Master Incapable: A Medieval Daoist on the Liberation of the Mind (The Hsu-Tang Library of Classical Chinese Literature)

We are living in desperate times: nature seems to go berserk, there's warfare everywhere, and the abyss separating the poor from the rich widens every day. Late ninth-century China, as witnessed by an unknown author who called himself "Master Incapable," was no different. In the book Master Incapable wrote, he tries to explain why mankind seems to find itself spiralling downward at high speed. He also points out what every individual may do to escape from misery: liberating oneself from stifling traditions and conventions, and finding one's way back to naturalness and effortless action.

Jan De Meyer is an independent translator and scholar of Daoism, classical Chinese literature, and Tang dynasty intellectual life. His previous books include Wu Yun's Way: Life and Works of an Eighth-Century Daoist Master.