Taoism is not a religion. Gods and the afterlife are vague, almost non-existant. It is all about here and now: how to live a pleasant life, without causing unnecessary commotion or distress. Tao, the Way, is a kind of natural law behind all of creation. The one who can harmonize with it will be at peace with existence.


The major source to Taoism is the Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing), written by the legendary Lao Tzu (Lao Zi) - somewhere between the 7th and the 4th century BC in China. I made a Swedish interpretation of it (see here), and now I am working on one in English, where I explain each chapter from the perspective of our modern life. The old classic still has a lot to teach us.
     As I progress in this work, I publish my first draft of each chapter on this website. You can read them here:
Tao Te Ching: Each chapter explained
Have a look at the below translation of Tao Te Ching, made by the Scottish sinologist James Legge (1815-97) in 1891. It is a splendid version, surpassing many of later dates - although the recent archaeological findings of Tao Te Ching manuscripts in Ma Wang Tui and Guodian were unknown to him.
     (If you want the book with Legge's translations and his commentaries, you find it here.)
Tao Te Ching, James Legge's version
The English magician and occultist Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) made his own version of the Tao Te Ching in 1923. It is a very interesting and surprisingly clear version of the Chinese classic - worth reading also for those who have no interest in the occult.
     (If you want the book with Aleister Crowley's version and his commentaries, you find it here.)
Tao Te Ching, Aleister Crowley's version
Here is the Tao Te Ching in Chinese. It is the version of Wang Bi, (226-249 CE), who was a very gifted thinker in spite of his young years. You need the Chinese language module installed on your computer to see the text. Otherwise you just get gibberish.
     (Wang Bi's famous commentaries on the Tao Te Ching is in an English translation here.)
Tao Te Ching in Chinese
Already by the first chapter of Tao Te Ching, the style of its interpretor or translator is quite clear. In 2004, I vacuumed the internet and my own library for versions of Tao Te Ching's Chapter 1. I found 75, from well-renowned sinologists to happy amateurs. Now I have also added my own version. The vagueness of the original text allows for very different interpretations, as you can see in the collection below.
76 versions of Chapter 1

Next to Lao Tzu, the legendary writer of Tao Te Ching, Chuang Tzu (Zhuang Zi) is the most famous of the Chinese Taoists. He lived in the 4th century BC. According to tradition, he wrote the first seven chapters, called the 'inner' chapters, of the book given his name. His students are said to have written the remaining 'outer' chapters.
     Below is the complete translation of Chuang Tzu by James Legge, published in 1891, divided into the 33 chapters. You can read them in any order, since they are not connected in a consecutive way.
Chuang Tzu

Stefan Stenudd