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adamgolden's review against another edition
2.0
(2/5★)
Do you want to know all about Taoism? This book will tell you everything about it. Which happens to be quite a lot, once you factor in all the different sects and groups that are associated with Taoism. Unfortunately, this makes for a very laborious read, and it reads like a boring textbook. What is nice though, is that after Wong explains about a certain branches of taoism or ways of practicing it, she recommends books that you can read that delves deeper into these specific subjects. Which honestly sounds like a better idea, rather than experiencing the information overload you get from reading this book.
Do you want to know all about Taoism? This book will tell you everything about it. Which happens to be quite a lot, once you factor in all the different sects and groups that are associated with Taoism. Unfortunately, this makes for a very laborious read, and it reads like a boring textbook. What is nice though, is that after Wong explains about a certain branches of taoism or ways of practicing it, she recommends books that you can read that delves deeper into these specific subjects. Which honestly sounds like a better idea, rather than experiencing the information overload you get from reading this book.
lectriza's review against another edition
2.0
Listening to this audiobook at bedtime = sleep alchemy
briannadasilva's review against another edition
4.0
A rather dry, but thorough overview of the history, beliefs, and practices of the religion of Taoism. Perfect for anyone very new to and ignorant of the tradition, whether you're studying world religions for the sake of general knowledge (like myself) or you're interested in potentially converting (not me). Works well for either audience.
michareads's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
3.0
toni_says_smile's review against another edition
5.0
A really good overview of Taoism as a religion, how it grew and changed from its inception.
It must be said that this book isn't a guide to how to practice the religion. It's a history book. If you're expecting an expansion on the Tao Te Ching, you'll be disappointed. If you just read the Bible, you wouldn't have a full understanding of Christianity as a religion, its values, rituals or denominations. The same can be said of Taoism if you just read the Tao Te Ching. This guide goes a long way into filling in those gaps as a layperson.
The reviews here mention diagrams, but I listened to the audiobook and didn't find it lacking. I have no plans to recreate the symbols or adopt the religious aspects of Taoism, so I don't feel I missed much. Also I find it hard to read long non-fiction books, so appreciated a version I could listen to while doing other things.
Overall, I would recommend this book if you are interested in gaining an understanding of how Taoism is practiced and the culture it developed in. I would not recommend it if you just enjoy the philosophy of the Tao Te Ching and want to adopt those principles.
It must be said that this book isn't a guide to how to practice the religion. It's a history book. If you're expecting an expansion on the Tao Te Ching, you'll be disappointed. If you just read the Bible, you wouldn't have a full understanding of Christianity as a religion, its values, rituals or denominations. The same can be said of Taoism if you just read the Tao Te Ching. This guide goes a long way into filling in those gaps as a layperson.
The reviews here mention diagrams, but I listened to the audiobook and didn't find it lacking. I have no plans to recreate the symbols or adopt the religious aspects of Taoism, so I don't feel I missed much. Also I find it hard to read long non-fiction books, so appreciated a version I could listen to while doing other things.
Overall, I would recommend this book if you are interested in gaining an understanding of how Taoism is practiced and the culture it developed in. I would not recommend it if you just enjoy the philosophy of the Tao Te Ching and want to adopt those principles.
pizzamcpin3ppl3's review
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
jessica_lam's review against another edition
2.0
I really wish I enjoyed this more, but unfortunately, this guide was a rather dry presentation of a really interesting subject.
Wong starts out strong, describing the guide as a starting point, rather than the destination - a place that should start the reader on a journey of questions and research. Throughout the book she provides extensive sources for further research, but it fails to accomplish one of the goals she first lays out - to make the subject a thing of interest and inspire the reader to go on this spiritual journey.
Truly, this could have been two books. Wong splits the guide into two sections, with the first half providing a rather in depth presentation of the developmental history of Taoism as both an official religion and a sort of pagan practice in ancient China. Unfortunately, should one not have a firm grasp of China's complicated history, one could become quite lost. The second half goes more in depth with the actual belief systems and rituals of taoism, going especially in depth into the difference between different sects. It somehow, at once, gets so in the weeds that it becomes rather opaque and inaccessible to the beginner and also is so general that it's difficult for the reader to get much information out of it without going to one of the sources.
A pet peeve of mine is for books about Chinese (and other languages) to not include the original language when talking about specific terms and names in its original language. Pinyin is especially rather subjective and non-descript, especially depending on the dialect, so I wish that the book would include the Chinese characters of the names as well next to the direct translations and pin yins. While I appreciate that the books is marketed toward a Western audience, it's a good introduction even for non-Chinese speakers to see these characters (especially since there are images of talismans with Chinese on them). It also would not alienate Chinese speakers like myself, who knew a lot of these figures, but had to look up the translations from pinyin, especially since I selected this volume largely based on the fact that it was written by an Asian author among a sea of non-Asian names in my library catalogue. To clarify, I read this in an ebook format, so if that is the case in the paper print format, I rescind the criticism.
Overall, though, Wong includes a lot of information into the volume, though in a very direct and dry format. If you are accustomed to reading dense non-fiction texts and want to learn more about Taoism, this might be for you.
Wong starts out strong, describing the guide as a starting point, rather than the destination - a place that should start the reader on a journey of questions and research. Throughout the book she provides extensive sources for further research, but it fails to accomplish one of the goals she first lays out - to make the subject a thing of interest and inspire the reader to go on this spiritual journey.
Truly, this could have been two books. Wong splits the guide into two sections, with the first half providing a rather in depth presentation of the developmental history of Taoism as both an official religion and a sort of pagan practice in ancient China. Unfortunately, should one not have a firm grasp of China's complicated history, one could become quite lost. The second half goes more in depth with the actual belief systems and rituals of taoism, going especially in depth into the difference between different sects. It somehow, at once, gets so in the weeds that it becomes rather opaque and inaccessible to the beginner and also is so general that it's difficult for the reader to get much information out of it without going to one of the sources.
A pet peeve of mine is for books about Chinese (and other languages) to not include the original language when talking about specific terms and names in its original language. Pinyin is especially rather subjective and non-descript, especially depending on the dialect, so I wish that the book would include the Chinese characters of the names as well next to the direct translations and pin yins. While I appreciate that the books is marketed toward a Western audience, it's a good introduction even for non-Chinese speakers to see these characters (especially since there are images of talismans with Chinese on them). It also would not alienate Chinese speakers like myself, who knew a lot of these figures, but had to look up the translations from pinyin, especially since I selected this volume largely based on the fact that it was written by an Asian author among a sea of non-Asian names in my library catalogue. To clarify, I read this in an ebook format, so if that is the case in the paper print format, I rescind the criticism.
Overall, though, Wong includes a lot of information into the volume, though in a very direct and dry format. If you are accustomed to reading dense non-fiction texts and want to learn more about Taoism, this might be for you.