"The Orchid in the Empty Valley" is the story of Bill Porter, an American sinologist, translator, and writer, who personally came to China in the late 1980s to search for the traditions and historical traces of hermit culture, and visited hermits scattered throughout the country, in order to express his high admiration and infinite yearning for Chinese traditional culture, thus forming a unique "cultural renaissance" journey.
The orchid in the empty valley is often used to describe people with noble conduct. In Chinese history, the unique group of hermits has gathered many such noble people. Do these people still exist in the vast land of China today? This is a question that has always troubled the author.
Throughout the history of China, there have been people who have been willing to spend their lives in the mountains: eating very little, wearing very shabby clothes, sleeping in thatched huts, cultivating wasteland in the mountains, not speaking much, and leaving even less words behind - maybe only a few poems, one or two fairy prescriptions and so on. They are out of touch with the times, but not out of touch with the seasons; they abandon the dust of the plains and take the haze of the mountains; they have a long history but are unknown - they have given birth to the roots of spiritual life and are respectable people in the ancient societies of this world.
——Bill Porter
Reader comments
This is the second time I have read this book. Maybe the author wrote it in the late 1980s and early 1990s. On the contrary, it allowed me to gain a lot of peace of mind and understand many difficult things about Buddhism or Taoism. In particular, I learned a lot about the origins of Buddhism or Taoism, and I was very happy. Although I read it for the second time, there are still many, many things that need to be read a few more times to understand or understand. I really like this book!
Everything in the world is yin and yang, manifested in the world and hidden outside. Speaking of the prosperity of the world, there are only four words: seven emotions and six desires; although transcending the extraordinary and becoming a saint is elusive, it is difficult to transcend without desires and desires. People who are born to like tranquility have seven-quarter souls born in the sky; narrow and active things have three-foot souls returned to the earth. They are all just endowments. People cannot see the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit cannot see people. This is because the human heart can only see people, and the Holy Heart can naturally see the Holy Spirit. If you don't see it, there is nothing. If you don't see it, it is reality! Therefore, if everyone has an open mind and a solid belly, their hearts will naturally be clear and clear; just like the third watch of a quiet night, the sky will be clear and the moon will be bright!
The first time I read this book was in middle school. At that time, I could light up my desk lamp and finish reading this kind of travelogue at two or three o'clock at night. The world is so big, and human thoughts explore so many directions in all directions that are not limited by the world. This book also reflects the state of China's urban and rural areas from the 1990s to the 2000s. As an American, the author is a private scholar who raises his own money to study Chinese hermits. When he has money, he sets off, and when he has no money, he goes home to live a tight life for a few years. However, you will feel that he and his family do not have conflicts and pressures due to tight money. He has companions who travel with him, and family members who understand him chasing the moon. His Chinese studies are quite good, but looking at some details in the text, it is inferred that this book is written in English. I don't know whether it is the translator's wording habits or the need to be loyal to the original text. Impolite words like "Taoist nun" and "nun" appear in the book, and sometimes "bhikshuni" and "female Taoist priest" are correctly written in the book. But overall it's a good book.
It opens a window into the mind and spirit, and makes reading refreshing.
Out of curiosity about the mystery, American Bill Porter went deep into the mountains of China to search for hermits. The various experiences he saw on the way triggered various folk legends. The legends have been processed from generation to generation, becoming more beautiful and moving, with mysterious colors, and interpretations of Buddhist and Taoist teachings. It is a good book that guides physical and mental practice.
Once you start practicing spiritual practice, you must be prepared to devote your life to spiritual practice. This is what religion means. It's not a matter of paying money. You have to give your life. Enlightenment happens naturally and is different for everyone. The main thing is to be free from desires.
No extraordinary warship can take us to a vast world, places that are inaccessible, like books. Words carry your past and life that you cannot experience in person, and books bring you encounters.
Although the author is a foreigner, it is quite attractive in terms of the writing target. However, the long and lengthy description of the journey to explore the hermit is a bit boring. I guess it can be used as a material for archeology and geography!
Perhaps because foreigners can record what they see and hear more objectively, the greatest role of this book is to record the views of those practitioners who lived in seclusion at that time.
The flaws do not hide the virtues, I hope to extract the best parts of the book
A book written by a foreigner. The author measured a lot of places with his calf. The overall logic of the book is relatively scattered, and there are highlights in many places. It is recommended that latecomers take some notes. After reading it, I still feel soul-stirring. It is profound and long-lasting.
It's a good book. It gives a glimpse of that era and the world in the author's eyes.
As time goes by the hermits become less and less known, and it is unknown where they will end up many years later.
Show you a different world
Recommend everyone to watch it at least once
Beautifully written book!
Everyone can practice Taoism
True, beautiful, well written
Exploration from foreigners
Easy to understand and barrier-free reading
I really didn't expect that a foreigner could write it so beautifully.
It is unique that foreigners can study this
I hope that one day I will become one of the hermits
Definitely got something but I don't know. What I know is to thank the author and the platform. Thanks!
The small one is hidden in the mountains, the big one is hidden in the city!
The writing is very good and true. I was still born when you went out to seek Tao. I think... Now that I have grown up, my understanding of Tao is also very dreamy. Have you gone to see me? If you have nothing to say, come to me to talk about Tao.
This is the second time I have read this book. Maybe the author wrote it in the late 1980s and early 1990s. On the contrary, it allowed me to gain a lot of peace of mind and understand many difficult things about Buddhism or Taoism. In particular, I learned a lot about the origins of Buddhism or Taoism, and I was very happy. Although I read it for the second time, there are still many, many things that need to be read a few more times to understand or understand. I really like this book!
Everything in the world is yin and yang, manifested in the world and hidden outside. Speaking of the prosperity of the world, there are only four words: seven emotions and six desires; although transcending the extraordinary and becoming a saint is elusive, it is difficult to transcend without desires and desires. People who are born to like tranquility have seven-quarter souls born in the sky; narrow and active things have three-foot souls returned to the earth. They are all just endowments. People cannot see the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit cannot see people. This is because the human heart can only see people, and the Holy Heart can naturally see the Holy Spirit. If you don't see it, there is nothing. If you don't see it, it is reality! Therefore, if everyone has an open mind and a solid belly, their hearts will naturally be clear and clear; just like the third watch of a quiet night, the sky will be clear and the moon will be bright!
The first time I read this book was in middle school. At that time, I could light up my desk lamp and finish reading this kind of travelogue at two or three o'clock at night. The world is so big, and human thoughts explore so many directions in all directions that are not limited by the world. This book also reflects the state of China's urban and rural areas from the 1990s to the 2000s. As an American, the author is a private scholar who raises his own money to study Chinese hermits. When he has money, he sets off, and when he has no money, he goes home to live a tight life for a few years. However, you will feel that he and his family do not have conflicts and pressures due to tight money. He has companions who travel with him, and family members who understand him chasing the moon. His Chinese studies are quite good, but looking at some details in the text, it is inferred that this book is written in English. I don't know whether it is the translator's wording habits or the need to be loyal to the original text. Impolite words like "Taoist nun" and "nun" appear in the book, and sometimes "bhikshuni" and "female Taoist priest" are correctly written in the book. But overall it's a good book.
It opens a window into the mind and spirit, and makes reading refreshing.
Out of curiosity about the mystery, American Bill Porter went deep into the mountains of China to search for hermits. The various experiences he saw on the way triggered various folk legends. The legends have been processed from generation to generation, becoming more beautiful and moving, with mysterious colors, and interpretations of Buddhist and Taoist teachings. It is a good book that guides physical and mental practice. Once you start practicing spiritual practice, you must be prepared to devote your life to spiritual practice. This is what religion means. It's not a matter of paying money. You have to give your life. Enlightenment happens naturally and is different for everyone. The main thing is to be free from desires.
No extraordinary warship can take us to a vast world, places that are inaccessible, like books. Words carry your past and life that you cannot experience in person, and books bring you encounters.
Although the author is a foreigner, it is quite attractive in terms of the writing target. However, the long and lengthy description of the journey to explore the hermit is a bit boring. I guess it can be used as a material for archeology and geography!
Perhaps because foreigners can record what they see and hear more objectively, the greatest role of this book is to record the views of those practitioners who lived in seclusion at that time.
The flaws do not hide the virtues, I hope to extract the best parts of the book A book written by a foreigner. The author measured a lot of places with his calf. The overall logic of the book is relatively scattered, and there are highlights in many places. It is recommended that latecomers take some notes. After reading it, I still feel soul-stirring. It is profound and long-lasting.
It's a good book. It gives a glimpse of that era and the world in the author's eyes. As time goes by the hermits become less and less known, and it is unknown where they will end up many years later.
Show you a different world
Recommend everyone to watch it at least once
Beautifully written book!
Everyone can practice Taoism
True, beautiful, well written
Exploration from foreigners
Easy to understand and barrier-free reading
I really didn't expect that a foreigner could write it so beautifully.
It is unique that foreigners can study this
I hope that one day I will become one of the hermits
Definitely got something but I don't know. What I know is to thank the author and the platform. Thanks!
The small one is hidden in the mountains, the big one is hidden in the city!
The writing is very good and true. I was still born when you went out to seek Tao. I think... Now that I have grown up, my understanding of Tao is also very dreamy. Have you gone to see me? If you have nothing to say, come to me to talk about Tao.