TAO CALENDAR 2008
by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English

This eighteenth in a series of calendars uses six selections from the best-selling translation of Tao Te Ching, by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English, along with six selections from their edition of Chuang Tsu: Inner Chapters. Both books are illustrated with his calligraphy and her photographs.

See the back cover showing other big photos and a spread

The Tao Te Ching, the esoteric but infinitely practical book written most probably in the sixth century B.C. by Lao Tsu, has been translated more frequently than any work except the Bible. Lao Tsu, an older contemporary of Confucius, was keeper of the imperial archives at Loyang in the province of Honan. All his life he taught that "the Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao;" but, according to ancient legend, as he was riding off into the desert to die ­ sick at heart at the ways of men ­ he was persuaded by a gatekeeper in northwestern China to write down his teaching for posterity.
The essence of Taoism is contained in the eighty-one chapters of the book ­ roughly 5,000 words ­ which have for 2,500 years provided one of the major underlying influences in Chinese thought and culture, emerging also in proverbs and folklore. Whereas Confucianism is concerned with day-to-day rules of conduct, Taoism is concerned with a more spiritual level of being.

Chuang Tsu: Inner Chapters is a companion volume to the Tao Te Ching. Very little is known about Chuang Tsu and that little is inextricably woven into legend. It is said that he was a contemporary of Mencius, an official in the Lacquer Garden of Meng in Honan Province around the fourth century B.C. Chuang Tsu was to Lao Tsu as Saint Paul was to Jesus and Plato to Socrates.
While the other philosophers were busying themselves with the practical matters of government and rules of conduct, Chuang Tsu transcended the whang cheng, the illusory dust of the world-thus anticipating Zen Buddhism's emphasis on a state of emptiness or ego transcendence. With humor, imagery and fantasy, he captures the depth of Chinese thinking. The seven "Inner Chapters" presented in this translation are accepted by scholars as being definitely the work of Chuang Tsu. Another twenty-six chapters are of questionable origin; they are interpretations of his teaching and may have been added by later commentators.

24 black and white photos of nature, 12 with Chinese calligraphy

$13.99 ISBN: 1-56937-955-6
12" x 12"
Published by Amber Lotus

Ordering Information

See also Tao Te Ching - 25th Anniversary Edition -- Chuang Tsu: Inner Chapters -- Tao Notecards
Chuang Tsu Audio Tapes -- Tao Te Ching pocket edition - Chuang Tsu Poster

Learn about a different kind of book . . .

Go to "The Daily-Tao" - where you can read any of the eighty-one chapters of Tao Te Ching or have one picked for you at random.

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