Customer Reviews

Lieh-Tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living

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The Lieh Tzu is the one of the less known Taoist classics, yet perhaps the most accessable and enjoyable one. It's a collection of 111 stories said to be by the noted scholar Leih-Tzu around the fourth century BCE. (Who's it really by? Who knows? And who cares?)

The stories cover a variety of topics, such as choosing what is important, how to lead a group of people, archery, choosing ones targets well, Confucius, why one chooses to be a Taoist, and much more.

My favorite quote is "Enlightenment is a very normal experience, attainable by everyone. Therefore, there is nothing mysterious or secretive about it."

A simply wonderful, tranquil book that is enjoyable to read and contemplate.

Lao Tzu, the first author of Taoism, described abstruse, metaphorical scenes in abstruse language. Chuang Tzu uses prosaic descriptions, but still described philosophical ideal rather than gritty facts. Lieh Tzu came later. He used prosaic words to describe prosaic, everyday scenes, and to find enlightenment in them.

Many ring true for me. The "yellow mare" reminded me of a technician who was finely attuned to the circuits we used. He was always wrong in his diagnosis onf the problems he showed me. That never mattered. He was always right in pointing out that there was a problem, often based on small clues that I might have missed.

Lieh discusses honesty and friendship, poverty and happiness, great riches and death. Still, the language is always modern and clear, and a good supplement to Chuang and Lao.

My problem, though, is that this isn't a translation. It's Wong's interpretation. She says, early on, "Instead of a straight translation of the sematics of the text, I have decided to present the 'voice' of Lieh Tzu." As much as I like Wong's text, it troubles me. Translation is never exact, but there are degrees of inexactness. I am concerned about how much Lieh's text has suffered.

This is good anyway, and I'll probably come back to it eve if I find a more scholarly Lieh Tzu. This is readable and thought-provoking, no matter what it's authenticity.

//wiredweird

This book, unlike the more well known works by Lao-Tse and Chuang-Tse, is mostly made up of stories, and is very well suited to children. I read my library's copy, and I wish I could buy a copy to keep for myself, and for my children someday. It is an immensely comforting and wise text we owe to Lieh-Tse, a Taoist master who lived about two centuries after Lao-Tse.

One point that should be clarified about this book is that it is not a direct translation of Lieh Tzu. In the intro, the author explains that her goal was to "open up" the text for modern Western readers by essentially retelling the stories in her own way. This is a perfectly valid approach, of course, since she is open about it. In some cases, her renditions sharpen the point and even improve the literary quality of the original. In others, she may have reduced some quirkiness of the original in deference to political correctness, or may have added influences from later Taoist thought. This is a good edition to read for contemplation, but if you are interested in the history of Taoist thought at all, stick with A.C. Graham's more literal translation.

What a great version of Lieh Tzu -- much better than any I have read before. I know that Eva Wong (who I have found has done a superb job in translating Taoist texts in general) states that this is somewhat of an "interpretation" rather than a straightforward translation, but I have to say that it works! She captures the spirit and meaning of Lieh Tzu's words very well indeed. This is one book I will keep near to read and re-read many times.

This is a wonderful book, nicely written and laid out. After reading it through the first time I felt that I finally met the master sage. I constantly re-read it each day and meditate/reflect on each 'lesson.' Truly the book offers a guide to practical living in the Taoist manner; however, there are some 'lessons' in which the oriental mind has to be carefully interpreted into the Western understanding. If one is willing to do this: to make the 'lessons' fit into the Western way of Life, then one will gain immensely from this book. In other words, there has to be a certain effort and dedication on the part of the reader to incorporate this 'guide' into one's lifestyle. I highly recommend it; but also know that "what is one man's meat is another man's poison." So, keep an open mind and be ready for a new experience.

i was looking for a good taoist book after reading the tao te ching. and i found it in this one, this has a lot of short stories with differnt meanings. a must read if you like chinese culture or eastern phioloshpy!

I found this book to be thought provoking, and a good read, but the book is very short and can be read in less than day.

I'm still not done with the book but so far it's reminiscent of both the other more common Daoist texts, i.e. Dao de jing and Zhuang zi. Many allegories are in the text and it is difficult to see how they apply to real life mostly because at first read I tend to disagree with much of it. But perhaps if I understand them I may improve my life. Good reading!

...of the Taoist classic fables, all of which can be read as simple stories or wells of wisdom. I particularly like the tales of the Yellow Emperor.