Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain: The Essence of Tai Ji

Chungliang Al Huang
Foreword by Alan Watts
Photographs by Si Chi Ko

'To work with Al Huang is to learn to move with wind and water... in the course of everyday life... a truly superior and gifted teacher who works upon others as the sun and rain upon plants.'

- From the foreword by Alan Watts, one of the great writers of Comparative Philosophy and Religion and Taoist and Zen literature.

First published in 1973, this all time classic of Tai Ji literature remains as fresh and illuminating today as when it was first published. Written with true passion and eloquence, the book richly conveys the subtle yet profound principles underlying Tai Ji. Movement, stillness, joyfulness, and the ability to live in the moment are the threads running through the text, as well as the humor and compassion to acknowledge the impossibility of human perfection. Containing the original foreword by Alan Watts, the book is illustrated with beautiful calligraphy by the author, and photographs by Si Chi Ko, one of China's "National Treasures".

This timeless masterpiece is essential reading for anybody interested in Taoism, Tai Ji, or the Tao philosophy of "Living Our Own Tao", and the author is a wonderful, dramatic, and inspiring presence throughout the book.

Contents

Foreword. Introduction. 1. Chapter I. 2. Chapter II. 3. Chapter III. 4. Chapter IV. 5. Chapter V. 6. Calligraphy. 7. Zen Ox Pictures. 8. Tao Te Ching. 9. Chapter IX. Afterword.

Author information

Chungliang Al Huang is the founder of Living Tao Foundation, an international cultural-arts network for lifelong learning, and the director of the Lan Ting Institute, a cross-cultural study and conference center at the sacred and historic Wu Yi Mountain, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the People's Republic of China, and at Gold Beach on the Oregon Coast in the USA. He has written many classic books including Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain: The Essense of Tai Ji; Essential Tai Ji; and The Chinese Book of Animal Powers, all of which are now brought back into print by Singing Dragon.

Si Chi Ko, who took the photographs in this book, was born in Taiwan and received his training at the College of Photography in Tokyo, Japan. A world traveler and a multi-ranged freelance photographer, who has collaborated with Chungliang Al Huang for over 4 decades. An internationally renowned artist, Ko is considered a "National Treasure" both in Taiwan and in the Mainland China.