TAO: THE GREAT LUMINANT. ESSAYS FROM HUAI NAN TZU, WITH INTRODUCTORY ARTICLES, NOTES, ANALYSES
Book Details + Condition: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Company (London). First Edition, 1933 (nd). Very scarce. Hardcover with blue boards; gilt decoration and titling to front and spine. 289 pages. Illustrated. Evan Morgan's English translation and study of selected chapters from the classic 2nd-century BC Chinese text compiled under the patronage of Liu An, Prince of Huai Nan. The text represents early Huang-Lao philosophy (blending the legendary Yellow Emperor and Lao Tzu), focusing on practical, laissez-faire governance and cosmic order rather than strict Confucian rituals. It portrays the Tao as an unfathomable, fluid, and all-pervading cosmic energy that generated the universe from chaos and sustains all creation. The essays champion primitive simplicity and natural harmony, arguing that human artifice and rigid traditions spoil the natural state of man. It notes that a true follower of the Tao (tao-man) lives simply without worldly desires, ends their life naturally, and lets their spirit merge back into the Cosmic Spirit without leaving a haunting trace. Chapters include:
- Life and Times of Lao Tan
- The Two Worlds
- Freedom of Life
- Tao
- Wu Wei
- Persistance and Continuity
- Liu An
- The Cosmic Spirit
- Beginning and Reality
- Life and Soul
- Natural Law
- Response of Matter To the Cosmic Spirit
- Generalship and Prevention of Anarchy
- Endeavor and Duty
- And much more.
A very scarce first edition, with firm binding; rubbed corners and edges; slight lean to book; chipping to spine ends; inked name to ffep; interior is clean and free of markings. All books are carefully packed, and shipped in boxes.
