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The importance of living / Lin Yutang.
LIBRA BD431 .L42 1937
Available from offsite location
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Lin, Yutang, 1895-1976.
- Language:
- English
- Spanish
- Subjects (All):
- Life.
- Filosofie.
- VIDA.
- Local Subjects:
- Filosofie.
- VIDA.
- Penn Provenance:
- Gotham Book Mart (former owner) (Gotham Book Mart Collection copy)
- Physical Description:
- 459 pages ; 22 cm
- Place of Publication:
- New York : John Day : Reynal & Hitchcock, 1937.
- Summary:
- A wry, witty antidote to the dizzying pace of the modern world. Lin Yutang's prescription is the classic Chinese philosophy of life: revere inaction as much as action, invoke humor to maintain a healthy attitude, and never forget that there will always be plenty of fools around who are willing--indeed, eager--to be busy, to make themselves useful, and to exercise power while you bask in the simple joy of existence. At a time when we're overwhelmed with wake-up calls, here is a refreshing, playful reminder to savor life's simple pleasures.
- Contents:
- Part I. The awakening
- Approach to life
- A pseudo-scientific formula
- The scamp as ideal
- Part II. Views of mankind
- Christian, Greek and Chinese
- Earth-bound
- Spirit and flesh
- A biological view
- Human life a poem
- Part III. Our animal heritage
- The monkey epic
- In the image of the monkey
- On being mortal
- On having a stomach
- On having strong muscles
- On having a mind
- Part IV. On being human
- On human dignity
- On playful curiosity: the rise of human civilization
- On dreams
- On the sense of humor
- On being wayward and incalculable
- The doctrine of the individual
- Part V. Who can best enjoy life?
- Find thyself: chuangtse
- passion, wisdom and courage: mencius
- Cynicism, folly, and camouflage: laotse
- "Philosophy of half-and-half" Tsesse
- A lover of life: T'ao Yuanming
- Part VI. The feast of life
- The problem of happiness
- Human happiness is sensuous
- Chin's thirty-three happy moments
- Misunderstandings of materialism
- How about mental pleasure?
- Part VII. The importance of loafing
- Man the only working animal
- The Chinese theory of leisure
- The cult of the idle life
- This earth the only heaven
- What is luck?
- Three American vices
- Part VIII. The enjoyment of the home
- On getting biological
- Celibacy a freak of civilization
- On sex appeal
- The Chinese family ideal
- On growing old gracefully
- Part IX. The enjoyment of living
- On living in bed
- On sitting in chairs
- On conversation
- On tea and friendship
- On smoke and incense
- On drink and wine games
- On food and medicine
- Some curious western customs
- The inhumanity of western dress
- On house and interiors
- Part X. The enjoyment of nature
- Paradise lost?
- On bigness
- Two Chinese ladies
- On rocks and trees
- On flowers and flower arrangements
- The "vase flowers" of Yuan Chunglang
- The epigrams of Chang Chao.
- Part XI. The enjoyment of travel
- On going about and seeing things
- The travels of Mingliaotse
- The reason for the flight
- The way of traveling
- At Austere heights
- Back to humanity
- Philosophy of the flight
- Part XII. The enjoyment of culture
- Good taste in knowledge
- Art as play and personality
- The art of reading
- The art of writing
- Part XIII. Relationship to God
- The restoration of religion
- Why I am a pagan
- Part XIV. The art of thinking
- The need for humanized thinking
- The return to common sense
- Be reasonable.
- Notes:
- With an introduction by the author.
- Includes index.
- Local Notes:
- Gotham Book Mart Collection copy is thirty-sixth impression.
- Other Format:
- Online version: Lin, Yutang, 1895-1976. Importance of living.
- OCLC:
- 40272320
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