Jean C. Cooper (1905-1999) was born in China where she spent much of her childhood. Informed by the perspective of the Perennial Philosophy, she wrote and lectured extensively on the subjects of philosophy, comparative religion, and symbolism. He other books include Taoism, the Way of the Mystic , Yin and Yang , Chinese Alchemy , Fairy Tales: Allegories of the Inner Life , Symbolism, the Universal Language , and Symbolic and Mythological Animals .