Burton Watson is one of the world´s best-known translators from the Chinese and Japanese. His translations
include The Lotus Sutra, The Vimalakirti Sutra, Ryokan: Zen Monk-Poet of Japan, Saigyo: Poems of a Mountain
Home, and The Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry: From Early Times to the Thirteenth Century, all published by
Columbia.
Summary
Mo Tzu, Hsün Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu were three of the most important philosophers in ancient China. This
collection of their basic writings points to three very different positions within in the spectrum of Chinese thought
and reveals the diversity of of the Chinese intellectual tradition.
Presenting the principle doctrines of Mo Tzu (470? B.C.) and his followers, early rivals of the Confucian school,
this section includes writings on music, fatalism, Confucians, and "universal love" - the cornerstone
of Mo-ist philosophy
Hsün Tzu (born ca. 312 B.C.) provided the dominant philosophical system of his day. Although basically Confucian,
he differed with Mencius by asserting that the original nature of man is evil, and also expounded on such subjects
as good government, military affairs, Heaven, and music.
Representative of the Fachia, or Legalist, school of philosophy, the writings of Han Fei Tzu (280?? B.C.) confront
the issues of preserving and strengthening the state through strict laws of punishment and reward. His lessons
remain timely as scholars continue to examine the nature and use of power.