2007年。秋
八月二十七日：高雄
八月二十九日：台北
九月三日：曼谷
九月？日：清邁[註1]
九月十四日：曼谷
九月十五日：倫敦[註2]
九月十六日：利物浦
九月二十四日：開學日
九月十五日：倫敦[註2]
九月十六日：利物浦
九月二十四日：開學日
- 3月 27 週二 200723:40
【公告】初步計畫
- 3月 16 週五 200723:56
[LDB] Reading List
Semester One
Renaissance and Romantic Authors I
Spencer
1. The Faerie Queene
2. Fowre Hymnes
Renaissance and Romantic Authors I
Spencer
1. The Faerie Queene
2. Fowre Hymnes
- 3月 14 週三 200712:10
[LDB] Wordsworth and Lao-tzu
William Wordsworth and Lao-tzu:
the Similarities between a Philosophical Poet and a Poetic Philosopher
[NO PART of this essay may be reproduced or cited without the prior consent of its author! ]
At first glance, the ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao-tzu may seem completely unrelated to the Poet Laureate of the nineteenth century, William Wordsworth. However, similarities can be found, through meticulous scrutiny of the teachings and the work of Lao-tzu and the poetry and ideals of the Romantic poet Wordsworth. Their likenesses lie in their poetic creativity, their wisdom, and the ideas which they wished to promulgate.
At around three hundred B.C., a man by the name of Li Erh [李耳] wrote a book that set the foundation of the Chinese Taoist philosophy called Tao-te Ching[道德經]. Li Erh was also known as Lao-tzu[老子]. He based his teachings on the simplicity of life and the harmony between man and the natural world. The word ‘tao’ means ‘the way’. In Lao-tzu’s perspective, it is the ultimate reality: it is empty, yet it paradoxically contains ‘ten thousand things’ [萬物], which refers to all material existence in the universe. The concept of ‘tao’ is so deep, that even Lao-tzu confessed to not having come to a complete understanding of it. For the purpose of this essay, this ‘ultimate reality’ shall be referred to as ‘the way’. The ‘te’ deals with the concept virtue, i.e. the morality of man. The ‘te’ aspect demonstrates his concern for social and political matters. The Tao-te Ching was written in eighty-one chapters in poetic forms, and it is mainly through this essential Taoist text that the similarities between this Chinese sage and the Romantic bard shall be drawn.
‘Taoism’, according to Signet’s Reader’s Companion to World Literature, “stands for spiritual freedom, naturalism, simplicity”. Lao-tzu, being the founder of Taoism, no doubt followed this motto and effortlessly lived the kind of life that consisted of the above-mentioned elements. Similarly, Wordsworth is known in the literary world as the ‘Prophet of Nature’ and had comparable ideas that he wished to spread amongst his readers.
The ‘Nature Prophet’ glorified the natural world, and saw it as supreme. Most of his poems were written using imagery of the natural world, and he himself has stated that nature is ‘the guard, the guardian of my heart and soul’. [Gill] He perceived the power of nature, understood and appreciated its beauty, and reconciled with it. He mourned when he realized “the things which I have seen I now can see no more”.
Since the Tao-te Ching was constructed poetically, it can be enjoyed simply as poetry. At the same time, it can also be regarded as a masterpiece of philosophy. Simliarly, Wordsworth weaves his philosophy into his poetry. Both, then, offer more than merely one or the other. As Gill points out in his essay ‘Wordsworth as a Philosopher’, the poet wished to depict the relationship between man and the natural world, and to illustrate the relationship of nature to the development of morality. This is very similar to how Lao-tzu uses natural objects, such as trees, flowers, and rivers to communicate his ideas. In chapter thirty-two of his Tao-te Ching, he says, “The Way’s presence in the world/Is like the relationship of small valley steams to rivers and seas.” These subjects, taken from nature, are used to help his followers to gain a better understanding of abstract concepts and ideas. The difference between the philosopher and the bard is this: Wordsworth claims these objects of nature to be something beyond our understanding as human beings, while Lao-tzu, instead of glorifying nature, uses it as a tool that allows the grasp of deeper ideas. The lines “The sunshine is a glorious birth/Yet I know/Where’ver I go/ There hath past a glory from the earth” illustrates something natural, yet the poet goes beyond that, and embellishes and glorifies even the most common things which we see every day.
The poetic form of the Tao-te Ching is symmetric, and miraculously remains just as beautiful even after translation. Without even understanding the language, one can perceive its uniformity by the alignment of the characters and the placing of the different punctuation marks. Nonetheless, the philosophy that lies behind these poetic verses is deep beyond its simple surface appearance.
the Similarities between a Philosophical Poet and a Poetic Philosopher
[NO PART of this essay may be reproduced or cited without the prior consent of its author! ]
At first glance, the ancient Chinese philosopher, Lao-tzu may seem completely unrelated to the Poet Laureate of the nineteenth century, William Wordsworth. However, similarities can be found, through meticulous scrutiny of the teachings and the work of Lao-tzu and the poetry and ideals of the Romantic poet Wordsworth. Their likenesses lie in their poetic creativity, their wisdom, and the ideas which they wished to promulgate.
At around three hundred B.C., a man by the name of Li Erh [李耳] wrote a book that set the foundation of the Chinese Taoist philosophy called Tao-te Ching[道德經]. Li Erh was also known as Lao-tzu[老子]. He based his teachings on the simplicity of life and the harmony between man and the natural world. The word ‘tao’ means ‘the way’. In Lao-tzu’s perspective, it is the ultimate reality: it is empty, yet it paradoxically contains ‘ten thousand things’ [萬物], which refers to all material existence in the universe. The concept of ‘tao’ is so deep, that even Lao-tzu confessed to not having come to a complete understanding of it. For the purpose of this essay, this ‘ultimate reality’ shall be referred to as ‘the way’. The ‘te’ deals with the concept virtue, i.e. the morality of man. The ‘te’ aspect demonstrates his concern for social and political matters. The Tao-te Ching was written in eighty-one chapters in poetic forms, and it is mainly through this essential Taoist text that the similarities between this Chinese sage and the Romantic bard shall be drawn.
‘Taoism’, according to Signet’s Reader’s Companion to World Literature, “stands for spiritual freedom, naturalism, simplicity”. Lao-tzu, being the founder of Taoism, no doubt followed this motto and effortlessly lived the kind of life that consisted of the above-mentioned elements. Similarly, Wordsworth is known in the literary world as the ‘Prophet of Nature’ and had comparable ideas that he wished to spread amongst his readers.
The ‘Nature Prophet’ glorified the natural world, and saw it as supreme. Most of his poems were written using imagery of the natural world, and he himself has stated that nature is ‘the guard, the guardian of my heart and soul’. [Gill] He perceived the power of nature, understood and appreciated its beauty, and reconciled with it. He mourned when he realized “the things which I have seen I now can see no more”.
Since the Tao-te Ching was constructed poetically, it can be enjoyed simply as poetry. At the same time, it can also be regarded as a masterpiece of philosophy. Simliarly, Wordsworth weaves his philosophy into his poetry. Both, then, offer more than merely one or the other. As Gill points out in his essay ‘Wordsworth as a Philosopher’, the poet wished to depict the relationship between man and the natural world, and to illustrate the relationship of nature to the development of morality. This is very similar to how Lao-tzu uses natural objects, such as trees, flowers, and rivers to communicate his ideas. In chapter thirty-two of his Tao-te Ching, he says, “The Way’s presence in the world/Is like the relationship of small valley steams to rivers and seas.” These subjects, taken from nature, are used to help his followers to gain a better understanding of abstract concepts and ideas. The difference between the philosopher and the bard is this: Wordsworth claims these objects of nature to be something beyond our understanding as human beings, while Lao-tzu, instead of glorifying nature, uses it as a tool that allows the grasp of deeper ideas. The lines “The sunshine is a glorious birth/Yet I know/Where’ver I go/ There hath past a glory from the earth” illustrates something natural, yet the poet goes beyond that, and embellishes and glorifies even the most common things which we see every day.
The poetic form of the Tao-te Ching is symmetric, and miraculously remains just as beautiful even after translation. Without even understanding the language, one can perceive its uniformity by the alignment of the characters and the placing of the different punctuation marks. Nonetheless, the philosophy that lies behind these poetic verses is deep beyond its simple surface appearance.
- 2月 15 週四 200722:30
【資訊】2007英國大學排行
1 Oxford
2 Cambridge
3 Imperial College
4 London School of Economics
5 University College London
2 Cambridge
3 Imperial College
4 London School of Economics
5 University College London
英國留學全記錄 Studying in the UK (5)