- Paperback: 479 pages
- Publisher: MIT Press; New edition edition (1 Jan 1968)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0262690306
- ISBN-13: 978-0262690300
- Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 13.7 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 126,560 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
Product Description
Product Description
(Originally published in cloth under the title "The Man of Many Qualities: A Legacy of the I Ching").In this new interpretation and orientation of the "I Ching, " Dr. Siu not only continues the ancient Chinese custom of providing commentary on the text but has also included relevant passages taken from the world's literature, spanning 6,000 years and representing 60 countries. An astonishing range of men is called on to offer commentaries on the text: poets and scientists, tyrants and saints, hermits and adventurers, anonymous storytellers and classic men of letters--about 700 excerpts by 650 writers. Thus the commentary becomes as universal in its range as the "I Ching" itself is universal in its meaning.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
This particular translation uses examples from world literature to clarify the interpretation and is the best Iching I have ever used. Love it and then throw it away as the book says.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Looking into the cosmic mirror
11 Jun 2002
Format:Paperback
This book deserves all the praise it has received elsewhere. While the basic pattern or cycles involved are based on the format of the classical Yi Ching, it was a stroke of genius to 'flesh out' the various archetypal situations depicted in the line-texts, with quotations drawn from the world's literature (most reviewers have stressed 'Western' literature, but in fact,
many quotations are drawn from 'ethnic' sources (e.g. Chinese, African, Eskimoo etc. - in English translation).
many quotations are drawn from 'ethnic' sources (e.g. Chinese, African, Eskimoo etc. - in English translation).
Initially, I was disappointed with this book - after acquiring the Ist ed. years ago. A review had led me to believe that it was an anthology of Yi-Ching studies/commentaries, leaving me shocked to discover otherwise - a plethora of quotations - drawn from sources spanning many cultures, many centuries. As befits all oracles (usum ad delphi)the original Chinese text mostly rules out once-and-for-all, black and white definitions. The few exceptions being where and when a single 'yes' or 'no' type answer suffices. But by and large, the terseness of the Chinese text survives translation - leaving an open-ended spread of semantic possibilities - without which the intuition cannot come into play. Still, short of writing in a stilted 'pidgin' Chinglish, translating the Chinese glyphs into English (or any other Western language) necessarily involves making a choice of syntax, with tenses not there in the original. The Chinese text has a compression rather like newspaper headlines, or even an encrypted code. So, from that point of view, reducing any given line text to a black and white definition, has its price.
Be that as it may, R.G. Siu is a wonderful soul. He searched the very heart of humanity - in all its richness, triumph and tragedy - and 'just-so-ness' - when selecting his quotations, obviously a labour of love. Many, many times, I have found myself deeply moved - by the appropriateness of the quotations he has 'matched' with the Chinese line texts, resonating in real life situations - the very diversity of the sources increasing my sense of being a man among mankind, reminding me that others have known the same joys and woes, painful decisions, or even the fact that the only thing to do. . .is to wait, and let life itself produce the 'answer' to seemingly intractable situations. In fact, many of those quotations have embedded themselves in my unconscious mind, and - rather like seeds, they have re-activated themselves, speaking to me - without consulting the 'Yi' at all, which is most remarkable.
Nobody has written (or should we say 'composed') another book like it, and nobody ever will. It was a 'one-off' - a flash of inspiration, something about the 'New World' - what happens when a Chinese-American scientist with Taoist feeling and imagination finds himself looking at the Yi Ching in a 'melting pot' culture. Ten thousand people could have endeavoured to do the same thing - without the same success. The outcome could have been a hope-lessly disjointed project, but Ralph Liu's genius fused it with life - and feeling. There is something about the Chinese text and its glyphs, which has a beauty of its own. But in many cases, the nuance of some lines is not clear, minus insight into the Chinese background. Liu's text transposes these archetypal situations to a truly universal context and amplifies them in unexpected ways.A most remarkable book, by a remarkable author.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
THE PORTABLE DRAGON
16 Jan 2002
Format:Paperback
EXCELLENT BOOK, WORTHWHILE READING. PICK AND CHOOSE SECTIONSTO READ AND REMEMBER. I RECOMMEND VERY HIGHLY.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
A great source of iching and thought provocating ancedotes
14 Dec 1997
Format:Paperback
Have you ever had a book that you could open to any page and start reading? This is the one for you. Based on the ICHING, it supplies stories, fables and quotes from around the world. I gave my copy to a friend and have missed its comforting advice and wisdom ever since.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
