This special edition brings together three classic works by Western scholars of ancient Chinese texts. The men were family friends and colleagues, and were all living in Shanghai during the late 19th century. Much of their combined transcription became shaped into the book we know today as the "Tao Te Ching."

"China and the Manchus" by Herbert Giles is a series of legends and recollections from ancient China, ordered by chronology. Herbert Giles is also known for creating the first Chinese-English Dictionary and helping to develop the system of Chinese translation now known as the "Wade-Giles Romanization System."

"Leaves from My Chinese Scrapbook" by Frederic Balfour is a collection of stories, legends and anecdotes by a British expatriate scholar, who was working for local Chinese newspapers such as "Celestial Empire" and contributing travel articles to "Harpers Magazine". Many of these stories are taken from the source scrolls Balfour used to write the ground-breaking "Taoist Texts" in 1884.

"Biographies of Immortals" by Lionel Giles is the first partial Western translation of the ancient Chinese book of "Liexian Zhuan," containing mythic heroes from Chinese history, including the "8 Immortals of China." Lionel Giles, the son of Herbert Giles, is also known for his original translation of Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" as well as "The Analects" of Confucius.