Reading Lao Tzu

Reading Lao Tzu is intended for the general reader. The Tao Te Ching is the shortest and yet the most difficult of all Chinese classics. For that reason, in the East few read it without the help of a commentary. This commentary strives to present Lao Tzu's meaning passage by passage and as directly as possible. Notes are included separately in support of the author's rendition, especially when he departs from a traditional reading, or when the passage in question is controversial. The translation includes a new rendering of a number of key passages.