This page is the entry point to all translations and commentaries on this site. If you are new to Taoist thought, start with the question, what is Taoist thought? Then, continue on to Understanding the Tao Te Ching.
Tao Te Ching – Word for Word
In translating the Tao Te Ching, the translation is, in truth, also a commentary. By that I mean the choice and interpretation of both words and phrases required in translating anything (but especially this) is in itself a primary form of commentary. To help limit the commentary aspect, this translation is a render as close as possible to ancient Chinese. I included personal reflections that relate each chapter to various aspects of life. See also, The Tao Te Ching: Literal Chinese vs. Translations.
A print-on-demand copy of this site’s Word for Word Translation is available. Click Word for Word for more information.
Ongoing Monthly Chapter Series
We explore one chapter on the first Sunday of every month using my Word for Word translation. I post that chapter here along with my reflections.
Our group discussions are not for uncovering what the Tao Te Ching ‘truly’ says. Rather, the group interaction helps reveal the Tao Te Ching as seen through ‘my’ and ‘your’ mind. This offers an interaction between ‘my’ understanding or puzzlement and ‘your’ understanding or puzzlement. This back-and-forth helps deepen and broaden understandings that one may not reach alone, i.e., seeing the whole elephant.
The Writings of Chuang Tzu
This is taken from James Legge’s translation The Writings of Chuang Tzu, found in volumes thirty nine and forty of the Sacred Books of the East series, published by Oxford University Press in 1891. It was part of a much larger work published by Legge under the title The Chinese Classics, which rendered into English seven of the nine classics of Chinese literature. Legge also translated the other Taoist classic, the Tao Te Ching. (Note: This content is from Stephen McIntyre’s site. It has the other books in the series.)
D.C. Lau’s Translation (with commentary)
I began studying D.C. Lau’s translation in 1964, and Chinese in 1967. I commented on D.C. Lau’s translation here until finishing my Word for Word translation in 2012.