Illuminated Ancient Wisdom in Modern English Series

A prose translation of the Tao that focuses on bringing out the subtlety and depth of the classic Way. Translations of the famous Way and Virtue (Dao De Jing/Tao Te Ching) focus on the poetics and depth of the original. In contrast, Giles’ translation focuses on telling stories with the text, drawing out the nuances in a way that is more familiar to Western audiences from philosophical and religious texts. “Few can help being struck by the similarity of tone between the sayings of Lao Tzu and the Gospel enunciated six centuries later by the Prince of Peace. There are two famous utterances in particular which secure to Lao Tzu the glory of having anticipated the lofty morality of the Sermon on the Mount. The cavilers who would rank the Golden Rule of Confucius below that of Christ will find it hard to get over the fact that Lao Tzu said, "Requite injury with kindness," and "To the not-good I would be good in order to make them good." It was a hundred and fifty years later that Plato reached the same conclusion in the first book of the Republic. It is interesting to observe certain points of contact between Lao Tzu and the early Greek philosophers. He may be compared both with Parmenides, who disparaged sense-knowledge and taught the existence of the One as opposed to the Many, and with Heraclitus, whose theory of the identity of contraries recalls some of our Sage's paradoxes. But it is when we come to Plato that the most striking parallels occur. It has not escaped notice that something like the Platonic doctrine of ideas is discoverable in the "forms" which Lao Tzu conceives as residing in Tao. But, so far as I know, no one has yet pointed out what a close likeness Tao itself bears to that curious abstraction which Plato calls the Idea of the Good.” eBook Includes images of Wang Bi's classic commentary to the Dao.

Two books by the greatest translator of Chinese poetry, Arthur Waley (1889-1966) Arthur Waley was one of the first great Orientalists, bringing translations and commentaries from China and Japan to the West. This volume combines two of his books, the first investigating how Zen buddhism evolved to produce the kinds of artwork that it does, and how the artistic practice is also a spiritual practice. Zen Buddhism can often be confusing to the outsider. This book explores the evolution of Zen, from it's origins and early masters through to it's influence in the modern world on art and literature. This second part contains a selection of poems by China's greatest poet, Li Po, of whom it was said "Li Po’s style is swift, yet never careless; lively, yet never informal. But his intellectual outlook was low and sordid. In nine poems out of ten he deals with nothing but wine or women." "The world acclaims Li Po as its master poet. I grant that his works show unparalleled talent and originality, but not one in ten contains any moral reflection or deeper meaning." Ebook contains images of Li Po taken from manuscripts around his time, and over the centuries as he became recognised as one of China's great poets. Book editions include classical illustrations of and calligraphy by Li Po

For over two thousand years, this books has been the foundation of Chinese family life.   Based on a series of conversations with Confucius, and supplemented by a series of story examples by an Emperor in the 11th Century, it is essential to understanding the nature and order of Chinese society. It speaks of how one should behave towards a senior such as one’s parents, elder brother or ruler, and the obligations that follow in the opposite direction. Written in 400BC, the Xiaojang is legendarily a dialogue between Confucius and Zeng Zi, a disciple who was well known for his filial piety.   Since that time, it has been an essential tool of Chinese civilisation, often being the first book that Chinese children are given when they are able to read it. For Confucius and his disciples, family life is the foundation and cornerstone of society, and recognising the value and impact of family harmony on both the local and greater environments is crucial to stability and prosperity. SOME OPINIONS OF THE PRESS The Athenaeum.--"We wish that there were more of them; they are dreamy, lifelike, and fascinating." Pall Mall Gazette.--"No translation of this important work has been made since the beginning of the eighteenth century." Manchester Courier.--"Worthy of close study by all who would penetrate to the depth of Eastern thought and feeling." The Scotsman.--" should not fail to please readers of the more studious sort." Southport Guardian.--"will find considerable favour with all Students of Eastern Literature and Eastern Philosophy." Bristol Mercury.--"We commend these little books to all who imagine that there is no knowledge worth having outside Europe and America." Field.--"Such books are valuable aids to the understanding of a far-off age and people, and have a great interest for the student of literature."    

The Chuang Tsu is one of the most important books in Chinese literature and philosophy. It is one of the two foundational texts of Daoism. Also titled Zhuangzi, it is a commentary and extension of the Dao de Jing/Tao Te Ching, in the same way that Mencius' Analects are an exploration of Confucius' thought. Written in around 300BCE during the Warring States period, it is a collection of anecdotes, fables, and stories that are as silly and funny as they are profound and thought provoking. Where the Dao De Jing is a distilled and poetic exploration of the Way, Zhuangi takes a much more human and real-world path through the mysteries of the Dao. Using often humorous anecdotes, allegories, parables and fables mixed with conversations about particular aspects of the Way. James Legge’s translation is perhaps the most sophisticated and exacting one in existence. It carries as much as possible of the subtlety and detail in the original masterwork.  It is regarded as one of the greatest literary works in all of Chinese history, and has been called "the most important pre-Qin text for the study of Chinese literature." Its main themes are of spontaneity in action and of freedom from the human world and its conventions. The fables and anecdotes in the text illustrate the illusion of distinctions between good and bad, large and small, life and death, and human and nature. While other ancient Chinese philosophers focused on moral and personal duty, Zhuangzi promoted carefree wandering and becoming one with "the Way" (Dào 道) by following nature. It has influenced great Chinese and Western writers for more than 2000 years, including Oscar Wilde, Yeats, Nietzsche, Sima Xiangru, Li Bai, Su Shi and Lu You.

In the middle ages, Christianity shared much with Buddhism and other Eastern philosophies. Read on to learn how Christian mystics came to the same conclusions as those from very different faiths. This edition has been adapted from the 1923 version into modern English to make the ideas more accessible to today's reader, the Cloud of Unknowing distills a complex mystical epistemology and discipline into engagingly readable prose. The Cloud of Unknowing is a work of Christian mysticism written in Middle English in the latter half of the 14th century. It is a spiritual guide, which focuses on using contemplative prayer to know God by abandoning consideration of God's particular activities and attributes, and having the courage to surrender your mind and ego to the realm of "unknowing", at which point one may begin to glimpse the nature of God. The book counsels the young student to seek God, not through knowledge and intellect, but through intense contemplation, motivated by love, and stripped of all thought. This is brought about by putting all thoughts and desires under a "cloud of forgetting," and thereby piercing God's cloud of unknowing with a "dart of longing love" from the heart.

James Legge was one of the first great popularisers of Eastern ideas and religion in the West. In this foundational work, he provides a translation of the Dao De Jing/ Tao Te Ching that stands up well today, over a hundred years later. Book versions illustrated with historical images of Lao Tzu's various legends from Chinese mythology.

The classic work of Sufi mystical thinking from 1100CE, available in audiobook for the first time. It is also known as A Niche of Lamps.  In the middle ages, Sufi scholars reconciled rationality and faith, both of which were ascendant in the empires of the time. This is one of the great philosophical and theological works from that period, and shows another side to Islam than the doctrinaire version that is more commonly spoken of.  Al-Ghazali is often called "the proof of Islam" (hujjat al-islam), because he tried to bridge inquiry, legislation and mystical practice. One could call al-Ghazali the prototype Muslim intellectual. This translation was done in 1823 by WHT Gairdner, who also includes a commentary upon the ideas that Al-Ghazzali presents. The Niche of Lights, written near the end of his life, is about the need for balance between the authority of the divine and reason, seeing both as essential to real spiritual development.

Most famously known for his book The Prophet, the Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran, who has been called "the single most important influence on Arabic poetry and literature during the first half of [the twentieth] century." Contained herein are two lesser known works. The Madman was the first book Kahlil published in English, and it's success was enough for The Forerunner to be released by the same publisher less than two years later.

Truly radical "Machiavellianism", in the popular sense of that word, is classically expressed in Indian literature in the Arthashastra of Kautilya (written long before the birth of Christ, ostensibly in the time of Chandragupta): compared to it, Machiavelli's The Prince is harmless. — Max Weber, Politics as a Vocation (1919) Chanakya's treatise, written while turning a farmhand into the emperor of the largest empire India had ever seen, focuses on how to manage an empire, covering everything from domestic policy and personal rights to assassination and the dirtier arts of politics. This is not, as with Plato’s Republic, a work of theory. Chanakya’s guidance is entirely practical, and is based on both his education and his experience building an empire. It lacks the philosophical ponderings and moralizing of its equivalent Western works (such as The Prince, The Republic or Leviathan) and instead focuses on how one deals with the messiness of the world in practice. People will occasionally refer to Chanakya as an Indian Machiavelli, but this does some discredit to Chanakya. The Prince is a satire, and focused around exposing the tactics and inhumanity of Cesare Borgia. Arthashastra is a manual for every aspect of statecraft, and while it deals in the unethical it does so only because that is, after all is said and done, one of the options available to a ruler. If you're after a totally pragmatic analysis of leadership, stripped of moralising and focused on what works and how to deal with real-world issues, this is the book for you.

In the Early settler days, the British did more than go to war. Many found the local folklore and beliefs fascinating, and collected them together. This is one of the first explorations of South African folk tales. Come now for stories of the naughty Jackal as he tricks Lion and Leopard, or how Tortoise shows his great cunning. Of Hare and Heron and Wildebeest, and all the other majestic creatures that roam the savannah and jungles. Book versions include images of South African animals central to the stories told herein.

Tales from the Eastern Cape, gathered in 1886.

Includes classical illustrations and paintings of the poets. A selection of the very best of chinese poetry over the course of a thousand years, from 100 years before Christ was born up of the middle ages. Arthur Waley's translations of Chinese poetry are still the benchmark by which such translations are held, nearly two hundred years after he introduced the west to the wonder of classical Chinese poetry. Includes poems by: Altun Fu Hsüan Ch‘U Yüan Ch’ēn Tzŭ-Ang Ch’ēng-Kung Sui Ch’ien Wēn-Ti Ch’in Chia Ch’ü Yüan Chan Fang-Shēng Chang Tsai Chi K’ang Hsieh T’iao Hsü Ling Li Fu-Jēn Li Po Liu Hsün’s Wife Lu Yu Lu Yün Miu Hsi Ou-Yang Hsiu Pao Chao Po Chü-I Po Hsing-Chien Su Tung-P’o Sung Yü T’ao Ch’ien Tao-Yün Ts’ao Chih Ts’ao Sung Tsang Chih Tso Ssŭ Tzŭ-Yeh Wang Chi Wang Chien Wang Wei Wei Wēn-Ti Wu-Ti Yüan Chen Yüan Chieh Yüan-Ti