Editing Tao Te Ching

{{Short description|Chinese classic text}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Tao Te Ching
| italic title=yes
| image = Mawangdui LaoTsu Ms2.JPG
| image_size = 160px
| caption = Ink on silk manuscript of the ''Tao Te Ching''{{snd}}from [[Mawangdui]] (2nd century&nbsp;BC)
| orig_lang_code = zh
| author = [[Laozi]] (trad.)<ref name="Ellwood2008">{{Citation |last=Ellwood |first=Robert S. |title=Lao-tzu (Laozi) |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of World Religions |page=262 |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1pGbdI4L0qsC&pg=PA262 |publisher=Infobase |isbn=978-1-4381-1038-7}}</ref>
| country = China
| release_date = 4th century&nbsp;BC
| language = [[Classical Chinese]]
| english_pub_date = 1868
| native_wikisource = 道德經
| wikisource = Tao Te Ching
| subject = Philosophy
| module = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes
|title = Tao Te Ching
|t=道德經
|s=道德经
|w={{tonesup|Tao4 Tê2 Ching1}}
|p=Dào Dé Jīng
|bpmf=ㄉㄠˋ&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ㄉㄜˊ&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ㄐㄧㄥ
|mi={{IPAc-cmn|AUD|Chinese-TaoTeChing.ogg|d|ao|4|-|d|e|2|-|j|ing|1}}
|myr=Dàu Dé Jīng
|j=Dou6 Dak1 Ging1
|ci={{IPAc-yue|d|ou|6|-|d|ak|1|-|g|ing|1}}
|y=Douh Dāk Gīng
|h=Tau4 Dêd5 Gin1
|wuu=Dau Teh Cin
|poj=Tō Tek Keng
|tl=Tō Tik King
|oc-b92=&ast;{{IPA|luʔ tɨk keng}}
|oc-bs=&ast;{{IPA|[kə.l]ˤuʔ tˤək k-lˤeŋ}}
|l="Classic of [[Tao|the Way]] and [[De (Chinese)|Virtue]]"
|mc=Dɑu<sup>X</sup> Tək̚ Keŋ
|c2=老子
|l2="The Old Master"
|p2=Lǎozǐ
|w2=Lao3 Tzŭ3
|mi2={{IPAc-cmn|l|ao|2|-|zi|3}}
|bpmf2=ㄌㄠˇㄗˇ
|myr2=Lǎudž
|suz2=Lâ-tsỳ
|j2=Lou5zi2
|y2=Lóuhjí
|ci2={{IPAc-yue|l|ou|5|.|z|i|2}}
|poj2=Ló-chú
|tl2=Ló-tsú
|oc-bs2=&ast;{{IPA|C.rˤuʔ tsəʔ}}
|t3=道德真經
|s3=道德真经
|p3=Dàodé Zhēnjīng
|w3=Tao4> Tê2 Chên1 Ching1
|bpmf3={{bpmfsp|ㄉㄠˋ|ㄉㄜˊ|ㄓㄣ|ㄐㄧㄥ}}
|mi3={{IPAc-cmn|d|ao|4|-|d|e|2|-|zh|en|1|-|j|ing|1}}
|myr3=Dàudé Jēnjīng
|oc-bs3=&ast;{{IPA|[kə.l]ˤuʔ tˤək ti[n] k-lˤeŋ}}
|l3="[[Sutra]] of the Way and Its Power"
}}
}}
{{Taoism}}

The '''''Tao Te Ching'''''{{NoteTag|[[Standard Chinese]]: {{IPAc-cmn|AUD|Chinese-TaoTeChing.ogg|d|ao|4|-|d|e|2|-|j|ing|1}}; in English often {{IPAc-en|UK|ˌ|t|aʊ|_|t|iː|_|ˈ|tʃ|ɪ|ŋ}} {{respell|TOW|_|tee|_|CHING}}, {{IPAc-en|US|ˌ|d|aʊ|_|d|ɛ|_|ˈ|dʒ|ɪ|ŋ}} {{respell|DOW|_|deh|_|JING}};<ref>{{Dictionary.com|Tao Te Ching|access-date=23 June 2020}}</ref>{{pb}}Less common romanisations include ''Tao-te-king'',{{sfnp|Julien|1842|p=ii}} {{tlit|zh|Tau Tĕh King}}<ref name="chalv">{{harvp|Chalmers|1868|p=v}}</ref> and {{tlit|zh|Tao Teh King}}.<ref name="legge">{{harvp|Legge & al.|1891}}.</ref><ref name="suziq">{{harvp|Suzuki & al.|1913}}.</ref>}} ({{zh|t=道德經|s=道德经|first=t}}) or '''''Laozi''''' is a [[Chinese classic text]] and foundational work of [[Taoism]] traditionally credited to the sage [[Laozi]], though the text's authorship and date of composition and compilation are debated.<ref>{{harvp|Eliade|1984|p=26}}</ref> The oldest excavated portion dates to the late 4th century&nbsp;BC.<ref name="stanford" />

The ''Tao Te Ching'' is central to both philosophical and religious Taoism, and has been highly influential to [[Chinese philosophy]] and [[Religion in China|religious practice]] in general. It is generally taken as preceding the ''[[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]]'', the other core Taoist text.<ref name="stanford">{{harvp|Chan|2013}}.</ref> Terminology originating within the text has been reinterpreted and elaborated upon by [[Legalism (Chinese philosophy)|Legalist thinkers]], [[Confucianists]], and particularly [[Chinese Buddhist]]s, which had been introduced to China significantly after the initial solidification of Taoist thought. The text is well known in the West, and is one of the most translated texts in world literature.<ref name="stanford">{{harvp|Chan|2013}}.</ref>

== Title ==
In English, the title is commonly rendered ''Tao Te Ching'', following the [[Wade–Giles]] romanisation, or as ''Daodejing'', following [[pinyin]]. It can be translated as ''The Classic of the Way and its Power'',<ref>{{Citation |title=The Way and its Power |year=1958 |editor-last=Waley |editor-first=Arthur |url=https://archive.org/details/wayitspowerstudy0000wale |place=New York |publisher=Grove |isbn=0-8021-5085-3 |oclc=1151668016 |editor-link=Arthur Waley |url-access=registration}}</ref> ''The Book of the [[Tao]] and Its Virtue'',{{sfnp|Kohn & al.|1998|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NXdzosdR0JUC&pg=PA1 1]}} ''The Book of the Way and of Virtue'',{{sfnp|Julien|1842}}{{sfnp|Giles & al.|1905|loc=[[:s:The Sayings of Lao Tzu/Introduction|Introduction]]}} ''The Tao and its Characteristics'',<ref name="legge" /> ''The Canon of Reason and Virtue'',<ref name="suziq" /> ''The Classic Book of Integrity and the Way'',{{sfnp|Mair|1990}} or ''A Treatise on the Principle and Its Action''.{{sfnp|Wieger|1913|p=[[:s:fr:Les pères du système taoïste/Préface#3|3]]}}{{sfnp|Bryce & al.|1991|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=aMLE056g6MsC&pg=PR9 ix]}}

Ancient Chinese books were commonly referenced by the name of their real or supposed author, in this case the "Old Master",{{sfnp|Chalmers|1868|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=yxFBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR9 ix]}} Laozi. As such, the ''Tao Te Ching'' is also sometimes referred to as the ''Laozi'', especially in Chinese sources.<ref name="stanford" />

The title ''Tao Te Ching'', designating the work's status as a classic, was only first applied during the reign of [[Emperor Jing of Han]] (157–141&nbsp;BC).<ref>{{Citation |last=Seidel |first=Anna |title=La divinisation de Lao-tseu dans le taoïsme des Han |date=1969 |pages=24, 50 |place=Paris |publisher=École française d'Extrême‑Orient |language=fr |author-link=Anna Seidel}}</ref> Other titles for the work include the honorific ''[[Sutra]] of the Way and Its Power'' ({{zhi|c=道德真經|p=Dàodé zhēnjing}}) and the descriptive ''Five Thousand Character Classic'' ({{zhi|c=五千文|p=Wǔqiān wén}}).

== Textual history ==
=== Principal versions ===
Among the many transmitted editions of the ''Tao Te Ching'' text, the three primary ones are named after early commentaries. The "Yan Zun Version", which is only extant for the ''Te Ching'', derives from a commentary attributed to [[Han dynasty]] scholar Yan Zun ({{lang|lzh|巖尊}}, {{fl.|80&nbsp;BC{{snd}}10&nbsp;AD}}). The "Heshang Gong" version is named after the legendary [[Heshang Gong]] ('legendary sage'), who supposedly lived during the reign of [[Emperor Wen of Han]] (180–157&nbsp;BC). This commentary has a preface written by [[Ge Xuan]] (164–244&nbsp;AD), granduncle of [[Ge Hong]], and scholarship dates this version to {{circa|the 3rd century&nbsp;AD}}. The origins of the "Wang Bi" version have greater verification than either of the above. [[Wang Bi]] (226–249&nbsp;AD) was a [[Three Kingdoms]]-period philosopher and commentator on the ''Tao Te Ching'' and ''[[I Ching]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wagner |first=Rudolf G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3DvtkuXRfBsC&pg=PA10 | page=10 |title=The Craft of a Chinese Commentator: Wang Bi on the Laozi |date=2000 |place=Albany|publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-0-7914-4395-8  |language=en}}</ref>

=== Archaeologically recovered manuscripts ===
''Tao Te Ching'' scholarship has advanced from archaeological discoveries of manuscripts, some of which are older than any of the received texts. Beginning in the 1920s and 1930s, [[Marc Aurel Stein]] and others found thousands of scrolls in the [[Mogao Caves]] near [[Dunhuang]]. They included more than 50 partial and complete manuscripts. Another partial manuscript has the ''[[Xiang'er]]'' commentary, which had previously been lost.<ref>{{Citation |last=Boltz |first=William G. |title=The Religious and Philosophical Significance of the Hsiang erh Lao tzu 相爾老子 in the Light of the Ma-wang-tui Silk Manuscripts |work=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |volume=45 |year=1982 |jstor=615191 |author-link=William G. Boltz}}</ref>{{rp|95ff}}<ref>{{Citation |last=Zandbergen |first=Robbert |title=The Ludibrium of Living Well |journal=Monumenta Serica |volume=70 |issue=2 |pages=367–388 |year=2022 |doi=10.1080/02549948.2022.2131802 |s2cid=254151927}}</ref>

In 1973, archaeologists discovered copies of early Chinese books, known as the [[Mawangdui Silk Texts]], in a tomb dated to 168&nbsp;BC.<ref name="stanford" /> They included two nearly complete copies of the text, referred to as Text A ({{lang|lzh|甲}}) and Text B ({{lang|lzh|乙}}), both of which reverse the traditional ordering and put the ''Te Ching'' section before the ''Tao Ching'', which is why the Henricks translation of them is named "Te-Tao Ching". Based on calligraphic styles and imperial [[naming taboo]] avoidances, scholars believe that Text A can be dated to about the first decade and Text B to about the third decade of the 2nd century&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{Citation |last=Loewe |first=Michael |title=Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide |pages=269 |year=1993 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e10hAQAAIAAJ |publisher=Society for the Study of Early China |language=en |isbn=978-1-55729-043-4}}</ref>

In 1993, the oldest known version of the text, written on [[bamboo slips]], was found in a tomb near the town of Guodian ({{zhi|郭店}}) in [[Jingmen]], Hubei, and dated prior to 300&nbsp;BC.<ref name="stanford" /> The [[Guodian Chu Slips]] comprise around 800 slips of bamboo with a total of over 13,000 characters, about 2,000 of which correspond with the ''Tao Te Ching.''<ref name="stanford" />

Both the Mawangdui and Guodian versions are generally consistent with the received texts, excepting differences in chapter sequence and graphic variants. Several recent ''Tao Te Ching'' translations utilise these two versions, sometimes with the verses reordered to synthesize the new finds.<ref>{{multiref|{{harvp|Lau|1989}}|{{harvp|Henricks|1989}}|{{harvp|Mair|1990}}|Henricks (2000)|Allan and Williams (2000)|Roberts (2004)}}</ref>

===Chronological theories===
{{See also|Guanzi_(text)#Dating|label 1=Guanzi dating}}
Although debated more in early scholarship, early modern scholars like [[Feng Youlan]] and [[Herrlee G. Creel]] still considered the work a compilation,{{sfnp|Creel|1982|pp=1–2}} and most modern scholarship holds the text to be a compilation, as typical for long-form early Chinese texts.<ref>{{ Cite book | last= Zhang | first= Hanmo | date= 2018 | title= Authorship and Text-Making in Early China| series= Library of Sinology, vol. 2 | publisher= De Gruyter| chapter = Text, Author, and the Function of Authorship | doi= 10.1515/9781501505133-003 | doi-access= free| jstor= j.ctvbkk21j.5| jstor-access= free |pages=26, 30| isbn= 978-1-5015-0513-3 }}</ref> Linguistic studies of the ''Tao Te Ching''{{'}}s vocabulary and [[syllable rime|rime]] scheme point to a date of composition after the ''[[Classic of Poetry]]'' (or Book of Songs), but before the ''[[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]]'',<ref>{{Citation |last=Laozi |title=Tao Te Ching |pages=162 |year=1963 |author-mask=0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n4GMEAAAQBAJ |publisher=Penguin |language=en |isbn=978-0-14-044131-4 |translator-last=Lau |translator-first=D. C. |translator-link=D. C. Lau}}</ref> and would generally be taken as preceding the ''Zhuangzi''.{{sfn|Chan|2013}} This is the traditional "before Zhuangzi’ theory".{{sfn|Mou|2008|p=213}} Although the Book of Songs is a diverse work, they do not appear to bare any especial resemblance.{{sfn|Mou|2008|p=217}} 

Based on [[Sima Qian]], the text would traditionally be taken as preceding [[Shen Buhai]]. Creel proposed that Shen Buhai may have preceded it as well,{{sfnp|Creel|1982|pp=48-51,93}} but Shen Buhai does bare a "striking" resemblance to [[Daodejing|Laozi]].<ref>{{harvnb|Creel|1974|p=189 (Creel's opinion)}}; {{harvnb|Creel|1982|p=50}} (citing {{harvnb|Jin|1963|pp=241-246}}); {{harvnb|Liu|2014|p=248 (citing Jin 1962)}}</ref> Although not enough to eliminate a late dating, the discovery of the early [[Mawangdui silk texts]] and [[Guodian Chu Slips]] again made a dating before the third-century more probable.{{sfnm|1a1=Mou|1y=2008|1p=213,214|2a1=Barlow|2y=1985|2p=92}} Essentially the dating of [[A.C. Graham]], the [[Stanford Encyclopedia]] supposes compilation of the ''current'' text as dating back to {{circa|250 BCE}}, drawing on a wide range of versions further dating back a century or two.<ref name="Stanford">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Chan|first= Alan|entry-url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2018/entries/laozi/ |entry=Laozi|title =The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |edition=Winter 2018 |editor =Edward N. Zalta |access-date=3 February 2020}}</ref> [[Benjamin I. Schwartz]] still considered the Tao te Ching remarkably unified by the time of the Mawangdui, even if these versions swap the two halves of the text.<ref name="Schartz2009">{{cite book |last1=Schwartz |first1=Benjamin Isadore |author-link = Benjamin I. Schwartz |title=The World of Thought in Ancient China |year=2009 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-04331-2 |page=187 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kA0c1hl3CXUC&pg=PA187}}</ref>

Termed the "After Zhuangzi" theory, representative of [[Ch'ien Mu]] and Graham, a lack of early references contributes to Graham's late dating. While the Zhuangzi is the first reference for the Tao te Ching, it's Inner Chapters do not demonstrate familiar with it. Thus, an early stratum representative of the ''Zhuangzi's'' core Inner Chapters may have preceded it.{{sfnm|1a1=Mou|1y=2008|1p=215|2a1=Graham|2y=1989|2pp=213,217}} Listed in the Outer ''Zhuangzi's'' history before Laozi and Zhuangzi, [[Shen Dao]] also shares content with the Inner ''Zhuangzi''.{{sfnm|1a1=Graham|1y=1989|1p=376|2a1=Hansen|2y=1992|2pp=345,205,208|3a1=Schwartz|3y=1985|3p=186|4a1=Liu|4y=1994|4p=55}}  Less technically complex than Shen Buhai, Shen Dao's current may even precede him, as espoused by [[Ban Gu]].{{sfn|Barlow|1985|p=93}} However, Shen Dao can also be directly compared with the Tao te Ching.{{sfn|Emerson|2013}}

[[Sinologist]] Chad Hansen does not consider the Outer ''Zhuangzi'' entirely accurate chronologically, but still recalls it as part of a theoretical framework for the [[Stanford Encyclopedia]] of Daoism, positioning Shen Dao as "Pre-Laozi Daoist Theory". Discussing concepts of names and realities in its opening, Feng Youlan proposed the [[school of names]] as preceding the ''Tao Te Ching''. But while some may have, it does not demonstrate school of names influence the way the ''Zhuangzi'' does. The ''Tao te Ching'' is not as paradoxical, it tries to demonstrate that the ''way'' or [[dao]] is not constant. Although differing, [[Mohism]] and Confucianism also discuss concepts of names and realities.{{sfnm|1a1=Hansen|1y=2020|2a1=Hansen|2y=2024|3a1=Feng|3y=1948|3p=93|4a1=Hansen|4y=1992|4p=217}}

=== Authorship ===
The ''Tao Te Ching'' was traditionally ascribed to [[Laozi]], whose historical existence has been a matter of scholarly debate. His name, which means "Old Master", has only fuelled controversy on this issue.<ref>{{Citation |last=Cao |first=Feng |title=Daoism in Early China: Huang–Lao Thought in Light of Excavated Texts |date=20 October 2017 |author-mask=Cao Feng |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vf06DwAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |language=en |isbn=978-1-137-55094-1}}</ref> Legends claim variously that Laozi was "born old" and that he lived for 996 years, with twelve previous incarnations starting around the time of the Three Sovereigns before the thirteenth as Laozi. Some scholars have expressed doubts over Laozi's historicity.<ref>{{Citation |last=Laozi |title=Tao Te Ching |pages=162 |year=1963 |author-mask=0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n4GMEAAAQBAJ |publisher=Penguin |language=en |isbn=978-0-14-044131-4 |quote=The tentative conclusion we have arrived at concerning Lao Tzu the man is this. There is no certain evidence that he was a historical figure. |translator-last=Lau |translator-first=D. C. |translator-link=D. C. Lau}}</ref>

[[File:Laozi.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Laozi riding a [[water buffalo]]]]

The first biographical reference to Laozi is in the ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'',<ref>{{harvnb|Records of the Grand Historian|loc=vol. 63}}, tr. Chan 1963:35–37.</ref> by Chinese historian [[Sima Qian]] ({{circa|145–86 BC}}), which combines three stories.<ref>{{Cite Shiji |63 | anchor=老子| lp=y|trans-chapter=Vol. 63, biography of Laozi |ref={{sfnref|Records of the Grand Historian}}}}</ref> In the first, Laozi was a contemporary of [[Confucius]] (551–479&nbsp;BC). His surname was Li ({{zhi|李}}), and his personal name was Er ({{zhi|耳}}) or Dan ({{zhi|聃}}). He was an official in the imperial archives, and wrote a book in two parts before departing to the West; at the request of the keeper of the Han-ku Pass, [[Yinxi]], Laozi composed the ''Tao Te Ching''. In the second story, Laozi, also a contemporary of Confucius, was Lao Laizi ({{lang|lzh|[[:zh:老莱子|老萊子]]}}), who wrote a book in 15 parts. Third, Laozi was the grand historian and astrologer Lao Dan ({{lang|lzh|老聃}}), who lived during the reign of [[Duke Xian of Qin (424–362 BC)|Duke Xian of Qin]] ({{reign|384|362&nbsp;BC}}).{{sfnp|Records of the Grand Historian|loc=vol. 63}}

== Contents ==
=== Themes ===
{{See also|Laozi#Tao Te Ching}}
{{expand German|title=Daodejing|fa=yes|section=yes|date=June 2022}}
{{#section:Laozi|DDJ themes}}

=== Internal structure ===
The ''Tao Te Ching'' is a text of around 5,162 to 5,450 [[Chinese characters]] in 81 brief chapters or sections ({{lang|lzh|章}}). There is some evidence that the chapter divisions were later additions—for commentary, or as aids to rote memorisation—and that the original text was more fluidly organised. It has two parts, the ''Tao Ching'' ({{lang|lzh|道經}}; chapters 1–37) and the ''Te Ching'' ({{lang|lzh|德經}}; chapters 38–81), which may have been edited together into the received text, possibly reversed from an original ''Te Tao Ching''.<ref name="Austin 2010 158">{{Citation |last=Austin |first=Michael |title=Reading the World |date=2010 |page=158 |place=New York |publisher=W. W. Norton |isbn=978-0-393-93349-9}}</ref>

The written style is laconic, and has few [[Chinese particles|grammatical particle]]s. While the ideas are singular, the style is poetic, combining two major strategies: short, declarative statements, and intentional contradictions, encouraging varied, contradictory interpretations. The first of these strategies creates memorable phrases, while the second forces the reader to reconcile supposed contradictions.<ref name="Austin 2010 158"/> With a [[Reconstructions of Old Chinese|partial reconstruction]] of the pronunciation of [[Old Chinese]] spoken during the ''Tao Te Ching''{{'}}s composition, approximately three-quarters rhymed in the original language.<ref name=":13">{{Citation |last=Minford |first=John |title=Tao Te Ching: The Essential Translation of the Ancient Chinese Book of the Tao |pages=ix–x |year=2018 |place=New York |publisher=[[Viking Press]] |language=en |isbn=978-0-670-02498-8 |author-link=John Minford}}</ref>

The Chinese characters in the earliest versions were written in [[seal script]], while later versions were written in [[clerical script]] and [[regular script]] styles.<ref>{{cite journal <!-- Citation bot no -->|last=Henricks|first= Robert G. |title=Examining the Ma-Wang-Tui Silk Texts of the ''Lao-Tzu'': With Special Note of Their Differences from the Wang Pi Text|work= T’oung Pao|volume =65|issue= 4/5 |date=1979|pages= 166–199 at 167 | jstor= 4528176}}</ref>

== Translation ==
The ''Tao Te Ching'' has been translated into Western languages over 250 times, mostly to English, German, and French.{{sfnp|LaFargue & al.|1998|p=277}} According to Holmes Welch, "It is a famous puzzle which everyone would like to feel he had solved."<ref>{{Citation |last=Welch |first=Holmes |title=Taoism: The Parting of the Way |pages=7 |year=1966 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fe7XAAAAMAAJ |publisher=[[Beacon Press]] |language=en |isbn=978-0-8070-5973-9}}</ref> The first English translation of the ''Tao Te Ching'' was produced in 1868 by the Scottish Protestant missionary [[John Chalmers (missionary)|John Chalmers]], entitled ''The Speculations on Metaphysics, Polity, and Morality of the "Old Philosopher" Lau-tsze''.{{sfnp|Chalmers|1868}} It was heavily indebted{{sfnp|Chalmers|1868|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=yxFBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR19 xix]}} to [[Stanislas Julien|Julien]]'s French translation{{sfnp|Julien|1842}} and dedicated to [[James Legge]],<ref name="chalv" /> who later produced his own translation for Oxford's ''[[Sacred Books of the East]]''.<ref name="legge" />

Other notable English translations of the ''Tao Te Ching'' are those produced by Chinese scholars and teachers: a 1948 translation by linguist [[Lin Yutang]], a 1961 translation by author [[John Ching Hsiung Wu]], a 1963 translation by sinologist [[D. C. Lau|Din Cheuk Lau]], another 1963 translation by professor [[Wing-tsit Chan]], and a 1972 translation by [[Taoism|Taoist]] teacher [[Gia-Fu Feng]] together with his wife [[Jane English]].

Many translations are written by people with a foundation in Chinese language and philosophy who are trying to render the original meaning of the text as faithfully as possible into English. Some of the more popular translations are written from a less scholarly perspective, giving an individual author's interpretation. Critics of these versions claim that their translators deviate from the text and are incompatible with the history of Chinese thought.<ref>{{Citation |last=Eoyang |first=Eugene |title=Review: ''Tao Te Ching: A New English Translation'' by Stephen Mitchell |work=The Journal of Religion |volume=70 |issue=3 |pages=492–493 |year=1990 |type=book review |publisher=University of Chicago Press |doi=10.1086/488454 |jstor=1205252}}</ref> Russell Kirkland goes further to argue that these versions are based on Western [[Orientalism|Orientalist]] fantasies and represent the colonial appropriation of Chinese culture.<ref>{{Citation |last=Kirkland |first=Russell |title=The Taoism of the Western Imagination and the Taoism of China: De-Colonizing the Exotic Teachings of the East |work=University of Tennessee |year=1997 |url=https://religion.uga.edu/sites/default/files/inline-files/TENN97.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102000401/http://kirkland.myweb.uga.edu/rk/pdf/pubs/pres/TENN97.pdf |archive-date=2 January 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |first=Russell |last=Kirkland |title=Taoism: The Enduring Tradition |page=1 |year=2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gg0XCJcGDhYC&pg=PP1 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-203-64671-7}}</ref> Other Taoism scholars, such as Michael LaFargue<ref>{{cite book | last=LaFargue | first= Michael | title= Tao and Method: A reasoned approach to the Tao Te Ching | date= 1994 | publisher= State University of New York Press |isbn= 9781438409863}}</ref> and Jonathan Herman,<ref>{{Citation |last=Herman |first=Jonathan R. |title=Reviewed work: Tao te Ching: A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way, Ursula K. Le Guin |work=Journal of the American Academy of Religion |volume=66 |issue=3 |pages=686–689 |year=1998 |doi=10.1093/jaarel/66.3.686 |jstor=1466152}}</ref> argue that while they do not pretend to scholarship, they meet a real spiritual need in the West. These Westernized versions aim to make the wisdom of the Tao Te Ching more accessible to modern English-speaking readers by, typically, employing more familiar cultural and temporal references.

=== Challenges in translation ===
{{more citations needed section|date=January 2018}}

The ''Tao Te Ching'' is written in [[Classical Chinese]], which generally poses a number of challenges for interpreters and translators. As Holmes Welch notes, the written language "has no active or passive, no singular or plural, no case, no person, no tense, no mood."<ref>{{harvp|Welch|1965| p=9}}</ref> Moreover, the received text lacks many [[grammatical particle]]s which are preserved in the older [[Mawangdui]] and Beida texts, which permit the text to be more precise.<ref>{{harvp|Henricks|1989|p=xvi}}</ref> Lastly, many passages of the ''Tao Te Ching'' are deliberately ambiguous.<ref name="Record_2022">{{cite journal |last1=Record |first1=Kirby |date=March 2022 |title=On Translating the Dark Enigma: The Tao Te Ching |url=https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/tal.2022.0494?role=tab |journal=Translation and Literature |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=52–65 |doi=10.3366/tal.2022.0494 |quote=The problem of intentional ambiguities in the original work lies at the heart of all poetry translations but is particularly challenging in the case of ideographic texts of antiquity... |access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref><ref name="Chan_1993">{{cite journal |last=Chan |first=Alan K. L. |date=October 1993 |title=Review: On Reading the Tao Te Ching: Mair, Lafargue, Chan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1399212 |journal=Philosophy East and West |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=745–750 |doi=10.2307/1399212 |jstor=1399212 |access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref>

Since there is very little [[punctuation]] in Classical Chinese, determining the precise boundaries between words and sentences is not always trivial. Deciding where these phrasal boundaries are must be done by the interpreter.<ref name="Record_2022" /> Some translators have argued that the received text is so corrupted due to{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} its original medium being [[bamboo strips]]<ref name="Harvard Gazette 2001 v799">{{cite web |last=Shen |first=Andrea |title=Ancient script rewrites history |website=Harvard Gazette |date=22 February 2001 |url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2001/02/harvard-gazette-ancient-script-rewrites-history/ | access-date=9 April 2024}}</ref> linked with silk threads—that it is impossible to understand some passages without some transposition of characters.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}

=== Notable translations ===<!-- In chronological order -->
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Citation |last=Laozi |title=Le Livre de la Voie et de la Vertu |year=1842 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ll5TAAAAcAAJ |place=Paris |publisher=Imprimerie Royale |language=fr |ref={{harvid|Julien|1842}} |display-authors=0 |translator-last=Julien |translator-first=Stanislas |translator-link=Stanislas Julien}}
* {{Citation |last=Laozi |title=The Speculations on Metaphysics, Polity, and Morality of the "Old Philosopher" Lau-tsze |year=1868 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yxFBAAAAYAAJ |place=London |publisher=Trübner |isbn=978-0-524-07788-7 |ref={{harvid|Chalmers|1868}} |display-authors=0 |translator-last=Chalmers |translator-first=John |translator-link=John Chalmers (missionary)}}
* {{Citation |last=Laozi |title=The Tao Teh King |volume=XXXIX:V |year=1891 |editor-last=Müller |editor-first=Max |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23974 |series=Sacred Books of the East – Sacred Books of China |publisher=Oxford University Press |ref={{harvid|Legge & al.|1891}} |display-authors=0 |editor-link=Max Müller |translator-last=Legge |translator-first=James |translator-link=James Legge |via=[[Project Gutenberg]]}}.
* {{Citation |last=Laozi |title=The Sayings of Lao Tzu |year=1905 |editor-last=Giles |editor-first=Lionel |display-editors=1 |series=The Wisdom of the East |place=New York |publisher=E. P. Dutton |ref={{harvid|Giles & al.|1905}} |display-authors=0 |editor2-last=Cranmer-Byng |editor2-first=S. A. |editor3-last=Kapadia |editor-link=Lionel Giles}}
* {{Citation |last=Laozi |title=The Canon of Reason and Virtue: Lao-tze's Tao Teh King |year=1913 |editor-last=Suzuki |editor-first=Daisetsu Teitaro |display-editors=1 |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/tao/crv/ |place=La Salle |publisher=Open Court |ref={{harvid|Suzuki & al.|1913}} |display-authors=0 |editor2-last=Carus |editor2-first=Paul |editor1-link=D. T. Suzuki}}.
* {{Citation |last=Laozi |title=[[:s:fr:Les pères du système taoiste|Les Pères du Système Taoiste]] |year=1913 |series=Taoïsme, Vol. II |publisher=Hien Hien |language=fr |ref={{harvid|Wieger|1913}} |display-authors=0 |translator-last=Wieger |translator-first=Léon |translator-link=Léon Wieger}}
* {{Citation |last=Wilhelm |first=Richard |title=Tao Te King: das Buch vom Sinn und Leben |year=1923 |place=Jena |publisher=Diederichs |language=de |author-link=Richard Wilhelm (sinologist)}}
* {{Citation |last=Duyvendak |first=J.J.L. |title=Tao Te Ching: The Book of the Way and Its Virtue |year=1954 |publisher=John Murray |author-link=J.J.L. Duyvendak}}
* {{Citation |last=Waley |first=Arthur |title=The Way and Its Power |year=1958 |orig-date=1934 |place=New York |publisher=Grove Press |author-link=Arthur Waley}}
* {{Citation |last=Chan |first=Wing-tsit |title=The Way of Lao Tzu: Tao-te ching |year=1963 |place=Indianapolis |publisher=Bobbs-Merrill |author-link=Wing-tsit Chan}}
* Houang, François and [[Pierre Leyris|Leyris, Pierre]] (1979), ''La Voie et sa vertu: Tao-tê-king'' (in French), Paris: Éditions du Seuil
* {{Citation |last=Laozi |title=Tao Te Ching: A New English Version |year=1988 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=esUrAbMWAa4C |place=New York |publisher=Harper Collins |isbn=978-0-06-180739-8 |display-authors=0 |translator-last=Mitchell |translator-first=Stephen |translator-link=Stephen Mitchell (translator)}}.
* {{Citation |last=Henricks |first=Robert G. |title=Lao-tzu: Te-tao ching. A New Translation Based on the Recently Discovered Ma-wang-tui Texts |year=1989 |place=New York |publisher=Ballantine Books |isbn=0-345-34790-0}}
* {{Citation |last=Laozi |title=Tao Te Ching |year=1989 |place=Hong Kong |publisher=Chinese University Press |isbn=9789622014671 |display-authors=0 |translator-last=Lau |translator-first=D. C. |translator-link=D. C. Lau |ref={{harvid|Lau|1989}}}}
* {{Citation |last=Laozi |title=Tao Te Ching: The Classic Book of Integrity and the Way |year=1990 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uE7thB_vwQQC |place=New York |publisher=Bantam |isbn=978-0-307-43463-0 |ref={{harvid|Mair|1990}} |display-authors=0 |translator-last=Mair |translator-first=Victor H. |translator-link=Victor H. Mair}}.
* {{Citation |last=Laozi |title=Tao-Te-Ching |year=1991 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aMLE056g6MsC |place=York Beach |publisher=Samuel Weiser |isbn=978-1-60925-441-4 |ref={{harvid|Bryce & al.|1991}} |display-authors=0 |translator-last=Bryce |translator-first=Derek |translator-last2=Wieger |translator-first2=Léon |display-translators=1}}
* Addiss, Stephen and Lombardo, Stanley (1991) ''Tao Te Ching,'' Indianapolis/Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company.
* [[Ursula K. Le Guin]] {{Citation |last=Laozi |title=Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching: A Book about the Way and the Power of Way |year=1998 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hzw6kER9etoC |publisher=Shambhala Press |isbn=978-1611807240 |display-authors=0 |translator-link=Ursula K. Le Guin}}.
* [[David Hinton]], {{Citation |title= Tao Te Ching |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pd8REAAAQBAJ |publisher=Counterpoint Press |year=2001 |ISBN=978-1582431826}}.
* Chad Hansen, ''Laozi: Tao Te Ching on The Art of Harmony,'' Duncan Baird Publications, 2009
* [[Red Pine (author)|Red Pine]], {{Citation |title=Lao-tzu's Taoteching |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GM-wv1S2D6cC |publisher=Copper Canyon Press |year=2009 |ISBN=978-1556592904}}
* Sinedino, Giorgio (2015), ''Dao De Jing'' (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Unesp

{{Refend}}

== See also ==
{{Div col|colwidth=27em}}
* [[Bogar]]
* [[Ecclesiastes]]
* ''[[Huahujing]]''
* ''[[Huainanzi]]''
* ''[[Huangdi Yinfujing]]''
* ''[[Qingjing Jing]]''
* ''[[Sanhuangjing]]''
* [[Straw dog]]
* ''[[Taiping Jing]]''
* ''[[Xishengjing]]''
* [[Four Books and Five Classics]]
{{colend}}

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|25em}}

=== Sources ===
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* {{cite book |given=Xiaogan |surname=Liu |editor=Xiaogan Liu |title=Dao Companion to Daoist Philosophy |date=2014 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9789048129270 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L24aBQAAQBAJ}}
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{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wikisource}}
{{Wikisourcelang|zh|道德經}}
* {{Citation |title=Daodejing |url=https://ctext.org/dao-de-jing |edition=Wang Bi |language=lzh,en |translator-last=Legge |translator-first=James |translator-link=James Legge |via=[[Chinese Text Project]]}}
** {{Citation |title=Laozi |url=https://ctext.org/guodian |edition=Guodian |language=lzh |via=Chinese Text Project}}
** {{Citation |title=Laozi |url=https://ctext.org/mawangdui |edition=Mawangdui |language=lzh |via=Chinese Text Project}}
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/laozi/tao-te-ching/james-legge|Display Name=Legge translation |noitalics=true }}
* {{librivox book |dtitle=Tao Te Ching |stitle=Tao |author=Laozi }}
* [http://www.yellowbridge.com/onlinelit/daodejing.php Legge, Suzuki, and Goddard's translations side-by-side, along with the original text]

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