The Tao Te Ching
← all texts · Taoist & Chinese · c. 4th c. BCE
What this is
The foundational text of Taoism, attributed to Laozi — eighty-one short, paradoxical chapters on the Tao (the Way), wu wei (effortless action) and sage rulership. Legge's translation is the public-domain standard.
Read & download
We don't host the text — these go to the source library.
Companion reading path
What to read alongside it, and why.
The I Ching (Book of Changes)
Taoist & Chinese
The other root of Chinese cosmology — change and the Way together.
The Dhammapada
Buddhist
The nearest Buddhist parallel in form and spirit.
Sun Tzu — The Art of War
Classical wisdom
Sun Tzu applies the same Taoist logic of yielding and timing to conflict.