The Tao of the West : Western transformations of Taoist thought /
J.J. Clarke.
- London ; N.Y. : Routledge, 2000.
- 1 online resource (xii, 270 pages)
Includes bibliographical references (pages 234-258) and indexes.
Preface -- 1. 'The way that can be told': introduction -- 2. 'The meaning is not the meaning': on the nature of Daoism -- 3. 'Cramped scholars': Western interpretations of Daoism -- 4. 'The Great Clod': Daoist natural philosophy -- 5. 'Going ramblin without destination': moral explorations -- 6. 'The transformation of things': the alchemy of life, sex and health -- 7. 'The Way is incommunicable': transcendence -- 8. 'The twitter of birds': philosophical themes -- 9. 'Journey to the West': by way of concluding -- Appendix I: Chinese dynastic chronology -- Appendix II. Wade-Giles/Pinyin conversion table -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Name index -- Subject index.
In this book J.J Clarke shows us how Taoist texts, ideas and practices have been assimilated within a whole range of Western ideas and agendas. A fascinating introduction to Taoism and the history of the West's encounter with it.