The Daode Jing: A Guide

Description

The Daode jing ("Book of the Dao and Its Virtue") is an essential work in both traditional Chinese culture and world philosophy. The oldest text of philosophical Daoism, and widely venerated among religious Daoist practitioners, it was composed around the middle of the 4th century BCE. Ascribed to a thinker named Laozi, a contemporary of Confucius, the work is based on a set of aphorisms designed to help local lords improve their techniques of government. The most translated book after the Bible, the Daode jing appears in numerous variants and remains highly relevant in the modern world. This guide provides an overview of the text, presenting its historical unfolding, its major concepts, and its contemporary use. It also gives some indication of its essence by citing relevant passages and linking them to the religious practices of traditional Daoism. Cover Series The Daode jing A Guide Copyright Contents List of Illustrations Series Introduction: Guides to Sacred Texts Introduction Part I 1. Times and Authorship The Axial Age The Warring States Confucianism Yin-​Yang Cosmology Laozi The Laozi Legend Divinization 2. Textual Development Language Texts in Tombs Guodian Mawangdui Heshang Gong Standardization Wang Bi 3. Key Concepts Dao Cosmic Unfolding Natural Dynamics Self-​Being Virtue Images and Metaphors 4. Social Application Nonaction Social Reality Sufficiency Humility and Simplicity Clarity and Stillness Sagehood Part II 5. Communities and Politics Primitivism Self-​Cultivation Longevity Techniques Inward Training The Jixia Academy Syncretism and Huang-​Lao Masters of Methods 6. Devotional Activation Early Recitation The Celestial Masters Chanting for Immortality Highest Clarity The Northern Celestial Masters Integrated Ordination 7. Commentary Exegeses The Nature of Commentaries Ideal Rulership Personal Self-​Cultivation Original Nonbeing Western Ascension Mystical Attainment 8. Later Developments Twofold Mystery Imperial Attention Song Huizong Internal Alchemy Daode jing Readings Clarity and Stillness The Qingjing jing Part III 9. China Today Religious Veneration Academic Study Intellectual Engagement Politics and Education Ecology Cognitive Therapy Self-​Help 10. In the World Eastern Transmission Early Western Reception Seeing Dao Philosophical Adaptation Popular Understanding Multiple Readings 11. English Translations Types of Translations Literal Translations Historical Scholarship Philosophical Renditions Poetic Versions Social Relevance Self-​Help Manuals Whimsical Renditions 12. Western Adaptations Daoist Leadership Doing Business Ecology The Tao of . . . Literary Allegories Songs of Dao Index