"IN THE CROWDED FIELD OF TRANSLATING THE TAO TE CHING, THIS NEW VERSION WILL SUPERSEDE VIRTUALLY ALL PREVIOUS EFFORTS... THE TRANSLATION IS ELEGANT, EXACT, AND EXCITING." -- Anthony C. Yu, Carl Darling Buck Professor in the Humanities, University of Chicago, and translator of The Journey to the West EVERY READER WILL BE ENLIGHTENED BY READING THIS TRANSLATION... [IT IS] FASCINATING AND IMMENSELY ENJOYABLE." -- Richard Eberhart, Pulitzer prize-winning poet Here is a landmark translation of the ancient Chinese classic famous for its profound statements about the way of the universe. This edition of the Tao Te Ching is based on newly discovered manuscripts that are approximately five centuries older and far more authentic than the most commonly translated texts. Victor Mair, one of the country's foremost translators of ancient Chinese, has stripped away the distortions of previous translations, restored lost lines, reinterpreted key terms, and created what is sure to become the definitive translation of one of the greatest and most enigmatic works of world literature.