Library of Chinese Classics: Tending the Roots of Wisdom
Compiled by Hong Yingming  (Ming Dynasty)
Translated into English by Paul White
Translated into Modern Chinese by Frank Jiang
Publisher: New World Press
Publication Date: 2003-12
Language: Chinese and English
ISBN: 780187154
Library Binding: hardcover, 360 pages

Brief Introduction

Tending the Roots of Wisdom was written by Hong Yingming during the Wanli reign period (1573-1620) of the Ming Dynasty. In the 400 or so years following its first appearance, the book was not widely disseminated either at home or abroad, and was not well known. Throughout the 20th century, it failed to arouse much attention in philosophical, literary or artistic circles in China.  But in Japan a different situation arose in the 1980s, when a "Tending the Roots of Wisdom craze" swept the business world. A number of Japanese corporations, impressed with the philosophical approach of the work, adopted it as a component part of their management concepts.

Hong Yingming adopted the Confucian virtue of "self-cultivation" with the Taoist and Buddhist doctrine of "returning to simplicity and the unadorned truth". These two appellations thread together and fuse the three major trends of traditional Chinese thought - Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Tending the Roots of Wisdom is filled with precepts stressing self-cultivation.

Tending the Roots of Wisdom is a book of aphorisms written in essay form, mainly dealing with the topic of how to conduct one's life properly. Employing a wealth of quotations and elegant phrasing, its observations explain profound truths in simple terms and provide much food for thought. Aimed at helping the reader to mold his values and temper his will, it is a book for ordinary people who are prepared to make efforts to improve themselves.