The Monastery of Jade Mountain
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This book gives an absorbing picture of life in Buddhist and Taoist (Daoist) monasteries in China during three decades of this century. It is difficult to define precisely what the practicing Taoist believes, thinks and does. Taoism must be evidenced by the way it is lived and so, in revealing how his gradual initiation into the meaning of Taoism took place, Peter Goullart describes fully his visits to various Taoist Monasteries, his discussions with Abbots and monks, and their ritual practices and ceremonies.
Since consciousness of the beauty and oneness of the natural world and its creatures is essential to the Taoist philosophy ”indeed the monasteries are very carefully sited to allow natural surroundings to make the maximum effect” his book is filled with splendid descriptions of the Chinese scene.
Peter Goullart was a refugee from the Russian revolution who travelled east, along the silk road. He lived in China for thirty years, acquiring a tremendous knowledge of the language and people, and his book is probably unique in that so much information on Taoism, drawn from personal knowledge and practice, is given by a Western writer.
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The author was a Russian, who fled the Russian Revolution with his mother, ending up in China. This we are told in the first chapter. The Russian revolution was circa 1917, and he mentions he spent 30 years in China. This book was first published in 1961, so was written some time after the events outlined here.
While this book is a biography, we learn next to nothing about Peter Goullart. He shares so little of his daily life that I cannot even tell you what he does for work and how he financially survives. What this book does is describe in micro detail his interactions with monasteries and monks associated with the Taoist religion. What is immediately obvious is that Goullart is 100% on board with Taoism - almost every monk he meets becomes his best friend, he is treated incredibly well by all, and welcomed into the monasteries (he visits many), and he buys into all the religious philosophy.
OK you can probably tell that I am not giving this five stars. I can see what other reviewers got from this book, and if you wanted to understand the experiences of a foreigner in China in this pre-communist era there is plenty here for you. For a heathen like me though, who is easily bored by religious philosophy and who expected that, as this is published by The Travel Book Club, it would be a travel book, it was tough going. There were bright spots. Goullart describes his journey from Russia as a youth, he describes some of the travel from Shanghai to the monasteries, he explains the towns and cities he visits, but never for long. He painstakingly records long conversations with abbots or monks. He describes in detail religious ceremonies and festivals.
Overwhelmingly he is an optimist who sees all the good and shares nothing beyond the good. He is continually upbeat and tells how much he loves China, the Chinese and Taoism. For a pessimist like me I found it wore me down, and at several points I was ready to give up on this book, but just as i reached my limit another morsel of readable experience came through and prevented me (I do dislike giving up on a book).
So if it sounds like your cup of tea, then it is probably a 5 star book for you. If you can live without the intricate details of Taoist monasteries, I suggest letting this one pass you by.
3 stars
