Tao Te Ching (1842)

By Lao Tzu

The Tao Te Ching or Dào Dé Jīng, (traditional Chinese: 道德經; simplified Chinese: 道德经; lit. 'Classic of the Way and its Virtue') more simply Laozi, is an ancient Chinese classic text traditionally credited to the sage Laozi. It is central to both philosophical and religious Taoism. The texts' authorship and dating is debated, with several similar early versions recovered. Its oldest excavated fragments, the Guodian Chu slips, date to around the 300 BCE, the latter half of the Warring States period (475 – 221 BCE). While tradition places Laozi earlier, a conservative estimation would date modern versions of the text to the mid third century BCE, or late Warring States period. Terminology originating within the text has been reinterpreted and elaborated upon by Legalist thinkers, Confucianists, and particularly Chinese Buddhists, though introduced to China well after formation of the text. One of the most translated texts in world literature, the text is well known in the West.

Published

1842

Pages

124