Rating: 
Summary: OK introduction to the text
Review: The Tao Te Ching which is one of the primary Taoist texts has been widely misunderstood. It's quite understandable as some of the teachings are quite radical in interpreted literally ("exterminate the sage...and the people will benefit a hundredfold"). As a result, the wide range of translations are polarised between airy-fairy New-Agism and dry scholarship. This one is a good introduction for someone with no ideological predisposition because it is quite in the middle, though a tad on the dry side. There are explanatory notes but not to the extent of overwhelming the text.An OK start if you want to see a fairly neutral translation before deciding if this is a mystical goldmine or accidental textual anomaly. As this is the only translation I've read so far, jury's still out for me.
Rating:
Summary: OK introduction to the text
Review: The Tao Te Ching which is one of the primary Taoist texts has been widely misunderstood. It's quite understandable as some of the teachings are quite radical in interpreted literally ("exterminate the sage...and the people will benefit a hundredfold"). As a result, the wide range of translations are polarised between airy-fairy New-Agism and dry scholarship. This one is a good introduction for someone with no ideological predisposition because it is quite in the middle, though a tad on the dry side. There are explanatory notes but not to the extent of overwhelming the text. An OK start if you want to see a fairly neutral translation before deciding if this is a mystical goldmine or accidental textual anomaly. As this is the only translation I've read so far, jury's still out for me.
Rating: 
Summary: A fine and elegant translation!
Review: This is a review of D.C. Lau's translation of the _Tao Te Ching_, as republished in the Everyman's Library series. The _Tao Te Ching_ is a collection of brief sayings and verse attributed to Lao Tzu. Lao Tzu is semi-mythical. He is traditionally supposed to have been a contemporary of Confucius (about 500 B.C.), but he may just be a "composite" of stories about various early sages. The _Tao Te Ching_ itself is probably an anthology of early wisdom literature. It is concise to the point of being cryptic. Ironically, this probably helps to account for its popularity. Since it is so hard to understand, people tend to find in it what they want to find. For millennia, the standard text of the _Tao Te Ching_ was the "Wang Pi text," named after an early commentator. However, earlier versions of the text were unearthed in a tomb in China in the 70's. These were called the "Ma-wang-tui" versions, after the place where the tomb was located. D.C. Lau was one of the most talented translators of the 20th century. His translations of the _Analects_ of Confucius, the _Mencius_, and the _Tao Te Ching_ are among the best available. His original translation of the _Tao Te Ching_ was based on the Wang Bi text, and was published by Penguin Books. The book on this page includes both the original Penguin Books translation and a revised translation based on the Ma-wang-tui texts. Lau is a very well informed scholar, but he does not allow the scholarship to overwhelm the translation. The language of his translation is concise and elegant. There will always be deep controversy over how to translate this deeply enigmatic text, but Lau's interpretations are always defensible. One disadvantage of this book is that it does not include the introduction to Lau's Penguin Books translation. That introduction was itself one of the better philosophical studies of the _Tao Te Ching_. Overall, though, this is a fine translation in an elegant (and reasonably priced) format. I strongly recommend it. Some different, but equally good, translations are those by Victor Mair and Philip J. Ivanhoe. Mair's translation has been published as a separate book, while Ivanhoe's is included in Ivanhoe and Bryan W. Van Norden, eds., _Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy_. If you would like some help interpreting the _Tao Te Ching_, a good collection of secondary essays is Mark Csikszentmihalyi and Philip J. Ivanhoe, eds., _Essays on Religious and Philosophical Aspects of the Laozi_.
Rating: 
Summary: a good read for westerners
Review: This is a wonderful book. It helped me through so tough times. It soothes the nerves. It calms the spirit. It enlivens the spirit. If you are searching it can help along the way. If you have found your way to this book you probably are searching for something spiritual or beyond materialism. I don't state that it has the answers but this book may help you prepare to find answers.
Rating: 
Summary: Unsatisfactory
Review: This translation was done by a scholar who is completely out of touch with what Taoism is about. Lao Tzu himslef would have laughed at the translation. The translator thinks that the purpose of Taoism is merely a matter of survival. Cowards survive longer, is his attitude towards Taoism. As a Taoist I have read many translations of the Tao Te Ching and this is the worst one I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Unsatisfactory
Review: This translation was done by a scholar who is completely out of touch with what Taoism is about. Lao Tzu himslef would have laughed at the translation. The translator thinks that the purpose of Taoism is merely a matter of survival. Cowards survive longer, is his attitude towards Taoism. As a Taoist I have read many translations of the Tao Te Ching and this is the worst one I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Lao Tzu as Poet and Worldly Sage
Review: This was the first translation I read (and reread) of the *Tao Te Ching* -- I have since read (and reread) about a dozen others. What stands out in my mind about Lau's translation is the pure poetry, the haunting lyrical quality of some of the images. Furthermore, ironically, this is a starkly pragmatic and realistic translation. It stands in striking contrast to the spiritualized New Age translations that try to sublimate the entire text into the realm of the mystical. This is a *Tao Te Ching* that considers the harsh realities of government and warfare, and stakes out bold counterpositions to the Confucianism which prevailed in the late Chou Dynasty (c. fifth century BCE). This *Tao Te Ching* is not un-spiritual, but its spirituality is well-grounded in a human world of seemingly intractable problems. Other translations may appeal to the more idealistic, but this is perhaps the best translation for those whose spirituality is essentially bound to the social and political problems of the world as it is.
Rating:
Summary: Tao te ching
Review: unlike many versions of "the way of life", this is a legitimate "translation"
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