The Secret of the Golden Flower : The Classic Chinese Book of Life
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The Secret of the Golden Flower : The Classic Chinese Book of Life
Regular price
- Unit price
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ISBN: 9780062501936
Estimated First-hand Retail Price: $26.16
Publisher: HarperOne
Date of Publication: 1993-03-12
Format: Paperback
Goodreads rating: 4.15
(rated by 1595 readers)
Description
This is a translation of T'ai-i chin-hua tsung-chih, a late 18th-century Chinese meditation text falsely attributed to the shadowy 9th-century figure Lü Yen. A late expression of Chin-tan ("Golden Elixir") Taoism, it teaches manipulation of internal forces ("light") to achieve revitalization and spiritual rebirth. The work became famous in the West when Richard Wilhelm translated it in 1929, and published it with a commentary by psychologist Carl Jung. In an afterword, Cleary confesses the importance that the Wilhelm/Jung version had for his own personal development. Yet he misses few opportunities to disparage both Wilhelm and Jung, charging that their version "contains dangerous and misleading contaminations" (p. 5). It is, at best, ironic that Cleary, never obsessed by historical or textual niceties, accuses Wilhelm of publishing "a garbled translation of a truncated version of a corrupted rescension" (p. 3). Cleary's familiarity with Chin-tan texts does exceed Wilhelm's, but on the whole his translation is not much better. Extensive notes do illumine some passages, largely through use of a commentary by the 19th-century Taoist Liu I-ming. But as usual, Cleary's renderings are often unblushing paraphrases, and specific readings are sometimes simply arbitrary assignations of meaning based on his own "transcultural, transdogmatic appreciation of the mental dynamic of religion" (p. 133). Both the scholar and the general reader should approach this, like most of his earlier offerings, with due circumspection. Thomas Cleary is the preeminent translator of classic Eastern texts, including The Essential Tao, The Essential Confucius, The Secret of the Golden Flower, and the bestselling The Art of War.
Condition guide
Book Condition Guide
Books in Like New Condition
This book may contain very minor cosmetic defects, but it is in pristine condition. There should be no yellowing, no foxing, no water damage, and no annotations of any kind on the cover and the pages. For paperbacks, there should not be any crease marks on the spine. This book is good as new — lucky you!
*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.
Books in Very Good Condition
This book has been used, but it is still in a clean condition. There should be no foxing or annotations of any kind on the inner pages, but a sparse amount may be present on the cover, title pages, or outside edges of the book. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be light crease marks on the spine.
*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.
Books in Good Condition
We do our best to ensure the quality of our books, but there is no escaping the wear and tear that comes with time. Slight foxing and some annotations may be present on the pages and the cover. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be several crease marks on the spine.
*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.
Books in Well Read Condition
This is a well-read book, which means that the previous owner probably really enjoyed it! The cover and pages may include moderate foxing and annotations, but the text is not obscured and still readable. Moderate cosmetic defects and minor water damage may be present on the edges of the book. For paperbacks, there may be multiple crease marks on the spine.
*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.
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