'Of ways you may speak, but not the Perennial Way; By names you may name, but not the Perennial Name.' The best-loved of all the classical books of China and the most universally popular, the Daodejing or Classic of the Way and Life-Force is a work that defies definition. It encapsulates the main tenets of Daoism, and upholds a way of being as well as a philosophy and a religion. The dominant image is of the Way, the mysterious path through the whole cosmos modelled on the great Silver River or Milky Way that traverses the heavens. A life-giving stream, the Way gives rise to all things and holds them in her motherly embrace. It enables the individual, and society as a whole, to harmonize the disparate demands of daily life and achieve a more profound level of understanding. This new translation draws on the latest archaeological finds and brings out the word play and poetry of the original. Simple commentary accompanies the text, and the introduction provides further historical and interpretative context. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Reviews with the most likes.
You know when you meet a stupid person? We've all met a stupid person. And sometimes, you don't know they're stupid right away. You give them the benefit of the doubt, because hey, assuming someone is stupid is rude. And occasionally, you'll be talking to this theoretical stupid person, and you'll be explaining something to them - physics, politics, math, where Denmark is- and you see in their eyes that they aren't home. As you were speaking, their chief brain cell let the other two brain cells take the rest of the day off and you are witnessing the mass exodus of every potentiality for them to have a thought, and it's just you explaining how probabilities work to an empty shell of a turtle who has moved on to a different, dumber shell. And what else can you do, but finish telling them what you were telling them, despite knowing that they are clinically dead, you might as well be speaking these words to an empty balloon, at least that way, you might get half a balloon.
That was me reading this. I am the stupid person. My brain doesn't work this way at all. I didn't get a single thing from this. Every line, I was just “
