Laozi

Laozi, or "The Old Master", allegedly penned Tao Te Ching ("The Way of the Path and the Power") around the 6th century B. C. Tao Te Ching consists of 81 passages of advice and wisdom.

Although now considered a spiritual handbook for a general audience, the Daodejing was originally written for Ancient China's ruling nobles during the waning years of the Spring and Autumn period. This was a socially and politically unstable time that was marked by widespread warfare between the Middle Kingdom's most powerful states. Laozi describes how personal ambition and material desire had caused many of the ruling nobles to forsake their natural place in the spiritual order of things, thus bringing misery and hardship to themselves and the people they ruled. He believed that if these ruling nobles would stop and look at the larger picture, they would see how their authority fit within the chains of authority that govern "all under Heaven." According to Laozi, all authority originates with a timeless mystical force called "The Way." Although the Way cannot be directly perceived, its effects can be observed in nature. While everything in nature spontaneously follows the Way, a ruler who is a "sage man" must move ahead cautiously as he constantly feels his way through the paradoxical flow of yin and yang darkness and light, passive and active, feminine and masculine] that emanates from the Way. This is a fairly literal translation of the Daodejing. It doesn't project later philosophical or religious beliefs back onto the 2500 year old text. Instead, it approaches the text from an anthropological perspective and retains all of Laozi's allusions to the social norms, animistic beliefs, and religious practices of the Ancient Chinese during the Spring and Autumn period.

'Of ways you may speak, but not the Perennial Way; By names you may name, but not the Perennial Name.' The best-loved of all the classical books of China and the most universally popular, the Daodejing or Classic of the Way and Life-Force is a work that defies definition. It encapsulates the main tenets of Daoism, and upholds a way of being as well as a philosophy and a religion. The dominant image is of the Way, the mysterious path through the whole cosmos modelled on the great Silver River or Milky Way that traverses the heavens. A life-giving stream, the Way gives rise to all things and holds them in her motherly embrace. It enables the individual, and society as a whole, to harmonize the disparate demands of daily life and achieve a more profound level of understanding. This new translation draws on the latest archaeological finds and brings out the word play and poetry of the original. Simple commentary accompanies the text, and the introduction provides further historical and interpretative context. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.