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The Cat and the Tao [Hardcover]

Kwong Kuen Shan (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)


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Book Description

November 5, 2002
Timeless and elegant, "The Cat and the Tao" is a rich selection of sayings and quotes from the ancient Chinese masters that weds the inspired creativity of "The Tao of Pooh" with the spare beauty of calligraphic art. Artist and author Kwong Kuen Shan has combined the quiet power of eastern philosophy with the serene and playful beauty of her cat paintings, creating a book sure to comfort and move readers with its infectious appreciation for the wisdom of both. Her exquisite watercolor-and-ink paintings portray a variety of cats in settings ranging from the garden to the pond to the windowsill, each scene bringing to life the specific Taoist or Confucian text that accompanies it.

With special, masterfully stroked Chinese characters and authentic seals whose meanings are explained and interpreted on the facing page, "The Cat and the Tao" is an inspired combination of art and thought. Readers can experience the enchanting world of Kwong Kuen Shan's paintings while encountering meditations on the benefits of simplicity, the rewards of friendship, the tenets of living our lives with humanity -- and, of course, the invaluable lessons to be learned in both mischievousness and stillness, qualities which no creature exemplifies better than the beloved cat.


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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The hitherto separate realms of Chinese philosophy and cat-fancying are finally bridged in this winsome little tome. Shan, a painter and calligrapher, assembles an intriguing collection of ancient Chinese proverbs, poems and teachings of the sages, ranging from fortune-cookie aphorisms ("A friend who truly knows you is always with you") to Confucius's shrewd condemnation of nostalgia ("The contemporary man who wants to re-create the past indiscriminately," he writes, will just "bring trouble" on himself) and Gao Bagong's advice ("Do not take it to heart when you lose,/ Do not show it on your face when you win"). But the book's raison d'etre is the accompanying reproductions of Shan's portraits of cats as they doze, glare and stalk through a variety of landscapes and interiors. Done in a traditional Chinese style, festooned with traditional seals and calligraphic characters and featuring delicate lines and washes of muted color, her paintings eschew the lush, throbbing adorableness of the typical kitten calendar in favor of a more restrained-but still very cute-aesthetic, with nary a ball of yarn in sight. Illus.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Kwong Kuen Shan grew up in Hong Kong, where she studied classical Chinese and Chinese calligraphy. She later studied Chinese brush paintings and has been painting, exhibiting, and teaching her art for several years. She lives with her husband in Abergavenny, England.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 86 pages
  • Publisher: Atria Books (November 5, 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0743453352
  • ISBN-13: 978-0743453356
  • Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 6.8 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,265,337 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Eastern Philosophy of Cats, January 24, 2005
This review is from: The Cat and the Tao (Hardcover)
This book is less on cats and more on the philosophy about Tao and sayings of the ancient Chinese masters, just that the author uses cats as a medium and theme for delivering the adages of the ancient masters. However, I don’t question the point that cats somehow seem to fit into the way of Tao, so the book, coupled with the beautifully-done paintings and sayings, makes for a really thought-invoking read.

Indeed, the book is both elegant and refreshing with a strong tinge of Eastern influence, and the calligraphic painting of the cats in a variety of poses and actions are really exquisite and beautiful in their own ways. Each art is accompanied by short Taoist or Confucian maxims, and if one pauses to think about it, the cats paintings and sayings certainly tell us something about the aspects of life.

No doubt, the book is simple with more focus on art than words, but then, a picture is sometimes, worth a thousand words.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and enlightening, March 8, 2010
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This review is from: The Cat and the Tao (Hardcover)
Kwong Kuen Shan's lovely illustrations of cats reveal to the reader a purity and inspiration through her wonderful collection of authentic , simple , Chinese brush stroke techniques . Each are accompanied by a Taoist or Confucian text. This is a delightful book that you will enjoy reading over and over again without any disappointments . It is a journey into the realm of tranquillity where you may share the joys of original , delicate , and passionately expressive form by this truly gifted artist.
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1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars The Drawn Cat, July 28, 2008
By 
Barton J. Chandler "Bartonmaru" (Dover, Delaware United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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This review is from: The Cat and the Tao (Hardcover)
If you like line drawings of cats, this book is for you. The artwork is from the other side of Pacific, done in watercolors. Some of the works look like cats; others are artistic representations, being cat-like. The text is of Chinese proverbs and philosophers.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
To know is to recognise what you understand and what you do not understand. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
square seal, round seal
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Kuen Shan
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Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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