Five Lost Classics: Tao, Huang-Lao, and Yin-Yang in Han China (Chinese - English Edition)

New York, NY: Ballantine Books. Near Fine in Fine dust jacket. 1997. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. First Edition (1997) , so stated; First Printing indicated by a complete numerical sequence. Very Near Fine in Fine DJ: The Book shows mild shelving wear to the heel of the backstrip; a small dot of soil to the upper fore-edge; the binding square and secure; text clean. Free of creased or dog-eared pages in the text. Free of underlining, hi-lighting, notations, or marginalia. Free of any ownership names, dates, addresses, notations, inscriptions, stamps, plates, or labels. A handsome very nearly-new copy, structurally sound and tightly bound, showing the very mildest wear and a single unobtrusive cosmetic imperfection. Bright and clean. Corners sharp. Very close to 'As New'. The DJ is flawless; the price is unclipped. Virtually 'As New'. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 8vo. (9.5 x 6.35 x 1 inches) . Extensive Notes, Bibliography, Appendices. Introduction and Commentaries by the Translator, Robin D. S. Yates. Language: Chinese and English. Weight: : 21 ounces. Hardback with DJ. Three schools of Taoism flourished at the beginning of the Han Dynasty in 2nd-Century B. C. China: the Lao-tzu, the Chuang-tzu, and the Huang-Lao, the last being the most influential philosophy at the court of the Han rulers. But, after Confucianism became the predominant court philosophy in the 1st Century B. C. , Huang-Lao Taoism became little more than a name; its central principles virtually forgotten, its texts destroyed or lost. In 1973, among the many unique documents discovered in the richly furnished tomb of a Han-dynasty aristocrat, were five books written on silk, primary texts of Huang-lao Taoism and Yin-yang philosophy that had been lost to mankind for more than 2,000 years. A discovery as important in China as the unearthing of the Dead Sea Scrolls was in the West, the Mawangdui texts created a sensation when they were first published. ; Classics of Ancient China; Large 8vo 9" - 10" tall; x, 301 pages .