Western interpretations of Taoism

Western interpretations of Taoism covers the portrayal of Taoism in the Western academic and popular press. "Western" is here interpreted very broadly so as to include books marketed to, as well as written by, Westerners.

Academic interpretations
By "academic" is here meant, works which would be normal to cite as authorities in refereed journal articles and books from university presses.

Graham, A.C., Disputers of the Tao: Philosophical Argument in Ancient China (Open Court 1993). ISBN 0-8126-9087-7

Ames, Roger, Dao De Jing: A Philosophical Translation (Ballantine Book: New York, 2003) ISBN 0-345-44415-9

Jordan, David K., Gods, Ghosts, and Ancestors: The Folk Religion of a Taiwanese Village (Berkeley:University of California Press, 1972).

Kaltenmark, Max, Lao Tzu and Taoism (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1969 ).

Kohn, Livia, The Taoist Experience: An Anthology (Albany: SUNY Press, 1993).

Maspero, Henri, Taoism and Chinese Religion (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1981). ISBN 0-87023-308-4

Schipper, Kristopher, The Taoist Body (Berkeley:University of California Press, 1993 ).

:Schipper's fieldwork in Tainan, Taiwan led to his ordination as a Taoshi, a "Taoist priest" of the Celestial Masters tradition. He views the popular religion and elite traditions which service them as integrated. Both are aspects of Taoism, which he describes as the "everyday religion" of the "real country", the "religion of the people" and the "national religion of China". Laozi and Zhuangzi, he maintains, cannot be understood without this religious context.

Sivin, Nathan, Chinese Alchemy: Preliminary Studies (Cambridge:Harvard UP, 1968).

Robinet, Isabelle, Taoism: Growth of a Religion (Stanford:Stanford University Press, 1997 ).

:Robinet defines "Taoism" as whatever is in the Daozang, the Taoist canon. Thus it is for her primarily a literary tradition, which she characterizes as "rational" and "structured". Her work particularly focuses on the Shangching and Lingbao traditions of Maoshan (fourth and fifth century), which emphasize ecstatic journeys to the pole star, and visionary experiences of the gods within one body. She distinguishes between Taoism and the popular religion "because that is what the Taoists themselves do" (p. 5), and excludes from her purview non-"Taoist" commentators on Laozi like Wang Bi, and is dubious about the relevance of modern popular movements like qigong.

Robinet. Isabelle, Taoist Meditation: The Mao-shan Tradition of Great Purity (Albany: SUNY Press, 1993 ).

Sommer, Deborah, Chinese Religion: An Anthology of Sources (Oxford University Press 1995). ISBN 0-19-508895-6

Popular interpretations/references to Taoism

Ahlgren, Paco. Discipline. Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2007. ISBN 0979084202

Anatole, Alex. The Truth of Tao. An ordained Taoist priest and lineage master offers an accessible, plain-spoken interpretation, and explanation of the Taoist philosophy and religion, from its historical roots to its current application in the modern world. ISBN 0-9742529-0-5

Anonymous. "The Tao of Being a Technology Executive." in Baseline (online technology magazine), Oct. 2001.

Capra, Fritjof, The Tao of Physics (1975). Capra suggests that the seemingly counterintuitive or transrational wisdom of Eastern religions might shed light on equally counterintuitive, transrational discoveries in particle physics. Neither mainstream physicists nor scholars of Asian religions have greeted his thesis with noticeable warmth. Another book with a similar theme is Gary Zukav's The Dancing Wu Li Masters (1979).

Deng Ming-tao's "Chronicles of Tao" trilogy (The Wandering Taoist (1983), Seven Bamboo Tablets of the Cloudy Satchel (1988), and Gateway to a Vast World (1989)) tell the story of a young Taoist monk in Huashan who grows up, meeting various masters and deities along the way. The effect is something like that of the Carlos Castaneda books. The title of the second book is taken from a real-life treatise in the Daozang.

Forstater, Mark. The Spiritual Teachings of the Tao. Hodder Mobius (2001). An insightful yet very accessible introduction to the principles behind Taoism, and a selection of Chuang Tzu's writings.

Go . The Tao of Baseball. Fireside, 1991. Not to be confused with internet jokes with the same title.

Goldberg, Kim. Ride Backwards On Dragon. Leaf Press, 2007. A series of poems structured around the 66-move sequence of Liuhebafa, an ancient Taoist martial art. Book contains 28 pages of endnotes decoding the Taoist symbolism (anatomical and metaphysical) of the 66 ancient titles of the poems/movements.

Goodman, Jenniphr. The Tao of Steve. Sony Pictures Classic, 2000. Comedy about guy coming to terms with his life philosophy.

Goodspeed, Bennett W., The Tao Jones Averages (1983). Nonfiction, self-help. Goodspeed, a psychiatrist, urges us to make use of both halves of the brain, including "intuition," when making investment decisions.

Grigg, Ray. The Tao of Being: A Think and Do Workbook. Humanics, Ltd., Not to be confused with "The Tao of Being," a poem by Jack Haas from his Om, Baby! A Pilgrimage to the Eternal Self.

Grigg, Ray. The Tao of Relationships. Humanics, Ltd., 1989.

Grigg, Ray, The Tao of Zen. Tuttle, 1994.

Hoff, Benjamin, The Tao of Pooh (1982) and The Te of Piglet (1992). Milne's writings are combed for examples of what Hoff assures us to be Taoist wisdom. Parodied by John Tyerman Williams' Pooh and the Philosophers (1995), which purports to trace all Western philosophy to Pooh.

Martin, William. The Couple's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Lovers.

Ni, Hua-Ching. Tao: The Subtle Universal Law and the Integral Way of Life. SevenStar Communications, 1998.

David Payne. Confessions of a Taoist on Wall Street (1984). Payne's first novel, this book won the Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship Award. While it accepts a somewhat optimistic view of Taoist divinatory powers, it does present a rather believable culture clash.

Summer Rain, Mary, The Tao of Nature: Earthway's Wisdom of Daily Living from Grandmother Earth (2002). A New Age Native American application of Taoism.

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