Tao Teh Ching

Description

One of the Chinese classics most widely known by Westerners, the Tao Teh Ching is a series of insightful comments on life and nature. Part poetry, part paradox, always forceful and profound the Tao Teh Ching has been leading its readers to expand their view of life since it was written over 2,000 years ago. John C. H. Wu has done a remarkable job rendering this difficult and subtle text into English while retaining the freshness and depth of the original. This edition is complemented by Chinese text on facing pages

Not much is known about the legendary Lao Tzu, to whom authorship of the Tao Te Ching is popularly attributed. Some scholars believe the author was an elder contemporary of Confucius.

"No better choice of translator could have been made for the Tao Teh Ching than Dr. John C. H. Wu, whose rendering is superb. More than this, Dr. Wu is one who is able to translate Lao Tzu not only in his words but in his life. . . . Everyone knows in a vague way that the Tao Teh Ching is poetic, and indeed that it is great poetry. We all know that it usually impresses Westerners as more than a trifle quietistic. Hence we treat it with condescension as a quaint impractical document of an ancient day when no one bothered much about the progress. Perhaps we do not realize that some of the wisdom of the Tao Teh Ching , which so often reminds one of the Sermon on the Mount, is absolutely necessary for us not only to progress but even to survive."-Thomas Merton