L'usage du Tao

"I wonder if even one person still remembers me. I have cut all ties with the outside world for so long that my name is probably crossed off every address book of the people who once knew me. They may have even forgotten I exist and that is fine with me. Erasing traces is a Taoist principle that I adhere to without regret." After several years living among Taoists in China, sinologist and anthropologist Patrice Fava retreats to his isolated farm in the South of France that he transforms into a workplace, a Taoist temple and nature observatory. There he writes in his journal, in the form of an intellectual promenade between the Far East and the West, a dialogue between the great scholars of Chinese culture and modern Western thinkers such as André Breton and Michel Foucault. The author believes that if we rethink nature, art, philosophy and religion under the light of Taoism, humanity will pull out of its downward spiral and renew its ties to nature that were severed by industrial society. In the 16th century, Tu Long wrote: "It is easy to talk about Tao but it is difficult to practice . If you ignore the theoretical aspect, you are like a blind man searching for your path, but, understanding Tao without practicing it is like drawing a loaf of bread to appease one's hunger." Both manifesto and treatise of savoir-vivre, this book addresses the theoretical and practical sides of Taoism.

Pagina's: 350, Paperback, JC Lattès