Copyright (C) 2015 by Bruce R. Linnell
Dao De Jing by Lao Zi
A Minimalist Translation
By Bruce R. Linnell, PhD
2015
Welcome to yet another translation of the Dao De Jing (DDJ),or Tao Te Ching in the old-fashioned spelling. Why should you want to readthis translation? This version attempts to include an exact translationof every Chinese symbol in the original text, with as few added words andparaphrasing as possible. This results in sentences which hopefullyprovide a more literal translation, but are bare and minimalist, sometimesawkward, and often doesn’t make sense. You, the reader, will have towrestle with some sentences, trying to wring out of them whatever meaning theirauthor was trying to express 2300 years ago, instead of my simply telling youwhat I think they mean. I also show you what words were translatedexactly, what was interpreted, and what was added or left out, so you can seeexactly how much the English translation has in common with the originalChinese. I even point out alternative translations, so you can choose foryourself in some cases.
Another difference is that while this translation isprimarily based on the “Wang Bi” ancient manuscript (used by most translators),