Tag Archives: Daoist

2014 Ran Yunfei: “Zhuangzi As I See Him” 冉雲飛著《莊子我説》Preface

Posted on 12/10/2025 by 高大伟 David Cowhig

I got to know Sichuan writer Ran Yunfei when I worked at U.S. Consulate General Chengdu 2007 – 2012. Ran Yunfei is a fine writer, scholar, and bon vivant.  Lately, studying the Zhuangzi in Chinese with some retired friends we have … Continue reading →

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1788: (V. 1, Ch. 3) Qing Dynasty Ghost Stories 续子不语 (What the Master Would Not Discuss — V.1) by Yuan Mei 袁枚 Chapter 3

Posted on 10/26/2025 by 高大伟 David Cowhig

Here are more ghost stories from China’s Qing Dynasty. I’ve added links to notes on the text using ChatGPT5 and Wikipedia. Wikisource has the original text of the entire 《子不語》 What Confucius Would Not Discuss supernatural collection in twenty-four chapters and of the … Continue reading →

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1788: Volume Two (Ch. 3) Qing Dynasty Ghost Stories 续子不语 (What the Master Would Not Discuss — V.2) by Yuan Mei 袁枚 Chapter 3

Posted on 10/24/2025 by 高大伟 David Cowhig

Translated below is chapter three of the Qing Dynasty ghost stories compiled by Yuan Mei entitled 子不语 (What the Master Would Not Discuss). The Master is Confucius who famously refused to speculate about gods and demons. “The Master did not … Continue reading →

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2021: Intro II from Daoism/Zhuangzi: Zhang Yuanshan’s “Zhuangzi Restored Edition” 張遠山《莊子復原本》

Posted on 07/04/2025 by 高大伟 David Cowhig

Here continuing the translation of the preface and the introductions of Zhang Yuanshan’s “Zhuangzi Restored Edition” 《莊子復原本》that I began at 2021: Daoism/Zhuangzi: Zhang Yuanshan’s “Zhuangzi Restored Edition” 張遠山《莊子復原本》 Commentators have worked on recovering and correcting transcription errors and other problems with ancient … Continue reading →

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2021: Daoism/Zhuangzi: Zhang Yuanshan’s “Zhuangzi Restored Edition” 張遠山《莊子復原本》

Posted on 07/02/2025 by 高大伟 David Cowhig

As I continue reading some Chinese classics in Chinese with friends over the past few years — we have finished the Analects and the Mencius — we are moving on to the Zhuangzi. As I was looking for a good … Continue reading →

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Neo-Daoist Classic Guan Yinzi Chapter Three 關尹子/3

Posted on 04/16/2025 by 高大伟 David Cowhig

On to Chapter 3! The more I work on this, the more I see it as a text for meditation. So I translated it into prose and from there transposed it into free verse. I’ve been reading more about Daoism … Continue reading →

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2024: ChatGPT 4o on Hypocrisy East and West

Posted on 10/01/2024 by 高大伟 David Cowhig

I asked the ChatGPT 4o Oracle about conceptions of hypocrisy in Chinese and English.  Fun — although ChatGPT isn’t always right and one always needs to check — but that goes for the blatherings of mere carbon-based entities as well.  … Continue reading →

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600 BCE? Song Dynasty?: The Daoist Classic Guan Yinzi, a Translation Attempt, Chapter One

Posted on 09/26/2024 by 高大伟 David Cowhig

Two well-known Daoist classics, the Lao Zi and the Zhuang Zi, have been translated many times into many languages. The rest of the vast Daoist literature is much less well-known, and even less so in translation. Much scholarly work done … Continue reading →

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2008: Daoism and Post Cold War Chinese Diplomacy

Posted on 09/24/2023 by 高大伟 David Cowhig

How much do culture and traditions influence policy?  Is culture simply the water in which we (the fish) swim without being much aware of the water (culture).  Do we recognize historical circumstances as new variations on an old theme?  When … Continue reading →

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“The Dao that can be grasped by human beings is not the true Dao” 道可道，非常道

Posted on 11/27/2021 by 高大伟 David Cowhig

Verily, the Dao that can be grasped by human beings is not the true Dao.  Keeps philosophers in business as they keep trying nonetheless! “道可道，非常道”是什么意思？ 林小刀What is the meaning of “The Dao that can be grasped is not the True … Continue reading →

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