Lonely Sage

Author: Bao Pengshan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: This book is a major cultural prose work by the young scholar Bao Pengshan, offering unique insights and in-depth interpretations of representative thinkers and politicians from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The book features over ten characters, including Zhuangzi, who weaves straw sandals with a somber expression but inwardly longs for the Kun Peng to soar ninety thousand miles into the sky; Laozi, who lives in a world turned upside down and twisted, his heart becoming cold yet transcending and transforming; Confucius, who rides in a carriage, singing and playing the lute without stopping, smiling wryly upon seeing his disciples use music to educate and cultivate the people; Mozi, a lone wanderer with a short sword at his waist, his eyes shining with determination, his face darkened by hardship; Shang Yang, whose nature was harsh, skilled in dealing with others but not with himself, capable of great deeds but only as a petty man, ultimately being executed and dismembered; and Qu Yuan, who could not be content with the status quo and thus could not "poetically inhabit" the real world, ending his life in despair. The book presents a grand perspective, exploring the deep cultural conflicts and contradictions within the characters' hearts against the backdrop of great historical eras, thereby revealing their tragic fates and offering profound inspiration in thought and culture.