The Way and Its Power

Arthur Waley’s brilliant and definitive translation of one of the foremost of all mystical books, Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, has become a modern classic in its own right. Unlike previous translations, it is founded not on the medieval commentaries but on a close study of early Chinese literature, and it provides a singular example of authoritative scholarship skillfully blended with precise, elegant writing. In his introduction, Dr. Waley gives an extensive scholarly account of Chinese thought down to the end of the third century B.C. He presents a full picture of Chinese prehistory, early philosophy, and literature, showing the original, lofty conception of Taoism before its gradual corruption through the course of centuries, and tracing this conflict of philosophies and its political background.