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Chinese Virtues, Four Prisons, and the Way On

How did Chinese virtues inspire the emergence of Asian American philosophy within the American Philosophical Association (APA)? This question might seem a non-starter given the antagonistic disciplinary histories of Asian Studies and Asian American Studies. However, like the families we grew up in, virtues can subtly shape our destinies even if, or perhaps especially if, those virtues are not didactically imposed. In this article, I give a narrative account of how Chinese virtues, exemplified in encounters with Asian American filmmakers, scholars and activists, were inspirational in the struggle to recognize Asian American philosophy within the APA. I also argue that the virtues themselves provide new intellectual perspectives for articulating philosophies of personal identity and public history, scholarship and teaching. These philosophical alternatives to mainstream philosophical views on these topics express core values of Asian American philosophy.