Yuan Dao: Tracing Dao to Its Source (Classics of Ancient China) (English and Chinese Edition)

In this masterly and first-ever translation of the Taoist text from the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.-220 C.E.) known as Yuan Dao, we find a most welcome addition to the corpus in English of Taoist texts. As translated by Lau, noted interpreter of Chinese philosophy, and Ames (Chinese philosophy, Univ. of Hawaii), also a prolific and respected translator and author on Chinese thought, the language is straightforward yet elegant, the rendition true to all the subtlety of the original. Written around 140 B.C.E., Yuan Dao is a direct descendent of the better-known earlier Taoist texts, the Tao Te Ching and the Chuang-Tzu. Its main tenet is the efficacy of accommodation, as described in the translators' erudite introduction, and which is worthy of study in its own right and manages to interweave the essentials of the text with a succinct explanation of Han linguistic and political principles. The translation is printed on facing pages with the Chinese original, further enhancing the utility of the text. An important document, this work will be of interest especially to Sinologists and devotees of Taoism Yuan Dao Is A Subversive Document That Challenged The Autocratic Aspirations Of One Of China's Most Powerful Emperors. Its Presentation Set In Motion A Family Tragedy In Which The Compiler, The Most Celebrated Patron Of Literature Of His Age, Fell Victim To The Expansionist Politics Of His Uncle, The Martial Emperor. Yuan Dao, Complete Here With English Translation And Critical Chinese Text, Is A Remarkable Distillation Of Earlier Daoist Ideas Found In The Popular Daodejing (tao Te Ching) And Shuangzi (chuang-tzu) Texts. The Huainanzi And The Court Of Emperor Wu -- Tracing Dao To Its Source: A Practicable Daoism -- Han Thinking And Radial Order -- The Source In Tracing Dao To Its Source -- A Watery Source -- Dao In Tracing Dao To Its Source -- The Priority Of Situation Over Agency -- Dao As The Oneness Of Things -- Knowing Dao -- The Gerundical Dao -- The Continuity Of Dao And The Human World -- The Relationship Between Heaven And Humanity -- Confucianism And The Continuity Between Heaven And Humanity -- Daoism And The Continuity Between Heaven And Humanity -- Tracing Dao To Its Source And The Continuity Between Heaven And Humanity -- Seizing The Moment -- Riding The Dragon (long Xxx) -- Stilling The Heart-and-mind (xin Xxx) -- The Efficacy Of Accommodation -- On The Translation -- Notes To The Introduction -- Tracing Dao To Its Source. Translated By D.c. Lau And Roger T. Ames ; With An Introduction By Roger T. Ames. Chinese Text And English Translation On Opposite Pages. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 147-149). Philosophical and compelling, Yuan Dao is a stunning accomplishment of Daoist literature-- now available for the first time in English Written around 140 b.c., and presented to a young Chinese Emperor by a beloved uncle--a philosopher, scholar, and patron of the arts--Yuan Dao distills and explains in one remarkable work the first several hundred years of Daoist thought. Drawing from and expanding upon the popular Tao-Te Ching and Chuang-tzu texts, this singular work was written to show the inclusionary aspects of Daoism, that one should appreciate the contribution all things make to the well-being of the whole; Yuan Dao was also created as advice to a ruler, on the beauty of uniting a disparate people under one government without destroying their individuality. Presented here by two of the world's foremost translators of Chinese classics, this unique edition is the only English-language translation in print and features the Chinese text on facing pages. Insightful and fascinating, here is a glimpse into the early Han Dynasty, and into a way of thinking that has been, and continues to be, characteristically Chinese. Acknowledgments Introduction The Huainanzi and the Court of Emperor Wu Tracing Dao to Its Source: A Practicable Daoism “Han Thinking” and Radial Order The “Source” in Tracing Dao to Its Source A “Watery” Source “Dao” in Tracing Dao to Its Source The Priority of Situation over Agency Dag as “The Oneness of Things” “Knowing” Dao The Gerundical Dao The Continuity of Dao and the Human World The Relationship between “Heaven” and “Humanity” Confucianism and the Continuity between Heaven and Humanity Daoism and the Continuity between Heaven and Humanity Tracing Dao to Its Source and the Continuity between Heaven and Humanity Seizing the Moment Riding the Dragon (Jorg fi ) Stilling the Heart-and-Mind (xin {» ) The Efficacy of Accommodation On the Translation Notes to the Introduction Tracing Dao to Its Source Notes Bibliography The subversive Chinese work offers criticism of a powerful emperor during the Han dynasty, providing a philosophic cornerstone of Daoism