Dao De Jing

“To be immersed in the mysterious beauty of the Dao De Jing, [this translation] is the most literary and inviting.” —Stephen R. Platt, Wall Street Journal

A landmark translation of the timeless classic of Daoist wisdom, rendered in gorgeous poetry that illuminates its enduring teachings.

This bold new translation by two brilliant poets offers a contemporary perspective on a timeless masterpiece of Daoist scripture, introducing Dao De Jing to a new audience while retaining the majesty of the Chinese original. Composed of eighty-one short poems written by the sage Laozi in 400 BC, Dao De Jing is one of the pillars of Chinese thought. Acclaimed poet Li-Young Lee and poet and scholar Yun Wang illuminate Dao De Jing as a unified work of art. This revelatory and faithful translation—presented alongside the original Chinese text—reveals its enduring teachings in their profound simplicity, subtlety, and balance.