Download or read book In Praise of Blandness written by François Jullien and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2004-04-27 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A consideration of blandness not as the absence of defining qualities but as the harmonious union of all potential values--an infinite opening into human experience. Already translated into six languages, Francois Jullien's In Praise of Blandness has become a classic. Appearing for the first time in English, this groundbreaking work of philosophy, anthropology, aesthetics, and sinology is certain to stir readers to think and experience what may at first seem impossible: the richness of a bland sound, a bland meaning, a bland painting, a bland poem. In presenting the value of blandness through as many concrete examples and original texts as possible, Jullien allows the undifferentiated foundation of all things--blandness itself--to appear. After completing this book, readers will reevaluate those familiar Western lines of thought where blandness is associated with a lack--the undesirable absence of particular, defining qualities. Jullien traces the elusive appearance and crucial value of blandness from its beginnings in the Daoist and Confucian traditions to its integration into literary and visual aesthetics in the late-medieval period and beyond. Gradually developing into a positive quality in Chinese aesthetic and ethical traditions, the bland comprises the harmonious and unnameable union of all potential values, embodying a reality whose very essence is change and providing an infinite opening into the breadth of human expression and taste. More than just a cultural history, In Praise of Blandness invites those both familiar and unfamiliar with Chinese culture to explore the resonances of the bland in literary, philosophical, and religious texts and to witness how all currents of Chinese thought--Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism--converge in harmonious accord.
Download or read book Detour and Access written by François Jullien and published by Mit Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exploration of the central role of indirect modes of expression in ancient China. In what way do we benefit from speaking of things indirectly? How does such a distancing allow us better to discover--and describe--people and objects? How does distancing produce an effect? What can we gain from approaching the world obliquely? In other words, how does detour grant access? Thus begins Francois Jullien's investigation into the strategy, subtlety, and production of meaning in ancient and modern Chinese aesthetic and political texts and events. Moving between the rhetorical traditions of ancient Greece and China, Jullien does not attempt a simple comparison of the two civilizations. Instead, he uses the perspective provided by each to gain access into a culture considered by many Westerners to be strange--"It's all Chinese to me"--and whose strangeness has been eclipsed through the assumption of its familiarity. He also uses the comparison to shed light on the role of Greek thinking in Western civilization. Jullien rereads the major texts of Chinese thought--The Book of Songs, Confucius's Analects, and the work of Mencius and Lao-Tse. He addresses the question of oblique, indirect, and allusive meaning in order to explore how the techniques of detour provide access to subtler meanings than are attainable through direct approaches. Indirect speech, Jullien concludes, yields a complex mode of indication, open to multiple perspectives and variations, infinitely adaptable to particular situations and contexts. Concentrating on that which is not said, or which is spoken only through other means, Jullien traces the benefits and costs of this rhetorical strategy in which absolute truth is absent.
Download or read book Bland Fanatics written by Pankaj Mishra and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2020-10-06 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A wide-ranging, controversial collection of critical essays on the political mania plaguing the West by one of the most important public intellectuals of our time. In America and in England, faltering economies at home and failed wars abroad have generated a political and intellectual hysteria. It is a derangement manifested in a number of ways: nostalgia for imperialism, xenophobic paranoia, and denunciations of an allegedly intolerant left. These symptoms can be found even among the most informed of Anglo-America. In Bland Fanatics, Pankaj Mishra examines the politics and culture of this hysteria, challenging the dominant establishment discourses of our times. In essays that grapple with the meaning and content of Anglo-American liberalism and its relations with colonialism, the global South, Islam, and “humanitarian” war, Mishra confronts writers such as Jordan Peterson, Niall Ferguson, and Salman Rushdie. He describes the doubling down of an intelligentsia against a background of weakening Anglo-American hegemony, and he explores the commitments of Ta-Nehisi Coates and the ideological determinations of The Economist. These essays provide a vantage point from which to understand the current crisis and its deep origins.
Download or read book Vital Nourishment written by François Jullien and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2024-09-10 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A philosophical inquiry into how to "feed life," or nourish it, draws from early Chinese thinker Zhuanghi to explore notions of breath, energy, and immanence.
Download or read book The Great Image Has No Form Or On the Nonobject Through Painting written by François Jullien and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In premodern China, painters used imagery not to mirror the world, but to evoke unfathomable experience. Considering this art alongside the philosophical traditions that inform it, this book explores the 'nonobject', a notion exemplified by paintings that do not seek to represent observable surroundings.
Download or read book If You Come to Earth written by and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2020-09-15 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From two-time Caldecott Winner author-illustrator Sophie Blackall! If You Came to Earth is a glorious guide to our home planet, and a call for us to take care of both Earth and each other. This stunning book is inspired by the thousands of children Sophie Blackall has met during her travels around the world in support of UNICEF and Save the Children. • An engaging storybook about a single curious and imaginative child • Simultaneously funny and touching • Carries a clear message about the need to care for the earth and each other If you come to Earth, there are a few things you need to know. . . We live in all kinds of places. In all kinds of homes. In all kinds of families. Each of us is different. But all of us are amazing. And, together, we share one beautiful planet. This masterful and moving picture book is a visually comprehensive guide to the earth, imbued with warmth and humor. • Ideal for children ages 3 to 5 years old • A great pick for teachers looking for a crowd-pleasing picture book about the world for little students • Perfect for parents, grandparents, and caregivers • You'll love this book if you love books like The Travel Book by Lonely Planet Kids, Atlas of Adventures by Rachel Williams, and If You Lived Here: Houses of the World by Giles Laroche.
Download or read book Philosophies of India written by Heinrich Zimmer and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-02-25 with total page 721 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Princeton Classics edition of an essential work of twentieth-century scholarship on India Since its first publication, Philosophies of India has been considered a monumental exploration of the foundations of Indian philosophy. Based on the copious notes of Indologist, linguist, and art historian Heinrich Zimmer, and edited by Joseph Campbell, this book is organized into three sections. “The Highest Good” looks at Eastern and Western thought and their convergence; “The Philosophies of Time” discusses the philosophies of success, pleasure, and duty; and “The Philosophies of Eternity” presents the fundamental concepts of Buddhism, Brahmanism, Jainism, Sankhya and yoga, and Tantra. This work examines such areas as the Buddhist Tantras, Buddhist Genesis, the Tantric presentation of divinity, the preparation of disciples and the meaning of initiation, and the symbolism of the mandala-palace Tantric ritual and twilight language. It also delves into the Tantric teachings of the inner Zodiac and the fivefold ritual symbolism of passion. Appendices, a bibliography, and general and Sanskrit indexes are included.
Download or read book God Said Yes written by Heather Hornback-Bland and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2008-09-02 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When she was just a child, Heather’s life was altered by an accident that all but destroyed her internal organs. The doctors gave her no chance—but with God’s grace, she proved them wrong. When they said she would never walk, she defied them again. And though they insisted she could never have children, she did. When others said no—God said yes. More than a story of suffering and survival, Heather’s life is a testament to the power of faith. From the first decisive moments after the accident, Heather and her mother were able to give their fear and panic to God, and trust Him to act as a source of strength in their lives. With her husband DeWayne and her daughter Mackenzie—the two greatest miracles in her life—Heather has found great joy, and many reasons to give praise. This is her amazing and inspiring true story.
Download or read book The Way of Nature written by Zhuangzi and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2019-07-02 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Way of Nature brings together all of Tsai's beguiling cartoon illustrations of the Zhuangzi, which takes its name from its author. The result is a uniquely accessible and entertaining adaptation of a pillar of classical Daoism, which has deeply influenced Chinese poetry, landscape painting, martial arts, and Chan (Zen) Buddhism. Irreverent and inspiring, The Way of Nature presents the memorable characters, fables, and thought experiments of Zhuangzi like no other edition, challenging readers to dig beneath conventional assumptions about self, society, and nature, and pointing to a more natural way of life. Through practical insights and far-reaching arguments, Zhuangzi shows why returning to the spontaneity of nature is the only sane response to a world of conflict."--Provided by publisher
Download or read book Mr McCloskey s Marvelous Mallards written by Emma Bland Smith and published by Astra Publishing House. This book was released on 2022-11-01 with total page 43 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the classic and beloved picture book Make Way for Ducklings will captivate young artists, writers, readers, and animal lovers alike. While writing and illustrating the beloved picture book Make Way for Ducklings, Robert McCloskey brings a flock of ducklings into his tiny New York City apartment. But an artist + a bunch of ducklings in his apartment = chaos! There are ducklings in the bathtub and ducklings in the kitchen, quacking at dawn and sitting on his desk. Can he learn to draw them just right before they grow too big? This glimpse into the creation of a much-loved story for kids is a must-read for fans of children’s books, or for anyone who is interested in the creative process and the importance of persistence. “Emma Smith has done a bang-up job imagining how my father wrote Make Way for Ducklings. I enjoyed reading her book.” —Jane McCloskey, daughter of Robert McCloskey and author ofRobert McCloskey: A Private Life in Words and Pictures “A wonderfully rollicking rendition of the story behind the story.” —Gary D. Schmidt, Newbery Honor-winning author of books for children and author of Robert McCloskey
Download or read book Some Dads written by Nick Bland and published by Running Press Kids. This book was released on 2017-05-02 with total page 27 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dads come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities! Some dads tend to worry. And some dads are in a hurry. Some dads like strolling. And some dads like rock 'n' rolling. But all dads are proud of their kids, and all kids love their dads for their unique qualities. In this silly rhyming picture book by author-illustrator Nick Bland, fathers and their children will enjoy sharing story time together as they think about all the wonderful things that make their time together special. Some Dads is the perfect gift for Father's Day or for any new dad.
Download or read book The Propensity of Things written by François Jullien and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, his first to appear in English, French sinologist François Jullien uses the Chinese concept of shi--meaning disposition or circumstance, power or potential--as a touchstone to explore Chinese culture and to uncover the intricate structure underlying Chinese modes of thinking.
Download or read book The Art of Chinese Philosophy written by Paul Goldin and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-04-07 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Goldin thus begins the book by asking the basic question "What are we reading?" while also considering why it has been so rarely asked. Yet far from denigrating Chinese philosophy, he argues that liberating these texts from the mythic idea that they are the product of a single great mind only improves our understanding and appreciation. By no means does a text require single and undisputed authorship to be meaningful; nor is historicism the only legitimate interpretive stance. The first chapter takes up a hallmark of Chinese philosophy that demands a Western reader's cognizance: its preference for non-deductive argumentation. Chinese philosophy is an art (hence the title) he demonstrates, more than it is a rigorous logical method. Then comes the core of the book, eight chapters devoted to the eight philosophical texts divided into three parts: Philosophy of Heaven, Philosophy of the Way, and Two Titans at the End of an Age. .
Download or read book Journey written by Emma Bland Smith and published by Sasquatch Books. This book was released on 2016-01-01 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This beautiful picture book follows the journey of a young gray wolf who garnered nationwide attention when he became the first wild wolf in California in almost a century. Using facts recorded by Fish & Wildlife scientists, author Emma Bland Smith imagines the wolf's experiences in close detail as he makes an epic 2,000-mile trek over three years time. The wolf's story is interwoven with the perspective of a young girl who follows his trek through the media. As she learns more about wolves and their relationships with humans, she becomes determined to find a way to keep him safe by making him a wolf that is too famous to harm.
Download or read book In Case We Die written by Danny Bland and published by Fantagraphics Books. This book was released on 2013-09-07 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Danny Bland’s fictional prose novel about a doomed junkie couple is given depth by his first hand experiences in the ’90s grunge rock scene. “It wasn’t the pounding headache or the all too familiar taste of blood in my mouth that woke me that morning, but the stink of cat piss. They all have cats. Cats and bad tattoos and mops of dyed black hair that reek of cigarettes and watermelon Bubblicious.” This debut novel by veteran Seattle musician Danny Bland follows a pair of outsiders who find themselves locked in the palpable, dizzy grunge-rock scene of early-’90s Seattle. Vulnerable to the high relief of heroin addiction, Bland’s characters ― Charlie Hyatt and Carrie Finch ― are unapologetic protagonists whose epiphanies are as blinding as their weaknesses. Finch, 21, beautiful and dangerous, drowns out the voices in her head and the consequences of a misled life with electric guitars, booze and petulant misbehavior. Her single abiding faith takes the form of an unlikely savior ― ’60s psychedelic musician Roky Erikson. At the ripe old age of 28, Hyatt attempts to make sense of the cards he has been dealt: a miserable job in a porn shop, a drug habit he cannot afford and the wildly unstable woman he had chosen to love. Two damaged people can balance a seesaw for a long time, even finding the illusion of safety; but when one gets off unannounced, the other will fall. As Finch finds sobriety, her sanity and her relationship with Hyatt falter until an inevitable event brings the two back together a decade later.
Download or read book Living Off Landscape written by Francois Jullien and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2018-01-09 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is it only through vision that we can perceive a landscape? Is the space opened by the landscape truly an expanse cut off by the horizon? Do we observe a landscape in the way that we watch a 'show'? What, ultimately, does it mean to 'look'? In this important new book, one of France's most influential living theorists argues that the first civilization to truly consider landscape was China. In giving landscape the name 'mountain(s)-water(s)', the Chinese language provides a powerful alternative to Western biases. The Chinese conception speaks of a correlation between high and low, between the still and the motile, between what has form and what is formless, between what we see and what we hear. No longer a matter of 'vision', landscape becomes a matter of living. Francois Jullien invites the reader to explore reason's unthought choices, and to take a fresh look at our more basic involvement in the world.
Download or read book The Artless Jew written by Kalman P. Bland and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2001-07-02 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conventional wisdom holds that Judaism is indifferent or even suspiciously hostile to the visual arts due to the Second Commandment's prohibition on creating "graven images," the dictates of monotheism, and historical happenstance. This intellectual history of medieval and modern Jewish attitudes toward art and representation overturns the modern assumption of Jewish iconophobia that denies to Jewish culture a visual dimension. Kalman Bland synthesizes evidence from medieval Jewish philosophy, mysticism, poetry, biblical commentaries, travelogues, and law, concluding that premodern Jewish intellectuals held a positive, liberal understanding of the Second Commandment and did, in fact, articulate a certain Jewish aesthetic. He draws on this insight to consider modern ideas of Jewish art, revealing how they are inextricably linked to diverse notions about modern Jewish identity that are themselves entwined with arguments over Zionism, integration, and anti-Semitism. Through its use of the past to illuminate the present and its analysis of how the present informs our readings of the past, this book establishes a new assessment of Jewish aesthetic theory rooted in historical analysis. Authoritative and original in its identification of authentic Jewish traditions of painting, sculpture, and architecture, this volume will ripple the waters of several disciplines, including Jewish studies, art history, medieval and modern history, and philosophy.
