Tao Te Ching

About Tao Te Ching

For nearly two generations, Gia-fu Feng and Jane English’s bestselling translation of the Tao Te Ching has been the standard for those seeking access to the wisdom of Taoist thought. Now Jane English and her long-time editor, Toinette Lippe, have revised and refreshed the translation so that it more faithfully reflects the Classical Chinese in which it was first written, taking into account changes in our own language and eliminating any lingering infelicities. They have retained the simple clarity of the original rendering of a sometimes seemingly obtuse spiritual text, a clarity that has made this version a classic in itself, selling over a million copies. 

Written most probably in the sixth century B.C. by Lao Tsu, this esoteric but infintely practical book has been translated into English more frequently than any other work except the Bible. Gia-fu Feng and Jane English’s superb translation—the most accessible and authoritative modern English translation—offers the essence of each word and makes Lao Tsu’s teaching immediate and alive. This edition includes an introduction and notes by the well-known writer and scholar of philosophy and comparative religion, Jacob Needleman.

About Tao Te Ching

Traducido al español del chino clásico por Alejandro Bárcenas

Una guía para vivir en armonía con nosotros mismos y la naturaleza. Esta nueva traducción al español aspira a presentar el Tao Te Ching como una experiencia de lectura lenta y meditativa.

 “El Tao Te Ching es sin duda alguna uno de los libros que mayor influencia ha tenido en la historia de la humanidad. A través de su longeva existencia ha servido de inspiración a un sinnúmero de artistas, pensadores, santos, guerreros, líderes políticos, y a muchos otros por igual, en el mundo entero. Su contenido toca una amplia gama de temas de naturaleza universal, los cuales pueden ser caracterizados de manera general como religiosos, filosóficos, místicos, cosmológicos, éticos y políticos. Dicha universalidad ha hecho que su legado se haya podido extender mucho más allá de ser el texto fundacional de un grupo religioso de China, al que con frecuencia se lo conoce como Taoísmo, lo cual ya de por sí le otorgaría un gran honor y le daría intrínsecamente un puesto de notoriedad histórica.

Quizás sorprenda el alcance de su fama dado que en realidad se trata de un tratado bastante breve —conocido también como el “clásico de los cinco mil caracteres”— y notoriamente complejo. Pero esa complejidad, transmitida por un lenguaje de gran belleza poética, es quizás una de sus grandes virtudes, ya que permite un universo de interpretaciones que transforman a todo aquel que se sumerja en su lectura”. —De la introducción de Alejandro Bárcenas

About Tao Te Ching

For nearly two generations, this translation of the Tao Te Ching has been the standard for those seeking access to the wisdom of Taoist thought. Now Jane English and her long-time editor, Toinette Lippe, have refreshed and revised the translation, so that it more faithfully reflects the Classical Chinese in which it was first written, while taking into account changes in our own language and eliminating any lingering infelicities.
 
Lao Tsu’s philosophy is simple: Accept what is in front of you without wanting the situation to be other than it is. Study the natural order of things and work with it rather than against it, for to try to change what is only sets up resistance. Nature provides everything without requiring payment or thanks. It does so without discrimination. So let us present the same face to everyone and treat them all as equals, however they may behave. If we watch carefully, we will see that work proceeds more quickly and easily if we stop “trying,” if we stop putting in so much extra effort, if we stop looking for results. In the clarity of a still and open mind, truth will be reflected. Te—which may be translated as “virtue” or “strength”—lies always in Tao meaning “the way” or “natural law.” In other words: Simply be.