CERC was honored to host Prof. Wang Pei’s seminar on the 22nd of January, 2026. The title of the talk was “Sex Robots as Perfect Confucian Wives? Which Confucianism? Whose Fantasy?” The talk attracted more than 70 participants (including both in-person and online) from diverse background.
In this talk, Prof. Wang criticized the interpretation that a sex robot would meet the standard of an ideal wife in Confucianism. Through examining the classics, Prof. Wang articulated how “wife” was depicted in Confucianism and claimed that sex robot would not qualify even by the most conservative standard. Prof. Wang also elaborated on a long-neglected aspect in Confucian studies, namely love and sex in spousal relationships. By introducing hexagram in the Book of Changes, Prof. Wang interpreted that ancient Chinese depicted bodily resonance in intimate relationships as mutual exposure of ones vulnerability in front of the other, which adds aesthetic dimension to the moral aspect that is usually emphasized in Confucianism.
Prof. Wang’s talk sparked vibrant discussion in the seminar room. Audience not only asked about the traditional philosophy, but also discussed themes such as human/AI relationship and techno-solutionism with the speaker. Prof. Wang also clarified the differences and connections among different kinds of relations in Confucianism. Last but not least, Prof. Rappleye exchanged ideas with the speaker on methodology of navigating oneself through the influence of Western modern legacies in researching traditional philosophy.
This talk is in line with previous CERC talks on philosophies in different traditions. CERC believes that traditional ideas can and should be put in dialogue with contemporary issues and will continue to provide space for such dialogues.
