LAOZI · THE TAO TE CHING
Begin with
the words.
Return to
the Way.
Eighty-one chapters on living, leading, and letting go. Read the Chinese original alongside an English translation, one passage at a time.
道德经 · The classic of the Way and its virtue
Choose a theme. Select a dot to open a chapter.
Choose a chapter above, then tap Read chapter. Choose a theme to highlight its chapters.
The whole book. All 81 chapters, with the Chinese original and a historical English translation.
More than one way in. Follow a theme, a question, or a phrase that stays with you.
Read with context. Know the translation, explore the terms, and keep the original in view.
01 / FIND YOUR STARTING POINT
A few words.
A different way of seeing.
Like water
上善若水。
The highest excellence is like (that of) water. The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving (to…
Read chapterThe way and its name
道可道，非常道，名可名，非常名。
The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name. (Conceived of as)…
Read chapterA journey of a thousand miles
其安易持，其未兆易谋。
That which is at rest is easily kept hold of; before a thing has given indications of its presence, it is easy to take measures against it; that which is…
Read chapter02 / READ WITH A QUESTION
Seven threads through the text.
The Way
The source that cannot be fully named. Explore the language of emptiness, return, and the patterns through which things arise.
14 selected chapters 治国Leadership
What happens when a leader makes room for others? Read about restraint, trust, and governing with a light hand.
20 selected chapters 用兵Conflict
The text repeatedly asks what force costs. These chapters consider weapons, rivalry, and the possibility of meeting conflict without aggression.
5 selected chapters 修身Self-cultivation
Begin with the way you attend to your own life: quietness, humility, honesty, and the patient work of knowing yourself.
19 selected chapters 养生Nurturing life
Softness, breathing, and the image of the newborn invite a different relationship with vitality. Read these as philosophical images, not medical instructions.
5 selected chapters 处世Everyday living
Water, an empty bowl, a modest home. Ordinary images open questions about desire, sufficiency, generosity, and how to live with others.
14 selected chapters 辩证Paradox
Fullness can look empty; strength can emerge from yielding. Follow the reversals that make the Tao Te Ching both unsettling and illuminating.
13 selected chapters03 / A LITTLE GUIDANCE
You don’t have to
begin at chapter one.
Start with water, an empty vessel, or a single step. Our reading paths bring a handful of chapters into conversation.
Choose a reading path04 / LOOK A LITTLE CLOSER
A living conversation.
Original & translation
Read across two languages.
Chinese text alongside James Legge’s complete English translation.
ExploreWords & ideas
What does wu wei mean?
Explore fifteen key terms through the chapters in which they appear.
ExploreText & tradition
A book with many readers.
Meet commentators and learn how different textual traditions shape a reading.
Explore