The Reading Room

Tao Te Ching

道德經

Lao Tzu · c. 4th century BCE

The foundational text of Taoism: 81 brief, poetic chapters on the Tao (the Way), effortless action (wu wei), and living in accord with nature. Terse, paradoxical, and endlessly re-readable.

TaoismThe WayWu WeiNatureGovernanceParadoxSimplicity

Available translations · 1

D. C. Lau

1963 · English · 81 chapters

Literal & scholarly

A careful, philologically grounded rendering — excellent as an anchor text.

D. C. Lau, Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching (Penguin Classics).

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