Multi-prizewinning and internationally acclaimed Yan Lianke -- 'China's most controversial novelist' (New Yorker) -- returns with a campus novel like no other following a young Buddhist as she journeys through worldly temptation To tell the truth, religious faith is really just a matter of believing stories. The world is governed by stories, and it is for the sake of stories that everyone lives on this earth. Yahui is a young Buddhist at university. But this is no ordinary university. It is populated by every faith in China: Buddhists, Daoists, Catholics, Protestants and Muslims who jostle alongside one another in the corridors of learning, and whose deities are never far from the classroom. Her days are measured out making elaborate religious papercuts, taking part in highly charged tug-of-war competitions between the faiths and trying to resist the daily temptation to return to secular life and abandon the ascetic ideals that are her calling. Everything seems to dangle by a thread. But when she meets a Daoist student called Mingzheng, an inexorable romance of mythic proportions takes hold of her. In this profoundly otherworldly novel, Chinese master Yan Lianke remakes the campus novel in typically visionary fashion, dropping readers into an allegorical world ostensibly far from our own, but which reflects our own questions and struggles right back at us. ** Beautiful edition illustrated throughout with beautiful original papercuts ** 'One of China's greatest living authors' Guardian 'His talent cannot be ignored' New York Times 'China's foremost literary satirist' Financial Times

The ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius compared children to tender sprouts. Like sprouts, a child's character, tendencies, virtues and vices are observable, and ever-changing. A practical parenting manual, philosophical reflection on the relationship between parent and child, and necessary response to modern stereotypes of Chinese parenting, Little Sprouts reconsiders cultural definitions of success and explores how we might support and nourish young people. Engaging deeply with foundational Daoist and Confucian thinkers, Erin Cline offers accessible, provocative musings on key parenting issues and helps us grow into better parents of joyful, fulfilled children.

Formed in a time of great unrest in ancient China, The Analects is vital to an understanding of Chinese history and thought, and, 2,500 years on, it remains startlingly relevant to contemporary life. Complete and unabridged. Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, cloth-bound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. Highly regarded for the poetic fluency he brings to his award-winning work, David Hinton's translation is inviting and immensely readable. Confucius, the 'great sage' of China, believed that an ideal society is based on humanity, benevolence and goodness. His profoundly influential philosophy is encapsulated in The Analects, a collection of sayings which were written down by his followers. Confucius advocates an ethical social order, woven together by selfless and supportive relationships between friends, families and communities. He taught that living by a moral code based on education, ritual, respect and integrity will bring peace to human society.

As far back as the first century BCE, Chinese dynastic historians - all men - began recording the achievements of Chinese women and creating a structure of understanding that would be used to limit and control them. To men, these women became role models for their daughters and wives; to the few literate women readers, they became paradigms for their own behavior. Thus, although these biographies are descriptive by nature, they actually became prescriptive. Gentlemen's Prescriptions for Women's Lives is an enlightening source for studying Chinese women of the Imperial era as well as for understanding Chinese womanhood in general. By contextualizing these biographies, the author shows us these women not just as the complaisant, calm-eyed, delicate figures that adorn Confucian texts, but also as the products of the Confucian tradition's appropriation of women.

This volume examines several theoretical concerns of embodiment in the context of Asian religious practice. Looking at both subtle and spatial bodies, it explores how both types of embodiment are engaged as sites for transformation, transaction and transgression. Collectively bridging ancient and modern conceptualizations of embodiment in religious practice, the book offers a complex mapping of how body is defined. It revisits more traditional, mystical religious systems, including Hindu Tantra and Yoga, Tibetan Buddhism, Bon, Chinese Daoism and Persian Sufism and distinctively juxtaposes these inquiries alongside analyses of racial, gendered, and colonized bodies. Such a multifaceted subject requires a diverse approach, and so perspectives from phenomenology and neuroscience as well as critical race theory and feminist theology are utilised to create more precise analytical tools for the scholarly engagement of embodied religious epistemologies. This a nuanced and interdisciplinary exploration of the myriad issues around bodies within religion. As such it will be a key resource for any scholar of Religious Studies, Asian Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, Philosophy, and Gender Studies.

'Do you want to improve the world? I don't think it can be done. The world is sacred. It can't be improved. If you tamper with it, you'll ruin it. If you treat it like an object, you'll lose it.' Stephen Mitchell's translation of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching (The Book of the Way) has sold over half a million copies worldwide. In this stunningly beautiful edition of the fundamental modern Taoist philosophy text, Mitchell's words are set against ancient Chinese paintings selected by Asian art expert, Dr Stephen Little.

Looks at Aum's claims about itself and asks, why did a religious movement ostensibly focussed on yoga, meditation, asceticism and enlightenment become involved in violent activities, and discusses Aum's spiritual roots, placing it in the context of contemporary Japanese religious patterns.

Explaining the process and energetics of Daoist internal alchemy, the author describes in detail the practice of Nei Dan, the alchemical firing practice of Daoism that has until very recently been a closely guarded secret. Drawing together a huge amount of esoteric material on the hidden aspects of Daoist practice, he presents theory and practice coherently for western practitioners. He offers his own experiences of each stage of attainment, describing the tangible results that should appear, and provides guidance on the practicalities and potential pitfalls of alchemical training.

Jung was fascinated by the east. Through his commentaries on such texts as the I Ching and The Tibetan Book of the Dead, and through his essays on such topics as Zen, meditation and the symbolism of the mandala, Jung attempted to build a bridge of understanding between western psychology and the ancient ideas and practices of eastern religion. By doing so he hoped to relate traditional eastern thought to modern western concerns. John Clarke's latest book seeks to uncover Jung's dialogue with the east.
The book will appeal to all those who wish to broaden their understanding of Jung's thought as well as to those who value eastern ways of thinking and who believe that by engaging with it westerners have much to gain both intellectually and spiritually.

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The author proposes an epistemological strategy to resolve controversial issues in the indigenous psychology (IP) movement. These include the nature of IPs, scientific standards, cultural concepts, philosophy of science, mainstream psychology, generalization of findings, and the isolation and independence of IPs. The approach includes a two-step strategy for construction of culture-inclusive theories, based on a Mandala model of self and a Face and Favor model for social interaction, and the use of these models to develop culture-inclusive theories for Confucian morphostasis. The author has successfully used this strategy, and encourages others to use it to construct their own culture-inclusive theories.

Neo-Confucianism, the state sponsored orthodoxy of China's later empires, is now recognized as an important key to understanding China. This study looks at the roots of Neo-Confucianism in an age when Buddhism and Taoism had eclipsed the Confucian tradition in importance. Li Ao (c. 772-836 A.D.), though generally acknowledged as a forerunner of Neo-Confucianism, is still regarded as deeply influenced by Buddhism. The historical reasons for the creation of this image of Li Ao are examined, prior to a close investigation of the actual circumstances which shaped his "Fu-hsing shu" "Book of Returing to One's True Nature" the essay which had the deepest influence on the development of early Neo-Confucianism. Although common assumptions about Buddhist influence on Li Ao are questioned, the true importance of the essay emerges in the typically Chinese patterns of thought which it exhibits and which gave it an impact transcending the immediate circumstances that prompted its writing.

Covers the major religions of Indic origin - Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism - as well as Taoism and the often-neglected Zoroastrianism, looking at theological and philosophical aspects. The varieties of Buddhism as they evolved in various cultures and societies beyond India are addressed.

The basis of Chinese religious culture, and with that many aspects of daily life, was the threat and fear of demonic attacks. These were inherently violent and could only be counteracted by violence as well - even if this reactive violence was masked by euphemisms such as execution, expulsion, exorcisms and so on. At the same time, violence was a crucial dimension of the maintenance of norms and values, for instance in sworn agreements or in beliefs about underworld punishment. Violence was also an essential aspect of expressing respect through sacrificial gifts of meat (and in an earlier stage of Chinese culture also human flesh) and through a culture of auto-mutilation and ritual suicide. At the same time, conventional indigenous terms for violence such as bao were not used for most of these practices since they were not experienced as such, but rather justified as positive uses of physical force.

Japanese religious scholar and author Yuji Sano describes fascinating historic links between Jewish theology and Shinto mythology, along with uncovered tantalising clues indicating that the God of the New Testament is a different deity than the God of the Old Testament. Alternative sources are mined to expose stunning topographic changes, effecting major global land masses set to occur in 2010 that could offer the basis for a renewal of the former close Jewish connections to Japan.

This volume of new essays is the first English-language anthology devoted to Chinese metaphysics. The essays explore the key themes of Chinese philosophy, from pre-Qin to modern times, starting with important concepts such as yin-yang and qi and taking the reader through the major periods in Chinese thought - from the Classical period, through Chinese Buddhism and Neo-Confucianism, into the twentieth-century philosophy of Xiong Shili. They explore the major traditions within Chinese philosophy, including Daoism and Mohism, and a broad range of metaphysical topics, including monism, theories of individuation, and the relationship between reality and falsehood. The volume will be a valuable resource for upper-level students and scholars of metaphysics, Chinese philosophy, or comparative philosophy, and with its rich insights into the ethical, social and political dimensions of Chinese society, it will also interest students of Asian studies and Chinese intellectual history.

A delightfully illustrated selection of the great Daoist writings of Zhuangzi by bestselling cartoonist C. C. Tsai C. C. Tsai is one of Asia's most popular cartoonists, and his editions of the Chinese classics have sold more than 40 million copies in over twenty languages. This volume presents Tsai's delightful graphic adaptation of the profound and humorous Daoist writings of Zhuangzi, some of the most popular and influential in the history of Asian philosophy and culture. The Way of Nature brings together all of Tsai's beguiling cartoon illustrations of the Zhuangzi, which takes its name from its author. The result is a uniquely accessible and entertaining adaptation of a pillar of classical Daoism, which has deeply influenced Chinese poetry, landscape painting, martial arts, and Chan (Zen) Buddhism. Irreverent and inspiring, The Way of Nature presents the memorable characters, fables, and thought experiments of Zhuangzi like no other edition, challenging readers to dig beneath conventional assumptions about self, society, and nature, and pointing to a more natural way of life. Through practical insights and far-reaching arguments, Zhuangzi shows why returning to the spontaneity of nature is the only sane response to a world of conflict. A marvelous introduction to a timeless classic, this book also features an illuminating foreword by Edward Slingerland. In addition, Zhuangzi's original Chinese text is artfully presented in narrow sidebars on each page, enriching the book for readers and students of Chinese without distracting from the self-contained English-language cartoons. The text is skillfully translated by Brian Bruya, who also provides an introduction.

This accessible guide to the development of Japan's indigenous religion from ancient times to the present day offers an illuminating introduction to the myths, sites and rituals of kami worship, and their role in Shinto's enduring religious identity.

Offers a unique new approach to Shinto history that combines critical analysis with original researchExamines key evolutionary moments in the long history of Shinto, including the Meiji Revolution of 1868, and provides the first critical history in English or Japanese of the Hie shrine, one of the most important in all JapanTraces the development of various shrines, myths, and rituals through history as uniquely diverse phenomena, exploring how and when they merged into the modern notion of Shinto that exists in Japan todayChallenges the historic stereotype of Shinto as the unchanging, all-defining core of Japanese culture

Classical acupuncture according to the philosophy of the heavenly stems and earthly branches uses the fundamental, cyclical rhythms of nature and life as a foundation for health and development. This book is one of the first of its kind in the western world to offer a practical and scholarly approach to applying this philosophy to clinical practice. This handbook guides the practitioner into a journey of better understanding of the self and provides the theoretical background to be able to confidently diagnose and treat patients. It offers invaluable insight into the use of Chinese philosophy, psychology and pulse diagnosis.

For more than 1500 years, Confucianism has played a major role in shaping Japan's history - from the formation of the first Japanese states during the first millennium AD, to Japan's modernization in the nineteenth century, to World War II and its still unresolved legacies across East Asia today. In an illuminating and provocative new study, Kiri Paramore analyses the dynamic history of Japanese Confucianism, revealing its many cultural manifestations, as religion and as a political tool, as social capital and public discourse, as well as its role in international relations and statecraft. The book demonstrates the processes through which Confucianism was historically linked to other phenomenon, such as the rise of modern science and East Asian liberalism. In doing so, it offers new perspectives on the sociology of Confucianism and its impact on society, culture and politics across East Asia, past and present.

Functioning as both a dense manual, a detailed roadmap, and an edifying tale of spiritual maturity, this third installment in Wang Yun's best-selling series brings you rare and authentic Daoism, straight from the culture that gave birth to it. With clear instruction and dozens of illustrated and filmed exercises, you can begin or strengthen your spiritual practice, boost your immune system, and find deep peace of mind, all right from the comfort of your home. Lofty Daoist philosophy and its practical applications are made easy to grasp and apply through Wang Yun's effort to translate the old teachings on how to apply the mindset and skills of Daoist meditation, alchemy and qigong to all affairs of life. To this end, Returning from Qingcheng Mountain spins a blend of rare tales from Daoist lore, straightforward explanations of ways to shape the body and mind, and inspiring stories from Wang Yun's own practice path. To 'remain natural in all things' is the tenet that pervades every page, an eternal invitation toward being at ease, no matter the circumstances. By doing so, one returns to the world out there and handles mundane matters with poise and efficiency, transforming all the challenges and joys and relationships of daily life into a practice, a meditation, and a chance to grow and develop one's spirit, and by token, the body.

Now in paperback, revised and redesigned: This is Thomas Merton's last book, in which he draws on both Eastern and Western traditions to explore the hot topic of contemplation/meditation in depth and to show how we can practice true contemplation in everyday life.

Never before published except as a series of articles (one per chapter) in an academic journal, this book on contemplation was revised by Merton shortly before his untimely death. The material bridges Merton's early work on Catholic monasticism, mysticism, and contemplation with his later writing on Eastern, especially Buddhist, traditions of meditation and spirituality. This book thus provides a comprehensive understanding of contemplation that draws on the best of Western and Eastern traditions.

Merton was still tinkering with this book when he died; it was the book he struggled with most during his career as a writer. But now the Merton Legacy Trust and experts have determined that the book makes such a valuable contribution as his major comprehensive presentation of contemplation that they have allowed its publication.

Many philosophers and scientists over the course of history have held that the world is alive. It has a soul, which governs it and binds it together. This suggestion, once so wide-spread, may strike many of us today as strange and antiquated-in fact, there are few other concepts that, on their face, so capture the sheer distance between us and our philosophical inheritance. But the idea of a world soul has held so strong a grip upon philosophers' imaginations for over 2,000 years, that it continues to underpin and even structure how we conceive of time and space. The concept of the world soul is difficult to understand in large part because over the course of history it has been invoked to very different ends and within the frameworks of very different ontologies and philosophical systems, with varying concepts of the world soul emerging as a result. This volume brings together eleven chapters by leading philosophers in their respective fields that collectively explore the various ways in which this concept has been understood and employed, covering the following philosophical areas: Platonism, Stoicism, Medieval, Indian or Vedantic, Kabbalah, Renaissance, Early Modern, German Romanticism, German Idealism, American Transcendentalism, and contemporary quantum mechanics and panpsychism theories. In addition, short reflections illuminate the impact the concept of the world soul has had on a small selection of areas outside of philosophy, such as harmony, the biological concept of spontaneous generation, Henry Purcell, psychoanalysis, and Gaia theories.

The diplomat and Japanese and Korean scholar William George Aston (1841-1911) wrote several highly regarded publications, particularly on the Japanese language. Condensed from his more comprehensive 1905 study of the subject, this 1907 work is a brief introduction to Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan. Based on the worship of nature and ancestor spirits, Shinto has evolved throughout its history, particularly under Buddhist and Confucian influence. In the late nineteenth century it played a notable role in the revival of Japanese nationalism, and continued to be central to public life until 1945. This work focuses on describing Shinto's general character, and its myths and practices, drawing on early written sources based on the oral tradition. Aston's work has been criticised for its dependence on philological study of the early texts, but his expertise is undeniable. His groundbreaking History of Japanese Literature (1899) is also reissued in this series.

The British colonial administrator and scholar Sir Reginald Fleming Johnston (1874-1938) travelled extensively in the Far East, developing a deep interest in Chinese culture and spirituality. His fourteen-year posting to the relatively quiet port of Weihaiwei allowed him to indulge this interest and to travel to places not usually visited by Europeans. Well acquainted with the philosophy of Confucius, Johnston had happily quoted the Confucian classics in his court judgments at Weihaiwei. In 1918, he was appointed tutor to the young Puyi (1906-67), who had been China's last emperor before his forced abdication. This 1934 publication, developed from lectures, presents an accessible interpretation of the tenets and fortunes of Confucianism, notably the impact of the New Culture Movement on the philosophy's place in Chinese society. Among other works, Johnston's Buddhist China (1913) and Twilight in the Forbidden City (1934) are also reissued in this series.