Tao Te Ching (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (Barnes & Noble Classics)

I had an enjoyable week listening to the Tao Te Ching (道德經 in Traditional Chinese, lit. "Way Virtue Scripture"), Stephen Mitchell's 1989 audiobook version. Like many ancient writings, it has changed drastically since it was first "compiled" into 81 short chapters, around 250 BCE. I'll be researching more about the textual history of the book, particularly since the oldest version was found in 1993, after Mitchell's version was published.

As for the subject matter, "The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao." - Chapter 1, line 1. #TaoTeChing #DaoDeJing

The words seemed to contain a lot of wisdom, but only a small number of them are understandable for those, not familiar with Taoism, like me. In every chapter, I wanted a Taoism expert beside me, in order to continue reading. I do not know if it was this translation, or simply the fact that the original Chinese words, when translated in English, lose their meaning and clarity.