Daode jing
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Daode jing (C. 道德經). “The Book of the Way and its Virtue.” The famous Daoist classic that is attributed to Laozi. Thought to be written around the sixth century BCE, this short work contains the essentials of Daoist thought.[1]
The text sets forth the main principles for what became known as Daoism, including the concept of Dao (道) itself, as well as the virtues of unattached action (wuwei 無爲), naturalness (ziran 自然), flexibility (柔), and so forth.[2]
The Charles Muller states:
- The [Daode jing] was compiled in the late Zhou 周 period. Scholars have some doubts as to whether the book was actually authored by a single individual, but the way of thinking expressed in this work, advocating a natural, non-artificial, non-competitive, non-controlling, and sustainable approach to the handling of personal and public affairs contrasted sharply with the relatively rigid moralistic tone of contemporary Confucian thought, and in places subjects that kind of thinking to trenchant criticism. The Daode jing itself is often referred to as the Laozi. [source: Charles Muller][3]
Title variations
The title Daode jing (C. 道德經) is rendered in English variously as:
- Daodejing
- Daode jing (Digital Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton Dictionary)
- Dao de jing
- Dao De Jing (used by more recent translations, e.g. Ken Liu, et al.)
- Tao Te Ching (used in older translations, based on the older Wade-Giles romanization system)
- Laozi (referring to the book by the name of the author)
Notes
- ↑
道德經 (CJKV entry), Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (to sign in, see DDB sign-in)
- ↑ 道德經, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (to sign in, see DDB sign-in)
- ↑ 老子 (CJKV entry), Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (to sign in, see DDB sign-in)
External links
Tao Te Ching, Wikipedia
