Tao Te Ching, 25th-Anniversary Edition

What I do find remarkable is the durability of this particular edition. My copy is ancient, dating back to my college days. At frequent intervals it seems to come to hand and I will peruse it again and enjoy the clarity of this translation by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English. They have carefully chosen a simple, accessible style which I feel completely captures the nature of the Tao. "What is a good man? A teacher of a bad man.

What is a bad man? A good man's charge."

Accompanying the text are many fine examples of Gia-Fu Feng's calligraphy and Jane English's photographs. While I like Chinese calligraphy, I lack the understanding to make any judgement. I can only report that it shows flow and grace, and works perfectly with English's photographs. These latter capture, most often with natural images, a play of contrast which often is as calligraphic as the accompanying handwriting. Thus, the book itself is a careful balance between content and form.

At the end of the day, or in an otherwise tense moment, this volume has often been the source of the tiny bit of sanity that makes the next day possible. There is much to meditate on here and this edition is a precious resource for the seeking mind.


Not Scholarly--Experiential!   March 21, 2001
Elderbear (Loma Linda, Aztlan)
96 out of 109 found this review helpful

"The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao."

So begins this version of the Tao Te Ching. This book provides an experience of the Tao like few others. First, there is the blank page. Lots of white space. The absence, the void.

"The Tao is an empty vessel; it is used, but never filled."

"Profit comes from what is there, / Usefulness from what is not there."

Emptiness is the vessel which contains the words and images of this experience. Each chapter is written in both English and Chinese. I don't even pretend read Chinese, but the characters evoke a sense of something beyond ...

"The form of the formless / the image of the imageless / it is called indefinable and beyond imagination."

The English translation reads smoothly. This is not the awkward prose frequently stumbled over when a scholar attempts to reproduce the ambiguities of the original in a foreign tongue. These words play smoothly together. The text does

"not tinkle like jade / or clatter like stone chimes."

The final element in this alchemy is the photographs:

"Less and less is done / until non-action is achieved. / When nothing is done, nothing is left undone."

Absent in this volume are the reams of footnotes which clutter most Taos I've read. Absent, too, are chapters on historical background and the relationship to Confucianism. If you seek these things, seek elsewhere.

For me, this book has opened a way to the Tao.

An Attractive copy of the Tao Te Ching   July 31, 2004
B. Trainor (summerville, sc United States)
51 out of 51 found this review helpful

It would be a little silly of me to review or criticize Lao-Tzu's writings...but, I would like to comment about this specific copy.

The translation is one of the more succinct versions I've encountered. Because of this it appears and sounds more poetic than most translations, but the drawback of a terse translation is that it only makes the notoriously ambiguous Tao, harder to grasp.

The best thing about the book is that it is very pretty. To simulate the Yin and Yang, the pages alternate between black and white. The chinese characters on one page and the English translation on the next. The book is inundated with drawings from nature, augmenting the themes and serenity of the words.

This is a great copy if you're already familiar with the text or for display. If you would like a copy for serious study, I'd go with Jonathan Star's Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Edition.


Essential Tao Te Ching..   March 6, 2000
Charles Pinney (Boone, NC)
44 out of 46 found this review helpful

I had read this version of the Tao Te Ching previously on the web before deciding to buy the book. The way the text flowed together made me decide to purchase this edition and I just recieved the book today and it's gorgeous.

First off, it's large. About the size of a magazine and all the pages are printed on smooth almost glossy type of paper.

Each verse (for lack of a better word) gets it's own page accompanied by pictures depicting various scenes of nature. A real compliment to the writing allowing you visualize what's being read.

One of the neatest things is that the original Chinese writing is also included on the page facing the English text. Very nice touch.

All in all, if you're looking for a beautifully rendered version of the Tao Te Ching and a great format that will look good on the bookshelf for years to come, you can't go wrong with this one.


Timeless Lessons, Beautiful Format.   August 15, 2000
E. D. Garcia (San Francisco, CA)
42 out of 46 found this review helpful

I read a different version of the Tao Te Ching before deciding to buy. I wasn't enthralled by the other version, and I knew that the lessons in the Tao Te Ching were inspiring.

They say you can't judge a book by it's cover, but with this one, that may not be the case. The entire book is just like the cover: simple and beautiful. As Tao should be represented.

The book itself is about the size of a magazine and the cover will bend or crease easily if handled roughly. The pages, while nearly as thick as the cover, should shrug off abuse easily... which is why I've opted to leave this one on the coffee table every day.

What I found very nice (as another reviewer mentioned) is the fact that you see the lessons in English and in Chinese characters on the facing page. Equally as pleasing: beautiful black and white photos adorn every page, blending easily with the verse.

I cannot comment on the lessons contained in the book, as each individual will take what they choose from it. I would venture to guess that if you're bothering to read this review, you would find more than two of the epiphanies contained in the book useful.

While this edition may not wear as well as a hardbound copy would, it is definately worth its price, and a piece of your time.