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Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching: A Translation of the Startling New Documents Found at Guodian (Translations from the Asian Classics)

by Robert G. Henricks (Author), Lao Tzu (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars 4 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0231118170
ISBN-10: 0231118171
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Product Details

  • Series: Translations from the Asian Classics
  • Paperback: 232 pages
  • Publisher: Columbia University Press (April 20, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0231118171
  • ISBN-13: 978-0231118170
  • Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.6 x 8.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #882,514 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars31 of 81 chapters
By P. GIBSON on August 28, 2015
Format: Paperback
Known as the Bamboo Slip Laozi, this book is based upon the strips unearthed at a tomb in Guodian, 1993, that can be dated at 300 BCE. This is the earliest find we have to the TaoTe Ching (Daodejing). This book is mainly of interest to the Chinese scholar.
Although the finding appears to be complete, the verse count is only 31 rather than the 81 verses commonly expected. The characters are painted on strips of bamboo rather than upon silk.
It uses more archaic characters than later versions and even the character for Dao is sometimes different.
All of this brings up many questions with few answers . . . but, like the message itself, answers aren't the point, the process is.
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4.0 out of 5 starsMost scholars were wrong about the tao te ching , but nobody noticed
By peter on April 13, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This book is the earliest version of the tao in existence. a translation of the guodian texts. Its somewhat different than other versions i have read and i have read a few .
It also has a few lines not known to later versions of the tao. that was the reason i bought it. and has different wording some lines moved around its interesting to say the least . I am grateful the author has made this available.
my problem was the commentary was so utterly boring and only interesting to someone who's doing some kind of in depth almost obsessive analysis of the history of the writing of the tao and also to much speculation on who the author / author's were/ was?. it was rather moot .
The main point i got out of this was that scholars have argued over the date of the tao te ching. most saying its a more recent invention younger than we thought.
BUT with the discovery of the goudian copy of the tao we know all the scholars were wrong about it. its much much older.
whats with all scholars always saying ancient historians are all liars/wrong/fake/ ? And to just assume they are inherently mistaken? well here we have the tao te ching is 3rd or 4th century ! just like the official histories say it was.
Also most scholars thought the Tao te ching was written over time in parts ( see D.C Lau's ritigns on this )
Well again they are wrong here is an almost complete tao and its basically the same as much later version in fact if anything things have been taken away over time not added !
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5.0 out of 5 starsFascinating and informative
By Tim Farnum on November 16, 2008
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This translation of the oldest known version of Daodejing is fascinating. I've read dozens of translations of the modern versions and the same author's translation of the Mah-Wang-Dui text of the Daodejing, and this one gives another exhilarating glimpse into the evolution of a seminal book in world thought. Of particular interest to me are the instances in which this older text differs from later versions in ways that can be best explained by errors of copying which have led to changes in the meaning of a some of the lines. Many of these lines are easier to understand without the copying errors. (Go figure!) This book is required reading for any English-language reader who wants to develop a rich and layered understanding of the meanings of the Daodejing.
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5.0 out of 5 starsI'm quite fond of this work
By Roboplodicus on August 12, 2012
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
This version of the Dao De Jing is nothing short of amazing but before I get into why I think this version is so amazing I want to give you a short intro to the "Dao De Jing" in general. The Dao De Jing is believed to have been written around 400-500 BC in China by a man called "Lao Tze" which means "old master" in ancient Chinese(the Dao De Jing is sometimes called "The Lao Tze" after it's author). It is generally accepted that the original work has been added to several times by several authors resulting in the version of the Dao De Jing that most people familiar with Daoism are familiar with.

Now for a short intro to this version, this is the oldest version of the Dao De Jing to be discovered, it's believed to date to about 300 BC. 3 big differences between this version of the Dao De Jing and other versions is (1) this version has only 31 not 81 "chapters"(poems), (2) many of the remaining 31 chapters are missing several lines of text present in the other versions, (3) and of the remaining lines in the remaining chapters, some are very different from the equivalent lines in other versions, possibly because of copying erros or intentional later rewriting. And for these 3 reasons this version of the Dao De Jing has a more cohesive feeling to it, chapter to chapter and the work feels like it has beginning a middle and an end, also I think these differences leave a less cryptic and clearer text compared to other versions of the Dao De Jing which are notoriously cryptic(they really are, I've read a few other versions and there are parts where I think to myself there is no way this poem actually means anything whoever wrote this is messing with me).Read more ›
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