Directory of Tao Te Ching Resources

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The Tao Te Ching (alt. spelling: Dao De Jing) originated in China over 2000 years ago, although the exact date it was written isn't known. It is said to have been written by a man named Lao Tzu (Laozi) - for further information about him, look in the Taoist section of this directory under Lao Tzu. The Tao Te Ching is comprised of 81 chapters (or verses). It has been translated into different languages more than any other book in the world except the Bible, and the English translations can vary quite a bit depending on the person doing the translation. That's because Classic Chinese (in which the TTC was written) is very difficult to understand, and there is little punctuation or grammar. Basically, the Tao Te Ching is a philosophical text in which Lao Tzu tried to explain Tao (Dao). It is steeped in mystery and ambiguosity, but the common thread throughout is a reflection on Nature and the ways in which people can attain a more fulfilling life by being like Tao and Nature. Since there are so many different translations of the Tao Te Ching, it's a good idea to explore a variety of the versions available in English. For those who want a deeper understanding, it can be advantageous to do your own translation from Chinese.

Resources in This Category

• Center Tao

  http://www.centertao.org/tao-te-ching/carl/
  Translation and commentary by Carl Abbott.

• Comments on the Tao Te Ching

  http://www.friesian.com/taote.htm
  Translational information and comparison, based on D. C. Lau's translation.

• Dao De Jing - Chinese Text Project

  http://ctext.org/dao-de-jing
  Chinese version by Wang Bi with James Legge's English translation. Each paragraph has links to the Wang Bi commentary, dictionary, parallel passage data and other information.

• Dao De Jing - Tao Te Ching

  http://oaks.nvg.org/re3ra3.html
  Interpolation by Tormod Kinnes, based on the English versions of Lin Yutang, Arthur Waley and Wing-tsit Chan.

• Dao De Jing Way Power Book

  http://www.san.beck.org/Laotzu.html
  By Sanderson Beck, as included in the Wisdom Bible.

• Dao Is Open

  http://www.daoisopen.com/LaozisDaoDeJing.html
  Translations with commentaries by Nina Correa. Site also includes the Seal Script characters used in the Guodian Laozi with English definitions, and a Taoist discussion forum.

• Introduction to the Dao De Jing

  http://www.yellowbridge.com/onlinelit/daodejing.php
  Provides three side-by-side translations by J. Legge, D. T. Suzuki and Paul Carus, Dwight Goddard and Henri Borel. Also included is the Chinese text, each character with a drop-down menu with English definitions.

• Lao Tse Tao Te Ching

  http://path-to-tao.info/tao_te_ching.html
  Edition by Dr. Vladimir Antonov.

• Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching

  http://poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Chinese/TaoTeChing.htm
  Translation by A. S. Kline.

• Lao Zi Dao De Jing

  http://www.hermetica.info/LaoziA.htm
  Online personal translation by Bradford Hatcher.

• Laozi (Lao Tzu)

  http://www.thedrunkenboat.com/laozi.html
  Commentaries on the Dao De Jing by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping, including translations of some chapters.

• Laozi Debate

  http://www.archaeology.org/9811/newsbriefs/laozi.html
  A 1998 article in Archeology magazine by Spencer P.M. Harrington on the discovery of the Guodian text of the Dao De Jing.

• Tao in You

  http://tao-in-you.com/lao-tzu-tao-te-ching/
  Providing short explanations on the key concepts and a free video tutorial.

• Tao Te Ching

  http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/taote-v3.html
  Translation by Steven Mitchell.

• Tao Te Ching

  http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/H%20-%20World%20Religions%20and%20Poetry/World%20Religions/Taoism/The%20Tao%20Te%20Ching/J.H.%20McDonald%20Translation/Tao%20Te%20Ching-%20Mcdonald.htm
  A translation by J.H. McDonald, with hyperlinked table of contents.

• Tao Te Ching

  http://www.taopage.org/taoteching/
  History of the Book, summary, quotes and various translations - James Legge PDF - meaning of the Book and an online course.

• Tao Te Ching

  http://taotechingme.com/
  Readers can post different chapters by different translators and comment upon them.

• Tao Te Ching

  http://www.beatrice.com/TAO.pdf
  A modern interpretation perpetrated by Ron Hogan - PDF download.

• Tao Te Ching - Book of Wisdom

  http://www.tao-te-king.org/
  Hilmar Klaus provides translations of the Dao De Jing in German and English. He also includes the Chinese characters for the Guodian, Mawangdui and Wang Bi versions as well as the PinYin spellings.

• Tao Te Ching - Tattered Tree Trunk

  http://ladsoft.tripod.com/ttc/
  Translation by David Lindauer.

• Tao Te Ching by James Legge

  http://www.taopage.org/taoteching/online.html
  And other several online resources.

• Tao Te Ching Interpreted Succinctly

  http://www.laetusinpraesens.org/docs00s/taote1.php
  A 9-fold pattern of 81 insights presented as phrases.

• Tao Te Ching Meaning

  http://taotemeaning.wordpress.com/
  Providing teachings on Tao Te Ching and a guide for beginners (PDF).

• Tao Teh Ching - The Classic Words of Tao & Virtue

  http://soli.com/dao1.htm
  Translated by John Louis Albert Trottier.

• Tao Teh King

  http://deoxy.org/taowley.htm
  Translation and personal introduction by Aleister Crowley.

• Terebess Asia Online

  http://terebess.hu/english/tao.html
  Over 30 translations, including some well-known authors and some new ones.

• The Tao Te Ching

  http://www.bookmice.net/darkchilde/spirit/tao.html
  A work in progress including short introductory notes on various English translations.

• The Taoistic Source

  http://www.taoistic.com/taoteching-laotzu/
  Each chapter explained by Stefan Stenudd.

• What is Tao

  http://tao-in-you.com/daily_tao/index.html
  Explains several key concepts and their application.

• Zhongwen

  http://zhongwen.com/dao.htm
  Rick Harbaugh's Chinese text of the Tao Te Ching, hyperlinked to definitions of Chinese characters and to an English translation.

Related Categories

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