Drawing on his translations of the Four Books within his often-overlooked Commonplace Book, this essay argues that Henry David Thoreau's engagement with Confucian philosophy crucially shaped his eco-Daoist vision marked by spontaneity, non-distinction and reverence for wild nature. Thoreau radically reinterprets the Confucian emphasis on 'cultivating the mind', rather than the earth, and 'distinguish[ing] savors' (a Confucian formulation), transforming it into a philosophy of non-cultivation that aligns with his principle of non-distinction. Finding support in Confucian views of nature's goodness for his ideal of authenticity, Thoreau's ecological commitment to wildness and respect for all life leads him to reject perceived Confucian anthropocentrism as inadequate for his ecological vision.
Abstract: In relation to Dao, Chan, and Emerson, this essay examines dew as a central trope to connect Dickinson’s letting go with impermanence, arguing that her spiritual ideals such as rat, jay, robin, pebble, weed, and drunkard tend to cease seeking, concentrate, and forget, a state of no-mind characterized by casualness.
Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis work was supported byJNU Collaborative Innovation Center for the Communication of Chinese Culture in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas [Grant Number JNXT2021016].
This article reviews Zhuangzi’s N Generations, a modern dance performance, directed and choreographed by Qi Liu at the Guangdong Art Theatre in Guangzhou, China, on 17 December 2019.
Regarding "The Daisy follows soft the Sun -" (Fr161), the interpretive energy has been invested upon formulating the love relationship between the daisy and the sun, describing her humbleness, faithfulness, and masochistic attachment, her transformation from subservience to assertiveness or her assertion in disguise of humility. From a combined perspective of Daoism and Ralph Waldo Emerson, this essay argues that this poem features the course of nature, the transcendent moment that gravitates within, and an impersonal love. The poem dramatizes a process of returning to quietude characterized by stillness, darkness, and serenity. The Emersonian vein is clearly evidenced in the daisy's posture of "[Sitting] shyly" at night, returning to solitude, and finding a rest within an edifying sentiment. The daisy-sunset love echoes Emerson's spiritual love which presupposes a non-possessive attitude. This strand of theme intersects with softening the light, an idea which is essential for a flourishing state of being and interaction.
abstract:This article further investigates Dickinson’s Chinese aesthetic under the rubric of Blandness, Agedness and Oblivion, a strand of poetic development in Dickinson’s late years. Echoing In Praise of Blandness by Francois Jullien, a French Sinologist, this critical framework mainly derives from a nuanced reinterpretation of “The Gentian has a parched Corolla -” (Fr1458/1877). The discussion also covers some infrequently studied poems, making a case for their cross-cultural significances and implications for reexamining Dickinson’s late mind. Dickinson’s celebrating Blandness, Agedness and Oblivion closely connects with her principle of Use of Uselessness and her practicing a wandering at ease, which in her late years is reassessed and reconfirmed. Reading Dickinson’s late letters from the Chinese perspective aims at illustrating aspects of her life and roles she has played, disabusing the image of an aloof recluse.
狄金森把死亡作为参照点,逆向透视人生,将大限将至的恐惧转化成活在当下的警觉,且将之转变成表达否定性生命智慧的核心隐喻,并借助死亡予以贯彻.“停下”、“死去”、“醉眠”等死亡意象,蕴含绝俗弃欲、柔退不争、清静无为的消极智慧.鉴于众生沉迷欲望、难以消弭自我,狄金森不拘一格地推崇“死的力量”.跨文化视野有助于突破研究界的批评成规,恰当把握狄金森作品中晦涩难懂的意象、隐喻以及独特的运思方式.
Although no evidence indicates that she had a significant knowledge of Daoism and Chan Buddhism, Emily Dickinson’s ideas, motifs, and mindset seem strikingly analogous to Chinese philosophies.1 Cha...
In the context of globalization of Dickinson studies, this essay tries to chart the contours of an emerging field. Considering the philosophical premise of Daoist non-action as a critical framework for Dickinson's corpus, and likewise a valuable complement to extant Western approaches, I will reread some of Dickinson's paradigmatic poems. I will argue that Dickinson's meditative passivity, her writing practices, and her seemingly problematic or “difficult” poems can be better understood in relation to the Eastern philosophy.
The wren in the tradition of Daoism exemplifies the negative wisdom of restraining desire and the Use of uselessness,displaying distinctively reverse thinking and linguistic strategy.Echoing Daoism,Dickinson invests the wren with an idealized personality characteristic by humility and compassion;she employs a restless wren to explore the wisdom of settling the mind,as if subversively revising the wren of Daoism.
