Tao Te Ching: The Essential Translation of the Ancient Chinese Book of the Tao
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- Create Date：2021-09-11 05:51:26
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Lao Tzu
- ISBN：0670024988
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Summary
The original mindfulness book， in a landmark new translation that presents it as a guide to living a better， kinder， gentler life
The most translated book in the world after the Bible， the Tao Te Ching， or 'Book of the Way'， is the essential text of Taoism， one of the three great religions of China。 Through aphorisms and parable， it guides its readers toward the Tao， or the 'Way': living in harmony with the life force of the universe。 Traditionally attributed to Lao Tzu， a Chinese philosopher who was a contemporary of Confucius， it offers a practical model for living based on modesty， self-restraint and balance and is an insightful guide for anyone seeking to open their minds， free their thoughts， and attain greater self-awareness。
The most translated book in the world after the Bible， the Tao Te Ching， or 'Book of the Way'， is the essential text of Taoism， one of the three great religions of China。 Through aphorisms and parable， it guides its readers toward the Tao， or the 'Way': living in harmony with the life force of the universe。 Traditionally attributed to Lao Tzu， a Chinese philosopher who was a contemporary of Confucius， it offers a practical model for living based on modesty， self-restraint and balance and is an insightful guide for anyone seeking to open their minds， free their thoughts， and attain greater self-awareness。
Reviews
Jim
，
Apparently Stephen Mitchell does not speak or understand Chinese， so his version is not a translation but an interpretation based on his reading of other translations。 I will be looking for a translation by someone who actually knows the Chinese language。
Shaimon
，
ভাবনা জগৎকে বদলে দেবার মতো একটি বই।
Henry Hobbs
，
“Finished” my first read through， but it’s never truly finished。 I imagine it takes many lifetimes to fully understand if full understanding is even possible。 Beautiful。 I will carry this with me always， in my heart and in my hand。
Brian Wilcox
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Not sure this is a translation; I would call it a paraphrase - but an excellent one。 I recommend this， but suggest those interested in this wisdom classic find， also， a translation to get a closer reading of the native text。
Luis Velardo Álvarez
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Libro enigmático donde los haya， que tendré que releer para interiorizarlo del todo。 Me quedo con lo necesario que es abrazar el yin en nuestras vidas tan dominadas por el yang。
Yazdanpanah Askari
，
نام ها در تمام موارد عاریتی است - صفحه 56 واژه ها را باید شستواژه باید خود باد، واژه باید خود باران باشدسهراب سپهری، هشت کتاب ص 292
Dunkelheit
，
The Tao is too contradictory for me。 I need to re-read it to grasp a little bit more of its wisdom。
Aaron Murphy
，
Will take many more reads I expect。 Next time I do I'll spend just one night rainy each verse and thinking about it for the following day。 Will take many more reads I expect。 Next time I do I'll spend just one night rainy each verse and thinking about it for the following day。 。。。more
Dallin Stevenson
，
i will return frequently
Max Tucker
，
Read this without reading it
Vitky Sinin
，
amajing
charlotte r。
，
ground breaking， i’m suggesting everyone should read it。 （and even if it doesn’t apply it still is general knowledge）
Grant
，
Review specific to Ursula K。 Le Guin's version:I like a lot of Le Guin's other work， but would definitely recommend a veritable translation in place of Le Guin's interpretation of various other translations （even though translation itself is interpretation）， as she herself does not speak a modern topolect of Chinese nor understand Classical Chinese。 Publishing a text like this without reading/understanding the language verges on problematic representation of a culture/history/philosophical tradi Review specific to Ursula K。 Le Guin's version:I like a lot of Le Guin's other work， but would definitely recommend a veritable translation in place of Le Guin's interpretation of various other translations （even though translation itself is interpretation）， as she herself does not speak a modern topolect of Chinese nor understand Classical Chinese。 Publishing a text like this without reading/understanding the language verges on problematic representation of a culture/history/philosophical tradition/etc。 that she does not have the interpretive context to comment on with such authority。 I think this is remedied （at least partially） by choosing to understand this as her own reflections and as a representation of her own connections with and understandings of translated texts， rather than an attempt at relaying Laozi's thoughts directly。 Even so， parts of it made me uncomfortable， along with a number of critics。 If you are a fan of Le Guin's and are interested in her thoughts on the classic， this could be a worthwhile text。 If you are interested in the text itself， a direct translation rather than an interpretation of translations may serve you better。 I am partial to the Ames and Hall version， as well as the earlier D。 C。 Lau text， but there are plenty out there。 Better yet， learn Classical Chinese yourself！ 。。。more
Gavin
，
The Tao te Ching is a phenomenal book for the modern person。 It creates a dichotomy between our western ideas of how one should live life and the eastern ideas of how you should live。 On verse 9 it asserts， "The best way to live is to be like water[。] For water benefits all things and goes against none of them。" （Star 9）。 In our society， we value being unique and standing out while according to Lao Tzu it is better to conform and provide for others。 The book is full of differences in thought lik The Tao te Ching is a phenomenal book for the modern person。 It creates a dichotomy between our western ideas of how one should live life and the eastern ideas of how you should live。 On verse 9 it asserts， "The best way to live is to be like water[。] For water benefits all things and goes against none of them。" （Star 9）。 In our society， we value being unique and standing out while according to Lao Tzu it is better to conform and provide for others。 The book is full of differences in thought like this and it makes you think a lot about how you live your life。 I'd recommend the book to anyone wanting to think about their life through a new perspective。 。。。more
Kiko León
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Este es uno de los grandes libros， el más clásico del Taoísmo， escrito hace al menos veinticuatro siglos。 Leerlo siempre aporta porque también es poesía y de alguna manera lo que dice llega a quien lo lea， incluso aunque después de leerlo no sepa explicar con sus palabras lo que ha leído。 Como mínimo deja una sensación， profunda， sublime， como una misteriosa poesía。 Claro que esta comprensión "solo" es la superficie， cuanto más aprendamos sobre este libro， más iremos entendiéndolo。 Teniendo en c Este es uno de los grandes libros， el más clásico del Taoísmo， escrito hace al menos veinticuatro siglos。 Leerlo siempre aporta porque también es poesía y de alguna manera lo que dice llega a quien lo lea， incluso aunque después de leerlo no sepa explicar con sus palabras lo que ha leído。 Como mínimo deja una sensación， profunda， sublime， como una misteriosa poesía。 Claro que esta comprensión "solo" es la superficie， cuanto más aprendamos sobre este libro， más iremos entendiéndolo。 Teniendo en cuenta esto， la edición de Trotta， traducida del chino por Iñaki Preciado Idoeta es la ideal。 Es bilingüe。 Traduce， además de los textos tardíos que se encuentran en la mayoría de ediciones， las versiones anteriores halladas recientemente y cuenta con una introducción muy amplia y completa， que nos ilustra sobre conceptos importantísimos y normalmente muy mal explicados como el wu wei， que a menudo se traduce como "no acción" pero que en realidad se refiere más bien a "hacer no haciendo"， un concepto muy interesante que poco tiene que ver con negarse a actuar。Hay un millón de ediciones de este libro y las traducciones cambian muchísimo。 Una traducción quizá más precisa es la también traducida al castellano del chino de Anne-Hélène Suárez Girard， de la editorial Siruela。 También la recomiendo。 Aquí， por ejemplo， se traduce "el Tao" por "el Curso"。 Otros lo traducen por "el camino" o por "la vía": cada traducción es sutilmente diferente， y no puede ser de otra forma， porque así es el chino y más cuando habla de algo tan profundo y misterioso y está escrito de una manera tan poética。Tengo otras dos ediciones。 La de RBA， bellamente ilustrada por Xavi Comas y Rafa Castañer y la traducida de la edición inglesa de Richard Wilhelm， de la editorial Fontana。 No me sobra ninguna。 。。。more
Ashraf Bashir
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A mix of "wtf， meh" moments， and “how genius is this saying” wondering！ Super complex to review， very confusing in some parts and brilliant in others！ A must read， mind expanding！ A mix of "wtf， meh" moments， and “how genius is this saying” wondering！ Super complex to review， very confusing in some parts and brilliant in others！ A must read， mind expanding！ 。。。more
Marcus Albertson
，
This book is nothing like I thought it'd be！ If I could attempt to describe it id say it's great。 This book is nothing like I thought it'd be！ If I could attempt to describe it id say it's great。 。。。more
Marisa
，
This is me coming out as a Daoist。
Efthimios Nasiopoulos
，
I first came to this book a couple of years ago when I picked up one of the many translations， written by Ursula K。 le Guin， a marvellous Nobel laureate writer who I was not familiar with at all。 It was an impulse buy。 One of my many weaknesses is walking into a bookstore and leaving with something because I just have to get something。 I love book covers。 It also is a habit of mine since I was a child; impulse purchases。 If there was money in my pocket it needed to be spent。 I can still remember I first came to this book a couple of years ago when I picked up one of the many translations， written by Ursula K。 le Guin， a marvellous Nobel laureate writer who I was not familiar with at all。 It was an impulse buy。 One of my many weaknesses is walking into a bookstore and leaving with something because I just have to get something。 I love book covers。 It also is a habit of mine since I was a child; impulse purchases。 If there was money in my pocket it needed to be spent。 I can still remember my dad being so angry when a relative gave me $20 for my birthday and I decided I would just buy sleeves of tennis balls。 NO rhyme or reason。 I just liked brand new tennis balls， that still had all their fuzz about them。 no worn down， gum stained tennis balls that my dad would fetch me from the top of school roofs， where he worked as a plumber。 Anyhow， I picked up her book。 She brought a modern take to the book and for some reason it sat on my bookshelf and there it stayed， unread， until about a month ago， when I downloaded a version read and translated by Stephen Mitchell。 The Tao has been translated more than any other book beside the Bible， which then prompted me to listen to another version， translated by Gia-Fu Feng and his wife Jane English。 It is amazing how similar and different all three of these translations are and it has helped me try to gain a better understanding of the extremely vacillating and paradoxical nature of the Tao。 It's a beautiful read， and hints of Heraclitus ring true throughout it。 and it is easy to see it's influences on philosophy， psychology and politics throughout our time。 All three translations are great and the Stephen Mitchell one seems to be sprinkled with a lot of his own thoughts that meander further along the branch from the trunk of the Tao。 But still great。 The Gia-Fu Feng one was narrated by philosopher Dr。 Jacob Needleman。 His voice is powerful and deep and a highly recommend this translation if there is only one in your future for listening to。 This version also two chapters that bring context to the Tao and why we need it in today's age; highly recommend。 That said， there are hundreds out there。 I've included a translation of one chapter so far from each， to get a better understanding of the wide interpretations of this sacred work， that is truly grounding and heart opening。 Note: I've only read these three。 I know as much about the Tao as I did as a 12 year old buying tennis balls。 I do really enjoy Ursula's as she also provides notes。 Also， all three bring a feminine perspective to the Tao， which is also fantastic。 The mysterious， elusive， bottomless， nourishing nature of the feminine or the unconscious is full of its symbolism in all of the chapters in these three versions。Ch。 13-Stephen Mitchell versionSuccess is as dangerous as FailureHope is as hollow as FearWhat does it mean that success is as dangerous as failure？Whether you go up the ladder or down it， your position is shakyWhen you stand with your two feet on the groundYou will always keep your balanceWhat does it mean that Hope is as hollow as fear？Hope and fear are both phantomsthat arise from thinking of the selfWhen we don't see the self as self， what do we have to fear？See the world as yourselfHave faith in the way things areLove the world as yourselfThen you can care for all thingsChapter 13-Gia Fu FengAccept disgrace willingly Accept misfortune as the human conditionWhat do you mean， accept disgrace willingly？Accept being unimportantDo not concern yourself with loss or gainThis is called accepting disgrace willinglyWhat do you mean by accept misfortune as the human condition？Misfortune comes from having a bodyWithout a body how could there be misfortune？Surrender yourself humbly， then you can be trusted to care for all thingsLove the world as your own self。Then you can truly care for all things。Ch。 13-Ursula K。 Le Guin， titled "Shameless"To be in favour or disgraceis to live in fear。To take the body seriouslyis to admit one can suffer。What does that mean， to be in favour or disgrace is to live in fear？Favor debases:we fear to lose it，fear to win it。So to be in favour or disgrace is to live in fear。What does that mean， to take the body seriouslyis to admit one can suffer？I suffer because I'm a body;if I weren't a body，how could I suffer？So people who set their bodily goodbefore the public goodcould be entrusted with the commonwealth，and people who treated the body politicas gently as their own bodywould be worthy to govern the commonwealthAll three have wonderful little insights and I imagine as you read and re-read them over a lifetime， they will bring more understanding and relativity to your own subjective experiences in life。 This， I think is the beauty of the Tao， in my extremely limited exposure to it， that it can hold objectivity and subjectivity together， even as we change over time。 。。。more
A Z
，
道德經 [dào dé jīng] is a classical text credited to Chinese philosopher and writer Lao Zi （fl。 6th century BCE）， upon which the foundation of Daoism is built。 The text consists of 81 chapters intended to guide the reader along the path to an harmonious existence with the world。Ellen Chen's translation includes commentary， which I found incredibly helpful， particularly considering that this text was written nearly three thousand years ago。 Chen's translation is incredibly literal， making effort to 道德經 [dào dé jīng] is a classical text credited to Chinese philosopher and writer Lao Zi （fl。 6th century BCE）， upon which the foundation of Daoism is built。 The text consists of 81 chapters intended to guide the reader along the path to an harmonious existence with the world。Ellen Chen's translation includes commentary， which I found incredibly helpful， particularly considering that this text was written nearly three thousand years ago。 Chen's translation is incredibly literal， making effort to use as precise a language as possible in order to produce a whip-sharp version of the original。 This， combined with the commentary， gives a solid interpretation of the original text accessible to a more modern reader （i。e。， one who doesn't read classical Chinese）。 Chen's edition is more academic than poetic， focusing on the commentary and the exact meaning of each chapter。As an example， here is how Chen translates chapter 71:From knowing to not knowing （chih， pu chih），This is superior。From not knowing to knowing （pu chih， chih），This is sickness。It is by being sick of sickness，That one is not sick。And here is the original:知不知上不知知病夫唯病病是以不病聖人不病以其病病是以不病This is in contrast to the other edition I've read， translated by Stephen Mitchell， which takes a less exact approach and instead opts for the more lyrical， interpretive translation:Not-knowing is true knowledge。Presuming to know is a disease。First realize that you are sick;then you can move toward health。Personally I prefer Chen's version， mostly because I tend to prefer more literal translations （especially those with notes。。。 yes please） to poetic interpretations; however， both are quite good。 。。。more
Lorax
，
Help all creatures develop naturally
Han Turner
，
My new life mentor。
Luke
，
To speak eagerly and indulgently of the Tao would be to not know the Tao， 4 stars。
Charles Daube
，
Brilliant writing， sage wisdom。 I’ll be returning to this one often。
Nour Kadi Amin
，
Wonderful book！ It is so phylosophical and spirtual。 Has many virtues that should be followed to live a good and happy life。 But if you want to read it， you must have an idea about the Tao first。 Have read some about it and about all the related terms to it， like Teh， Ching and so on。。
Babak Jalilian
，
An absolute must read！I have been reading this every year for the past three years and it has true gems hidden here and there for you based on which state of your life you may be…
Ileana Estrella
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Muy interesante ， de esos libros que tienes que leer ！
Dewi Rhys-jones
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