Laozi

ORIENTAL & INDIAN PHILOSOPHY. Having masterfully translated a wide range of ancient Chinese poets and philosophers, David Hinton is uniquely qualified to offer the definitive contemporary English version of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. Like all of his translations, Hinton's translation of the Tao Te Ching is mind-opening, presenting startling new dimensions in this widely-influential text. He shows how Lao Tzu's spirituality is structured around the generative...

The Dao De Jing exists on the border between poetry and philosophy, embracing both mythos and logos. Its poetic form can stand alone, but it is enriched when its timeless ideas are analyzed and explained through careful scholarship. For example: "He who knows others is knowledgeable. He who knows himself is wise." These words resemble Socrates' account of his own quest in Plato's Apology. Ancient philosophy, both in China and in Greece, places self-knowledge...