Lecture I: Carl Gustav Jung, Richard Wilhelm, and The Secret of the Golden Flower

This talk will present the process of the translation of an ancient Chinese text The Secret of the Golden  Flower  conducted  by  German  sinologist  Richard  Wilhelm  (1873-  1930)  and  the interpretation  of  this  book  by  Swiss  psychologist  Carl  Gustav  Jung  (1875-1961).  Firstly,  the origin  of  this  text,  which  came  from  an  esoteric  circle  in  China,  will  be  examined.  The development of this work in Chinese Daoist tradition, which edition Wilhelm had adopted, and how Wilhelm translated it, are going to be discussed. Secondly, Jung’s commentary on this book will  be  analysed.  There  is  no  denying  that  Jung’s  commentary  makes  this  little-known  work popular  and  widely  accepted.  It  is necessary  to  conduct  an  analysis  of  Jung’s  ideas  in  his commentary. Finally, the procedure of how this book with Jung and Wilhelm’s contributions is reintroduced  back  to  eastern  culture  will  be  investigated.  This  paper  will  conclude  the significance of this text in Wilhelm and Jung’s bridging East and West, Jung’s connection with Chinese esoteric tradition, and their tendency of psychologising ancient Daoist tradition.

Lecture II: The Black Books, The Red Book, and Their Way to China

This talk examines the creation of Jung’s two principal writings, The Black Books and The Red Book,  and  their  translation  into  Chinese.  Jung  considered  these  two  books  to  be  his  most important works, only a handful of people have ever seen them before the publications. In 1913, C.G. Jung began what he termed his “confrontation with the unconscious”—an interaction with his fantasies—which he documented in The Black Books. While Jung did continue to write in them  after  1916,  The  Red  Book  was  based  on  material  recorded  therein.  Jung  sought  to embody insights from his self- investigation into his life and relationships, and these two works illuminate his expansion of his personal cosmology. A special window into Jung’s thoughts and the development of analytical psychology may be found in The Red Book and The Black Books. I will examine the process of creating these two books, their translation into Chinese, and their significance for our learning.

Zhou  Dangwei  was  born  in  Henan,  China.  He  studied  Applied  Psychology  for  his  BA  in  Henan University in Kaifeng and Analytical Psychology for his first MA in SCNU in Guangzhou. His second MA  was  in  European  Thought  at  University  College  London.  He  completed  a  PhD  titled  Richard Wilhelm  (1873-1930):  An  Alternative  Way  to  Bridge  the  East  and  the  West,  supervised  by  Sonu Shamdasani. He is currently researching the life and work of German sinologist Richard Wilhelm. His broader  interests  include  Carl  Jung,  the  history  of  Analytical  Psychology,  and  the  historical communications  between  Eastern  and  Western  intellectual  traditions.  He  has  translated  and published several books in Chinese, such as The Red Book, Introduction to Jungian Psychology, Man and His Symbols, and The Handbook of Jungian Psychology.