Dao De Jing ISBN: 9780691185941 Platform/Publisher: De Gruyter / Princeton University Press Digital rights:Users: Unlimited; Printing: Unlimited; Download: Unlimited
From bestselling cartoonist C. C. Tsai, a delightfully illustrated version of the classic work of Daoist philosophy
C. C. Tsai is one of Asia's most popular cartoonists, and his editions of the Chinese classics have sold more than 40 million copies in over twenty languages. Here, he works his magic again with a delightful graphic adaptation of the complete text of Laozi's Dao De Jing , the beloved source of Daoist philosophy. Masterfully transforming Laozi's challenging work into entertaining and enlightening episodes, Tsai offers a uniquely fresh, relevant, and accessible version of one of the world's most influential books.
After opening with Laozi's biography from the Shi Ji , Tsai turns the stage over to Laozi, who patiently explains his ideas to his earnest students (and us). Laozi describes the spontaneity of natural processes, the paradoxical effects of ethical precepts, the limits of language, the values of simplicity, and, above all else, how to go with the flow. In brief episodes that tantalize and inspire, he takes us into the subtle complexities of human existence. Ultimately, Laozi, a master visionary, guides us to the mountaintop to reveal an expansive view of life.
A marvelous edition of a timeless classic, this book also presents Laozi's original Chinese text in sidebars on each page, enriching the book for readers and students of Chinese without distracting from the English-language cartoons. The text is skillfully translated by Brian Bruya, who also provides an illuminating introduction.
Laozi was a philosopher and poet of ancient China. He is best known as the reputed author of the Tao Te Ching and the founder of philosophical Taoism, but he is also revered as a deity in religious Taoism and traditional Chinese religions. Although a legendary figure, he is usually dated to around the 6th century BC and seen as a contemporary of Confucius, but some historians contend that he actually lived during the Warring States period of the 5th or 4th century BC.
Laozi is traditionally regarded as the author of the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching). It is one of the most significant treatises in Chinese cosmogony. As with most other ancient Chinese philosophers, Laozi often explains his ideas by way of paradox, analogy, appropriation of ancient sayings, repetition, symmetry, and rhyme. In fact, the whole book can be read as an analogy the ruler is the awareness, or self, in meditation and the myriad creatures or empire is the experience of the body, senses and desires.
