Decoding Dao: Reading the Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching) and the Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)

Providing a unique focus on the core texts in Daoist philosophy, this lucid introduction to the Dao De Jing and the Zhuangzi offers students a comprehensive understanding of the principles underlying much of Chinese culture. The author’s mastery of the material, combined with her accessible style, enables readers to get to grips with two of the most widely read – and most complex – texts in China’s long literary history.  The volume sets the Dao De Jing and Zhuangzi in their historical context and explains the key terms and approaches these two seminal works take. It traces their origins, their authorship, and the reasons they came into being. The author moves on to examine the core philosophical arguments made in the texts, as well as the many ways in which they have been interpreted, both in China itself and in the West. Importantly, the analysis extends to the three primary modes – religious, mystical, and philosophical – of reading these enigmatic volumes. Decoding Dao offers readers unrivalled insight into the multifaceted philosophy of Daoism, informed by the very latest academic scholarship.

Lee Dian Rainey is Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. She has taught Chinese philosophy for more than twenty years and has published widely in this area.  Her publications include Confucius and Confucianism: The Essentials (Wiley–Blackwell, 2010).