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The cicada and the bird: The usefulness of a useless philosophy. Chuang Tzu's ancient wisdom translated for modern life
Chuang Tzu uses grand metaphors and charming parables to help us to stop identifying with this and that thing, and to instead identify with our horizon-spanning field of consciousness and our embodied sense of spirit or energy. This frees us to be present with, and to playfully engage with, whatever things happen to appear before us.
His remarkable book, written in Ancient China sometime around 300 BC, has lain hidden for millennia in a sprawling morass misleadingly known as the Chuang Tzu. Now, at last, it has been excavated. Here for the first time in over two thousand years is Chuang Tzu’s actual book: crisp and poetic, structured and elegant. A philosophical and literary work of art.
This new translation is groundbreaking in three ways:
(1) It presents you with Chuang Tzu’s actual book. Whereas other translations mix Chuang Tzu’s writing up with other people’s comments and stories, this new translation is the first to remove all that clutter and reveal Chuang Tzu’s elegantly structured book. (The omitted material is moved to an appendix, so you can decide for yourself if the translator was right to remove it.)
(2) It presents you with Chuang Tzu’s crisp, clear, poetic writing. Whereas other translations play freely with the original text (they tend to paraphrase and rewrite), this new translation adheres to the grammatical structure (the line structure, the phrasing, the exact imagery) of the text. The result is that whereas other translations ramble semi-coherently, now like an old drunk with pretensions of grandeur, now like a philosophy undergraduate dosed up on speed, this new translation presents you with Chuang Tzu’s crisp, clear, poetic writing. (For side-by-side comparisons with other translations and the Chinese text, see the book’s webpage: thecicadaandthebird dot com)
(3) It provides a running commentary. Chuang Tzu’s stories are witty, funny, and profound, but to see this we often need to know the cultural context of the stories, and we often need some interpretive guidance. This translation is the first to have a running commentary that provides this context and guidance. Many stories in Chuang Tzu's book have never been coherently or deeply interpreted by anyone, until now.
His remarkable book, written in Ancient China sometime around 300 BC, has lain hidden for millennia in a sprawling morass misleadingly known as the Chuang Tzu. Now, at last, it has been excavated. Here for the first time in over two thousand years is Chuang Tzu’s actual book: crisp and poetic, structured and elegant. A philosophical and literary work of art.
This new translation is groundbreaking in three ways:
(1) It presents you with Chuang Tzu’s actual book. Whereas other translations mix Chuang Tzu’s writing up with other people’s comments and stories, this new translation is the first to remove all that clutter and reveal Chuang Tzu’s elegantly structured book. (The omitted material is moved to an appendix, so you can decide for yourself if the translator was right to remove it.)
(2) It presents you with Chuang Tzu’s crisp, clear, poetic writing. Whereas other translations play freely with the original text (they tend to paraphrase and rewrite), this new translation adheres to the grammatical structure (the line structure, the phrasing, the exact imagery) of the text. The result is that whereas other translations ramble semi-coherently, now like an old drunk with pretensions of grandeur, now like a philosophy undergraduate dosed up on speed, this new translation presents you with Chuang Tzu’s crisp, clear, poetic writing. (For side-by-side comparisons with other translations and the Chinese text, see the book’s webpage: thecicadaandthebird dot com)
(3) It provides a running commentary. Chuang Tzu’s stories are witty, funny, and profound, but to see this we often need to know the cultural context of the stories, and we often need some interpretive guidance. This translation is the first to have a running commentary that provides this context and guidance. Many stories in Chuang Tzu's book have never been coherently or deeply interpreted by anyone, until now.
441 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2022
24 people are currently reading
3000 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 3, 2023
At last, someone who can write about spirituality without all the New Age woo woo nonsense. Like Eckhart Tolle, Chuang Tzu invites us to be Present, but unlike Tolle, Chuang Tzu does it with humour and wit and he acknowledges the limitations of physical and social reality. I've probably read every translation out there--this is the ONLY one that makes sense line by line, paragraph by paragraph. And the translator's commentary is almost as enjoyable and witty as the translation! This book is a real gem. I have a bad habit of getting frustrated with people, and with myself, but with these stories in my mind I'm now able to be more patient and accepting. Deeply philosophical, genuinely spiritual, and practical! Not many books out there that tick all those boxes.
October 2, 2023
The brief bio of the author and the way he relates to the text throughout the book could have been me to a certain degree. It is nice to see how the author came to write a book of this magnitude and depth and how he relates to it.
One of the things that Christopher Tricker did that I loved in "The Cicada and the Bird: The Usefulness of a Useless Philosophy. Chuang Tzu's Ancient Wisdom Translated for Modern Life," was bringing the perspective of the time and geographic location in which Chaung Tzu wrote. We often miss out on what was meant by forgetting the time in which someone writes a book or even the place they are writing it. Tricker consistently points out how these things affect the way we "translate" the readings and I appreciate that perspective most of all. We can read Chuang Tzu's writings and fail to see the true beauty because we forget the period in which it was written, and what beliefs were held at the time to influence the way his works would be imagined.
Tricker also gives a lot of information about the language issues, the translation issues, and a brief tutorial on how the works would have been read. I love the background information that inspires you to look at everything with fresh eyes and discern how each translation changes the text. There are many different ways to look at it and Tricker chooses his path of belief and inspires you to do the same. I would say this is one of the best, if not the best translation of Tzu's work for academic purposes.
The nuts and bolts of this exercise in literary arts is a deeper understanding of ourselves and our place in this universe (or any other universes or spaces between lol) as written by Chuang Tzu and interpreted by Tricker. Taking the lessons learned in this book can help bring about a more peaceful and loving life. Tricker ensures that you get a greater understanding of the verses than you would have if you read them on your own. I love the perspective, the take on it, if you will. I also love the comparisons to other writers, such as those like Mencius.
If I were to say anything negative about the book, it would be the length of the title but do not let that discourage you. This is an excellent book and one that you will go back to often. It's chocked full of great advice on how to live your life. Keep in mind, that this isn't just for those who want to be inspired spiritually ... it is also a great book on just the interpretation of an ancient writer from an academic standpoint alone. I read through it once, but I will pick it up and reread it several times. It is one of those books that you will pick up things you didn't get the first time around because there is just so much to unpack. This is a book that I highly recommend.
One of the things that Christopher Tricker did that I loved in "The Cicada and the Bird: The Usefulness of a Useless Philosophy. Chuang Tzu's Ancient Wisdom Translated for Modern Life," was bringing the perspective of the time and geographic location in which Chaung Tzu wrote. We often miss out on what was meant by forgetting the time in which someone writes a book or even the place they are writing it. Tricker consistently points out how these things affect the way we "translate" the readings and I appreciate that perspective most of all. We can read Chuang Tzu's writings and fail to see the true beauty because we forget the period in which it was written, and what beliefs were held at the time to influence the way his works would be imagined.
Tricker also gives a lot of information about the language issues, the translation issues, and a brief tutorial on how the works would have been read. I love the background information that inspires you to look at everything with fresh eyes and discern how each translation changes the text. There are many different ways to look at it and Tricker chooses his path of belief and inspires you to do the same. I would say this is one of the best, if not the best translation of Tzu's work for academic purposes.
The nuts and bolts of this exercise in literary arts is a deeper understanding of ourselves and our place in this universe (or any other universes or spaces between lol) as written by Chuang Tzu and interpreted by Tricker. Taking the lessons learned in this book can help bring about a more peaceful and loving life. Tricker ensures that you get a greater understanding of the verses than you would have if you read them on your own. I love the perspective, the take on it, if you will. I also love the comparisons to other writers, such as those like Mencius.
If I were to say anything negative about the book, it would be the length of the title but do not let that discourage you. This is an excellent book and one that you will go back to often. It's chocked full of great advice on how to live your life. Keep in mind, that this isn't just for those who want to be inspired spiritually ... it is also a great book on just the interpretation of an ancient writer from an academic standpoint alone. I read through it once, but I will pick it up and reread it several times. It is one of those books that you will pick up things you didn't get the first time around because there is just so much to unpack. This is a book that I highly recommend.
September 12, 2023
This is an incredible book! Stunning translation and interpretation that has taken the author a lifetime to put together.
Amazing and thoroughly enjoyable read that I will be revisiting in the future, so much wisdom within these pages that I am blown away!
Amazing and thoroughly enjoyable read that I will be revisiting in the future, so much wisdom within these pages that I am blown away!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews