Description
Poetry. Asian & Asian American Studies. Translated by Yang Peng. This new translation of the Chinese classic and foundation text of Daoism integrates the manuscript discoveries of the last 30 years, introducing a fundamentally different view of the nature of the Dao. Michael Puett, the Walter C. Klein Professor of Chinese History and Chair of the Committee on the Study of Religion at Harvard University, calls this translation "an excellent translation of one of the most important texts from the Chinese philosophical tradition," and goes on to state: "Building upon the crucial body of scholarship that has developed in China over the past several decades, Yang Peng succeeds in providing a translation that is both precise and readable. A wonderful achievement!"
Author Bio
Laozi, a great sage of ancient China, was the author of the Dao De Jing and the founder of Daoism. According to The Records of the Grand Historian, finished around 91 BCE, Laozi was a contemporary of Confucius (551-479 BCE) to whom the elder Laozi gave lessons about the philosophy of rituals. Laozi worked as the official historian and the keeper of the archives at the imperial court of the Zhou dynasty. At that time, the official historian drafted government documents and played the role of astrologer and teacher of the religious rituals. Laozi uses the word "Dao" to describe the original and natural law he discovered. Because the Dao is the original and fundamental power and the natural law, which is always universal, creative, productive, and harmonious, the core of good governance is to reduce and minimize interference, allowing the power of the Dao to release its great productive and harmonious potentiality freely from everyone and everything. Prosperity and harmony only come from government non- interference and self-governance by the individual and the people. The wisdom of Laozi is a valuable spiritual treasure of mankind.
Author City: HENAN CHI