Initially published as The Wisdom of China and India,
publishers later separated the massive tome into its two natural halves, The Wisdom of India and The Wisdom of China. Focusing on the major schools of thought from
Eastern philosophy, the Chinese half is full of names familiar to the West: Laozi,
Confucius, Zhuangzi, Mencius, Mozi, and others.
The book also features a large number of selections from personages most
would be unfamiliar with: Luxin, Sizi, Shenfu, and so on. Lin’s translations and introductory material
invaluable, this is perhaps the best introduction to Chinese philosophy available.
Divided into sections based on theme
rather than philosopher, readers will find mysticism, democracy (Chinese
style), universal love, familial piety, everyday life, and a large number of
other subjects broached. Starting with
the Daoists, moving through the teachings of Mozi, touching upon Mencius, and
moving to Confucianism, Lin has included all of the big names expected, as well
as large number of names the majority of Westerners probably have not
encoutnered. So while these
philosophers’ works can be found in many, many other books (including Lin’s own
The Wisdom of Laotse and The Wisdom of Confucius), the inclusion
of lesser known ideologists to fill the political, spiritual, and social spaces
of Chinese thought makes this book all the more comprehensive and
valuable. (I would estimate 70% of the
book relates to the “famous” philosophers mentioned above, the remaining 30%
to lesser known personages.)
