Author(s): Simon Leys

Essays

Confucius said- 'An educated man is not a pot'. A pot, or a tool, has only limited capacity and a narrow, specialised use. The aim of education is to enable a person to become more fully human. Western humanism had the same aim. Remember Erasmus- 'One is not born a man, one becomes a man.'" - Simon Leys Simon Leys was one of the world's most distinguished public intellectuals, renowned for the depth, acuity and wit of his writing. For nearly forty years, he taught and researched at universities. Six years before retirement age, he quit academia - horrified by the odeeply corruptingo changes occurring within higher education. In An Educated Man is Not a Pot, Geremie BarmU - award-winning writer, filmmaker and translator, and Leys' former student - collects six pieces that illuminate Leys' thoughts about the role and value of education. This gem-like book includes a reflection on "The idea of the university"; interviews with Leys about his life of learning, particularly Chinese language and history; his sharp fable about the pitfalls of contemporary academia; and BarmU's essay on his experience of being mentored by Leys. A passionate, urgent plea for change as well as a tribute to Leys' brilliant mind, An Educated Man is Not a Pot will provoke, stimulate and inspire.