Bill Porter is the author who translates under the pen-name Red Pine. He is a translator of Chinese texts, primarily Taoist and Buddhist, including poetry and sutras. He is the author of Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits and won the American Academy of Arts & Letters Thornton Wilder Prize for translation in 2018.

Bill Porter:

Road to Heaven: Amazon.com: Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits: 9781582435237: Pine, Red: Books ⁠

Hermits Documentary: https://youtu.be/NUr45CvvLqs?si=owFRRYB-bUIOfdo5

Podcast Links:

Website: ⁠https://jakewarinnerpodcast.com/

Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/3kiojUxYZFyVdHOGl727jR?si=31164e616f1846a9

Apple: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jake-warinner-podcast/id1711278585

Social:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jake.warinner/

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Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

00:38 - The Chinese hermit tradition

03:15 - Origins and history of Chinese hermits

06:45 - The influence of Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism on hermit culture

09:30 - The life and challenges of being a hermit

12:50 - The role of hermits in Chinese society and their interactions with locals

15:34 - How hermits live in the mountains

21:45 - Bill Porter on writing Road to Heaven

24:30 - Hermits are the happiest people

27:10 - The health and longevity of hermits

29:50 - Growth in the hermit population

32:45 - Lessons from Bill's experiences with hermits