Religious and Philosophical Aspects of the Laozi PDF Download

Author: Mark Csikszentmihalyi
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438400128
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 292

View

Book Description
Renowned international scholars examine crucial issues surrounding the Laozi, the third century B.C.E. Chinese classic also known as the Daodejing in this indispensable volume. The work offers diverse interpretations, a wide range of scholarly traditions, and a variety of ways to engage, ponder, and evaluate the Laozi. Contributors include Robert Henricks, Zhang Longxi, Tateno Masami, Isabelle Robinet, Harold D. Roth, Bryan W. Van Norden, and Liu Xiaogan.

Author: Mark Csikszentmihalyi
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791441114
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 292

View

Book Description
Leading scholars examine religious and philosophical dimensions of the Chinese classic known as the Daodejing or Laozi.

Author: Thomas Michael
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 0791483177
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 184

View

Book Description
The Laozi (Daodejing) and the Zhuangzi have long been familiar to Western readers and have served as basic sources of knowledge about early Chinese Daoism. Modern translations and studies of these works have encouraged a perception of Daoism as a mystical philosophy heavy with political implications that advises kings to become one with the Dao. Breaking with this standard approach, The Pristine Dao argues that the Laozi and the Zhuangzi participated in a much wider tradition of metaphysical discourse that included a larger corpus of early Chinese writings. This book demonstrates that early Daoist discourse possessed a distinct, textually constituted coherence and a religious sensibility that starkly differed from the intellectual background of all other traditions of early China, including Confucianism. The author argues that this discourse is best analyzed through its emergence from the mythological imagination of early China, and that it was unified by a set of notions about the Dao that was shared by all of its participants. The author introduces certain categories from the Western religious and philosophical traditions in order to bring out the distinctive qualities constituting this discourse and to encourage its comparison with other religious and philosophical traditions.

Author: Laozi
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

View

Book Description

Author: Laozi
Publisher:
ISBN: 9782491251154
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 168

View

Book Description
The Tao Te Ching is a fundamental text for both philosophical and religious Taoism. It also strongly influenced other schools of Chinese philosophy and religion, including Legalism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, which was largely interpreted through the use of Taoist words and concepts when it was originally introduced to China.

Author: Rudolf G. Wagner
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 079145181X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 541

View

Book Description
Presenting the commentary of the third-century sage Wang Bi, this book provides a Chinese way of reading the Daodejing, one which will surprise Western readers.

Author: Hongkyung Kim
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438440138
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 323

View

Book Description
This unique, highly contextualized translation of the Laozi is based on the earliest known edition of the work, Text A of the Mawangdui Laozi, written before 202 BCE. No other editions are comparable to this text in its antiquity. Hongkyung Kim also incorporates the recent archaeological discovery of Laozi-related documents disentombed in 1993 in Guodian, seeing these documents as proto-materials for compilation of the Laozi and revealing clues for disentangling the work from complicated exegetical contentions. Kim makes extensive use of Chinese commentaries on the Laozi and also examines the classic Chinese texts closely associated with the formation of the work to illuminate the intellectual and historical context of Laozi's philosophy. Kim offers several original and thought-provoking arguments on the Laozi, including that the work was compiled during the Qin, which has traditionally been viewed as typical of Legalist states, and that the Laozi should be recognized as a syncretic text before being labeled a Daoist one.

Author: Laozi
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191607258
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224

View

Book Description
'Of ways you may speak, but not the Perennial Way; By names you may name, but not the Perennial Name.' The best-loved of all the classical books of China and the most universally popular, the Daodejing or Classic of the Way and Life-Force is a work that defies definition. It encapsulates the main tenets of Daoism, and upholds a way of being as well as a philosophy and a religion. The dominant image is of the Way, the mysterious path through the whole cosmos modelled on the great Silver River or Milky Way that traverses the heavens. A life-giving stream, the Way gives rise to all things and holds them in her motherly embrace. It enables the individual, and society as a whole, to harmonize the disparate demands of daily life and achieve a more profound level of understanding. This new translation draws on the latest archaeological finds and brings out the word play and poetry of the original. Simple commentary accompanies the text, and the introduction provides further historical and interpretative context. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Author: Laozi
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520242210
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 244

View

Book Description
Dao De Jing was composed in China between the late sixth and late fourth centuries BC.

Author: Paul Kjellberg
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438409214
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 268

View

Book Description
The Chinese philosophical text Zhuangzi, written in part by a man named Zhuangzi in late fourth century B.C.E. China, is gaining recognition as one of the classics of world literature. Writing in beautiful prose and poetry, Zhuangzi mixes humor with relentless logic in attacking claims to knowledge about the world, particularly evaluative knowledge of what is good and bad or right and wrong. His arguments seem to admit of no escape. And yet where does that leave us? Zhuangzi himself clearly does not think that our situation is utterly hopeless, since at the very least he must have some reason for thinking we are better off aware of our ignorance. This book addresses the question of how Zhuangzi manages to sustain a positive moral vision in the face of his seemingly sweeping skepticism. Zhuangzi is compared to the Greek philosophers Plato and Sextus Empiricus in order to pinpoint more exactly what he doubts and why. Also examined is Zhuangzi's views on language and the role that language plays in shaping the reality we perceive. The authors test the application of Zhuangzi's ideas to contemporary debates in critical theory and to issues in moral philosophical thought such as the establishment of equal worth and the implications of ethical relativism. They also explore the religious and spiritual dimensions of the text and clarify the relation between Zhuangzi and Buddhism.