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The Dao De Jing: Laozi's Book of Life: A New Translation from the Ancient Chinese – A Comprehensive Guide to the Timeless Philosophical Masterwork from the Oldest Known Sources
A groundbreaking and superlatively accurate new translation of Laozi’s The Dao De Jing, from the bestselling translator of The Art of War, promising to be the first English edition based on direct translation from the oldest known copies of the ancient Chinese text.
One of the most significant and popular books in the history of human thought, and China’s earliest philosophical classic, The Dao De Jing has served for millennia as a brilliant guide to living healthily and happily, to treating the Earth with respect, and to understanding our place in the cosmos.
The Dao is as vitally important to today’s world as it was during the Bronze Age, presenting us with clear and unexpectedly sane answers to some of the most pressing questions and challenges of our time. This beloved classic teaches us to become one with nature, with all people, and with the world; with the ultimate intention of illuminating the path to peace and promoting the conditions for harmony—within the self and in the greater world around us.
Renowned translator J. H. Huang has spent over two decades researching the Dao, resulting in the most accurate translation to date based on the oldest known transcripts of the text. Huang’s translation is the first to incorporate four major archaeological findings, which have been preserved for millennia in ancient tombs, most of which were only discovered in the late twentieth the Guodian Chu slips, the Mawangdui silk texts, the Fu Yi version, and the Peking University bamboo slips. Huang argues that these key source materials “contextualize The Dao De Jing much in the same way the Dead Sea Scrolls illuminate the New Testament.” The result is a groundbreaking translation that offers readers the first opportunity in over two millennia to thoroughly comprehend all of the teachings contained in these eighty-one chapters.
One of the most significant and popular books in the history of human thought, and China’s earliest philosophical classic, The Dao De Jing has served for millennia as a brilliant guide to living healthily and happily, to treating the Earth with respect, and to understanding our place in the cosmos.
The Dao is as vitally important to today’s world as it was during the Bronze Age, presenting us with clear and unexpectedly sane answers to some of the most pressing questions and challenges of our time. This beloved classic teaches us to become one with nature, with all people, and with the world; with the ultimate intention of illuminating the path to peace and promoting the conditions for harmony—within the self and in the greater world around us.
Renowned translator J. H. Huang has spent over two decades researching the Dao, resulting in the most accurate translation to date based on the oldest known transcripts of the text. Huang’s translation is the first to incorporate four major archaeological findings, which have been preserved for millennia in ancient tombs, most of which were only discovered in the late twentieth the Guodian Chu slips, the Mawangdui silk texts, the Fu Yi version, and the Peking University bamboo slips. Huang argues that these key source materials “contextualize The Dao De Jing much in the same way the Dead Sea Scrolls illuminate the New Testament.” The result is a groundbreaking translation that offers readers the first opportunity in over two millennia to thoroughly comprehend all of the teachings contained in these eighty-one chapters.
414 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 5, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 6, 2024
Insightful. Found it very interesting! I was raised a Christian/Mormon (no longer), but have always been curious about other cultures & religions. I’ve read much of the Bible & some of the Koran, but Taoism has always been something I’ve wanted to explore further.
A key point from what I read — It is important to live in harmony with the Tao (universe/all things/God/however you want to define it). Yin & yang play a key role—living life in moderation, avoiding over accumulation of things, life is cyclical, staying away from becoming too competitive/aggressive/etc & falling prey to the secular worlds views & ideals. I loved this general point because I feel that although I don’t consider myself religious or even exactly spiritual, I find it important to have values that reflect my truest self and beliefs and much of the time, they do not align with modern society/capitalism/American ideals/etc. Give it a read, try it out, let me know what you think.
A key point from what I read — It is important to live in harmony with the Tao (universe/all things/God/however you want to define it). Yin & yang play a key role—living life in moderation, avoiding over accumulation of things, life is cyclical, staying away from becoming too competitive/aggressive/etc & falling prey to the secular worlds views & ideals. I loved this general point because I feel that although I don’t consider myself religious or even exactly spiritual, I find it important to have values that reflect my truest self and beliefs and much of the time, they do not align with modern society/capitalism/American ideals/etc. Give it a read, try it out, let me know what you think.
November 21, 2025
4/5
This is my first reading and I love how Huang goes through his methodology. He explains some of the history of the previous translations and why they were inaccurate; I found this most interesting.
The translation is straightforward, you have the traditional Chinese characters on the left and the English on the right that includes margin notes to explain the ideas. The margin notes sometimes reference other chapters, comments, and end notes. This makes for a lot of flipping back and forth and because of that I wish it was in a better format as a book doesn't compliment this style. I found both the comments and endnote sections interesting although plenty was in Chinese (Huang explains "because these endnotes were designed as references, only the orginal Chinese sources are cited, as study at this level presupposes a strong familiarity with the ancient Chinese classics.").
Overall, this was interesting and a thorough work. It was interesting to learn that Laozi's work was perverted to create the "folk religion" of Taoism. I know little of it, but this was the first time hearing it called a folk religion. This book offers plenty of things to think about and consider, not just the Dao De Jing itself but Daoism, Chen, Zen, and Confucianism all separately and how each emerged from the Dao De Jing teachings.
Some key things I came away with. Non-effort and exerting effort. The importance of stillness. Where shrewdness comes from. Cyclical nature of everything. Harmony and the void. Cultivation and cleaving to the Dao and Mother. Part of Huang's methodology is "sufficient comprehension of Chinese etymology, phonology, and semantic" and 20 years of work. Phew, I'm grateful for translators!
This is my first reading and I love how Huang goes through his methodology. He explains some of the history of the previous translations and why they were inaccurate; I found this most interesting.
The translation is straightforward, you have the traditional Chinese characters on the left and the English on the right that includes margin notes to explain the ideas. The margin notes sometimes reference other chapters, comments, and end notes. This makes for a lot of flipping back and forth and because of that I wish it was in a better format as a book doesn't compliment this style. I found both the comments and endnote sections interesting although plenty was in Chinese (Huang explains "because these endnotes were designed as references, only the orginal Chinese sources are cited, as study at this level presupposes a strong familiarity with the ancient Chinese classics.").
Overall, this was interesting and a thorough work. It was interesting to learn that Laozi's work was perverted to create the "folk religion" of Taoism. I know little of it, but this was the first time hearing it called a folk religion. This book offers plenty of things to think about and consider, not just the Dao De Jing itself but Daoism, Chen, Zen, and Confucianism all separately and how each emerged from the Dao De Jing teachings.
Some key things I came away with. Non-effort and exerting effort. The importance of stillness. Where shrewdness comes from. Cyclical nature of everything. Harmony and the void. Cultivation and cleaving to the Dao and Mother. Part of Huang's methodology is "sufficient comprehension of Chinese etymology, phonology, and semantic" and 20 years of work. Phew, I'm grateful for translators!
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May 25, 2025all reviews in one place:
night mode reading
; skaitom nakties rezimu
My Opinion: Best of all, it’s not written in a goddamn dialogue. Just musings of someone who gave it a good thinking through. Laozi expresses a lot of beautiful ideals that would still make the world better, such as striving for peace, not just as a small, conquerable country, but a great one too. It stresses that a leader should be responsible for all, as only the one we’d trust to take care of all of us, have our best interests at hearts, would be the one we’d naturally follow, and many similar thoughts. It’s not a call for docility, it’s a call for harmony, for balance. And that, sadly, sharpens the contrast between what could be, and what really is, in the world as we live today, with seemingly most leaders of so-called “superpowers” having gone a bit… Off. If only. But all that aside, the book is put together beautifully. Philosophy within is not life-changing, but refreshing nonetheless.
No rate, as I don’t know how to rate philosophy works.
My Opinion: Best of all, it’s not written in a goddamn dialogue. Just musings of someone who gave it a good thinking through. Laozi expresses a lot of beautiful ideals that would still make the world better, such as striving for peace, not just as a small, conquerable country, but a great one too. It stresses that a leader should be responsible for all, as only the one we’d trust to take care of all of us, have our best interests at hearts, would be the one we’d naturally follow, and many similar thoughts. It’s not a call for docility, it’s a call for harmony, for balance. And that, sadly, sharpens the contrast between what could be, and what really is, in the world as we live today, with seemingly most leaders of so-called “superpowers” having gone a bit… Off. If only. But all that aside, the book is put together beautifully. Philosophy within is not life-changing, but refreshing nonetheless.
No rate, as I don’t know how to rate philosophy works.
April 6, 2025
Really amazing amount of information in the notes section! I also appreciated that the intro was short and helped make clear that this translation represents an incredible amount of scholarship, while getting right to the text.
I appreciated that there were constant notes in the margins that offered commentary, references to other parts of the book, and/or summaries of the text. Sometimes these margin notes continued to use vague or complex language that didn't quite help me understand the text. This could be my own ignorance shining through too much, but if one purpose of these notes was to make this book more accessible for lay readers, then I just humbly note that this wasn't always achieved for me. But it was often acheived!!
Mad respect for all the work here!
I read this translation while reading Ken Liu's translation. It was cool to go back-and-forth. Huang's translation, including the extensive end-of-book notes about alternative interpretations/translations of characters was so helpful for appreciating and starting to understand differences in the translations.
Side note that I did not read the Chinese, which is nicely printed alongside the English translation, or Pinyin, which is available in notes, because I cannot do so. I imagine this translation is even richer for bilinguals!!
I appreciated that there were constant notes in the margins that offered commentary, references to other parts of the book, and/or summaries of the text. Sometimes these margin notes continued to use vague or complex language that didn't quite help me understand the text. This could be my own ignorance shining through too much, but if one purpose of these notes was to make this book more accessible for lay readers, then I just humbly note that this wasn't always achieved for me. But it was often acheived!!
Mad respect for all the work here!
I read this translation while reading Ken Liu's translation. It was cool to go back-and-forth. Huang's translation, including the extensive end-of-book notes about alternative interpretations/translations of characters was so helpful for appreciating and starting to understand differences in the translations.
Side note that I did not read the Chinese, which is nicely printed alongside the English translation, or Pinyin, which is available in notes, because I cannot do so. I imagine this translation is even richer for bilinguals!!
June 20, 2025
This translation (according to the preface) is based on 20 years of research, study of the most ancient texts, and flipping the order of the book around to what perhaps is indeed a more accurate rendering. All of this commentary created a good deal of anticipation in me for something that would be markedly different from other translations. In fact, while the wording is different in places, the message is remarkably (overall) the same. That should be encouraging; we are getting the Tao, or the Dao, or whatever it is called, and it is ancient wisdom, and it is a book I never tire of reading for its wisdom and insight into the world we live in and try to navigate successfully.
November 21, 2024
While there are many lovely and poetic "translations" of the Dao De Jing in English, the translator of this volume rightly points out that many of these are written by non-Chinese speakers with limited appreciation for the ambiguity of the book's language and the historical context of the era in which it was written.
This book is a remedy for that, with a lengthy introduction, a fresh translation directly from the Chinese accompanied by commentary, and extensive notes that take you as deeply into the text as you would want to go.
This book is a remedy for that, with a lengthy introduction, a fresh translation directly from the Chinese accompanied by commentary, and extensive notes that take you as deeply into the text as you would want to go.
May 8, 2025
more like 3.5 // this was a cool read just because it was written in like 300 BC and a lot of the quotes are still applicable to today! that said it was just like deep quotes kinda like if you just google dao de jing quotes you’ll get the vibe. talked about peace and self realization and power/leadership among other things it was interesting!
December 13, 2024
My favorite translation.
Well worth the read and a read through all the notes and footnotes.
I particularly enjoyed seeing the Chinese pictographs and then reading the English Text and then the Chinese and why a particular meaning is appropriate.
Well worth the read and a read through all the notes and footnotes.
I particularly enjoyed seeing the Chinese pictographs and then reading the English Text and then the Chinese and why a particular meaning is appropriate.
March 4, 2025
My favorite quotes that I didn’t know came from this amazing book.
“ a journey of thousands miles begins with a single step”
“ to the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders”
“ when I let go of what I am, I become what I might be”
“ a journey of thousands miles begins with a single step”
“ to the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders”
“ when I let go of what I am, I become what I might be”
November 20, 2025
Everything Lao Zi is great.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews