Searching for: "Liezi"

  • Liezi

    One of the four central works in Daoism. The Lie-Tzu, or Liezi, was originally thought to have been composed in the same period as the Dao and Zhuang Zi, around the 5th century BCE. However, it is now believed to have been compiled nearly a thousand years later, around 400 CE. Lionel Giles, in fact, was one of the first to call out the Lieh Tzu’s suspicious origins, saying “scholars […] seem to have enjoyed nothing so much as forging, if not the whole, at any rate portions, of the works of ancient authors. Someone even produced a treatise under the name of Lieh Tzu, a philosopher mentioned by Chuang Tzu, not seeing that the individual in question was a creation of Chuang Tzu's...read more

  • Liezi

    Although Lieh Tzu's work has evidently passed through the hands of many editors and gathered numerous accretions, there remains a considerable nucleus which in all probability was committed to writing by Lieh Tzu's immediate disciples, and is therefore older than the genuine parts of Chuang Tzu. There are some obvious analogies between the two authors, and indeed a certain amount of matter common to both; but on the whole Lieh Tzu's book bears an unmistakable impress of its own. The geniality of its tone contrasts with the somewhat hard brilliancy of Chuang Tzu, and a certain kindly sympathy with the aged, the poor and the humble of this life, not excluding the brute creation, makes itself...read more

  • Liezi

    At the Court of Liang at the period of Yang Chu, about 300 B.C., the philosophers were treated as guests of the reigning king, who reserved for them lodging and maintenance, and encouraged all who had any pretence to the pursuit of truth and wisdom. Whether or not Yang Chu was actually a native of the Wei State, or whether he came there drawn by the attraction of a critical and unrivalled audience, it is at least certain that he settled there as small proprietor, probably in the reign of King Hwei, and continued there till his death, about 250 B.C. One may imagine a condition of life in many respects somewhat analogous to the life of Epicurus in his famous Athenian Garden. To the...read more

  • Sun Tzu

    This book comprises five classic works of Chinese mysticism. Culturally, these are the companion works to Confucius’ thoughts, as expanded by Mencius. Confucianism is very much the Apollonian side of Chinese culture. It focuses on matters of ethics, hierarchy, responsibility, and social obligation. Daoism is the other side of the coin, focused on abstraction and uncertainty. The two translators included in this volume were very different men. While they wrote in the same period, their audiences were distinct from one another, and this comes through in their differing approaches to the original texts they are working with. One was a missionary, looking to ensure that his fellow...read more