Compiled by disciples of Confucius in the centuries following his death in 479 B.C.E., The Analects of Confucius is a collection of aphorisms and historical anecdotes embodying the basic values of the Confucian tradition: learning, morality, ritual decorum, and filial piety. Reflecting the model eras of Chinese antiquity, the Analects offers valuable insights into successful governance and the ideal organization of society. Filled with humor and sarcasm, it reads like a casual conversation between teacher and student, emphasizing the role of the individual in the attainment of knowledge and the value of using historical events and people to illuminate moral and political concepts. Confucius's teachings focus on cultural and peaceful pursuits and the characteristics of benevolent and culturally distinguished government. He also discusses ancestor worship and other rites performed for the spirits of the dead. The single most influential philosophical work in all of Chinese history, The Analects of Confucius has shaped the thought and customs of China and neighboring countries for centuries. Burton Watson's concise translation uses the pinyin romanization system and keeps explanatory notes to a minimum, yet his intimate knowledge of the Confucian tradition and precise attention to linguistic detail capture the original text's elegance, cogency, and wit.

Product Description: Professor Fung Yu-lan is a distinguished contemporary Chinese philosopher. Chuang-tzu is the textbook he used to teach a course on Chuang Tzu in the Beijing Chinese Language School during the 1920s. The book originally contained the translation of the first seven chapters of the Chuang-tzu and an article entitled "Some Characteristics of the Philosophy of Kuo Hsiang "appeared as an appendix...read more

Professor Fung Yu-lan is a distinguished contemporary Chinese philosopher. Chuang-tzu is the textbook he used to teach a course on Chuang Tzu in the Beijing Chinese Language School during the 1920s. The book originally contained the translation of the first seven chapters of the Chuang-tzu and an article entitled "Some Characteristics of the Philosophy of Kuo Hsiang "appeared as an appendix. Chapter Ten, "The Third Phase of Taoism: Chuang Tzu," of Fung Yu-lan's A Short History of Chinese Philosophy is included as another appendix in the present edition. The Chuang-tzu, one of China's most important Taoist works, forms a connecting link between the preceding Book of Lao Tzu and the following Book of Huai Nan Tzu. It brims with ideas by means of images, shedding light on philosophy through the aid of fables. As the seven chapters are consistent in both style and thought, they were obviously written by Chuang Tzu himself, while some of the other chapters of the original Chuang-tzu were written by scholars of later periods or of other schools. Therefore, Chuang Tzu's philosophical thought is well presented in those seven chapters, while the ideas of the other chapters were incorporated in the translator's notes. Therefore, the present volume represents ideas discussed in the thirty-three chapters in the original Chuang- tzu. Professor Fung has, in his translator's notes, made a comparative study between Western philosophical thought and that of Chuang Tzu with a view to helping readers grasp the core of Chuang Tzu's writings.

Product Description: One of the most popular classics of Zen-Taoist literature--now in a fine-quality miniature edition. The legendary Han-shan (of the 7th-century), whose name means "Cold Mountain," has been revered for centuries as one of the great poet-recluses of Asian literature...read more

Chinese poems exploring themes such as nature, death, and politics are accompanied by essays tracing the development of poetry in China

Product Description: Pan Ku's celebrated and influential History of the Former Han has been a model for dynastic history since its appearance in the first century A.D. The narrative is rich in detail and characterized by purity and economy of style. Covering the period from 206 B...read more

(view table of contents)

Product Description: These four short works give voice to one of the most treasured aesthetic and spiritual ideals of Asia--that of a simple life lived in a simple dwelling. These beautiful texts were written by four renowned Chinese and Japanese poets, and the qualities that emerge include an awareness of impermanence and a love of nature...read more

A survey of Japanese poetry contains the works of over one hundred poets from the eighth century to the present

Product Description: Gensei, a seventeenth century Nichiren sect monk, composed poetry in Chinese and was a leading figure among the literary elite of his era. "Grass Hill" offers translations of over sixty of these poems, as well as a dozen prose pieces and an extensive introduction to Gensei's work...read more

Product Description: Trenchant, sophisticated, and cynical, Han Feizi has been read in every age and is still of interest today when people are more than ever concerned with the nature and use of power. Han Feizi (280?-233 B.C.), a prince of Han, was a representative of the Fa-chia, or Legalist, school of philosophy and produced the final and most readable exposition of its theories...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Poetry. Prose. Asian Studies. Translated from the Chinese by Burton Watson. This volume consists of twenty-five of Watson's new translations, shown alongside Lu You's poems as they appear in the original. In addition to the poems, Watson includes English translations of excerpts from Lu You's famous Ra Draii (Diary of a Trip to Shu), written in 1170, which describes his experiences on a journey he took to assume the duties of vice governor in the province of Kuizhou...read more