Declarations of the Perfected: Part Two: Instructions on Shaping Destiny

Smith, Thomas E.

ISBN 10: 1931483825 / ISBN 13: 9781931483827

Published by Three Pines Press, 2020

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 391836841

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Declarations of the Perfected: Part Two: Instructions on Shaping Destiny
• Publisher: Three Pines Press
• Publication Date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1931483825
• ISBN 13: 9781931483827
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Declarations of the Perfected is the first complete, annotated translation of Zhen’gao, Tao Hongjing’s (456-536) masterful compilation of the Shangqing or Higher Clarity revelations, setting the stage for the heyday of medieval Daoism. The present volume presents the Declarations’ second part (fasc. 5-8), which focuses on the various difficulties that Daoist practitioners are likely to encounter in a dangerous world, and how to overcome them. It begins with instructions of a more general nature, before moving on to problems faced specifically by Xu Mi (303-376) and his family and fellow officials. This volume also sheds much light on the history of its time―the kinds of moral and philosophical issues that were being debated, as well political intrigues in the Eastern Jin court.

About the Author

Thomas E. Smith received his Ph.D. in Chinese from the University of Michigan, then worked twenty years as a translator and editor for Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade before moving back to Ann Arbor in 2016. He is now a full-time, free-lance translator and editor of scholarly books and articles, mostly in Chinese social sciences and fine arts.