concepts. This has got to change some day, maybe not so distant a day in the near future...

Thorsten Pattberg advocates for a global language, and by that he has something very specific in mind. We need to continue to translate, of course, in order to communicate. But when it comes to the key terminologies of a culture, "we should not translate them but rather we should adopt them," Pattberg says. "The only way, as I see it, to create the global language is really to find a scientific way to adopt as many key terminologies as possible and to unite all the languages’ vocabularies into one."  [READ FULL TRANSCRIPT] [WATCH VIDEO]
Many thanks to Daniel Honan, Managing Editor, Big Think, and Jonathan Fowler & Elizabeth Rodd, Producers, Big Think

Beijing Traditional Music Festival 2013

2013年10月13日，首届乐教文化国际学术研讨会

Chinese scholars of Music Education show great interest in German basic music education and how Germany preserves its own cultural identity (e. g. Germanic, Christian, Folkloric) through its state education, the church, and the community (e. g. music schools, dancing schools, etc.). Many Chinese scholars lament the fact that Chinese music education tends to westernize too much and thereby abandon its own 'Music of China', including Chinese tales, songs, dances and music instruments. There are 40 million children in this country learning to play Western classics on the piano instead of, say, re-enacting Chinese music on the puqin, pipa, huqin or erhu, to name but a few Chinese musical instruments. Fantastic conference and interesting panels.
中新网9月27日电 第五届“北京传统音乐节”将于2013年10月9日—13日在北京举行，昨日举行发布会。据了解，本届音乐节的主题为“礼乐重建”，龚琳娜、马金泉等数百名音乐家将参演。
大师班培训共举行三个专场，包括清华大学彭林教授的《先秦时代的乐器、乐理与乐教》、韩国汉城庆熙大学舞蹈研究所陈玉秀的《雅乐舞动态结构初阶段的应用——身心自我觉察》、大阪大学的Triyono Bramantyo博士的《印度尼西亚宫廷音乐》。

On Global Language, End of Translation, and Non-Western Concepts

"The problem with that is, I think, that China is underrepresented in World history because Chinese terminologies are largely erased or omitted. A ‘China report’ in Western media without a single Chinese term is literally “Chinese-free”. And that’s a scandal." --Pattberg
[Interview with Danish Radio24syv ] [READ FULL TRANSCRIPT]

Thorsten Pattberg and Frank Sieren - Vertrauen Wagen (Peking University Conference)

Thorsten Pattbergwith Frank Sieren, Bestselling Author, Journalist, and Political Commentator

PEKING UNIVERSITY - I have been frequenting Beijing since 2003 –lived, studied, and created here- but never met in person who is possibly the Number One of all German “China-Experts”: Frank Sieren. Mr. Sieren is best known for his close relation to former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt who is a known "Friend of China" and who met many of China’s most influential leaders, including the great dictator Mao Zedong himself. Sieren and Schmidt produced very influential books, articles, and interviews. As a result, Frank Sieren became a superstar in all things related to China in the German-speaking world (his books became bestsellers in Germany and have been translated into Chinese), and a famed public speaker and moderator on Sino-German relations –political and cultural. He lives in China –in Beijing, mainly- for almost two decades now. Not always easy, I guess –the air quality, the traffic jams, the party dictatorship- but as the expat saying goes: Someone’s got to do it! Best of luck! [GO TO FRANK SIEREN'S WEBSITE]

Thorsten Pattberg with Herta Däubler-Gmelin, former German Minister of Justice

PEKING - Ms. Däubler-Gmelin was the German Minister of Justice from 1998-2002; so, technically, she was my boss (my Minister, so to speak) during my employment at the Court of Law in Munster, NRW. Now we met in China - It's a small world. She is one of the few, very few Germans - during my long years at PKU - who is not intimidated by the Chinese Communist Party's megalomania and hubris, and she feels free to exercise criticism against any authoritarian regime where needed. She would not betray her principles. This is called integrity. That's what you learn when you work in the German judiciary. It is precisely for her outspokenness and sense for justice and the rule of law, I think, that she is respected (or feared) among democrats, human rights activists, and politicians on the left and the right, here and abroad. Just saying. [BACK TO MAIN]