Sam Crane
@uselesstree.bsky.social
I teach contemporary PRC politics and ancient Chinese philosophy at Williams College. Currently Director of Williams-Exeter Programme at Oxford.
Pinned
If you’re in NYC in January, go see this. You’ll be glad you did.
Must shout out Jonathan Spence. So many great works. I'm thinking of:
God's Chinese Son
Treason by the Book
The Question of Hu
God's Chinese Son
Treason by the Book
The Question of Hu
A question for academics: what academic non-fiction book would you hold up as exceptionally written?
Content matters in this to an extent, but I'm particularly trying to identify style here, and setting trade titles written by academics into a different category.
Content matters in this to an extent, but I'm particularly trying to identify style here, and setting trade titles written by academics into a different category.
November 28, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Must shout out Jonathan Spence. So many great works. I'm thinking of:
God's Chinese Son
Treason by the Book
The Question of Hu
God's Chinese Son
Treason by the Book
The Question of Hu
Lennon wall
Hong Kongers express their solidarity with the victims of the Tai Po fire by writing words of encouragement and sympathy on Post-It notes. An act that disappeared since 2019 but apparently remain unforgotten since then.
November 28, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Lennon wall
I really like this word:
apotropaic
As a political science guy who has wandered into philosophy in recent years, I am on the lookout for whatever apotropaic beings or experiences I might find.
I'd like to believe the Mencian project is apotropaic but there are so many obstacles....
apotropaic
As a political science guy who has wandered into philosophy in recent years, I am on the lookout for whatever apotropaic beings or experiences I might find.
I'd like to believe the Mencian project is apotropaic but there are so many obstacles....
Medusa is often more of a protector than a monster within Roman culture—apotropaic. This is particularly true in domestic mosaics and on military cuirasses. I love this Antioch mosaic now at the Princeton Art Museum, which I photographed a few years ago.
![LATE 2D CENTURY A.D.
Head of Medusa
From "The House of the Red Pavement" [y1965-212]
FLOOR:
LATE 3D CENTURY A.D.
Apollo and Daphne
From "The House of Menander" [y1965-219]
FOUNTAIN:
LATE 3D CENTURY A.D.
Cupids Riding Dolphins, Surrounded by Marine Creatures From "The House of the Boat of Psyches"
[У1940-437]
Gift of the Committee for the Excavation of Antioch to Princeton University, 1939](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:byohyhodi6iknxngf3oypcge/bafkreicxfsial2qy4pecmyairothxi5kq6jxl6kzfv2zgqi3hxqcx3ypxq@jpeg)
November 28, 2025 at 10:13 PM
I really like this word:
apotropaic
As a political science guy who has wandered into philosophy in recent years, I am on the lookout for whatever apotropaic beings or experiences I might find.
I'd like to believe the Mencian project is apotropaic but there are so many obstacles....
apotropaic
As a political science guy who has wandered into philosophy in recent years, I am on the lookout for whatever apotropaic beings or experiences I might find.
I'd like to believe the Mencian project is apotropaic but there are so many obstacles....
Sachs is not interested in historical accuracy or insight. He is simply shilling for Xi.
November 28, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Sachs is not interested in historical accuracy or insight. He is simply shilling for Xi.
A lot of confusion here. More Trumpist bungling of complex foreign policy matters.
I wonder, with all the reporting contradictions, if Trump did not tell Japan to back off but his minions are now lying in a way to make Beijing think he told Japan to back off.
Hard to parse stupidity and ignorance.
I wonder, with all the reporting contradictions, if Trump did not tell Japan to back off but his minions are now lying in a way to make Beijing think he told Japan to back off.
Hard to parse stupidity and ignorance.
Japan denies report Trump urged Takaichi not to provoke China
00:03
A report saying that US President Donald Trump advised Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to avoid provoking China over Taiwan is not based on fact, a Japanese government official said yesterday.The official, who asked not […]
00:03
A report saying that US President Donald Trump advised Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to avoid provoking China over Taiwan is not based on fact, a Japanese government official said yesterday.The official, who asked not […]
Original post on pbs.idv.tw
pbs.idv.tw
November 27, 2025 at 5:52 PM
A lot of confusion here. More Trumpist bungling of complex foreign policy matters.
I wonder, with all the reporting contradictions, if Trump did not tell Japan to back off but his minions are now lying in a way to make Beijing think he told Japan to back off.
Hard to parse stupidity and ignorance.
I wonder, with all the reporting contradictions, if Trump did not tell Japan to back off but his minions are now lying in a way to make Beijing think he told Japan to back off.
Hard to parse stupidity and ignorance.
Completely consistent with Trumpist transactionalism.
“.. Japanese officials said the message was worrying: the president didn’t want friction over Taiwan to endanger a detente reached last month with Xi, which includes a promise to buy more agricultural products from American farmers ..”
@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/world/china/...
@wsj.com
www.wsj.com/world/china/...
November 27, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Completely consistent with Trumpist transactionalism.
Following Abraham Lincoln, we can celebrate Thanksgiving for victory in a war "to keep a cabal from taking control of the government and turning it into an oligarchy." A slave owning oligarchy, that is. That's something to be thankful for.
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/november-2...
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/november-2...
November 27, 2024
Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday…but not for the reasons we generally remember.
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Following Abraham Lincoln, we can celebrate Thanksgiving for victory in a war "to keep a cabal from taking control of the government and turning it into an oligarchy." A slave owning oligarchy, that is. That's something to be thankful for.
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/november-2...
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/november-2...
Preserving energy - qi- has a vaguely Daoist connotation.
The thing about Trump stories is that they always have that extra layer of stupidity that you’re not expecting. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
November 26, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Preserving energy - qi- has a vaguely Daoist connotation.
You’ll be visited by three spirits
The three spirits
The three spirits
November 25, 2025 at 11:49 PM
You’ll be visited by three spirits
The three spirits
The three spirits
I have used it once, when it first came out, to see how my students might cheat on their papers. Really have no interest in engaging with the slop it produces.
one of the coolest things about ChatGPT is how you can actually just never use it. you can fill your whole entire life with simply not once using it. it's incredible.
November 25, 2025 at 10:30 PM
I have used it once, when it first came out, to see how my students might cheat on their papers. Really have no interest in engaging with the slop it produces.
“If the Communist party is digging up ancestor’s graves, go dig up Xi Jinping’s ancestral tombs first”.
Protests erupt in China’s Guizhou province over cremation mandate – The Guardian: ‘the latest in a string of rural demonstrations that have seen incidents of unrest increase by 70% compared with last year.’
Protests erupt in China’s Guizhou province over cremation mandate
Villagers demonstrate against drive for alternative funeral practices instead of burial to preserve land resources
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:25 PM
“If the Communist party is digging up ancestor’s graves, go dig up Xi Jinping’s ancestral tombs first”.
A perfectly defensible statement.
The BBC is backing away from serious analysis of Trumpist corruption and lawlessness.
The BBC is backing away from serious analysis of Trumpist corruption and lawlessness.
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 11:18 AM
A perfectly defensible statement.
The BBC is backing away from serious analysis of Trumpist corruption and lawlessness.
The BBC is backing away from serious analysis of Trumpist corruption and lawlessness.
So Xi lets Trump stew for a few weeks as the soybean problem grows and then puts Taiwan on the table.
How desperate is Trump to get economic “deals” done? What is he willing to give to Xi?
How desperate is Trump to get economic “deals” done? What is he willing to give to Xi?
It is intriguing that Xi and Trump talked in the midst of the rising tensions with Japan, supposedly the U.S. ally, with Taiwan as a subject of their talk. If I am Takaichi, I am worried.
asia.nikkei.com/politics/int...
asia.nikkei.com/politics/int...
China's Xi tells Trump Taiwan's 'return' key to postwar order: Xinhua
Two leaders discuss bilateral relations, war in Ukraine in phone call
asia.nikkei.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:18 PM
So Xi lets Trump stew for a few weeks as the soybean problem grows and then puts Taiwan on the table.
How desperate is Trump to get economic “deals” done? What is he willing to give to Xi?
How desperate is Trump to get economic “deals” done? What is he willing to give to Xi?
"China has not confirmed that pledge."
So, there never was a "deal."
So, there never was a "deal."
CNBC: My understanding is the White House said that China was gonna buy 12 million tons of soybeans from the US by January. That's approaching and they've only purchased 332,000. China has not confirmed that pledge.
BROOKE ROLLINS: Your point is salient. We've got a significant way to go
BROOKE ROLLINS: Your point is salient. We've got a significant way to go
November 24, 2025 at 4:17 PM
"China has not confirmed that pledge."
So, there never was a "deal."
So, there never was a "deal."
Saw Nuremberg yesterday. Good film. A bit overdone at points but the central story line was captivating.
November 24, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Saw Nuremberg yesterday. Good film. A bit overdone at points but the central story line was captivating.
A movie that takes place where you’re from
November 24, 2025 at 4:58 AM
A movie that takes place where you’re from
Reposted by Sam Crane
If I’m understanding this correctly, X is owned by a white nationalist who pays poor people of color in developing countries to pretend to be working class white Americans to scare other white Americans into being afraid poor people of color from developing countries are going to ruin America?
November 23, 2025 at 7:30 PM
If I’m understanding this correctly, X is owned by a white nationalist who pays poor people of color in developing countries to pretend to be working class white Americans to scare other white Americans into being afraid poor people of color from developing countries are going to ruin America?
There is no press freedom in Hong Kong.
A story about press freedom in Hong Kong, as reported by Hong Kong's oldest student newspaper. "The exhibition... was set to feature historic photographs documenting key moments in Hong Kong since the late 1980s..." tyr-jour.hkbu.edu.hk/2025/11/22/e...
Exhibition by Hong Kong’s Press Photographers Association cancelled after host venue orders “emergency repairs”
Members of the Hong Kong Press Photographers Association dismantled their exhibit at 12:30am on Saturday at Hong Kong Baptist University, after the host venue cancelled it saying it had to conduct “em...
tyr-jour.hkbu.edu.hk
November 23, 2025 at 10:09 AM
There is no press freedom in Hong Kong.
The Useless Tree is back!
At least for now. I just posted a long piece on my experience last year at the Tenth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations. Come for the politics of Confucian revival, stay for some jabs at Jeffrey Sachs. Good times!
uselesstree.blog/2025/11/22/r...
At least for now. I just posted a long piece on my experience last year at the Tenth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations. Come for the politics of Confucian revival, stay for some jabs at Jeffrey Sachs. Good times!
uselesstree.blog/2025/11/22/r...
Reclaiming Confucius from Autocracy
The largest statue of Confucius in the world, in stolid brass, looms 236 feet above the neighboring sprawl of the Nishan Center for World Confucian Studies just outside of Qufu, Shandong Province. …
uselesstree.blog
November 22, 2025 at 7:41 PM
The Useless Tree is back!
At least for now. I just posted a long piece on my experience last year at the Tenth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations. Come for the politics of Confucian revival, stay for some jabs at Jeffrey Sachs. Good times!
uselesstree.blog/2025/11/22/r...
At least for now. I just posted a long piece on my experience last year at the Tenth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations. Come for the politics of Confucian revival, stay for some jabs at Jeffrey Sachs. Good times!
uselesstree.blog/2025/11/22/r...
Oh.
But let’s make Farange PM.
But let’s make Farange PM.
Brexit has caused almost twice as much damage to the UK economy than estimated by official forecasts, according to new paper from a group of experts including a senior Bank of England economist
Brexit Hit to UK Economy Double Official Estimate, Study Finds
Brexit has caused almost twice as much damage to the UK economy than estimated by official forecasts, according to new paper from a group of experts including a senior Bank of England economist.
bloom.bg
November 21, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Oh.
But let’s make Farange PM.
But let’s make Farange PM.
This
"With dismay we witness our university leadership making soulless choices that hollow out our institutions from within and erode the critical and self-reflective fabric of academia".
[from Guest et al., 'Against the Uncritical Adoption of "AI" Technologies in Academia']
[from Guest et al., 'Against the Uncritical Adoption of "AI" Technologies in Academia']
NEW: Oxford will be the first UK university to give all staff and students free ChatGPT Edu access, from this academic year.
ChatGPT Edu is built for education, with enhanced privacy and security.
ChatGPT Edu is built for education, with enhanced privacy and security.
November 21, 2025 at 8:18 AM
This
Good.
Here's something many of us can agree on.
Here's something many of us can agree on.
#BREAKING: Former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers will immediately leave his role as an instructor at Harvard while the University investigates his ties to child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.
Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.
Summers Will Not Finish Semester of Teaching as Harvard Investigates Epstein Ties | News | The Harvard Crimson
Former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers will immediately leave his role as an instructor at Harvard while the University investigates his ties to child sex trafficker Jeffrey E. Epstein.
www.thecrimson.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Good.
Here's something many of us can agree on.
Here's something many of us can agree on.
Went to a great talk by Yu Jie, from Chatham House, a sharp, insightful analysis of recommendations for 15th Five Year Plan from the Fourth Plenum, 20th Central Committee of CCP.
Key points: national security and economic resilience overshadow economic growth and worries about inequality.
🧵 1/
Key points: national security and economic resilience overshadow economic growth and worries about inequality.
🧵 1/
November 19, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Went to a great talk by Yu Jie, from Chatham House, a sharp, insightful analysis of recommendations for 15th Five Year Plan from the Fourth Plenum, 20th Central Committee of CCP.
Key points: national security and economic resilience overshadow economic growth and worries about inequality.
🧵 1/
Key points: national security and economic resilience overshadow economic growth and worries about inequality.
🧵 1/
A fair amount of anxiety about maintaining “free speech” here, which opens the door to this sort of slop while people are arrested for public support for Palestine.
Wait a minute: Yarvin was asked to deliver the Oakeshott lecture?! AYFKM?!?!
See also Curtis Yarvin's remarks in a recent Oxford lecture:
"Say what you want about MBS, he's quite an effective king I think in a lot of different ways. Um love the Ritz thing, the whole Saudi embassy thing, I don't know, but I mean he was a journalist". [Giggles]
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXYl...
"Say what you want about MBS, he's quite an effective king I think in a lot of different ways. Um love the Ritz thing, the whole Saudi embassy thing, I don't know, but I mean he was a journalist". [Giggles]
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXYl...
November 19, 2025 at 7:08 AM
A fair amount of anxiety about maintaining “free speech” here, which opens the door to this sort of slop while people are arrested for public support for Palestine.
If you’re in NYC in January, go see this. You’ll be glad you did.
November 18, 2025 at 5:15 PM
If you’re in NYC in January, go see this. You’ll be glad you did.