Conflict, Opposition & Coexistence: Chinese and Western Thought “Dwelling in a Single Thought”, I

On May 28, 2026, the Berggruen World Philosophers Lecture Series hosted a public conversation at CITIC Books Qihui Store in Beijing. The lecture was delivered by Brook A. Ziporyn (University of Chicago). The discussion featured responses from Roger T. Ames (Peking University) and Lesong Cheng (Peking University). Drawing on a groundbreaking reinterpretation of the late-Ming text Bixie Ji 《辟邪集》, Professor Ziporyn revisits the intellectual encounters among Buddhist thinkers, Confucian scholars, and Jesuit missionaries in late imperial China. The lecture explores questions of conflict and coexistence, selfhood and multiplicity, and the possibility of accommodating apparently opposing perspectives within a single conceptual framework. Speaker: Brook A. Ziporyn University of Chicago Respondents: Roger T. Ames Humanities Chair Professor, Peking University Lesong Cheng Peking University Event: Berggruen World Philosophers Lecture Series Date: May 28, 2026 Location: CITIC Books Qihui Store, Beijing ⸻ About the Channel This channel features lectures, workshops, interviews, and academic events organized or co-organized by the Department of Philosophy, Peking University. Follow us for more conversations on philosophy, culture, science, technology, and the humanities. Stay connected on X: https://x.com/PKU_philosophy #BrookZiporyn #RogerAmes #ComparativePhilosophy #ChinesePhilosophy #Buddhism #Zhuangzi #PKUPhilosophy