Tao Te Ching

A lucid translation by one of the most famous translators of Chinese into English * The New York Review of Books *Ancient wisdom for those facing twenty-first-century perplexities … Minford writes for ordinary people seeking guidance in everyday life … In simple but resonantly phrased language, he somehow does unfold the Tao’s message * Booklist *A wonderful translation - clear and deep – Vikram SethElegant and poetic, John Minford’s translation of the Tao Te Ching probably comes the closest of any to the essence of the mystical, ineffable Taoist classic – Yue Zhuang, University of ExeterJohn Minford’s translation … has the mark of the craftsman: its choice of words is not just judicious but also poetic, refreshing the at once limpid and ambiguous original and making it new. The result is a metaphysical feast for those willing to slow down and read this text as it was meant to be read: meditatively – John Lagerwey, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Lao-tzu, whose name means “Old Master,” was, according to legend, a contemporary of Confucius in the sixth century B.C.E. and the founder of the philosophical tradition of Taoism.

John Minford (editor/translator) is the translator of the Viking Penguin edition of the I Ching, for which he won the Australian Academy of the Humanities Medal for Excellence in Translation, as well as the acclaimed Viking Penguin edition of The Art of War. He is an emeritus professor of Chinese at the Australian National University.