D.C. Lau's Tao Te Ching: The Translation I Use When I Need to Be Sure

I have a ritual when I am working on a difficult passage from the Tao Te Ching. I open three books. I read the passage in Feng & English for the poetic sense. I read it in Red Pine for the commentary context. And I open D.C. Lau to check my understanding.

Lau is always the third book I reach for, and the one I trust most. Here is why.

The Scholar Who Refused to Perform

D.C. Lau was born in Hong Kong in 1921, studied Chinese philosophy at the University of Hong Kong, and spent most of his career at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. He translated the Tao Te Ching, the Analects of Confucius, and the Mencius — three of the most important texts in the Chinese canon — and he did it all without ever trying to be interesting.

His translation of Chapter 1: “The way that can be spoken of is not the constant way; the name that can be named is not the constant name.” Compare this to Mitchell (“The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao”) or Le Guin (“The way you can go isn’t the real way”), and the difference is immediately visible. Lau is not trying to move you. He is trying to show you.

This matters because the Tao Te Ching is difficult enough without the translator adding their own poetry into the mix. When I need to understand what a line actually says — when I am comparing passages across chapters or checking whether an interpretation is supported by the original — Lau is the foundation.

The Problem of Readability

I will be honest: Lau is not a pleasure to read cover to cover. His prose is functional, not beautiful. It makes no effort to capture the rhythm of the Chinese. The sentences are compact, sometimes awkward, occasionally stiff.

I remember the first time I read his version of Chapter 8 — “Highest good is like water. Because water excels in benefiting the myriad creatures without contending with them.” The word “myriad creatures” stopped me. It felt academic. It felt distant. I was right — it is academic, and it is distant. That is the trade Lau makes: accuracy over warmth.

But when I later compared seven different translations of the same passage and needed to know which one had stayed closest to the Chinese, it was Lau I checked against. He is the reference. The other translations are wonderful companions. Lau is the map.

Who Should Read It

If you are a complete beginner and just want to feel the text, start with Feng & English. If you want to go deeper — if you want a version you can return to for years and still find new precision in — add Lau.

I use him as my primary checking translation. When I write about a chapter, I read it in three versions. Lau is the one I quote when I need to back up a claim about what the text actually says. He is the scholar’s scholar, the translator’s translator, the version you grow into rather than the version you fall in love with.

The translation comparison page shows Lau alongside Mitchell, Le Guin, Feng & English, and Red Pine for several key chapters. See for yourself which voice fits how you want to read.

Choosing your first translation? Start with Best Tao Te Ching Translation?. For the complete overview, see How to Start Reading the Tao Te Ching.