The Reading Room
Translation of Tao Te Ching

D. C. Lau

Literal & scholarly

D. C. Lau · 1963 · English

The standard scholarly English rendering, prepared for Penguin Classics. Faithful to the grammar and ambiguity of the classical Chinese, it reads as a careful anchor text rather than a free poetic paraphrase.

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

PhilosophyTaoismThe WayWu WeiNatureGovernanceParadoxSimplicity
Read Now 81 chapters · composed c. 4th century BCE

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