What do you think?
Rate this book
Tao Te Ching: The Taoism of Lao Tzu Explained
Tao Te Ching is the 2,500 years old source to Taoism, written by the legendary Taoist philosopher Lao Tzu. In 81 short chapters, he presented the world according to Tao, the Way, and how mankind should adapt to it. The book has become one of the foremost world classics of wisdom – maybe even more relevant today, than it was to Lao Tzu’s contemporaries. This translation of the text focuses on the clarity and simplicity by which Lao Tzu expresses his fascinating cosmology and profound ethics. Each chapter is thoroughly explained, also regarding how this old wisdom can be understood and applied today. (KINDLE Some formatting errors have been corrected on September 18, 2011, to make the book and its images display properly.) Stefan Stenudd is a Swedish writer of both fiction and non-fiction. As a historian of ideas, he studies the thought patterns in creation myths around the world. He is also a high-grade instructor of the peaceful martial art aikido, which he has practiced for almost 40 years.
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 6, 2011
328 people are currently reading
261 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 3, 2019
As a native adherent to the Taoist philosophy, who references the original text frequently, would praise this translation as extremely faithful to the spirit of the original text.
Down to earth, and no flashiness.
Down to earth, and no flashiness.
July 16, 2014
I've just finished reading a rendition of this book by Ursula K. Le Guin; read it twice actually. Then I went on-line and read the blog postings written by Stefan Stenudd on www.taoistic.com and the blog implies that this book and those postings are much the same. So, I suppose that means I've read his book. Either way, I really enjoyed reading his thoughts on the Tao Te Ching and found is writing style very approachable. If you are interested in getting a solid explaination of this book and Toaism in general, this is a pretty good place to start.
January 17, 2017
Good, clear translation (though it's useful to read other translations alongside) and thoughtful, perceptive commentary. This made the Tao Te Ching much more accessible for me, without oversimplifying. The commentary aligns well with the text so it reads like a thoughtful amplification rather than a selective interpretation.
February 26, 2025
I read this book as part of the Philosophy booklist by Pewdiepie for 2025
Quotes from Stenudd are in bold and those quoted from Tzu are in italics .
What I liked
+ The explanations by Stenudd were always focused on modern applications as well which made the texts by Tzu easier to comprehend
+ The extensive literature list and knowledgability of Stenudd
+ The focus on when the text was written and how the views in the text applied best in that time
+ The background information about Tzu's text and the variants that are found and what this means for understanding these texsts.
+ The focus of the text on 'emptiness' in relation to the mind - for clarity. Hereby my favorite 'chapter':
+ The focus on 'leadership' and how it can be best done, although especially with a focus on government and armies it felt too utopian - but for leadership in for instance the workplace it could be better applicable.
"Tao Te Ching keeps repeating the ideal of yielding, so the sage mosetly steps out of the light, into the shadows, and never insists on attention." pg. 134
+ The focus that war is 'pointless' and we're better off without.
"... regard war as non-peace, moments of meaningless interruption in the process of history." pg. 145
"War is won by those who know that nothing is won by it." pg. 266
+ The descriptiveness focus on life versus death with it's meaning focussing on how "We live as long as we adapt to life, which always changes." pg. 288
+ The methaphors around water "Water embraces instead of confronts, it caresses instead of beats, but it still subdues, eventually." pg. 291
What I did not like
- I felt like a big portion of the text was focused on governments and war with utopian views, this became after a while repetative to read
- The way the texts were written were often so vague to me that even with an explanation afterwards by Stenudd I still did not fully grasp Tzu's meaning
- Repetativeness of specific views in the texts regarding wu wei , knowledge, and 'how to live'
- The focus of Tzu seems to be a lot on living a life without doing anything to effect your course in life this to me, seems meaningless.
"The passivity Lao Tzu speaks of is no surrender, but the patience to wait for the outcome." pg. 187
- The view of Tzu on knowledge being pointless or us never being able to understand anything
"Our science allows us feats that our predecessors would call magic. But it doesn't mean we understand the universe and our place in it any more profoundly." pg. 149
"... Lao Tzu also genuinely doubts educating the masses. The more people know, the more they will interfere with government. Although Lao Tzu is compassionate about the well-being of the people, he knows nothing about democracy." pg. 252
The more human knowledge is gathered, the less we know and the farther we get from understanding." pg. 305
- The view of Tzu on longevity and but also his contradiction to how we should live for however long 'nature' decides for us and we should not take 'risks' that might change this.
"... the search for longevity was pursued ... We still search, with no less frenzy. We would be wiser to spend our energy on making the time we have meaningful." pg. 152
"Lao Tzu recommends that we take life seriously and hold on to it. That's in accordance with out nature. We should do our best to survive as long as possible. But he doesn't regard it as the most ideal relation to life." pg. 286
- In general, the focus of Tzu on how to live life,
which Stenudd also describes as "What kind of life is that? What kind of peace and secruity? To me, it seems like sleep, and a dreamless one at that." pg. 300
And also, "What he describes is not a perfect life for everyone, but a perfect retirement plan." pg. 301
Which I guess makes a lot of sense since Tzu wrote these texts before leaving China after 'being done' with how everything was going around there.
Concluding, I think the perfect quote for my experience in this book would be as follows:
"But knowledge of Tao is not necessarily understandig it or being able to follow it." pg. 251
But I did greatly appreciate the history lesson by Stenudd and the focus on how these texts are gathered, interpreted and applied to the life we live in now.
Quotes from Stenudd are in bold and those quoted from Tzu are in italics .
What I liked
+ The explanations by Stenudd were always focused on modern applications as well which made the texts by Tzu easier to comprehend
+ The extensive literature list and knowledgability of Stenudd
+ The focus on when the text was written and how the views in the text applied best in that time
+ The background information about Tzu's text and the variants that are found and what this means for understanding these texsts.
+ The focus of the text on 'emptiness' in relation to the mind - for clarity. Hereby my favorite 'chapter':
11
Thirty spokes are joined in the wheel's hub.
The hole in the middle makes it useful.
Mold clay into a bowl.
The empty space makes it useful.
Cut out doors and windows for the house.
The holes make it useful.
Therefore, the value comes from what is there,
But the use comes from what is not there.
+ The focus on 'leadership' and how it can be best done, although especially with a focus on government and armies it felt too utopian - but for leadership in for instance the workplace it could be better applicable.
"Tao Te Ching keeps repeating the ideal of yielding, so the sage mosetly steps out of the light, into the shadows, and never insists on attention." pg. 134
+ The focus that war is 'pointless' and we're better off without.
"... regard war as non-peace, moments of meaningless interruption in the process of history." pg. 145
"War is won by those who know that nothing is won by it." pg. 266
+ The descriptiveness focus on life versus death with it's meaning focussing on how "We live as long as we adapt to life, which always changes." pg. 288
76.
People are born soft and weak.
They die hard and stiff.
All things such as grass and trees
Are soft and supple in life.
At their death they are withered and dry.
+ The methaphors around water "Water embraces instead of confronts, it caresses instead of beats, but it still subdues, eventually." pg. 291
What I did not like
- I felt like a big portion of the text was focused on governments and war with utopian views, this became after a while repetative to read
- The way the texts were written were often so vague to me that even with an explanation afterwards by Stenudd I still did not fully grasp Tzu's meaning
- Repetativeness of specific views in the texts regarding wu wei , knowledge, and 'how to live'
- The focus of Tzu seems to be a lot on living a life without doing anything to effect your course in life this to me, seems meaningless.
"The passivity Lao Tzu speaks of is no surrender, but the patience to wait for the outcome." pg. 187
- The view of Tzu on knowledge being pointless or us never being able to understand anything
"Our science allows us feats that our predecessors would call magic. But it doesn't mean we understand the universe and our place in it any more profoundly." pg. 149
"... Lao Tzu also genuinely doubts educating the masses. The more people know, the more they will interfere with government. Although Lao Tzu is compassionate about the well-being of the people, he knows nothing about democracy." pg. 252
The more human knowledge is gathered, the less we know and the farther we get from understanding." pg. 305
- The view of Tzu on longevity and but also his contradiction to how we should live for however long 'nature' decides for us and we should not take 'risks' that might change this.
"... the search for longevity was pursued ... We still search, with no less frenzy. We would be wiser to spend our energy on making the time we have meaningful." pg. 152
"Lao Tzu recommends that we take life seriously and hold on to it. That's in accordance with out nature. We should do our best to survive as long as possible. But he doesn't regard it as the most ideal relation to life." pg. 286
- In general, the focus of Tzu on how to live life,
80
...
Let people take death seriously,
And not travel far.
Although they have boats and carriages,
There's no occasion to use them.
....
Let people return to making knots on ropes,
Instead of writing.
which Stenudd also describes as "What kind of life is that? What kind of peace and secruity? To me, it seems like sleep, and a dreamless one at that." pg. 300
And also, "What he describes is not a perfect life for everyone, but a perfect retirement plan." pg. 301
Which I guess makes a lot of sense since Tzu wrote these texts before leaving China after 'being done' with how everything was going around there.
Concluding, I think the perfect quote for my experience in this book would be as follows:
"But knowledge of Tao is not necessarily understandig it or being able to follow it." pg. 251
But I did greatly appreciate the history lesson by Stenudd and the focus on how these texts are gathered, interpreted and applied to the life we live in now.
January 24, 2025
Livsvisdom, tänkvärda betraktelser över livets paradoxer, vägen till ett balanserat liv, för Kropp och Ande.
Mitt första möte med Tao gick via Benjamin Hoffs bok 'Tao enligt Puh', via Stephen Mitchells undersköna engelska språktolkning. Och nu har jag fördjupat mig i Stephan Stenudds svenska tolkning, så jag vet inte hur den skiljer sig från den senare engelska som finns här på Goodreads.
Hans första svenska tolkning kom 1991, men omarbetades 2004 efter att texten återfunnits i en äldre grav (ca 300 f Kr), än vad som tidigare var känt. Jag har den oförändrade 4e upplagan från 2006, som förespeglar förhoppningar om än fler omarbetningar. Kanske det har gjorts i de engelska senare upplagorna.
Eftersom kinesiska skrivs med bildtecken blir tolkningsmöjligheterna stora, och när texten dessutom ska anpassas till något så väsensskilt som det svenska språket, överhuvudtaget västerländska språk, ett detektivarbete som kan ge vida skillnader. Och jämfört med Mitchells tolkning känns Stenudds bok främst som en textkritisk granskning. Boken avslutas med kommentarer kring just översättnings-arbetets många möjligheter, och kinesiska företeelser av betydelse för texten. Jag är tacksam för försöken att förklara 'Te' (dygd) i förhållande till 'Tao' (vägen), som kan tolkas som det jordiska livet jämfört med andliga strävanden.
Efter detta avsnitt kommer en flod av andra tolkningar som Stenudd uppenbart läst och ger sina kommentarer till. Han ifrågasätter ifall Mitchells tolkning 1988, för att den inte verkar ha haft tillgång till gravfyndet 1972, från ca 200 f Kr. Och tycker att den innehåller för lite kommentarer. Jag har en pocket från 1992, som har gott om kommentarer till alla 81 verserna.
Mitt första möte med Tao gick via Benjamin Hoffs bok 'Tao enligt Puh', via Stephen Mitchells undersköna engelska språktolkning. Och nu har jag fördjupat mig i Stephan Stenudds svenska tolkning, så jag vet inte hur den skiljer sig från den senare engelska som finns här på Goodreads.
Hans första svenska tolkning kom 1991, men omarbetades 2004 efter att texten återfunnits i en äldre grav (ca 300 f Kr), än vad som tidigare var känt. Jag har den oförändrade 4e upplagan från 2006, som förespeglar förhoppningar om än fler omarbetningar. Kanske det har gjorts i de engelska senare upplagorna.
Eftersom kinesiska skrivs med bildtecken blir tolkningsmöjligheterna stora, och när texten dessutom ska anpassas till något så väsensskilt som det svenska språket, överhuvudtaget västerländska språk, ett detektivarbete som kan ge vida skillnader. Och jämfört med Mitchells tolkning känns Stenudds bok främst som en textkritisk granskning. Boken avslutas med kommentarer kring just översättnings-arbetets många möjligheter, och kinesiska företeelser av betydelse för texten. Jag är tacksam för försöken att förklara 'Te' (dygd) i förhållande till 'Tao' (vägen), som kan tolkas som det jordiska livet jämfört med andliga strävanden.
Efter detta avsnitt kommer en flod av andra tolkningar som Stenudd uppenbart läst och ger sina kommentarer till. Han ifrågasätter ifall Mitchells tolkning 1988, för att den inte verkar ha haft tillgång till gravfyndet 1972, från ca 200 f Kr. Och tycker att den innehåller för lite kommentarer. Jag har en pocket från 1992, som har gott om kommentarer till alla 81 verserna.
July 13, 2022
The best English version
One of the best translation of the Tao Te Ching I come across. Stephan is an Aikido master and his life experience shines through the pages. He is not an idle sideline observer - he lives the way.
Stephan's approach to The Tao Te Ching is way better and deeper than some of the intellectually approached shallow translations.
He however argues with Lao Tzu and his Way a few times in the translation that breaks up the harmony and the flow in the book - but at least he is honest about his interpretation.
The author has a very profound knowledge about the original Chinese manuscript versions.
Amazing value in overall - as good as it gets. I highly recommend to anyone who wants life changing whisdom and not just knowledge.
Special thanks to the author from Ireland.
One of the best translation of the Tao Te Ching I come across. Stephan is an Aikido master and his life experience shines through the pages. He is not an idle sideline observer - he lives the way.
Stephan's approach to The Tao Te Ching is way better and deeper than some of the intellectually approached shallow translations.
He however argues with Lao Tzu and his Way a few times in the translation that breaks up the harmony and the flow in the book - but at least he is honest about his interpretation.
The author has a very profound knowledge about the original Chinese manuscript versions.
Amazing value in overall - as good as it gets. I highly recommend to anyone who wants life changing whisdom and not just knowledge.
Special thanks to the author from Ireland.
August 24, 2021
Food for Thought and the Soul
Excellent lectures and musings on the subject of Taoism, written as much as possible in accordance with the original text on Taoism. Just like how we need food for satiating our hunger on time, these lectures on Taoism serve not only as balm but also as food for satiating the hunger of our Thought and Souls.
Excellent lectures and musings on the subject of Taoism, written as much as possible in accordance with the original text on Taoism. Just like how we need food for satiating our hunger on time, these lectures on Taoism serve not only as balm but also as food for satiating the hunger of our Thought and Souls.
June 19, 2023
Very informative, breaks down the meaning of Tao Te Ching
Great book.for those Who want to know more about Taoism utilizing non biased means. Extremely easy read and good place for resources at the the end book for those that would like to explore the discipline deeper.
Great book.for those Who want to know more about Taoism utilizing non biased means. Extremely easy read and good place for resources at the the end book for those that would like to explore the discipline deeper.
May 4, 2017
Very good translation. Clear and easy to follow.
April 22, 2019
Good, may like to read other commentaries to get other perspectives though, sometimes I got something different out of Lao Tzu's original verse than Stenudd's comments.
May 30, 2021
Wonderful translation, great comments and a even better book.
March 31, 2022
Compared to Stephen Mitchell's book, I found the translations in this book more relevant in a modern context, and appreciated the insightful interpretations.
July 21, 2022
A modern translation of an ancient text, 2500 years old, the Tao Te Ching. The Taoism of Lao Tzu is explained in the language of today. The wisdom of Lao Tzu is still applicable today.
December 8, 2018
Quick Read. Can read a chapter a day.
A quick Philosophical journey into preConfucious Chinese thought process. Lao Tsu reflects embodiment of old world eastern philosophy of content, quiet and appreciation for simple and subtle-ness. One issue is its an interpretation of a western author. I skipped many of the interpretation and I read pure verses of Lao Tsu.
A quick Philosophical journey into preConfucious Chinese thought process. Lao Tsu reflects embodiment of old world eastern philosophy of content, quiet and appreciation for simple and subtle-ness. One issue is its an interpretation of a western author. I skipped many of the interpretation and I read pure verses of Lao Tsu.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews