Featuring presentations by two Fairbank Center Visiting Scholars who will share current research. Each short talk will be followed by Q and A discussion.

The Cultural Cold War: Moral Re-Armament Movement in East Asia
Speaker: Hok Yin Chan, Professor of Chinese and History, City University of Hong Kong; 2025 Visiting Scholar, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University.
Discussant:  Michael Szonyi, Frank Wen-Hsiung Wu Memorial Professor of Chinese History, Harvard University.

How did the religious-political organization Moral Re-Armament (MRA) develop in Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan during the Cold War era? What role did the U.S. play in supporting the movement’s anti-communist propaganda in “free world” areas of East Asia? Research examining different manifestations of the same movement in Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan reveals much about the ideological warfare in East Asia during the 1950s-70s and helps us better understand the history of the Cold War.

What Is the Meaning of Reproduction for Individuals? An Explanation Based on Confucianism
Speaker: Mimi Pi, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, Capital Normal University of China; 2025-26 Visiting Scholar, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University.
Discussant: Michael Puett, Walter C. Klein Professor of Chinese History, Harvard University; Director, Harvard University Asia Center.

The rapidly declining birth rate in East Asia in recent years is bringing about a new social crisis. However, in a modern world characterized by individualism and consumerism, the traditional reasons for reproduction have lost their appeal. Confucian thought offers valuable resources in addressing this challenge. Specifically, by drawing on Dong Zhongshu’s theory of ren (仁, benevolence), Mencius’s theory of human nature, and a renewed understanding of Confucian sacrificial rituals, we may attempt to provide a framework of meaning that transcends utilitarian considerations.