'Tao min Gnear Lusamaxe Essays from 'Musi Nan' Taw with Introductory Articles, Notes, Analysis By. Evan Morgan, Hon. DD. University of Wales, Order of the Double Dragon Foreword by J.C. Ferguson PhD. Kelly & Walsh, Shanghai There are books and books. Some books are easily written. Did not Dr. Johnson dash off "Rasselas" ina number of days one could count on one's fingers, and did not Robbie Burns dream in poetry? But Dr. Morgan's study of Taoism is the fruit of years of toil. Fortunately for the scholar, his Inbour is as_ interesting to him' as games are to the athlete or musie to the maestro. He scorns Gelights and lives laborious days just because he is born that way. The more arduous the study the more he is attracted to it, Every interrupt Vion to his task is resented—and when, at last, the fruit of his effort lies in his hands, with the printer's ink fresh upon if, he is as delighted asa mother with her frst born babe.
We have in this book the fruit of years of this intensive.study and all lovers of Chinese are indebted to Dr. Morgan for what the has done. The book is all such a book ought to be, Itis a careful translation, and copious notes and annotations are supplied to expound, as far as pos~ sible, the intricacies of the argument to the reader, Studies of Confucianism are not uncommon but books on Taoism are few and the IMerature of the subject, while voluminous in Chinese, almost non-existent in English.
Confucius and Lao-tzu were most contemporaries in the sixth century B.C. Both were officials and neither of them succeeded very well Ju the work of government. The Analerts of Confucius contain many complaints against the decay of morality in his day, and the founder of Taoum was 50 disgusted with the state of society in his time, that he mounted his ox and rode off through the Han-ku Pass into the wilds of the West, never to be seen or heard of more. Confucius lett a plethora of sayings behind him which have been regarded as the sacred writings of China for generations, Lao-tzu lett one book of 8,000 characters the meaning of which is obscure enough to puzzle the greatest of his followers. Nevertheless, In common parlance his book is spoken the same breath as that of his greater contemporary. "Ru, Shih, Teo;" say the Chinese, "Confuclan™ ism, Buddhism and Taoism" are the three religions of China, Confucius wrestled with the national problems of his day in lan—cage "understanded of the common People." Lao-tzu spoke in parables and dark sayings about Tao, th great: Numinant, have caught a glimpse of his teaching revere him as" incomparably greater than the belier known Sage. Let us try to find out what Lao-t2u, meant by "Tao!
"Tao embraces Heaven and Earth.
stretched the four corners. of the Universe "and "generated the eight points of the firmament. There fs 80 beginning io tat sere was ome "the meaning of "There was the
Dlee energy which had not yet Pullulstea toto germinal form For texts visbie shape "of root and" seed Readers will perceive from this fragment that Taoism does not ex= press itself in the simplest. terms, He who would bite the kernel: must first"erack the nut, But the frst essential is to have faith that the nut being cracked there is a Kernel there to" bite on, Let us try one other quotation:
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.