Essentials of Daoism: Including: The Sayings of Lao Tzu, The Dao De Jing, Zhuangzi, Lieh Tzu, and Sun Tzu on the Art of War

This book comprises five classic works of Chinese mysticism. Culturally, these are the companion works to Confucius' thoughts, as expanded by Mencius. Confucianism is very much the Apollonian side of Chinese culture. It focuses on matters of ethics, hierarchy, responsibility, and social obligation. Daoism is the other side of the coin, focused on abstraction and uncertainty.

The two translators included in this volume were very different men. While they wrote in the same period, their audien...