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Caigentan
The ''Caigentan'' () is a circa 1590 text written by the Ming Dynasty scholar and philosopher Hong Zicheng (). This compilation of aphorisms eclectically combines elements from the Three teachings (Confucianism, Daoism and Chinese Buddhism, Buddhism), and is comparable with Marcus Aurelius' ''Meditations'' or François de La Rochefoucauld (writer), La Rochefoucauld's ''François de La Rochefoucauld (writer)#Literary works, Maximes''. Title Chinese ''Caigentan'' combines ''cai'' Wikt:菜, 菜 "vegetables; greens; (non-staple) food; dish; course (in menu)", ''gen'' Wikt:根, 根 "roots (of plants); bottom (of mountains)", and Wikt:譚, 譚 "talk; conversation; discourse". This compound (linguistics), compound ''caigen'' 菜根 "inedible root of a vegetable; cabbage stalk" is a literary metaphor meaning "bare subsistence" (originating in Zhu Xi's ''Xiaoxue'' 小學 "Minor Learning"). The Chinese proverb ''Jiao de caigen, baishi ke zuo'' 嚼得菜根, 百事可做 literally means "[On ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hong Zicheng
Hong Zicheng (, ) was a Chinese philosopher who lived during the end of the Ming dynasty. Zicheng (自誠) was Hong's ''zi'' (字, 'courtesy name'); his given name was Hong Yingming (Hung Ying-ming, 洪應明), and his ''hao'' (號, 'pseudonym') was Huanchu Daoren (Huan-ch'u Tao-jen, 還初道人, 'Daoist Adept who Returns to the Origin'). Hong Zicheng wrote the ''Caigentan'', the ''Xianfo qizong'', and several no-longer extant books. The '' Caigentan'' (菜根譚, 'Vegetable Roots Discourse') is an eclectic compilation of philosophical aphorisms that combine elements from Confucianism, Daoism, and Chan Buddhism. The 1602 ''Xianfo qizong'' (仙佛奇蹤, 'Marvelous Traces of Transcendents and Buddhas') contains legends about Daoist and Buddhist masters. The Qing dynasty catalog to the '' Siku Quanshu'' summarizes the ''Xianfo qizong'': Hong is a historically enigmatic figure. "Nothing is known about his life and career", write Goodrich and Fang (1976:678), except that he was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |