Lao Tzu and Taoism

by Max Kaltenmark

Book Overview

Apart from Confucius, Lao Tzu is the most eminent figure in Chinese antiquity. The book attributed to him, the Tao Te Ching, is the classic statement of the system of thought known as Taoism. Much of the doctrine of the Tao Te Ching was later clarified and modified by the greatest of the Taoist philosophers and writers, Chuang Tzu, whose chief work bears his name.

The major ideas contained in these two early texts form the...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0804706891
• ISBN13: 9780804706896
• Release Date: June 1969
• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A stimulating concise overview of the essentials of Taoism.

Philosophical Taoism, although an extremely profound system of thought, is not especially complex. Unlike Advaita Vedanta, for example, which revels in complexity and has a very extensive Sanskrit philosophic terminology, Taoism is much more straightforward and there are few technical terms for the student to wrestle with. Its two main texts, the Tao Te Ching and Chuang Tzu, can be read quite easily by anyone in unannotated bare-text versions such as those of Lin Yutang and John C. H. Wu. Most of what these texts have to tell us will be clear enough - though a lifetime could be spent pondering some of it - and most readers will probably be content to remain with the texts.For those, however, whose curiosity has been aroused, and who would like to know something of Taoism's historical and philosophical context and to read a brief scholarly analysis of its key ideas, I doubt there could be anything better than the present book by French Sinologist Max Kaltenmark.Originally published in 1965 under the title 'Lao tseu et le taoisme,' it's a small book of just 158 pages and has been beautifully translated into clear and vigorous English by Roger Greaves. After a brief Introduction we are given separate Chapters on Lao Tzu, The Teaching, The Holy Man, Chuang Tzu, and The Taoist Religion (the magico-religious system which should not be confused with philosophical Taoism proper). The book is rounded out with a brief Conclusion, a Selected Bibliography of both English and French sources, and an Index.Professor Kaltenmark tells us in his Preface that, because of limitations of format, he was "forced ... to deal almost exclusively with essentials" (page v). His book, in consequence, provides us with a concise but wonderfully readable overview of Taoism, in both its philosophic and magico-religious manifestations, and nothing of real significance seems to have been overlooked. In addition, the book is considerably enriched by its many striking and well-translated excerpts, not only from Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu, but also from commentators such as Ho Shang Kung and other less familiar sources. Kaltenmark's is one of those books that one constantly returns to. I'm pretty sure that you would enjoy it too.