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Daily · Philosophy

Tao Teh King

Lao Tzu, trans. James Legge · philosophical text, ancient China·49 min in the original·original at gutenberg.org
The 30‑second version49 min → 20 sec
  • The Tao cannot be captured in words. The opening lines state that any Tao that can be described or named is not the true, unchanging Tao, setting the tone for what follows.
  • Governing by non-action. The sage ruler acts without forcing outcomes, and in this way things are accomplished without struggle.
  • Softness overcomes hardness. Water, the softest thing, wears down the hardest stone; yielding and humility ultimately prevail over force and pride.
  • Small and simple government is best. The text closes with an image of a small state content with plain food and clothes, with no desire to interfere with its neighbors.
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•Why it earns a slot

Nearly every line reads like a riddle on first pass and a plain instruction on the second, which is the whole method of the text.

The Tao Teh King, traditionally attributed to Lao Tzu, is 81 short chapters of paradoxical verse and aphorism arguing that the Tao, the way of the universe, cannot be named or forced, and that a ruler or a person governs and lives best by yielding, softness, and non-action rather than by control and striving.

This distillation is written from the freely available original, which is always the better read when you have the time: gutenberg.org.

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