Burton Watson

Mo Tzu, Hs? Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu were three of the most important philosophers in ancient China. This collection of their basic writings points to three very different positions within in the spectrum of Chinese thought and reveals the diversity of of the...

In the thousand years covered by this volume the shih reached its highest level of development. A lyric form which, using a predominantly four-character line, had earlier been employed in the Confucian Book of Odes, it rose to prominence once more in the period...

The basic writings of Chuang Tzu have been savored by Chinese readers for over two thousand years. And Burton Watson's lucid and beautiful translation has been loved by generations of readers. Chuang Tzu (369?-286? B.C.) was a leading philosopher representing the Taoist strain in...

This collection is one of the earliest and most important works of Chinese Buddhist poetry and is especially influential in the later literature of the Zen Sect of Buddhism, which looked back to these poems as a classic of Zen literature. The poems cover...

Pan Ku's celebrated and influential History of the Former Han has been a model for dynastic history since its appearance in the first century A.D. The narrative is rich in detail and characterized by purity and economy of style. Covering the period from 206...

Burton Watson and Haruo Shirane, renowned translators and scholars, introduce English-speaking readers to the vivid tradition of early and medieval Japanese anecdotal (setsuwa) literature. These orally narrated and written tales drew on both local folk tradition and continental sources. Taken from seven major anthologies...

Watson's account of Chinese writing from the time of the Chou dynasty (1100--249 B.C.) to the Latter Han (25-220) is accompanied by a chronology, biographical information, and a selected list of translations.Author: Burton WatsonISBN-10: 0231086717ISBN-13: 9780231086714Publisher: Columbia University PressLanguage: EnglishPublished: 04/22/1972Pages: 304Format: PaperbackWeight: 0.77lbsSize:...

Author: Burton WatsonISBN-10: 1258182297ISBN-13: 9781258182298Publisher: Literary Licensing, LLCLanguage: EnglishPublished: 10/15/2011Pages: 314Format: PaperbackWeight: 0.93lbsSize: 9.02h x 5.98w x 0.66d

Early Chinese Literature by Burton Watson is a comprehensive and scholarly exploration of the rich literary tradition of ancient China. The book covers a vast range of texts, from the earliest known works of Chinese literature to the Tang dynasty, including poetry, philosophy, history,...

This beloved Eastern classic on living simply and in harmony with nature is back as part of the new Shambhala Pocket Library series. The short works collected in Four Huts give voice to one of the most treasured aesthetic and spiritual ideals of Asia--that...

The short works collected in Four Huts give voice to one of the most treasured aesthetic and spiritual ideals of Asia--that of a simple life lived in a simple dwelling. The texts were written between the ninth and the seventeenth centuries and convey each...

-- John AshberyAuthor: Burton WatsonISBN-10: 0231063954ISBN-13: 9780231063951Publisher: Columbia University PressLanguage: EnglishPublished: 01/02/1987Pages: 652Format: PaperbackWeight: 1.69lbsSize: 8.24h x 5.41w x 1.68d

Representative of the Fachia, or Legalist, school of philosophy, the writings of Han Fei Tzu (280?-233 B.C.) confront the issues of preserving and strengthening the state. His lessons remain timely as scholars continue to examine the nature and use of power. Burton Watson provides...

Trenchant, sophisticated, and cynical, Han Feizi has been read in every age and is still of interest today when people are more than ever concerned with the nature and use of power. Han Feizi (280?-233 B.C.), a prince of Han, was a representative of...

Hs n Tzu set forth the most complete well-ordered philosophical system of his day. Although basically Confucian, he differed with Mencius, his famous predecessor in the Confucian school, by asserting that the original nature of man is evil. To counteract this evil, he advocated...

The thoughts and writings of this important fifth century B.C. political and social thinker -- and formidable rival of the Confucianists -- are presented here in English translation.Author: Burton WatsonISBN-10: 0231086083ISBN-13: 9780231086080Publisher: Columbia University PressLanguage: EnglishPublished: 10/22/1963Pages: 140Format: PaperbackWeight: 0.35lbsSize: 7.90h x 5.10w x...

Mozi (fifth century B.C.) was an important political and social thinker and formidable rival of the Confucianists. He advocated universal love--his most important doctrine according to which all humankind should be loved and treated as one's kinfolk--honoring and making use of worthy men in...

For Po Chü-i, writing poetry was a way to expose the ills of society and an autobiographical medium to record daily activities, as well as a source of deep personal delight and satisfaction-constituting, along with wine and song, one of the chief joys of...

The Nihon ryoiki, a collection of setsuwa, or "anecdotal" tales, compiled by a monk in late-eighth- or early-ninth-century Japan, records the spread of Buddhist ideas in Japan and the ways in which Buddhism's principles were adapted to the conditions of Japanese society. Beginning in...

The Nihon ryoiki, a collection of setsuwa, or "anecdotal" tales, compiled by a monk in late-eighth- or early-ninth-century Japan, records the spread of Buddhist ideas in Japan and the ways in which Buddhism's principles were adapted to the conditions of Japanese society. Beginning in...

Author: Burton WatsonISBN-10: 0231033214ISBN-13: 9780231033213Publisher: Columbia University PressLanguage: EnglishPublished: 09/22/1969Pages: 356Format: PaperbackWeight: 0.77lbsSize: 7.96h x 5.05w x 0.98d

Du Fu (712-777) has been called China's greatest poet, and some call him the greatest nonepic, nondramatic poet whose writings survive in any language. Du Fu excelled in a great variety of poetic forms, showing a richness of language ranging from elegant to colloquial,...

Compiled by disciples of Confucius in the centuries following his death in 479 B.C.E., The Analects of Confucius is a collection of aphorisms and historical anecdotes embodying the basic values of the Confucian tradition: learning, morality, ritual decorum, and filial piety. Reflecting the model...

Compiled by disciples of Confucius in the centuries following his death in 479 B.C.E., The Analects of Confucius is a collection of aphorisms and historical anecdotes embodying the basic values of the Confucian tradition: learning, morality, ritual decorum, and filial piety. Reflecting the model...

The Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry presents translations of more than 420 poems by 96 poets drawn from the great ages of Chinese poetry. It begins with selections from the Book of Odes, the oldest anthology of Chinese poetry compiled around the seventh century...

This is one of the most justly celebrated texts of the Chinese tradition - impressive for both its bold philosophical imagination and its striking literary style. Accepting the challenge of translating this captivating classic in its entirety, Burton Watson has expertly rendered into English...

Only by inhabiting Dao (the Way of Nature) and dwelling in its unity can humankind achieve true happiness and freedom, in both life and death. This is Daoist philosophy's central tenet, espoused by the person--or group of people--known as Zhuangzi (369?-286? B.C.E.) in a...

Since its first appearance in China in the third century CE, the Lotus Sutra has been the object of intense veneration among generations of Buddhists in China, Korea, and Japan, as well as other parts of the world. It is often considered the fundamental...

Since its appearance in China in the third century, The Lotus Sutra has been regarded as one of the most illustrious scriptures in the Mahayana Buddhist canon. The object of intense veneration among generations of Buddhists in China, Korea, Japan, and other parts of...

Since its appearance in China in the third century, The Lotus Sutra has been regarded as one of the most illustrious scriptures in the Mahayana Buddhist canon. The object of intense veneration among generations of Buddhists in China, Korea, Japan, and other parts of...

The Tales of the Heike is one of the most influential works in Japanese literature and culture, remaining even today a crucial source for fiction, drama, and popular media. Originally written in the mid-thirteenth century, it features a cast of vivid characters and chronicles...

The Tales of the Heike is one of the most influential works in Japanese literature and culture, remaining even today a crucial source for fiction, drama, and popular media. Originally written in the mid-thirteenth century, it features a cast of vivid characters and chronicles...

One of the most popular Asian classics for roughly two thousand years, the Vimalakirti Sutra stands out among the sacred texts of Mahayana Buddhism for its conciseness, its vivid and humorous episodes, its dramatic narratives, and its eloquent exposition of the key doctrine of...

Originally written in Sanskrit, this sutra is one of the most influential works in the Mahayana canon. This beautiful translation of Kumarajiva's popular Chinese version highlights the sutra's frequent touches of humor, the liveliness of its episodes, and its eloquent, orderly exposition of basic...

Among the most important texts of Zen literature, the Lin-Chi lu details the insights and exploits of the great ninth century Chinese Zen master Lin-chi, one of the most highly regarded of the T'ang period masters. PEN Translation Prize-winner Burton Watson presents here an...

Xunzi asserted that the original nature of man is evil, differing on this point from Mencius, his famous predecessor in the Confucian school. In the most complete, well-ordered philosophical system of his day, Xunzi advocated the counteraction of man's evil through self-improvement, the pursuit...