Vegetable Roots Discourse: Wisdom from Ming China on Life and Living PDF
Preview Vegetable Roots Discourse: Wisdom from Ming China on Life and Living
C A1G E N 1AN by H ong Zic hcng translated and introduced by Robert Aitken ^ with Daniel W. Y. Kwok VEGETABLE ROOTS DISCOURSE Wisdom from Ming China on Life and Living $24.00 U.S.A. M ING CHINA (1 368-1644), a time of politi- cal intrigue and financial upheaval, was also a time of astounding accomplishments in art and literature. In 1403, when Gutenberg was seven years old, the Ming encyclopedia, Yoncfle Dadian [Yung Lo Ta Tien) was begun. Completed five years later, it comprised 22,937 volumes! And around 1590, when Shakespeare finished Henry VI and Edmund Spenser published The Faerie Queen, a hun- dred years after Columbus "discovered'' the New World, an accomplished scholar and philosopher, HongZicheng, retired from public life and settled down to write an informal book—a compilation of his thoughts on the essence of life, human nature, and heaven and earth. He wrote other books, now lost, but this one survived, thanks largely-to its continuous popularity, first in China and later in Japan and Korea. His book, Caitjentan (Vegetable Roots Discourse), has been studied and cherished for four hundred years. A provocative and personal mix of Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian understanding, these 360 observations are direct and timely. Over his life- time, Hong Zicheng continued the work accom- plished across centuries in China—integrating Confucian ideals with Daoist and Buddhist thought. He leads us through paths as complex, absurd, and grotesque as life itself. "In the depth of your mind there is no storm,- everywhere are green mountains and clear streams. In your innate realm there is change and growth, everywhere you see fish leaping and hawks soaring." He rejects all things false, and instructs us in the art continued on back flap VEGETABLE ROOTS DISCOURSE ALSO BY ROBERT AITKEN The Morning Star Zen Master Raven Original Dwelling Place The Dragon Who Never Sleeps Encouraging Words The Practice of Perfection The Gateless Barrier The Mind of Clover Taking the Path of Zen A Zen Wave with David Steindl-Rast. The Ground We Share ALSO BY DANIEL W. Y. KWOK Scientism in Chinese Thought: i900—i950, published in Chinese as Zhongguo xiandai sixiang zhong de weikexue zhuyi Turbulent Decade by Yan Jiaqi and Gao Gao (ed. and trans.) The Urbane Imagination Chinese History, Thought and Culture with Richard Smith: Cosmology, Ontology, and Human Efficacy VEGETABLE ROOTS DISCOURSE Wisdom from Ming China on Life and Living CAICENTAN BY HONG ZICHENG Translated by Robert Aitken V^ y*- with Daniel W. Y. Kwok ^ Translation copyright © 2006 by Robert Aitken and Daniel W. Y. Kwok Foreword copyright © 2006 by Robert Aitken Afterword copyright © 2006 by Daniel W. Y. Kwok All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the Publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hong, Zicheng, fl. 1596. [Cai gen tan. English] Vegetable roots discourse : wisdom from Ming China on life and living : The caigentan / by Hong Zicheng translated ; by Robert Aitken with Daniel W. Y. Kwok, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN (10) 1-59376-091-4 ISBN (13) 978-1-59376-091-5 1. Conduct of life. I. Title: Caigentan. II. Aitken, Robert, 1917- III. Kwok, D. W. Y. (Danny Wynn Ye), 1932- IV. Title. BJ1558.C5H8525 2005 181'. 11—dc22 2005023930 Text design by Gopa & Ted2, Inc. Cover art: The picture is adopted from the website asiawind.com with permission of Dr. Siu-Leung Lee and Ms. Fu Yiyao. Printed in the United States of America by Worzalla ii Shoemaker ■■ Hoard An Imprint of Avalon Publishing Group, Inc. Distributed by Publishers Group West 10987654321 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS For References: Norman Waddell, Helen Baroni, Bill Porter (Red Pine), Jack Shoemaker For Editing: Jack Shoemaker, Trish Hoard, Roxanna Font, and Norman MacAfee For Personal Support: Tom Aitken, Lisa Yanagi, Nelson Foster, Michael Kieran, Ginger Ikenberry, Carolyn Glass, Unzan T. H. Phennig, and members of the Kaimu and Palolo Zen Center sanghas Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/vegetablerootsdiOOhong
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