Threads
Threads: Across the Books
One question put to five books, with Zhuangzi, Laozi, Confucius, Mencius and the I Ching at the same table: what Heaven is, who decides your lot, which way human nature leans, and where joy comes from.
Start with page oneTwo roads, one table
- Confucians · Confucius, MenciusStart from sincerity; walk the right path among people.
- Daoists · Laozi, ZhuangziReturn to what is real; see the human world from the larger Dao.
- The I Ching · a shared sourceWatch Heaven's way to arrange the human way: time and place in change.
- Bridges · Xunzi, Great Learning, the MeanBooks without pages of their own appear here.
I · Heaven and UsWhy be good, what Heaven is, fate and human nature
II · The Work of Being HumanSincerity, being alone, ritual, profit and rightness, how far love reaches
III · Living ItMoving through change, where joy comes from, who to become
Notes from the Margin
A free letter, twice a month, with what the pages leave out: a moment in history when one of these ideas was put to the test, and a question the books still argue over. Never a repeat of the site. Unsubscribe anytime.