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The Great Thoughts of China: 3,000 Years of Wisdom That Shaped a Civilization
Few nations have produced an intellectual tradition as complex or eclectic as that of China. Evolving gradually through a long, tumultuous history marked by magnificent triumphs and catastrophic defeats, the wisdom of the "Middle Kingdom" stands today as a testament to the achievements of human culture and sophistication.
And yet, despite the gradual migration of Chinese thought and cosmology to the West, most of it remains mysterious or even unknown to Westerners.
This remarkable volume opens a vivid window onto thousands of years of Chinese intellectual endeavor. From the time-honored sagacity of Confucius to the contemporary words of Deng Xiaoping, The Great Thoughts of China brings together--for the first time--quotations from the wisest, most insightful voices of Chinese history. Compiled by one of China's foremost cultural experts, the quotations have been carefully selected and translated for this edition to make them accessible to contemporary readers, while preserving their original meanings and context. The subjects are universal--art, human nature, politics, knowledge, military science--and the wisdom is ageless. Each topic is preceded by a brief introduction, placing it within the greater context of Chinese thought, while biographical profiles lend insight into the fascinating lives of each person quoted. Whether Taoist, Buddhist, Communist, or Confucian, the compelling words and folk wisdom of China's past and present fill these pages with reason, revelation, and perception.
Here, in one brilliant volume, are the beliefs and convictions that have forged a unique and intriguing culture. The Great Thoughts of China will enthrall all those captivated by Chinese civilization, philosophy, and history.
Good government does not win the people as does good education. He who practices good government is feared by the people; he who gives good education is loved by them. Good government wins the wealth of the people; good education wins their hearts. Mencius (4th century b.c.)
Moral force never dwells in solitude; it will always bring neighbors. Confucius (551 - 479 b.c.)
Those who would question the present should investigate the past. Those who do not understand what is to come should look at what has gone before. Guanzi (c. 4th to 2nd century b.c.)
In general, among friends there should be little admonishing and fault-finding, but much directing and encouraging. Wang Yangming (1472 - 1529)
In enforcing rules and regulations, it is better to be a bit on the strict side; otherwise, they cannot be properly established. Deng Xiaoping (1904 - )
And yet, despite the gradual migration of Chinese thought and cosmology to the West, most of it remains mysterious or even unknown to Westerners.
This remarkable volume opens a vivid window onto thousands of years of Chinese intellectual endeavor. From the time-honored sagacity of Confucius to the contemporary words of Deng Xiaoping, The Great Thoughts of China brings together--for the first time--quotations from the wisest, most insightful voices of Chinese history. Compiled by one of China's foremost cultural experts, the quotations have been carefully selected and translated for this edition to make them accessible to contemporary readers, while preserving their original meanings and context. The subjects are universal--art, human nature, politics, knowledge, military science--and the wisdom is ageless. Each topic is preceded by a brief introduction, placing it within the greater context of Chinese thought, while biographical profiles lend insight into the fascinating lives of each person quoted. Whether Taoist, Buddhist, Communist, or Confucian, the compelling words and folk wisdom of China's past and present fill these pages with reason, revelation, and perception.
Here, in one brilliant volume, are the beliefs and convictions that have forged a unique and intriguing culture. The Great Thoughts of China will enthrall all those captivated by Chinese civilization, philosophy, and history.
Good government does not win the people as does good education. He who practices good government is feared by the people; he who gives good education is loved by them. Good government wins the wealth of the people; good education wins their hearts. Mencius (4th century b.c.)
Moral force never dwells in solitude; it will always bring neighbors. Confucius (551 - 479 b.c.)
Those who would question the present should investigate the past. Those who do not understand what is to come should look at what has gone before. Guanzi (c. 4th to 2nd century b.c.)
In general, among friends there should be little admonishing and fault-finding, but much directing and encouraging. Wang Yangming (1472 - 1529)
In enforcing rules and regulations, it is better to be a bit on the strict side; otherwise, they cannot be properly established. Deng Xiaoping (1904 - )
278 pages, Hardcover
First published April 4, 1996
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July 13, 2020
This is not a book that I exactly hated to read, seeing as I greatly appreciate the wisdom of Chinese thinking. That said, this book was disappointing in that it would have been a better book without the "great thoughts" of losers like Mao Tsetung and Deng Xiaoping with their pro-Communist fortune cookie efforts that fall far below the rest of the statements that are included here in terms of their worth and the wisdom and insight that they provide. It is clear that this book is the sort of official work that came with the desire on the part of the Chinese government (and presumably willing American collaborators) in improving the opinion of readers in the Chinese government by pointing to Communism as an aspect of authentic Chinese thinking over the course of millennia rather than being a corrupt and decadent element of Western society that has actively harmed the culture and well-being of China, which would be an accurate picture. This book is an example where it would have been more enjoyable with fewer material, or at least different material than that included at the end of every section.
This particular book is a bit more than 250 pages and is divided into various sections that contain fragments of Chinese thoughts about various subjects that range from sentences to paragraphs. This sort of book is definitely not geared towards sustained wisdom but more the sort of pithy statement that tends to be associated with Chinese wisdom rathre than the more lengthy discourses that one is familiar with otherwise. This is a great shame because this book quotes from quite a few very excellent sources of Chinese wisdom from the ancient and medieval past and it is to be regretted that the selections included here are too short to have the sort of sustained wisdom that one wants. It is perhaps for this reason why the inclusion of communist "wisdom" also of a short nature is so irritating, in that it fails to even approach the wisdom of the short selections of Chinese history. Topics such as ambition, art, bureaucracy, creation, criticism, economics, education, family, fate, government, history, human nature, justice, knowledge, law, leadership, learning, the military, misfortune, mortality, policy, politics, reality, relationships, science, self-cultivation, society, success, and tradition are all interesting, and I found myself agreeing a lot with Chinese legalist thinkers as well as the more conservative and counter-revolutionary currents of Chinese thought reflected here.
It is interesting to ponder why it is that the author of this book thought that American audiences wanted to see Communist "wisdom." We may view this book, if we are uncharitable readers, as being an example of Chinese propaganda in seeking to make Communism appealing to the reader, or one may assume that the Chinese government believed (and may still believe) that those who have an interest in Chinese history and culture would be sympathetic to Communist propaganda. It is obvious that this particular appeal could only have been made once China started opening up, its seeming openness to Western influence being a commitment instead to try to exploit the openness that the West was showing to its influence. And yet this is a clumsy effort at trying to appeal to Sinophiles, in that the author actually thinks that Communist leaders have worthwhile wisdom to share and that the Chinese communist "wisdom" can be seen as being of the same level of quality as the ancient Chinese wisdom that was just once again becoming fashionable after yet another periodic attempt by a tyrannical government to destroy it in the name of cultural revolution, a distressingly common experience in Chinese history.
This particular book is a bit more than 250 pages and is divided into various sections that contain fragments of Chinese thoughts about various subjects that range from sentences to paragraphs. This sort of book is definitely not geared towards sustained wisdom but more the sort of pithy statement that tends to be associated with Chinese wisdom rathre than the more lengthy discourses that one is familiar with otherwise. This is a great shame because this book quotes from quite a few very excellent sources of Chinese wisdom from the ancient and medieval past and it is to be regretted that the selections included here are too short to have the sort of sustained wisdom that one wants. It is perhaps for this reason why the inclusion of communist "wisdom" also of a short nature is so irritating, in that it fails to even approach the wisdom of the short selections of Chinese history. Topics such as ambition, art, bureaucracy, creation, criticism, economics, education, family, fate, government, history, human nature, justice, knowledge, law, leadership, learning, the military, misfortune, mortality, policy, politics, reality, relationships, science, self-cultivation, society, success, and tradition are all interesting, and I found myself agreeing a lot with Chinese legalist thinkers as well as the more conservative and counter-revolutionary currents of Chinese thought reflected here.
It is interesting to ponder why it is that the author of this book thought that American audiences wanted to see Communist "wisdom." We may view this book, if we are uncharitable readers, as being an example of Chinese propaganda in seeking to make Communism appealing to the reader, or one may assume that the Chinese government believed (and may still believe) that those who have an interest in Chinese history and culture would be sympathetic to Communist propaganda. It is obvious that this particular appeal could only have been made once China started opening up, its seeming openness to Western influence being a commitment instead to try to exploit the openness that the West was showing to its influence. And yet this is a clumsy effort at trying to appeal to Sinophiles, in that the author actually thinks that Communist leaders have worthwhile wisdom to share and that the Chinese communist "wisdom" can be seen as being of the same level of quality as the ancient Chinese wisdom that was just once again becoming fashionable after yet another periodic attempt by a tyrannical government to destroy it in the name of cultural revolution, a distressingly common experience in Chinese history.
Displaying 1 of 1 review