This photograph by University of Wisconsin art historian Julia K. Murray, author of the article in this issue on representations of Confucius to which it is linked, shows a stone statue depicting the famous Chinese sage. Located in the Beijing Temple of Confucius (Kongmiao), it was erected in 1993.

In our last issue, we launched a new genre of Journal of Asian Studies essays that take the form of commentaries. Like Duncan McCargo's “Asia Beyond the Headlines” piece that ran in February, these essays are written by specialists who strive to bridge the divide between academic and general discussions of subjects that are in the news. Typically, one of these pieces will be published at a time, as was the case when McCargo's “Thai Politics as Reality TV” appeared on its own, but on occasion, we will either skip an issue or carry two essays—as is the case in this...

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