The Complete Works of Zhuangzi
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Now using pinyin romanization, this classic translation captures the visionary thought and stylistic brilliance of a seminal Daoist text.
Now using pinyin romanization, this classic translation captures the visionary thought and stylistic brilliance of a seminal Daoist text.
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Description
Only by inhabiting Dao (the Way of Nature) and dwelling in its unity can humankind achieve true happiness and freedom, in both life and death. This is Daoist philosophy's central tenet, espoused by the person—or group of people—known as Zhuangzi (369?-286? B.C.E.) in a text by the same name. To be free, individuals must discard rigid distinctions between good and bad, right and wrong, and follow a course of action not motivated by gain or striving. When one ceases to judge events as good or bad, man-made suffering disappears and natural suffering is embraced as part of life.
Zhuangzi elucidates this mystical philosophy through humour, parable, and anecdote, deploying non sequitur and even nonsense to illuminate a truth beyond the boundaries of ordinary logic. Boldly imaginative and inventively worded, the Zhuangzi floats free of its historical period and society, addressing the spiritual nourishment of all people across time. One of the most justly celebrated texts of the Chinese tradition, the Zhuangzi is read by thousands of English-language scholars each year, yet only in the Wade-Giles romanisation. Burton Watson's pinyin romanisation brings the text in line with how Chinese scholars, and an increasing number of other scholars, read it.
Series: Translations from the Asian Classics
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Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780231164740
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 03 December 2013
Country: United States
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Illustration: Figures: 2,
Contributors:
- Translated by Burton Watson
- Translated by Burton Watson
Audience: Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Width: 152.0mm
Height: 229.0mm
Weight: 0g
Pages: 368
About the Author
Burton Watson has taught at Columbia, Stanford, and Kyoto Universities and is one of the world's best-known translators of Chinese and Japanese works. His translations include The Demon at Agi Bridge and Other Japanese Tales, The Analects of Confucius, The Tales of the Heike, and The Lotus Sutra; the writings of Zhuangzi, Mozi, Xunzi, and Han Feizi; The Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry; and Records of the Grand Historian.
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