Roots of Wisdom (Asiapac Comic Series)

by Tsai Chih Chung

Cai Gen Tan (Vegetable Root Discourses) is one of the gems of Chinese literature that sparkled briefly on the Chinese literary scene,then became forgotten. Perhaps this was because the author, Hong... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 997198556X
• ISBN13: 9789971985561
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: China Books & Periodicals
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A comic book on religious contemplation!

Roots of Wisdom (its real title, Vegetable Root Deep-Pool, doesn't really have it, does it?) is one book I always keep close by. Though I know no more Chinese than a cat, still in order to come closer to the real meaning I try with a Chinese dictionary to puzzle out the chapter titles in the front pages. I've never found a book I thought was more profound, yet this one, because it's in comic-book form, manages to be at the same time merry and charming and deep on the subject of religious contemplation (as well as the conduct of life). Like most things Chinese, it's very practical in its approach. But it covers the most fundamental things: being in the world vs. trying to be out of it, whether enlightenment must be sought, or whether all are already enlightened without (in most cases) knowing it, and the necessity to become detached from creatures, and it keeps your lips twisted in a sweet smile as you read it. This simple little book of 127 pages has within it all that any seeker needs to find ultimate enlightenment. It can be read and reread one's whole life long. Why, then, is it out of print? The answer to that question, I feel, is the answer to a great many more.