Master Incapable : a medieval Daoist on the liberation of the mind / translated by Jan De Meyer

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Meyer, Jan de, 1961- translator.

Series:

Hsu-Tang Library of classical Chinese literature

The Hsu-Tang library of classical Chinese literature

Language:

Chinese

English

Subjects (All):

Wunengzi, active 9th century. Wunengzi.

Wunengzi.

Physical Description:

125 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2023]

Language Note:

Text in Chinese with parallel English translation.

Summary:

"Master Incapable (Wunengzi) is an important but relatively little-known Daoist work written in 887, as the Tang dynasty (618-907) was breathing its last. The unknown author, a former government official now living as a recluse, witnesses internecine warfare, widespread poverty, and rampant social injustice, and attempts to explain why humanity seems to be plunging into a state of utter chaos. The nucleus of Master Incapable's analysis is his view of the separation of humanity from the natural world, caused by an abnormal growth of the intellect. His critique is as radical as that in the so-called "primitivist" chapters of the Daoist classic Zhuangzi, in which civilization is considered a disease spread by an intellectual and societal elite, "those who are called sages." The way out of mankind's predicament, he argues, consists in deconstructing conventional wisdom, and in ridding oneself of desire and intentionality, thereby finding one's way back to naturalness and effortless action." -- Provided by publisher.

Notes:

Non-Latin script record

Includes bibliographical references (pages 118-125).

Contains:

Container of: Wunengzi, active 9th century. Wunengzi. Chinese.

Container of: Wunengzi, active 9th century. Wunengzi. English.

ISBN:

0197603270

9780197603277

OCLC:

1382524636

Publisher Number:

99996752866