SuaveG – The Gentle Path

Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature

Tending the Roots of Wisdom

  • Cai Gen Tan: Ancient Chinese wisdom for living a balanced life

    •

    Rob

    Amidst the great classics of Chinese philosophy and literature, Cai Gen Tan (Vegetable Root Talks, Roots of Wisdom or Tending the Roots of Wisdom) occupies a unique place – it is not an epic novel, a dense philosophical treatise, or a religious scripture, but a collection of pithy, practical maxims for navigating life.

  • About Caigentan

    •

    Juan

    Caigentan (菜根谭 in Chinese), often translated as Discourses on Vegetable Roots or Tending the Roots of Wisdom, composed in the late Ming Dynasty (c. 1590) by scholar-philosopher Hong Yingming (Zicheng), is a timeless classic of Chinese wisdom literature.