Table of Contents

Foreword, by Al Chung-liang Huang     vii
Preface     xiv
Prolegomena     xvii
    The Pronunciation of Chinese Words     xxi

1. The Chinese Written Language     2
2. The Yin-Yang Polarity     18
3. Tao      37

CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY     56

4. We-wei     74

CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY     99

5. Te—Virtuality     106

Once Again: A New Beginning, by Al Chung-liang Huang     123
    Note on My Calligraphy     128
Bibliography     129

About the Author

ALAN W. WATTS, who held both a master’s degree in theology and a doctorate of divinity, is best remembered as an interpreter of Zen Buddhism in particular, and of Indian and Chinese philosophy in general. Standing apart, however, from sectarian membership, he has earned the reputation of being one of the most original and “unrutted” philosophers of the twentieth century. Watts was the author of some twenty books on the philosophy and psychology of religion that have been published in many languages throughout the world, including the bestselling The Way of Zen. An avid lecturer, Watts appeared regularly on the radio and hosted the popular television series, Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life, in the 1960s. He died in 1973.

Reviews

"A gem to remember Watts by ... There is a flamboyant and fascinating display of learning and complex indications of a personality that seems to have resisted inner pacification."
—Kirkus Reviews

"Perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West, Alan Watts had the rare gift of 'writing beautifully the unwritable' ... Watts begins with scholarship and intellect and proceeds with art and eloquence to the frontiers of the spirit ... This is a profound and worthy work, left by a teacher to echo and re-echo."
—Los Angeles Times

"A remarkable book because of Alan Watts's talent for communicating Eastern ways of thought ... not only the last of his works, but the best ... This book is a 'must.'"
—Shambhala Review

"Watts's last book is in the category of his finest work, a lucid discussion of Taoism and the Chinese language ... profound, reflective, and enlightening. Moreover, the text supplies a sense of his ebullient spirit behind the revelation of Tao."
—Boston Globe