The Golden Age of Zen: The Classic Work on the Foundation of Zen Philosophy

by John C.H. Wu

John C. H. Wu's classic work has long been the primary source for understanding the development of this hugely influential branch of Buddhism by students and teachers alike, and now, for the first time, it is available from an American publisher. The Golden Age of Zen explores the important period of religious history that followed the meeting of Buddhism with Chinese philosophies, most particularly Taoism. Wu looks first at the basic foundations of the school of Zen laid down in the sixth century by Bodhidharma and in the seventh century by Hui-neng, and then examines the magnificent flowering of the whole movement in the hands of successive generations of Chinese sages.

Genres: Buddhism, Zen, Spirituality

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

John went by the name of Wu Ching-hsiung until his conversion, when he was baptized John.

Graduating with honors from the Suzhou Comparative Law School of China in Shanghai, in 1920, Mr. Wu went to the University of Michigan Law School, where he received the degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1921. Later he did graduate work at the Sorbonne, the University of Berlin and Harvard University Law School. He maintained a correspondence with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., from his time as a student, and later produced scholarly work examining Holmes' legal thought.

He has honorary degrees from Boston College, St. John's University and the University of Portland.

Previously a Methodist, he was a convert to Roman Catholicism after reading Thérèse of Lisieux's biography.

Wu served as an adviser in the Chinese delegation to the 1945 United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco and served as the Chinese ambassador to the Vatican in 1947-49. In 1957, Wu was appointed a judge of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague. After the Chinese Communist Revolution, Wu worked as a professor at the Seton Hall University School of Law in New Jersey until retiring to Taiwan in 1967.

Reviews

[Jessica Zu · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an ok book but with such a naive and romantic understanding of Chan. I don't think it helped much in terms of understanding Chan. Mostly it is propagating the romanticized image of Chan, so maybe is even harmful for people who wants to understand. Yet, it's a good book to read if you keep a critical mind and NOT falling for the rosy images.

[Rahul Karn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good to know about many Zen Masters of old, but not through this book. This book is written with a very biased view. The basic idea of Zen is to look at the world with awareness without bringing any philosophy in between. But the author is so biased towards Christianity, that he keeps on bringing Christianity every now and then. In the book he has many times said about the stories related to Bodhidharma and few others that they are legends (without any basis). But in the whole book, he never says that many stories of Jesus Christ are also legends. He cannot say.
Another thing is he is too biased towards Hui Neng, the sixth patriarch of Zen.
When one writes on Zen, one should be unbiased and try to do justice to Zen without bringing his own doctrines in between. The author has clearly failed in his endeavour.
What is good about the book is that it talks about many Zen masters and their anecdotes, which is of course helpful for any interested student of Zen. He has brought materials from different sources, that too is commendable.

[Adam Zuwerink · Rating 2 out of 5]

As someone without a background in ancient Chinese history and geography, I found this book incredibly hard to penetrate. Because the author does not make an attempt to place the Zen patriarchs in their larger historical context, and does not provide a map of their locations relative to each other, all I really got out of the book is that a bunch of Zen Buddhist monks used to go around insulting and slapping each other a lot.

[Bankim · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the cha'n masters of china during the T'ang period (618-906)
are adequately covered here.One chapter for each master.Historical,biographical and doctrinal facts as well as legends are woven together in a very readable and light hearted narrative.

[Pablo Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not an easy book

Yes is not an easy book. Chinese philosophy as simple as may seem is very deep for westerners readers and scholar

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Important work on the great lineages, masters, and important early history of Chinese Ch'an - Zen.

[Cobramor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too Christian centered, but ok

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 'text' for my Introduction to Zen class.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best texts on classic Zen that you can grab.