Read this if you…
- want the Foundational Text of Taoism in a short book
- like the concept of going with the flow
- like the idea of simply accepting life as it comes and not fighting it
Skip this if you…
- want rigor
- don't like disjointed small bits and prefer a coherent systematic whole
The 
Take
Simple straightforward message, follow the way, be submissive, don’t try to hard. Keep it simple
Depicted in Art
A close-up ink portrait of Laozi as a hooded, deeply lined old man, brushed in spare, wet Chan-style strokes.
Muqi
Confucius, Laozi, and a red-robed Arhat seated together under a tree in animated philosophical conversation.
Ding Yunpeng
Laozi as a stout, dark-browed sage in belted robe seated on an ox, the earliest of the canonical ox-riding compositions.
Chao Buzhi
Wall-painting scene of the infant Laozi emerging beneath a plum tree, already aged, surrounded by attendants and auspicious clouds.
A small, child-like Laozi perches on a massive ox in a sparse landscape, drawn in Chen's signature archaizing, almost cartoonish line.
Chen Hongshou, 1650
Recommended Editions
Stephen Mitchell
Harper Perennial · 2006
Mitchell doesn't read Chinese, which the purists won't let you forget. His version still catches the paradox and the silence of the Tao Te Ching better than almost anything else in English, and it's the one most readers actually finish.
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Notable Quotes
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
- Bruce Lee, martial artist and philosopher, 1940–1973: Lee drew his “be like water” philosophy and his ideas on wu wei straight from the Tao Te Ching.
- Leo Tolstoy, Russian novelist, 1828–1910: Tolstoy put Lao Tzu among the books that shaped him most, rating his influence “enormous.”
- Ronald Reagan, 40th US President, 1911–2004: "Govern a great nation as you would cook a small fish; do not overdo it."
- Jack Dorsey, technology entrepreneur, 1976-: Dorsey calls the Tao Te Ching one of the books that influenced him most and a most-prized possession.
- Jack Ma, Alibaba co-founder, 1964-: Ma keeps the Tao Te Ching in his briefcase and wove Lao Tzu's ideas into Alibaba's culture.
- Phil Jackson, NBA coach, 1945-: In Eleven Rings, Jackson built his coaching philosophy on Lao-tzu's simplicity, patience, and compassion.
- Rick Rubin, record producer, 1963-: Rubin built The Way of Code as a modern reimagining of the Tao Te Ching for the AI age.