Seminar: Early Taoist Thought

The foundational philosophical texts of the Taoist tradition will be read in Classical Chinese and analyzed from a number of possible perspectives including comparative religious thought, and historical and textual criticism. Texts for each year's version of the course will be drawn from the following list: Chuang Tzu, Lao Tzu, Huang-Lao po-shu, Lü-shih ch'un-ch'iu, Han-fei Tzu, Kuan Tzu, and Huai-nan Tzu. Pre-requisites: reading knowledge of Classical Chinese and prior study of Taoist thought. Advanced undergraduates may be admitted.