Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1891 edition by the Clarendon Press, Oxford. ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics book is a facsimile reprint of a 1891 edition by the Clarendon Press, Oxford. ... Read more

Product Description
1891. The Sacred Books of the East series, comprising fifty volumes, has translations of key sacred texts of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, and Islam. The series was edited by the famous linguist Max Muller, who also produced many of the translations and were the foundational documents for the new discipline known as the comparative science of religions. The Sacred Books of China; The Texts of Taoism Part II contains: The Writings of Kwang-Tze Books XVIII-XXXIII and The Thai-Shang Tractate of Actions and Their Retributions Appendixes I-VIII. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing. ... Read more

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L
The meaning in these Lectures of the
name Confucianism.
I. THE first thing to be done in these Lectures
is to give an account of Confucianism, and
I must define at the outset in what sense I wish
that term to be understood. No name current
among men is more fully historical than that of
Confucius. Ve knov the years, and the months,
and the days of the months, in which he vas born
and died. Ve see him moving on the stage of
his country for between seventy and eighty
years in the sixth and fifth centuries before our
Christian era. But the religion of China does
not date only from his time. It has been said,
indeed, but incautiously, that" without Confucius,
China had been without a native religion."1
The sage, no doubt, helped to preserve the
ancient religion of his country, and it may be
said that it took some tinge through him from
his own character and views; but more than
l " Studies in the Philosophy of Religion and History."
A. M. Fairbairn. Page

Table of Contents

CONTENTS; LECTURE I; CONFUCIANISM; I'Ileaning in these lectures of the name ConfttcianismError; of not regarding Confucius as a rcligiou~; teacher-The earliest thoughts on religion of the; Chinese to be sought in their primitive written; characters-Primitive for heaven or the sky-For; the name God-For spirits and spiritual thingsFor; the idea of manifestation or revelation-For the; spirits or manes of departed men-Three primitives; relating to divination-Results derived from the; primitive characters and further method of treat in!:; the subject-The old religion of China was not; merely animistic, with a fetishist tendency-Views; of Professor Tiele-Wh ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The conclusions of a great scholar.
Several weeks ago I stood on the site of the palace of Hong Xiuquan, the moderately mad school-teacher who attempted to fuse Christian, Confucian, and Chinese folk ideals to overthrow the Qing Dynasty a hundred fifty years ago.To the right of the replica of Hong's old reading desk were written, in beautiful script, these words: "The tiger runs a thousand li and returns to the land of the swallow," and on the left, "The dragon flies to the ninth heaven and revives the dynasty of Yao and Xun."(Ideal ancient eemperors like Kings David or Arthur.) Clearly Hong saw the Biblical God not as doing away with Chinese ideals, but as bringing them to fruition.

The desire to reconcile the "need for roots" (as Simone Weil put it) with truth that is universal, is one of the key problems of modern life.James Legge, one of the greatest China scholars, believed Jesus could be the bridge between East and West.

This book is interesting for several reasons.The cousin of Hong Xiuquan, Hong Rengan, was a friend of James Legge.When Hong was named (nominal) head of the rebel government, he laid plans for sweeping reform of Chinese society to make it both a modern, prosperous state -- and the land of the sparrow, a China, like that of Yao and Xun, under the rule of Heaven.

Aside from the small role Legge played in Chinese history, he knew ancient Chinese thought remarkably well.His translations of ancient Confucian and Taoist texts are a century and a half old now, but several are still standard works.While some scholars dislike his faith, or complain of his less than eloquent style, even one fan of the Book of Changes admits his translations are "never wrong."He was a precise scholar with a remarkable grasp of Chinese thought.Legge was also honest as a winter rain in Scotland.His clear, meat-and-potatoes (or dumpling and soy sauce) approach remains a pretty good introduction to Chinese religions.(Apart from folk religion.)

In this book, Legge describes the two "native" faiths of China, and gives his thoughts on the relationship between Christianity and Chinese culture.Like Matteo Ricci, he is less familiar with, and sympathetic towards, the Buddhist tradition.He doesn't care for folk Taoism either, though he appeciates the Dad Dejing some.Recently, a Chinese philosopher has called Lao Zi a "prophet of God" who foretold the coming of Christ.Legge is too cautious for that.But he does say, "The more that a man possesses the Christian spirit, the more anxious will he be to do justice to every other system of religion," and he tries to be fair.

Like Ricci, Hong, and even the great Kang Xi emperor, Legge believes the ancient Chinese worshipped the same God as He whom Christians pray to.For Legge, too, acceptance of the Gospel would not mean rejecting ancient Chinese culture, but affirming its highest ideals -- including worship of the God that Yao and Shun believed in.

Legge was born before the concept of being "politically correct" occured to most Europeans, and it shows.He does not much care for Buddhism.(It was rather corrupt in his day.) He argues, in his straightforward but undiplomatic way, that Christianity is "superior" to even the best teachings of traditional Chinese culture.I prefer to describe the relationship in terms of completion, rather than comparison.(True Son of Heaven: How Jesus Fulfills the Chinese Culture.)But even some secular Chinese historians admit that missionaries of Legge's era did(in imitation of Jesus) an enormous amount of good in China, in education, medicine, raising the status of women.How could they have brought reform if they didn't have what they thought a worthy form on whom to model progress?

Anyway, Legge found great delight in Chinese culture.He certainly earned a right to his opinions.For anyone interested in China, Christianity, or comparative religion, this old book is worth tracking down.

Author, Jesus and the Religions of Man ... Read more

Product Description
A martial arts expert and motivational speaker provides a straightforward interpretation of the "Tao Te Ching" which, like the original, is divided into 82 chapters, each relating to the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Thoughtful and passionate but how accurate?
I enjoyed Kaufman's interpretation of the Tao Te Ching.In spite of the inherent redundancy, the presentation is heartfelt.My primary comment is that I had a nagging question throughout the book as to whether Kaufman wasstaying close to the original text or whether he was applying widediscretion in discerning the meaning of the original.Since the authordeliberately chose to not discuss its historical or literary context, thisis not an insignificant point. In sum, is Kaufman simply giving astraightforward presentation, as he understands it, of one of thefundamental documents of Taoist philosophy?Or is he presenting anidiosyncratic personal interpretation of his world view, utilizing theformat of this sacred text as his vehicle?Assuming that the author is notfluent in classical Chinese, I believe that it is probably the latter.

Among the best books on Tao Te Ching
With so many books out there on this subject, Steve Kaufman's is by far the best.This author has obviously dedicated his life to understanding this material and is very sincere.I feel that this is the definitive bookfor the westener on this very difficult book to understand.Mr Kaufman haswritten seveeral books on oriential subjects and they are all fantastic. Amust read ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Journal of the American Oriental Society, published by American Oriental Society on January 1, 1999. The length of the article is 849 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Taoism: Growth of a Religion.(Review)
Author: Paul W. Kroll
Publication: The Journal of the American Oriental Society (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 1999
Publisher: American Oriental Society
Volume: 119Issue: 1Page: 189(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Title: The Dragon, Image, and Demon, Or, the Three Religions of China: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism : Giving an Account of the Mythology, Idolatry, and Demonolatry of the Chinese; Original Publisher: London : Partridge; Publication date: 1886; Subjects: Confucianism; Buddhism; Taoism; China; Confucius and Confucianism; Religion / Buddhism / General; Religion / Taoism; ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Rare Treasure
First written and translated posthumously from the French in the 1950's with a style and clarity saved for popular non-fiction, the late Doctor Maspero describes the various levels of Taoism,Chinese history and culture in amazing detail. Revised in the 1980's. ... Read more

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A vivid portrait of a profound tradition - from the Tao Te Ching to the ethics of "going with the flow" This concise, illustrated introduction is an accessible introduction to the nine key themes of Taoism - including the life of its founding sage Laozi and his teachings, the influential sacred writings of the Tao Te Jing and Zhuangzi, the concept of wu wei (non interference), the cultivation of simplicity and detachment, the attainment of harmony and the quest for immortality. Jennifer Oldstone-Moore provides a unique distillation of this highly distinctive tradition, from its origins in ancient China to its place in society today, this book includes special documentary sections presenting summaries of key texts. ... Read more

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THIS 182 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East: Medieval China, by Chuang-Tze . To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 076610009X. ... Read more

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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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THIS 20 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East: Medieval China, by Chuang-Tze . To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 076610009X. ... Read more