AnyBook4Less.com
Find the Best Price on the Web
Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Developed by Fintix
Home  |  Store List  |  FAQ  |  Contact Us  |  
 
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money

Yuan Dao : Tracing Dao to Its Source

Please fill out form in order to compare prices
Title: Yuan Dao : Tracing Dao to Its Source
by D.C. Lau, Roger T. Ames
ISBN: 0-345-42568-5
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Pub. Date: 13 July, 1998
Format: Paperback
Volumes: 1
List Price(USD): $14.00
Your Country
Currency
Delivery
Include Used Books
Are you a club member of: Barnes and Noble
Books A Million Chapters.Indigo.ca

Average Customer Rating: 5 (4 reviews)

Customer Reviews

Rating: 5
Summary: Invaluable to follwers of Daoism
Comment: There are no real faults with this book. The Introduction is interesting. An essential book for those seriously interested in the Daoist Perspective.

Rating: 5
Summary: Another vital fragment of the Huainanzi
Comment: This book joins John Major's 1993 "Heaven and Earth in Early Han Thought," edited (interestingly enough) by Roger Ames, in translating another portion of the Huai nan zi corpus. According to the translators, Yuan Dao comprises the opening treatise of the Huai nan zi, itself an important record of early Chinese astronomy, meteorology and cosmology, of which Major has previously translated the most relevant portions.

As others have stated, the authors' introduction comprises about one third of the book, and it is an insightful discussion of some of the cultural and literary forces that shaped early Han cosmology and culture. The context provided by this essay can deepen anyone's study of traditional Chinese culture and history.

Like the Dao de jing, Yuan Dao comes down to us in terms that sound at times naturalistic, at times political. Yet, it is essential to remember, much as the authors suggest in their discussion of the concepts of qi and heart-and-mind, that philosophy, natural history, politics, strategy, medicine, literature and other traditional Chinese pursuits were not conceived of as distinct pursuits by the Chinese. Accordingly, much of early Chinese literature addresses many apparently distinct subjects simultaneously. In Yuan Dao, Lau and Ames have thoughtfully provided us with additional ways to get at the many meanings of this literature.

Rating: 5
Summary: An excellent translation of a very important document
Comment: In my opinion, this document is of equal standing with the Chuang-Tzu and the Lieh-Tzu in importance, and as a compilation of thought, in a way more important as these documents as an overview of Taoist thought.

Having read a more obscure translation earler, I found this translation to be delightfully accessible and clear. There are excellent notes, summaries, explanations, and histories to compliment the document. I wish they had been present in the earlier translation I had dug up.

After reading the Tao Te Ching, read this before moving on to the Chuang-Tzu, Lieh-Tzu, or any other Taoist document. It's worth it - and in the spirit of Lao-Tzu, not too long or wordy.

Similar Books:

Title: Dao De Jing : A Philosophical Translation
by Laozi, Roger T. Ames, David L. Hall
ISBN: 0345444159
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Pub. Date: 01 January, 2003
List Price(USD): $23.95
Title: Thinking from the Han: Self, Truth, and Transcendence in Chinese and Western Culture
by David L. Hall, Roger T. Ames
ISBN: 0791436144
Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr
Pub. Date: February, 1998
List Price(USD): $27.95
Title: Focusing the Familiar: A Translation and Philosophical Interpretation of the Zhongyong
by Roger T. Ames, David L. Hall
ISBN: 0824824601
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Pub. Date: August, 2001
List Price(USD): $18.00
Title: The Analects of Confucius : A Philosophical Translation
by Roger T. Ames
ISBN: 0345434072
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Pub. Date: 07 September, 1999
List Price(USD): $15.00
Title: A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought: A Philosophical Interpretation
by Chad D. Hansen
ISBN: 0195134192
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Pub. Date: September, 2000
List Price(USD): $27.50

Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!

Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments

Powered by Apache