Civilized Rebels

Civilized Rebels compares in depth four very well-known literary and political figures, who all opposed arrogant regimes and became prisoners. Through comparative biographies of Oscar Wilde, Jean Améry, Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi, it explores the long-term process of the retreat of the West from global power since the late nineteenth century, relating this to the decline and fall of the British Empire and the trauma surrounding Brexit. Drawing on rich empirical materials to examine themes of forced displacement, war, poverty, imprisonment and the threat of humiliation, the book reveals how these highly civilized rebels penetrated their opponents’ mind-sets, while also providing a sophisticated analysis of how their struggles fitted into the larger world picture. Methodologically and theoretically innovative, and written in a lively and accessible style, Civilized Rebels will appeal to scholars across a range of disciplines, with interests in globalization, historical international relations, postcolonial and subaltern studies, comparative biographical studies, European studies, the sociology of emotions and historical sociology.

Civilized Rebels compares in depth four very well-known literary and political figures, who all opposed arrogant regimes and became prisoners. Through comparative biographies of Oscar Wilde, Jean Améry, Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi, it explores the long-term process of the retreat of the West from global power since the late nineteenth century, relating this to the decline and fall of the British Empire and the trauma surrounding Brexit. Drawing on rich empirical materials to examine themes of forced displacement, war, poverty, imprisonment and the threat of humiliation, the book reveals how these highly civilized rebels penetrated their opponents' mind-sets, while also providing a sophisticated analysis of how their struggles fitted into the larger world picture. Methodologically and theoretically innovative, and written in a lively and accessible style, Civilized Rebels will appeal to scholars across a range of disciplines, with interests in globalization, historical international relations, postcolonial and subaltern studies, comparative biographical studies, European studies, the sociology of emotions and historical sociology.

Rebels and regimes -- Oscar Wilde -- Jean Améry -- Nelson Mandela -- Aung San Suu Kyi -- Alleviations and remedies -- The big picture

A decade and more has passed since the first publication of Still Rebels, Still Yankees. During that time the book has become recognized as a classic affirmation of the necessity of tradition in conserving cultural order. Donald Davidson, a major figure in the Agrarian Movement, summed up the intent of the work this way: “The general theme that binds the essays—no matter what their specific subjects—is the conflict between tradition and anti-tradition that characterizes modern society, with tradition viewed as the living continuum that makes society and civilization possible and anti-tradition as the disintegrative principle that destroys society and civilization in the name of science and progress. The South, which has suffered most in its devoted defense of tradition, naturally offers me examples for consideration; but this is not a book about the South as such. It is as near as I can come, in essay form, to defining what I would conceive to be the true American position.” In a brilliant and graceful style, Davidson pursues his theme in a rich variety of subjects: poetry, myth, and folklore; and in the complex rivalries between nation and region, the free citizen and the Leviathan state, the values of religion and the facts of science. Order, sanity, and fullness of life are cornerstones of the tradition against which he appraises writers like Hardy and John Gould Fletcher, the historiography of Toynbee, and the social reporting of W. J. Cash.

-- Wm. Theodore de Bary

The Sinitic Civilization A Factual History through the Lens of Archaeology, Bronzeware, Astronomy, Divination, Calendar and the Annals The book covered the time span of history of the Sinitic civilization from antiquity, to the 3rd millennium B.C. to A.D. 85. A comprehensive review of history related to the Sinitic cosmological, astronomical, astrological, historical, divinatory, and geographical developments was given. All ancient Chinese calendars had been examined, with the ancient thearchs' dates examined from the perspective how they were forged or made up. The book provides the indisputable evidence regarding the fingerprint of the forger for the 3rd century A.D. book Shang-shu (remotely ancient history), and close to 50 fingerprints of the forger of the contemporary version of The Bamboo Annals. Using the watershed line of Qin Emperor Shihuangdi's book burning of 213 B.C., the book rectified what was the original history before the book burning, filtered out what was forged after the book burning, sorted out the sophistry and fables that were rampant just prior to the book burning, and validated the history against the records in the oracle bones, bronzeware, and bamboo slips. The book covers 95-98% and more of the contents in the two ancient history annals of The Spring Autumn Annals and The Bamboo Annals. There are dedicated chapters devoted to interpreting Qu Yuan's poem Asking Heaven (Tian Wen), the mythical book The Legends of Mountains & Seas (Shan Hai Jing), geography book Lord Yu's Tributes (Yu Gong), and Zhou King Muwang's Travelogue (Mu-tian-zi Zhuan). The book has appendices of two calendars: the first anterior quarter remainder calendar (247 B.C.-104 B.C./247 B.C.-85 A.D.) of the Qin Empire, as well as a conversion table of the sexagenary years of the virtual Yin-li (Shang dynasty) quarter remainder calendar versus the Gregorian calendar, that covers the years 2698 B.C. to 2018 A.D. Book I stops about the midpoint of the 242 years covered in Confucius' abridged book The Spring & Autumn Annals (722-481 B.C.). Book II stops at Han Emperor Zhangdi (Liu Da, reign A.D. 76-88; actual reign Aug of A.D. 75-Feb of A.D. 88), with the A.D. 85 adoption of the Sifen-li posterior quarter remainder calendar premised on reverting to the sexagenary years of the virtual Yin-li (Shang dynasty) quarter remainder calendar, a calendar disconnected from the Jupiter's chronogram, that was purportedly invented by the Confucians on basis of Confucius' identifying the 'qi-lin' divine giraffe animal and wrapping up the masterpiece The Spring & Autumn Annals two years prior to death.