Renowned sinologist Roger T. Ames has devoted his life to bringing Confucianism and Chinese philosophy to the world, drawing on decades of scholarship, books, and teaching as humanities chair professor at Peking University.
Born in Canada in 1947, Ames studied poetry at Redlands University in California before an exchange program took him to Hong Kong, an experience he says left a lifelong mark.
"If you're a philosopher, the greatest challenge is those things that you don't understand. So when I was 18, looking for adventure, I went to Hong Kong, and it's not in books but people, that I met people, my classmates, my teachers who occupied a world that was very different from my own. And so a lifetime later, I'm now at Beida (Peking University) and still trying to understand what are the differences," said Ames.
Noting Chinese culture’s uniqueness among world civilizations, the 79-year-old warned that many foreign countries still fail to understand China, a gap he is committed to closing through education.
"How to change the situation? Education. This is my life-long work to introduce Confucianism and Chinese philosophy to the world," he said.
Ames also voiced expectations for the Second World Conference of Classics, set for June 9–10 in Greece, saying he hopes the gathering will yield insights to help address today’s pressing problems.
"Now, let's ask the question, what does the study of the past have to do with the problems of the present? How can we draw upon our cultural resources in order to address the pressing issues of our time? So that's what I'm expecting," said Ames.
Renowned sinologist dedicates life to promoting Chinese philosophy
