Tao Te Ching
Tao Te Ching by Laoziby 老子 and Yang Peng and Jordi Fibla and James Legge
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 30 philosophy books
Short, succinct classic of philosophy; people especially recommend Ursula K. Le Guin's translation and suggest comparing it with others. Some critics feel translations miss the original's meaning.
Short, succinct classic of philosophy; people especially recommend Ursula K. Le Guin's translation and suggest comparing it with others. Some critics feel translations miss the original's meaning.
35 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 32
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 91%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 32 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 11 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Ursula K. Le Guin's translation praised
“Ursula's notes really enrich the work. Fantastic ways to render insights in words.”
Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Tao Te Ching – Translated by Ursula K. Le Guin” “none dissolved me into the flow as deeply and effortlessly as Ursula's”
Comment from 20 Jun 2026 in “Zen and the Art of Machine Learning Research” “She's captured the poetry and beauty of the received text very well.”
Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Tao Te Ching – Translated by Ursula K. Le Guin” - Comment from 20 Nov 2025 in “How to stay sane in a world that rewards insanity”
Worth comparing multiple translations
“I really liked Brook Ziporyn's translation of the Dao and particular his deep dive into the A / B / True A move”
Comment from 25 Jan 2026 in “Tao Te Ching – Translated by Ursula K. Le Guin” “look at multiple translations of ancient texts to see how they vary wildly”
Comment from 6 Aug 2026 in “Aristotle quotes on virtue, knowledge, and happiness” “Worth comparing different translations, I am partial to David Hinton's.”
Comment from 29 Oct 2026 in “Dao de jing” - Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Tao Te Ching – Translated by Ursula K. Le Guin”
Daily reading and reflection
“Every night, I read one new passage — then every morning, I read that same passage again.”
Comment from 25 Jan 2026 in “Tao Te Ching – Translated by Ursula K. Le Guin” “This gives you time to digest each passage, be it in dreams or daytime.”
Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Tao Te Ching – Translated by Ursula K. Le Guin” “Studying and learning daily you grow larger.”
Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Tao Te Ching – Translated by Ursula K. Le Guin”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Translation misses the original's meaning
“I always felt she was dropping the ball a bit”
Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Tao Te Ching – Translated by Ursula K. Le Guin” “it doesn't make much sense to Chinese people either”
Comment from 25 Jan 2026 in “Tao Te Ching – Translated by Ursula K. Le Guin” “The very first sentence misses the point.”
Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “Tao Te Ching – Translated by Ursula K. Le Guin”
Other philosophy books people recommend
The four most recommended other philosophy books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tao Te Chingby 老子 and Yang Peng and Jordi Fibla and James LeggeThis page | 32 | 3 | 91% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenanceby Robert M. Pirsig | 24 | 3 | 89% | 9 | 44 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Meditationsby Marcus Aurelius | 17 | 4 | 81% | 8 | — | Approved |
| I Am a Strange Loopby Douglas R. Hofstadter | 16 | 1 | 94% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Simulacra and Simulationby Jean Baudrillard | 12 | 3 | 80% | 5 | — | Approved |
What people said
32 of the 38 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Worth comparing different translations, I am partial to David Hinton's.”
“If you have the acumen, go read Bhagavad Gita, Gospel of Ramakrishna, Tao Te Ching, etc.”
“look at multiple translations of ancient texts to see how they vary wildly”
“none dissolved me into the flow as deeply and effortlessly as Ursula's”
“100% satisfying to listen to.”
“It subrly hints at the limitations of language in capturing true understanding.”
“I really liked Brook Ziporyn's translation of the Dao and particular his deep dive into the A / B / True A move”
“Every night, I read one new passage — then every morning, I read that same passage again.”
“it doesn't make much sense to Chinese people either”
“The most interesting recent scholarly translation I know of is by Victor Mair”
“This gives you time to digest each passage, be it in dreams or daytime.”
“Studying and learning daily you grow larger.”
“the original paperback contains diligent notes about her sources and word choices”
“Beautifully, this reads like it came right out of Le Guin's rendition of the Tao Te Ching”
“I found the first few chapters in that presentation very interesting, like a kind of puzzle”
“The very first sentence misses the point.”
“I quoted the chapter about Leadership plenty of times at work.”
“Ursula's notes really enrich the work. Fantastic ways to render insights in words.”
“I always felt she was dropping the ball a bit”
“She's captured the poetry and beauty of the received text very well.”
“This is most likely a copyright violation. I follow these translations and I've seen no evidence that the publisher put it in the public domain.”
“one of my favorite versions, mostly for nostalgic reasons”
“Comparing the two was always very thought provoking”
“probably my favorite English version”
“printed the Chinese text with each character followed by a transliteration and a translation”
“HN seems to like Tao Te Ching.”
“that aspect had immediate impact on my thinking”
“Love the tao te ching (in translation)”
“I highly recommend Ursula Le Guin's translation.”
“The Tao Te Ching is about as close to a “right answer” in metaphysics as we’re likely to get.”
“Probably the most succinct, KISS philosophy and spirituality book ever written”
“My favourite version to start with, and even more succinct than the original”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.