Written 400 years ago, by a scholar in the Ming Dynasty, The Caigentan or Vegetable Roots has been a fundamental literary guide for hundreds of years, outlining Asian philosophy. This edition, translated by Robert Aitken and Daniel W.Y. Kwok, contains 360 observations of life: its exaggerations, absurdities, grotesqueries, and falsities. Terse, humorous, witty, and timely, these Taoist, Buddhist, and Confucianist epigrams provide fundamental principles of life. Though often strict, puritan, and tough to live by, they provide the foundation for the art of living. Pocket-sized and agreeing seamlessly with the impulses of all ages, this discourse is read as a set of philosophical notions on personal development for all types.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
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"It can be enjoyed merely for its sage advice and for the charm of the Chinese idiom that Aitken and Kwok have preserved."
--This text refers to the
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About the Author
Author of nine books including, Taking the Path of Zen, Zen Master Raven, and The Morning Star, Robert Aitken has been a leader of the contemporary novel to establish Zen Buddhism in the West and was a founding member of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. He is a teacher of broad reputation and consequence, who numbers as his own teachers and associates some of the legendary figures of Japanese and American Buddhism. He lives in Hawai'i.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
good reading,
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This review is from: Vegetable Roots Discourse: Wisdom from Ming China on Life and Living (Hardcover)
Just got this book through chance. It's a great read. I think the blurb in the book summed it up well when it said something about uniting the traditional buddhist and taoist values with the more confucian. It reads like confucianized tao te ching - lots of parables of wisdom but made more "real life" - thus a but more accessible to a casual reader as opposed to the tao de ching, which a more light reader may not be able to grasp.
I am very happy with the translation, although I do not speak chinese, i feel as if there was a lot of care put into it. Great book. great job by the translators.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
food for thought,
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This review is from: Vegetable Roots Discourse: Wisdom from Ming China on Life and Living (Paperback)
this book was quite an interesting read lots of little bits of wisdom from various sources, good to read twice to make sure you havent missed anything, highly recommended!!
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First Sentence:
Those dwelling in the house of virtue may be lonely at times, but those who prosper by fawning upon the powerful are forlornly alone for ten thousand ages. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
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Those dwelling in the house of virtue may be lonely at times, but those who prosper by fawning upon the powerful are forlornly alone for ten thousand ages. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
noble person New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 13
books:
See all 13 books this book cites
- Imperial China (Architectural Guides for Travelers) by Charis Chan in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Roots of Wisdom: Saikontan by Hung Ying-Ming in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Sources of Chinese Tradition, Vol. 1 by William Theodore De Bary in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Self and Society in Ming Thought by William Theodore de Bary in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Printing and Book Culture in Late Imperial China (Studies on China) by Cynthia J. Brokaw in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 13 books this book cites
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