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

About this book

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 worlds 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.