The Tao Te Ching: The Tao and its Characteristics

by Lao Tzu

Book Overview

The Tao Te Ching is a Chinese classic text traditionally credited to the 6th-century BC sage Laozi. The text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. The oldest excavated portion dates back to the late 4th century BC, but modern scholarship dates other parts of the text as having been written--or at least compiled--later than the earliest portions of the Zhuangzi. 8]

The Tao Te Ching, along with the Zhuangzi,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1774415372
• ISBN13: 9781774415375
• Release Date: September 1868
• Publisher: Binker North
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 0.17 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Passable condition

Couple pages were folded a little. Nothing major. I still thought it deserved a 5* review

Buy it!

Great book- a classic & influential text

A must-read of Taoism

Great book!

A Timeless Masterwork

When I saw a less than four star rating for this book, I was flabbergasted! How can one rate a world classic so poorly? Perhaps it's the nature of the book itself. The Tao Te Ching (or Deodejing) is 81 chapters of wisdom, political, spiritual, and advice sayings. Without understanding any of the philosophical background assumptions, the book is difficult to understand and can seem like nonsense at times. The Tao Te Ching is also unique in encouraging reflection and meditation on it's sayings by virtue of it's delicate balance between clarity and ambiguity. All of this can turn those new to the text away. But if you really want to understand the book, you will find it richly rewarding! Properly understood, the wisdom contained therein is helpful, profound, and a good starting point for exploring other ideas in Taoist, Buddhist, and Indian philosophy. It's also a calming and beautifully written book, given a competent translation. Most translations are fine, but I definitely recommend Red Pine's, Minford's, Addis and Lombardo's, or any one of ones listed on this site that isn't Stephen Mitchell. Mitchell's translation is not horrible, he just adds too much to the text for my tastes. As for a good introduction to the Tao Te Ching, Tao: The Watercourse Way is the best I've found. In any case, however, this book deserves five stars. There are great reasons why it is considered such an essential text in so many countries!