Abstract
Abstract Hermann Hesse was keenly aware of the spiritual and social crises of war-torn Europe. He explored possible solutions to these problems in his writing and was interested in drawing on the resources of oriental philosophies. Of particular importance was the thought of Chinese Taoism. Hesse frequently mentioned his understanding of the Taoist philosophies of Laozi (老子) and Zhuangzi (庄子) in letters to his friends, and Taoist ideas such as ‘Tao’ (道) or ‘One’ and ‘polar opposites and unity’ recur across his work. This article will trace Hesse’s understanding of the Taoist thought of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and analyse the influence of Chinese Taoism on Hesse’s masterpiece, The Glass Bead Game (1943).
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