Mieke Matthyssen is a lecturer in the Department of Chinese Studies at Ghent University, Belgium. Her research interests focus on the intellectual history and contemporary interpretation of traditional Chinese philosophies of life, health strategies and indigenous psychology. She has published in journals such as Contemporary Chinese Thought and Journal of Asian History.

“The author deserves much credit for making a topic of Chinese culture and philosophy accessible to a larger audience. … readers will likely experience pleasure, thanks to its accessible, reader-friendly style. … this book offers questions and answers in its exploration of hutu-ism as a motif in Chinese culture by traversing psychology and philoso­phy. … it has implications for the life philosophy and lifestyle of individuals who face rapid and disorienting changes in their surroundings … .” (Ningyang Chen, Journal of Chinese Philosophy, Vol. 49 (3), 2022)

• 1. Introduction: The Chinese Art of Not Knowing.- 2. The Daoist Sage Fool and the Confucian Learned Man.- 3. The Art of Not Knowing: A Scholar’s Paradox.- 4. The Modern Wisdom of Playing Dumb.- 5. The Wisdom of Playing Dumb in Practice.- 6. The Psycho-Social Appeal of the Wisdom of Playing Dumb.- 7. The Moral Code of Playing Dumb.- 8. Conclusion: The Culture of Vagueness in Transition.- 9. Postscript: Hutu at the Crossroads of Knowledge and Information (Louise Sundararajan).

Mieke Matthyssen is a lecturer in the Department of Chinese Studies at Ghent University, Belgium. Her research interests focus on the intellectual history and contemporary interpretation of traditional Chinese philosophies of life, health strategies and indigenous psychology. She has published in journals such as Contemporary Chinese Thought and Journal of Asian History.

“The author deserves much credit for making a topic of Chinese culture and philosophy accessible to a larger audience. … readers will likely experience pleasure, thanks to its accessible, reader-friendly style. … this book offers questions and answers in its exploration of hutu-ism as a motif in Chinese culture by traversing psychology and philoso­phy. … it has implications for the life philosophy and lifestyle of individuals who face rapid and disorienting changes in their surroundings … .” (Ningyang Chen, Journal of Chinese Philosophy, Vol. 49 (3), 2022)

• 1. Introduction: The Chinese Art of Not Knowing.- 2. The Daoist Sage Fool and the Confucian Learned Man.- 3. The Art of Not Knowing: A Scholar’s Paradox.- 4. The Modern Wisdom of Playing Dumb.- 5. The Wisdom of Playing Dumb in Practice.- 6. The Psycho-Social Appeal of the Wisdom of Playing Dumb.- 7. The Moral Code of Playing Dumb.- 8. Conclusion: The Culture of Vagueness in Transition.- 9. Postscript: Hutu at the Crossroads of Knowledge and Information (Louise Sundararajan).

Mieke Matthyssen is a lecturer in the Department of Chinese Studies at Ghent University, Belgium. Her research interests focus on the intellectual history and contemporary interpretation of traditional Chinese philosophies of life, health strategies and indigenous psychology. She has published in journals such as Contemporary Chinese Thought and Journal of Asian History.

“The author deserves much credit for making a topic of Chinese culture and philosophy accessible to a larger audience. … readers will likely experience pleasure, thanks to its accessible, reader-friendly style. … this book offers questions and answers in its exploration of hutu-ism as a motif in Chinese culture by traversing psychology and philoso­phy. … it has implications for the life philosophy and lifestyle of individuals who face rapid and disorienting changes in their surroundings … .” (Ningyang Chen, Journal of Chinese Philosophy, Vol. 49 (3), 2022)

• 1. Introduction: The Chinese Art of Not Knowing.- 2. The Daoist Sage Fool and the Confucian Learned Man.- 3. The Art of Not Knowing: A Scholar’s Paradox.- 4. The Modern Wisdom of Playing Dumb.- 5. The Wisdom of Playing Dumb in Practice.- 6. The Psycho-Social Appeal of the Wisdom of Playing Dumb.- 7. The Moral Code of Playing Dumb.- 8. Conclusion: The Culture of Vagueness in Transition.- 9. Postscript: Hutu at the Crossroads of Knowledge and Information (Louise Sundararajan).