Customer Reviews

Taoism: The Parting of the Way

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That Holmes Welch set himself a formidable task in offering a brief general introduction to Taoism is testified to by the lack of any other serviceable attempts on the part of Western writers to codify the vague, mystical, and powerful formulations of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching.

Welch's short book contains 4 parts. In the first part, he explains that the ambiguous nature of the ancient Chinese characters, compounded by the oftent inscrutable and paradoxical writing style of Lao Tzu himself, makes definitive translation and interpretation of the text impossible.

In the second part, he offers his own informed and wise interpretation of the the Tao Te Ching, explicating three inter-related central concepts: (1)the doctrine of 'wu-wei' (spontaneity and non-interference in action), (2)the concept of 'pu' (original human nature (literally 'the uncarved block'), the way of the newborn child as an ideal counterposed to the adult corruption introduced by society), and (3)the mystical experience of the 'tao', or 'way' of the universe through meditation.

In the third part, Welch lays out the bizarre history of the development of Taoism since Lao Tzu, its intersections with other religions, and its devolution into arcane practices of asceticism, alchemy, hygiene, and geomancy.

In the final section, Welch offers a reading of the relevance of Lao Tzu's teachings to the present day (c. 1950s) that now seems pretty dated and hackneyed.

I recommend the first 2 parts as a valuable and illuminating companion text for anyone reading the Tao Te Ching.

Welsh gives a good introduction to Taoism. He writes about what he thinks it meant, and what it developed into over the centuries. It gets a little scholarly at times but nothing too unbearable.

When I first encountered this book nearly 30 years ago there were very few English language books about Taoism available for the non-specialist, general interest reader. Fortunately, there are now far more and far better choices available.

It doesn't take long for the reader to realize that Welch regards Taoism and the Tao Te Ching with condescension and contempt. Aside from many factual errors, nearly every page yields some interpretation that is patently absurd.

Throughout the book Welch disdainfully references the fruits of Taoist meditation and self-cultivation as mere "trance". I noted at least one instance where Welch left out the last lines of a translation from the Tao Te Ching to make his point stronger, but in so doing he totally distorted the meaning of the passage.

Welch's grasp of the most fundamental of Taoist terms and concepts is laughably childish and shallow. For instance, Part II, chapter 1 of this book is entitled "Inaction"--his translation of "Wu Wei". Therein Welch constantly accuses Lao Tzu of passivity and pacifism. As a scholar, you'd think Welch would know that Taoist temples are filled with images of warrior dieties and that they display swords and other marital implements and regalia as symbols of the conflict inherent in society and nature. Some of China's greatest military strategists were, of course, Taoists and Taoist philosophy is the foundation of many of the Chinese martial arts. Wu Wei would be far more accurately translated as "non-interference". Taoists are certainly aware that perhaps only in death is there "inaction".

Curiously, for a general book about Taoism, Welch devotes almost all of his attention to (mis)interpreting Lao Tzu and the Tao Te Ching. There is little discussion of other essential figures such as Chuang Tzu and Lieh Tzu. Welch fails to acknowledge the extent to which Taoist philopshy and sensibilities have influenced and permeated every aspect of Chinese life and culture.

Welch's most astonishing statements are to be found in Part Four, in the latter part of this book:

"We [Americans]believe...that it is good to be vigorous, progressive, and forward looking, Lao Tzu believes it is good to be weak and to look inwards and backwards. We believe that what America needs is dynamic, aggressive leadership. He prefers leadership that is listless and passive. We believe in keen competition. He believess in dull indifference. We believe in education. He considers it dangerous."

Welch therefore perfectly reflects the triumphalism, materialism, reductionism and positivism that permeated the zeitgeist of the 1950's. The world is a very different place now. Whatever the reason, Welch was unable to understand Taoism. It is unfortuante that he chose to write about a topic of which he had no useful understanding or insight and to thereby pass his ignorance and bias on to his readers. It is unfortunate that his book is still in print to contribute further misunderstanding and distortion of Taoism and the Tao Te Ching.

Unfortunately, I have not encountered any book that provides a really good introdcutory overview of Taoism. Eva Wong's: The Shambhala Guide to Taoism has a good deal useful information. It unfortunately lacks a discussion of basic Taoist concepts.

The Tao Te Ching continues to be published in an astonishing number of translations. Many of them are very poor translations. I've noted that many newer translations have a new age, politically correct flavor that may be stylish but is very inaccurate. A good and venerable translation is that of Lin Yutang and should be readily available inexpensively from used book dealers. The scholarly translation by Ellen Chen is useful but may be too daunting for the casaul reader.

Though not exhibiting any depth of scholarly knowledge, the books by John Blofeld are worthwhile as they contain a good deal of charming anecdotal material from his experiences visiting Taoist monasteries before the communist revolution in China. Blofeld provides a delightful glimpse of a world that is tragically gone forever.

A brief monograph by Julius Evola entitled, Taoism-The Magic, The Mysticism, is worth acquiring. Evola is a metaphyscian and esotericist rather than an academic sinologist. His insights into Taoism in this very short work are excellent.

I have not found any book that discusses philosophical taoism and the Tao Te Ching as effectively as Mr. Welche's book.

The section on the development of Taoism as a religion can be taken as a cautionary tale on how a philosophical system can be (and often is) changed beyond recognition (and ruined) by turning it something that will be accepted by the masses.

The last page of the section on the Tao Te Ching that describes why philosphical taoism didn't succeed as a religion because of its ambiguity, darkness and uncertainty hit the nail on the head! Philosophical Taoism doesn't offer easy answers--or immortality.

As for the previous reviewer who said this was the worst book he had ever read, I would love to see his reading list. That kind of extreme statement presents for me an mindset totally incapable of comprehending what Mr. Welch was presenting--especially in the first two sections.

Yes, the book was written in the 50's--nothing better has been written as an introduction to the subject since.

If you are new to Lao Tzu, this is the book to begin with. Glad it's back in print. Much of the book is about the religion called "Taoism"--it's complex history. It is interesting in itself, but has little to do with Lao Tzu. Still, the first part of this book (about the Tao te ching) and the last chapter (about Lao Tzu in the modern world) are clear, common-sensical and often beautiful expositions to the philosophy. I first read the book thirty years ago, and none of the texts I've read in the intervening years have come close to its clear exposition, and appropriately graceful and witty exposition.

Excellent older book on the Tao Te Ching and Taoism. Considering it's age and current scholarship it still definitely bears reading.

Holmes Welch has done what many authors have failed to do. He provided a clear frame for Taoism in its entirety. His broad scope covers the philosophical, religious, and "hygienic"(Qi Gong) elements of Taoism through China's long history, and explains how they came about, intertwined, and progressed into various sects well into modern times. Anyone new to Taoism would do well to start with this book.

This book was recommended by Ursula K. Le Guin as an excellent introduction to Taoism in her new translation of the Tao Te Ching.

This book is great, the perfect introduction to the lay reader who isn't a student of philosophy. Welch is extremely knowledgeable, and it's obvious that he's researched the subject extensively. Mix this with his down-to-earth, conversational, and often amusing style and you get a winner! He explains this nebulous, dynamic system called Taoism comprehensibly. (Which is saying something, as you know if you've studied Taoism before!!) I'd recommened this book to anyone--you won't find a better one on Taoism!

This is a good guide to Taoist history, though as the book progresses, I did find the author's biases seemed to show through. It makes it a very odd read.

However, his research is good and very useful, which is quite hard to achieve in the dynamic and chaotic world of Taoist history. Despite some of the oddities, it's a good reference, wittily written.