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Reviews of Confucius Lives Next Door : What Living in the East Teaches Us About Living in the West by T. R. Reid
Amazon.com
Despite setbacks, the economic "miracles" achieved by many Asian
countries in the latter 20th century have been impressive. This entertaining
and thoughtful book invites the reader to consider East Asia's other
miracle: its dramatically low rates of crime, divorce, drug abuse, and
other social ills. T .R. Reid, an NPR commentator and former Tokyo
bureau chief for the Washington Post, lived in Japan for five years, and
he draws on this experience to show how the countries of East Asia have
built modern industrial societies characterized by the safest streets,
the
best schools, and the most stable families in the world.
Reid credits Asia's success to the ethical values of Chinese philosopher
Confucius, born in 551 B.C., who taught the value of harmony and the
importance of treating others decently. This is not a new perception--Lee
Kuan Yew of Singapore and others have rather heavy-handedly invoked
it to claim moral superiority over the West--but the author's vivid
anecdotes strengthen its relevance. Public messages constantly remind
Asian citizens of their responsibilities to society. To enhance a sense
of
belonging, civic ceremonies encourage individuals' allegiance to a greater
good; across Japan, for example, April 1 is Nyu-Sha-Shiki day, when
corporations officially welcome new employees, most of whom remain
loyal to their company for life. Citing Malaysia's ideas of a "reverse
Peace
Corps," Reid sees a case for Asians coming to teach the West in the
same way that Westerners have evangelized in Asia for over four
centuries. --John Stevenson
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From Kirkus Reviews , February 1, 1999
A readable if superficial analysis of the moral basis of east Asian society.
Over the course of a generation, the nations of east Asia have become,
to
varying degrees, prosperous industrial societies. And a social miracle
has
accompanied the economic miracle, notes Reid (former Tokyo bureau
chief for the Washington Post), namely, social stability. Nations such
as
Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan all enjoy extremely low crime rates.
Divorce is rare. Public education is superb; economic equality is more
a
fact than a goal. These societies work, and in comparison, ours doesn't.
Why? Reid holds east Asian values responsible. For the regions people
generally adhere to the tenets of Confucianism, and Confucianism
preaches social harmony as an end in itself. Thus, to break or disregard
social mores brings shame upon the self, one's family, and one's society.
Reid writes knowingly about Confucian thought and shows, through
sharply drawn anecdotes, how harmony is pursued and practiced on a
daily basis in east Asia. Yet he doesnt find Confucian moral values to
differ all that much from those of the West and its Judeo-Christian
tradition. The main difference, for Reid, lies in the fact that east Asian
societies will go to extraordinary lengths to instill moral values in every
member (and this, he claims, Americans dont do, although they should).
There are flaws in his logic, however. The author never questions, for
instance, the psychic cost of socially mandated conformity, nor does he
discuss the often highly unequal status of women in east Asia. And he
doesnt consider how differing social policies, rather than simply differing
emphases on values, may account for east Asia's success. Reid presents
an interesting thesis but doesnt quite convince. (Author tour) --
Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Book Description of Confucius Lives Next Door : What Living
in the East Teaches Us
About Living in the West by T. R. Reid
Those who've heard T. R. Reid's weekly commentary on National Public
Radio or read his far-flung reporting in National Geographic or The
Washington Post know him to be trenchant, funny, and cutting-edge, but
also erudite and deeply grounded in whatever subject he's discussing. In
Confucius Lives Next Door he brings all these attributes to the fore as
he examines why Japan, China, Taiwan, and other East Asian countries
enjoy the low crime rates, stable families, excellent education, and civil
harmony that remain so elusive in the West. Reid, who has spent
twenty-five years studying Asia and was for five years The Washington
Post's Tokyo bureau chief, uses his family's experience
overseas--including mishaps and misapprehensions--to look at Asia's
"social miracle" and its origin in the ethical values outlined by the Chinese
sage Confucius 2,500 years ago.
When Reid, his wife, and their three children moved from America to
Japan, the family quickly became accustomed to the surface differences
between the two countries. In Japan, streets don't have names, pizza
comes with seaweed sprinkled on top, and businesswomen in designer
suits and Ferragamo shoes go home to small concrete houses whose
washing machines are outdoors because there's no room inside. But over
time Reid came to appreciate the deep cultural differences, helped largely
by his courtly white-haired neighbor Mr. Matsuda, who personified
ancient Confucian values that are still dominant in Japan. Respect,
responsibility, hard work--these and other principles are evident in Reid's
witty, perfectly captured portraits, from that of the school his young
daughters attend, in which the students maintain order and scrub the
floors, to his depiction of the corporate ceremony that welcomes new
employees and reinforces group unity. And Reid also examines the
drawbacks of living in such a society, such as the ostracism of those who
don't fit in and the acceptance of routine political bribery.
Much Western ink has been spilled trying to figure out the East, but few
journalists approach the subject with T. R. Reid's familiarity and insight.
Not until we understand the differences between Eastern and Western
perceptions of what constitutes success and personal happiness will we
be able to engage successfully, politically and economically, with those
whose moral center is governed by Confucian doctrine. Fascinating and
immensely readable, Confucius Lives Next Door prods us to think about
what lessons we might profitably take from the "Asian Way"--and what
parts of it we want to avoid.
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From the Back Cover of Confucius Lives Next Door : What Living
in the East Teaches Us
About Living in the West by T. R. Reid
"T. R. Reid approaches Asia with humor, humanity, and humility--the
result is a wise and delightful book. In Reid's hands, the values of the
East
are made stunningly 'scrutable,' and more--Confucian civility becomes a
useful lens through which we can view the vagaries of our own
culture."
--Joe Klein, author of Primary Colors
"Like Tocqueville, who demythologized American culture to a wondering
Europe a century and a half ago, T. R. Reid has brought a penetrating
eye and an engaging pen to de-enigma-tize modern Japanese society.
Confucius Lives Next Door establishes Reid as the preeminent cultural
journalist of our times."
--Congressman James A. Leach
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About the Author of Confucius Lives Next Door : What Living
in the East Teaches Us
About Living in the West, T. R. Reid
Through his reporting for The Washington Post , his syndicated weekly
column, and his lighthearted commentary from around the world for
National Public Radio, T. R. Reid has become one of America's
best-known foreign correspondents.
Reid majored in Latin and Greek at Princeton University. As a naval
officer during the Vietnam War, he began to recognize the richness of
East Asia's cultural tradition. He moved to Kumamoto, Japan, in 1973,
sparking a love affair with Asia that has never flagged. In 1977, he joined
The Washington Post, where he has worked as a political reporter and
foreign correspondent.
T. R. Reid has written five books in English and two in Japanese. He has
made documentary films for various television networks.
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