I GOT IT!
So, as I've been keeping you hanging with all the details, here's what has been cooking. There are a number of pieces to the puzzle, so I'll try to keep them straight.
Piece One: Stepping into Philosophy
For several years now I have had a desire to study for a PhD so that I can teach a subject (as opposed to English Language) here in China. Because my undergraduate degree was in English literature I thought I might go that direction, until about a year ago. When Emily and I changed organizations to ERRC (by the way, check out the book we each contributed an article to, that was recently published!) the president of ERRC gave us a book relating to our work and Chinese intellectuals. In it there was some mention of a particular situation unique to China.
The situation caused by the cultural revolution and subsequent events in the 60s and 70s moved religious studies under the umbrella of the philosophy department in Chinese universities. This can be both good and bad, but in any case, that's what it is today. This piqued my latent and long-lasting interest in philosophy. The thing that I liked most about literature was the ideas that stories can contain, in essence, the philosophy that stands behind the literature and motivates its particular form and ideas.
Through discussions with students in the past four years teaching, particularly the Bible and Culture class, my interest in Chinese Philosophy had greatly increased and I was considering doing comparative philosophy, Chinese and Western/Christian. This little bit will come in later...
Piece Two: Relationships 1
When I decided to make the switch to philosophy, I knew I had little resources invested there, so I had to start basically from scratch. And as I did a little research on it, it seemed difficult to enter into a little later in life. Most people who go on to do PhD's in Philosophy either do Philosophy of X in their particular field, or they already have a Bachelor's in Philosophy. Neither of these options really seemed to be what I was looking for, so I started looking elsewhere. I emailed a couple of different people, hoping for a few footholds that might stick and help boost me on the way. I had no expectation for what was coming.
One of the two people I emailed is a professor in Hong Kong. He goes by Brother Lauren with friends (and his wife, Sister Mirasy) and he very early started calling us Brother Jesse and Sister Emily. He's a believer, and has taught at Hong Kong Baptist University for some 20+ years, in Cantonese! I would call him a linguaphile (he loves languages and is quite capable in more languages than you can count on one hand), and a philosopher (that means, lover of wisdom). I had asked what I thought was a very large request coming from someone he's never met, to help me write a decent philosophy paper that could be used in MA/PhD applications. He agreed to that and much, much more!
We launched on what I see as being a life-long friendship and mentorship, not just in philosophy but life as well. In an early email I thanked him for taking so much time to work with me and he said that the feeling was mutual, that he is always looking for younger people pursuing the Lord and similar goals in philosophy that he can lead along the path after him. He's somewhat close to retirement (closer than me anyways...), so to find someone he can pass the torch to is a great encouragement to him, and a great help to me.
However, we still have not arrived at my pursuit of an MA in Chinese Philosophy at WuDa.
Piece Three: Directions
As you may remember, I taught English at Wuhan University for four years prior to this year. Wuhan University is distinguished by a number of very excellent departments and programs, and ranks among the top 10 universities of China. Among the excellent programs/departments is the Philosophy Dept, which finds company in the top three philosophy departments in all of China, the other two being Beijing University and FuDan University in Shanghai.
Knowing that I was in Wuhan and very interested in Chinese philosophy, Brother Lauren strongly encouraged me to make time to, at the very minimum, sit in on a class or two in the philosophy department while I was taking Chinese classes. We made a visit to Brother Lauren and Sister Mirasy over the Spring Festival holiday (February-ish) and he said if it was possible and if I would consider it, that the MA from WuDa might prove to be quite valuable in the future.
Part Four: Relationships 2
At this point I started seriously considering doing an MA in China, in Chinese! Emily and I met with Christine, a former colleague of mine from the English Department at WuDa, to chat earlier last fall. She thought philosophy was an excellent choice as she is finishing up her PhD in Philosophy at WuDa. She suggested I contact a certain professor of Chinese Philosophy, Guo Qiyong, who is very well known, not just in China but internationally as well, to be my tutor. I thought it was a wonderful pipe-dream at the time. I spoke barely enough Chinese to get by in day-to-day things, like eating and traveling.
My Chinese has greatly progressed since last fall, and other things have developed in the area of relationships as well. Coming back from Spring Festival I told Christine I was very seriously considering studying at WuDa and she immediately jumped on it. She called her tutor, who happens to be good friends with Professor Guo, and through that contact she obtained full agreement from Professor Guo to be my tutor!!! I hadn't even met him yet when he agreed (and, when he had agreed he asked about my Chinese, if that tells you anything of how well he knew me)! I was now committed to an MA in Chinese Philosophy at Wuhan University!
This is a difficult aspect of Chinese culture for Americans (and Westerners in general) to understand, that a relationship can sometimes or often trump other things that we value very highly, like knowledge. And it can also be a challenging road to walk for those from the outside, taking steps into unknown territory through heavy fog that most likely will never lift. I have been comforted by some Chinese friends though, who have said it's mostly foggy for them too.... :)
So, through a series of relationships, what is called guanxi in Chinese, I will be tutored by a very great Chinese Philosopher, and of NO doing of my own.
Part Last: The Scholarship
This brings us around to the scholarship itself. I have had a great privilege to study with some very kind and helpful Chinese teachers at HuaZhong University of Science and Technology. One in particular could see my seriousness in studying and knew I was planning on eventually studying Chinese Philosophy, and suggested I apply for a one year language scholarship for next year. Because of her suggestion I decided to apply also to WuDa for a larger Chinese Government scholarship, which felt like it would get me one step closer to the MA at WuDa.
So we have been waiting on the edges of our seats, waiting for the result, which just came out Friday morning.
From what I understand, these are the details of the scholarship (these are subject to all rules of change in China, which means hold it with an open hand; but I'm pretty sure about them...which doesn't really mean anything):
- 3 yrs long
- Full Tuition for all three years (annual tuition is approximately Y19,000 (~$2,800)
- Monthly Stipend of Y1,800/mo. during the school year for all three years
During the first year (starting this fall) I'll primarily be focusing on a continuation of Chinese language acquisition. Still a long road ahead in that regard. I'll probably take one Philosophy class each semester, and go through it with a tutor to really grasp it well. Years two and three will, hopefully, be more Philosophy intensive, as well as learning Classical Chinese.
That is the course as it is charted for the next three years, pending ocean currents, good winds, and much grace from the Lord. May His name be praised!
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