Books

Chinese Symbols for Baby Brains

Chungliang Al Huang with Lark Huang-Storms

This introduction to the Chinese language uses bold, high contrast calligraphy to capture a baby’s eye. With the imagery designed to help increase a baby’s visual attention and stimulate brain development, it is the perfect book for parent and child to learn the very basics of the Chinese language.

Chung Tsu, Inner Chapters

Chuang Tsu/ Inner Chapters is a companion volume to Gia-fu Feng and Jane English’s translation of Tao Te Ching, which has enjoyed great success since its publication in 1972, and is having a 25th anniversary edition published in 1997.

Very little is known about Chuang Tsu and that little is inextricably woven into legend. While the other philosophers were busying themselves with the practical matters of government and rules of conduct, Chuang Tsu transcended the whang cheng, the illusory dust of the world- thus anticipating Zen Buddhism’s emphasis on a state of emptiness or ego transcendence. With humor, imagery and fantasy, he captures the depth of Chinese thinking.

Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain

The Essence of Tai Ji
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.

Essential Tai Ji

Chungliang Al Huang first published over twenty years ago, this classic book distills the basics of the art of Tai Ji, lovingly presented in eloquent writing, and accompanied by splendid full colour photography and beautiful calligraphy.

Master dancer, brush calligrapher, bamboo flute player and philosopher Chungliang Al Huang shares the basic movements of Tai Ji – and its relationships with nature, space and time – alongside stunning, inspirational photography by Si Chi Ko. The book promotes strength, relaxation and clarity, as Master Huang teaches how to unify mind and body, achieving a healthier and more fulfilling state of being. In doing so, he touches on everything from the origins and meanings if Tai Ji to the vocabulary, basic moves, practice, and the Tai Ji dance.

This beautiful and inspiring book has an essential place in any Tai Ji library, and will be of interest to students, scholars, academics, professionals, and the general reader.

Lao Tsu: Tao Te Ching

by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English

“No one has done better in conveying Lao Tsu’s simple and laconic style of writing, so as to produce an English version almost as suggestive of the many meanings intended.  This is a most useful, as well as beautiful, volume—and what it has to say is exactly what the world, in its present state, needs to hear.”
– Alan Watts

Quantum Soup: Fortune Cookies in Crisis

New and enlarged edition

Peppered with a delicate mix of wisdom and humor, this new and enlarged edition of Quantum Soup is a light-hearted yet informative combination of happy anecdotes and traditional Chinese sensibilities in a Western setting. Every mini-essay is accompanied by the author’s calligraphy and illustrations, including those making their appearance for the very first time.

‘Quantum Soup is a gourmet preparation of philosophical snaps and snails, sharks’ fins and puppy dogs’ tails to tickle the sophisticated palate and provoke happy, healthful belly laughs. Confucius say: “Number One good recipe!”‘
– Joseph Campbell

‘Like sunlight, Chungliang Al Huang’s delicate mix of wisdom and humor comes in discrete energy packets (quanta) but gives continuous pleasure and nourishment.’
– Fritjof Capra

‘Take the humour of Buddha, connecting with the universal soul you have Chungliang Al Huang and Quantum Soup!’
– Virginia Satir

‘Quantum Soup is an elegant, wise and playful expression of Taoist and Zen Buddhist sensibilities in a Western setting – a philosophical entertainment with a collection of anecdotes, aphorisms and koan-like ruminations, all served up in appetizer portions.’
– Los Angeles Times

‘Take the pungence of hot and sour, the homeyness of chicken, the excitement of gespacho, the refreshment of vichyssoise – flamboyantly seasoned with loving humor and eternality and an empty bowl – ahhhh – Quantum Soup!’
– Ram Dass

‘”Better for the guest to wait for the food, than for the food to wait for the guest,” says a Chinese proverb. Many guests at the banquet of books have been eagerly awaiting this new and enlarged edition of Quantum Soup. Their expectations will be surpassed. Chungliang Al Huang is an all-star chef for the finest appetites of heart and soul.’
– Brother David Steindl-Rast

Spirit Of The Dancing Warrior

Warriorship is a journey from ordinary to extraordinary. By opening your heart to the special connection between physical and the spiritual whether in the gym, on the field, practicing Tai Chi, or riding your bike, Spirit of the Dancing Warrior shows you how to expand and improve your experience and performance – and your relationship with all physical activity. Using a meditation program based on 52 warrior virtues, this book presents a program of everyday spiritual training, a soulful path of wisdom, inspiration, and motivation for athletics, fitness, and life.

Coauthors Jerry and Chungliang share a life-long passion for helping others discover the warrior’s path of living a fully engaged life. They also share an understanding that athletics and fitness can serve as vehicles to transport us to a more sacred space. Together, they have written Spirit of the Dancing Warrior to assist you on this path, filling it with information on practical spirituality and how to use it to achieve peak capacity in all your physical work and play.

Tai Ji Dancing for Kids

Five Moving Forces

Chungliang Al Huang with Lark Huang-Storms and Sylvia Yulan Storms

Showing kids how Tai Ji can be fun, this book gives a simple and charming introduction to Tai Ji. Covering the five elements and some of the basic sensations, it will help children to get in touch with their bodies and minds.

Tao Mentoring

Mentoring is one of the most talked-about concepts in business, sports, and education. In a time when corporate downsizing, school cutbacks, and single-parent families threaten to leave us with fewer role models and teachers, mentoring is more vital than ever. As applicable in a boardroom as a living room, Tao Mentoring offers a brief introduction to entering into mutually beneficial learning/teaching relationships. Huang’s master calligraphy brings the text alive.

Tao: The Watercourse Way

by Alan Watts

Drawing on ancient and modern sources, Watts treats the Chinese philosophy of Tao in much the same way as he did Zen Buddhism in his classic The Way of Zen. Critics agree that this last work stands as a perfect monument to the life and literature of Alan Watts

The Chinese Book of Animal Powers

For thousands of years, the Chinese have believed that each of us is born with the characteristics and powers of a member of the animal kingdom, depending on the month and year of our birth. Now readers of all ages can discover for themselves the fun and wisdom of this age-old Chinese tradition in this exquisite book by celebrated author and artist Chungliang Al Huang.

Find out which animal powers you were born with and which powers your friends and family possess. Discover how to absorb and adapt other animal powers into your own. Have fun pronouncing Chinese names with sounds that date back to ancient times. Feel each animal’s graceful movements by tracing elegant brush calligraphy.

With a full-page spread devoted to each animal, a glossary of movement and art, and an easy-to-use year and month chart, The Chinese Book of Animal Powers is a unique introduction to the Chinese Zodiac by an expert teacher and philosopher.

The Way of the Champion

Martial artists, great warriors, coaches, generals, and successful corporate CEOs effectively use the strategies for winning found in Sun Tzu’s Art of War. Authors Jerry Lynch and Chungliang Al Huang, using lessons from the The Art of War, as well as other ancient Taoist books such as the I Ching and Tao Te Ching, teach readers to develop the capacities and qualities that make a champion-such as high self-esteem, courage, fortitude, determination, perseverance, tenacity, self-awareness, integrity, the ability to take risks, and the ability to learn from failure. The emphasis on self-awareness, tactical positioning, and strategic advantage means that practitioners win through inner growth and self-improvement-giving them a universal competitive edge.

Thinking Body, Dancing Mind

Written by a sports psychologist and a renowned T’ai Chi master, here is a guide to enriching all of life’s pursuits through the practice of its simple mental tools and wisdom. Using stories of success from athletes and businesspeople, the authors present techniques and exercises to promote relaxation and enhance performance.

Working Out, Working Within

uring physical training, we can experience something deeper than just the burn of working out. We can achieve spiritual awareness and know that we are alive and healthy. Working Out, Working Within offers readers techniques and suggestions to avoid fixating on winning the game, scoring the goal, or building the perfect body. Instead our workouts can become tools for personal transcendence as we get to know ourselves, test our limits, gather personal strength, and build physical potency. Here’s a book that will nourish and exercise the spirit while showing readers what “ultimate” sports and living really are.