Tao Te Ching (Signet Classics)

TheTaoTeChinghasservedasapersonalroadmapformillionsofpeople.Itissaidthatitswordsrevealtheunderlyingprinciplesthatgoverntheworldinwhichwelive.Holdingtothelawsofnature--drawingfromtheessenceofwhatallthingsare--itoffersbothamoralcompassandaninternalbalance.AfundamentalbookoftheTaoist,theTaoTeChingisregardedasarevelationinitsownright.Forthoseseekingabetterunderstandingofthemselves,itprovidesawealthofwisdomandinsights.Throughtime--fromonepowerfuldynastytoanother--manychangeshavebeenmadetotheoriginalChinesetextoftheTaoTeChing.Overthelastcentury,translatorshaveaddedtothemixbyincorporatingtheirinterpretations.Whilejackhammeringitsoriginaltext,somehavecreatedbeautifulversionsoftheTaoTeChinginthenameofpoeticlicense.Othershavereliedonvariantformsoftheoriginal,whilestillothershaveaddedtheirownphilosophicalspinstothematerial.ForthosereaderswhoarelookingforapurerinterpretationoftheTaoTeChing,researcherPatrickMichaelByrnehasproducedatranslationthatisextremelyaccurate,whilecapturingthepatternandharmonyoftheoriginal.HereisaTaoTeChingthatyoucanenjoy,understand,andvalue.PatrickMichaelByrne,PhD,receivedhisundergraduatedegreeinAsianstudiesandphilosophyfromDartmouthCollege,acertificationfromBeijingTeachersUniversity,hismaster’sdegreefromCambridgeUniversity,andhisdoctorateinphilosophyfromStanfordUniversity.HehasservedasavisitinglectureratbothDartmouthandtheBeijingNormalUniversity.Dr.ByrneiscurrentlyChiefExecutiveOfficerofOverstock.com,asuccessfulinternetsite.Hetravelsextensivelythroughouttheworld.《道德经》，又称《道德真经》《老子》《五千言》《老子五千文》，是中国古代先秦诸子分家前的一部著作，为其时诸子所共仰，传说是春秋时期的老子李耳（似是作者、注释者、传抄者的集合体）所撰写，是道家哲学思想的重要来源。道德经分上下两篇，原文上篇《德经》、下篇《道经》，不分章，后改为《道经》37章在前，第38章之后为《德经》，并分为81章。是中国历史上首部完整的哲学著作。