The Cat and the Tao
By Kwong Kuen Shan
Timeless and elegant, The Cat and the Tao is a rich selection of sayings and quotes from the ancient Chinese masters that weds the inspired creativity of The Tao of Pooh with the spare beauty of calligraphic art. Artist and author Kwong Kuen Shan has combined the quiet power of eastern philosophy with the serene and playful beauty of her cat paintings, creating a book sure to comfort and move readers with its infectious appreciation for the wisdom of both. Her exquisite watercolor-and-ink paintings portray a variety of cats in settings ranging from the garden to the pond to the windowsill, each scene bringing to life the specific Taoist or Confucian text that accompanies it.
With special, masterfully stroked Chinese characters and authentic seals whose meanings are explained and interpreted on the facing page, The Cat and the Tao is an inspired combination of art and thought. Readers can experience the enchanting world of Kwong Kuen Shan's paintings while encountering meditations on the benefits of simplicity, the rewards of friendship, the tenets of living our lives with humanity -- and, of course, the invaluable lessons to be learned in both mischievousness and stillness, qualities which no creature exemplifies better than the beloved cat.
an Excerpt
from The Cat and the Tao
To know is to recognise what you understand
and what you do not understand.
CONFUCIUS
These days the world's events are strange:
They say this and they say that.
There is no point arguing.
I am better off dozing.
ANON
A man of great character and strength:
fire cannot burn him,
water cannot drown him,
the severest weather does not damage him,
wild beasts cannot rend him,
not because he is invincible,
but because he knows safety from danger,
he is calm and decisive even facing great risks,
he knows when to go forward, when to retreat,
nothing can harm such a man.
CHONG TSE
Do not exhaust a friend's kindness and loyalty
-- this way friendship is sustained.
CHINESE PROVERB
To find out what a person is like, there are seven ways:
Ask him a difficult question, observe his talent for analysis
Speak to provoke him, observe his attitude
Ask him how he goes about solving difficult problems, judge his intelligence
Let him deal with a difficult situation, observe his courage
Get him drunk, observe his nature
Tempt him with gold, observe his integrity
Give him instructions to complete a task, assess his trustworthiness.
THE ART OF WAR BY SUN TZU
Seize the opportunity when it arises
Once missed, it may be lost forever.
FENG MENGLONG
To know what is going on takes sense;
To know what to do about it takes wisdom.
CHINESE PROVERB
From day to day he knows what is lacking
From month to month he does not forget what he has learnt
This is a person who is truly inspired by learning.
CONFUCIUS
I do not value those who broadcast others' failings, subordinates who slander their superiors, those who are brave but lack manners, those who are decisive but lack consideration.
CONFUCIUS
I do not bully the weak, nor do I fear the powerful.
ZUO QUINING
The ears and eyes are not made to think and are easily affected by outside influences
The mind thinks, and if it thinks, it arrives at the truth.
CONFUCIUS
