The first of these strategies creates memorable phrases, while the second forces the reader to reconcile supposed contradictions.

The rhetorical style combines two major strategies: short, declarative statements and intentional contradictions. The written style is laconic, has few grammatical particles, and encourages varied, contradictory interpretations. It has two parts, the Tao Ching ( 道經 chapters 1–37) and the Te Ching ( 德經 chapters 38–81), which may have been edited together into the received text, possibly reversed from an original Te Tao Ching. There is some evidence that the chapter divisions were later additions-for commentary, or as aids to rote memorisation-and that the original text was more fluidly organised. The Tao Te Ching is a text of around 5,000 Chinese characters in 81 brief chapters or sections ( 章). Known versions and commentaries date back two millennia, including ancient bamboo, silk, and paper manuscripts discovered in the twentieth century. The Tao Te Ching has a long and complex textual history. Other titles of the work include the honorific ' Sutra (or 'Perfect Scripture') of the Way and Its Power' ( Daode Zhenjing) and the descriptive '5,000- Character Classic' ( Wuqian Wen). The title 'Daodejing', with its status as a classic, was only first applied from the reign of Emperor Jing of Han (157–141 BC) onward. As such, the Tao Te Ching is also sometimes referred to as the Laozi, especially in Chinese sources. Īncient Chinese books were commonly referenced by the name of their real or supposed author, in this case the 'Old Master', Laozi. The Tao Te Ching can be translated as The Classic of the Way and its Power, The Book of the Tao and Its Virtue, The Book of the Way and of Virtue, The Tao and its Characteristics, The Canon of Reason and Virtue, The Classic Book of Integrity and the Way, or A Treatise on the Principle and Its Action. In English, the title is commonly rendered Tao Te Ching / ˌ t aʊ t iː ˈ tʃ ɪ ŋ/, following Wade–Giles romanisation, or Dao De Jing / ˌ d aʊ d ɛ ˈ dʒ ɪ ŋ/, following pinyin.

It is one of the most translated texts in world literature. Its influence has spread widely within the globe's artistic and academic spheres. Many artists, including poets, painters, calligraphers, and gardeners, have used the Tao Te Ching as a source of inspiration. It also strongly influenced other schools of Chinese philosophy and religion, including Legalism, Confucianism, and Chinese Buddhism, which was largely interpreted through the use of Taoist words and concepts when it was originally introduced to China.

The Tao Te Ching, along with the Zhuangzi, is a fundamental text for both philosophical and religious Taoism. The oldest excavated portion dates back to the late 4th century BC, but modern scholarship dates other parts of the text as having been written-or at least compiled-later than the earliest portions of the Zhuangzi. Taoism does include many deities, but although these are worshipped in Taoist temples, they are part of the universe and depend, like everything, on the Tao.The Tao Te Ching ( UK: / ˌ t aʊ t iː ˈ tʃ ɪ ŋ/, US: / ˌ d aʊ d ɛ ˈ dʒ ɪ ŋ/ simplified Chinese: 道德经 traditional Chinese: 道德經 pinyin: Dàodé Jīng ( listen)) is a Chinese classic text written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. The Tao is not God and is not worshipped. Glimpsed only through its effectsĪ good way of avoiding the Tao-as-object error is to see the various concepts of the Tao as doing no more than describing those effects of the Tao that human beings are aware of. And if one does this one can translate 'achieving union with the Tao' into 'developing oneself so as to live in complete conformity with the teachings of the Tao' which is easier to understand, and closer to the truth. It might be more helpful to regard Tao as a system of guidance. That sort of thinking is misleading: Thinking of the Tao as some sort of object produces an understanding of the Tao that is less than the reality. They feel that using 'the' gives Westerners the idea that the Tao is a metaphysical reality, by which they mean a thing (in the widest sense) or an absolute being like a god.īut even the name Tao can lead Westerners to think of Tao in the same way that they think of objects. Although it gives rise to all being, it does not itself have being.Īlthough it's conventional to refer to The Tao, some writers think that the 'the' should be dropped because it isn't in the original Chinese term.

It cannot be perceived but it can be observed in the things of the world. The Tao is not a thing or a substance in the conventional sense.

Mao te ching