Tao Te Ching: A Treasury of Chinese Classics

Author: Laozi [Spring and Autumn Period], translated and commented by Chen Zhong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-02-01
Features: The Tao Te Ching is a book written by Laozi. The greatness of Laozi lies in the greatness of the Tao Te Ching, and the greatness of the Tao Te Ching lies in how its mere five thousand words have inspired countless tens of thousands of words of interpretation from later generations, leaving it perpetually unfinished. The Tao Te Ching lacks the rigorous logic and dialectical language of Western classical philosophy; it is not as illusory and romantic as Buddhism, another Eastern classical philosophy; nor is it as practical and straightforward as Confucianism, another classic of Chinese learning. It is a unique philosophical expression born from a unique way of thinking, and it is "greatly unlike." Therefore, during a considerable period of history before and after Laozi's time, the Tao Te Ching was not as prominent as Confucianism and Buddhism. Yet today, over two and a half to three thousand years after Laozi, the study of the Tao Te Ching has become remarkably prominent, has broken through national borders, emerged from Asia, and reached the world. Although the Tao Te Ching is great, I still believe it is the greatness of a specific historical period, the greatness within the known scope of normative significance, and more so the greatness of subjective aspiration. The teachings of the Tao Te Ching aim to propagate the natural and effortless, to follow the will of heaven, and thus demand that people be desireless, wise to a lesser extent, gentle, and yielding. In Laozi's time, marked by frequent internal wars with no distinction between just and unjust conflicts, there was indeed significant meaning in mitigating war. However, this significance was only relevant within the limited perspective of China, not in the broader normative context of other ethnic groups, and was merely one of subjective aspiration.