The classic Taoist text freshly translated using the original Chinese script from Lao Tzu's time, and beautifully illustrated with seventeenth-century artwork.

Renowned translator William Scott Wilson has rendered Lao Tzu's classic in the most authentic way possible, using both the ancient text and the even older Great Seal script used during Lao Tzu's time. The result is a new and nuanced translation, accompanied by gorgeous Chinese ink paintings and fascinating ancillary material. Wilson includes an introduction that tells the story of Lao Tzu, the "old man" and the "keeper of the archives," and wonderful notes to illuminate the text. He also includes two short essays--one explains the relationship between Taoism and Zen, and the other explores the roots that link the spiritual aspects of the Tao with the practice of Chinese and Japanese martial arts. Wilson's version of this ancient classic is wonderfully fresh and readable.