The Annotated Laozi: A New Translation of the Daodejing (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781438493992)

Written more than two thousand years ago, the Laozi, or Daodejing, is a classic of Chinese intellectual history and has been of foundational importance to cultural and religious history throughout East Asia. It is now venerated as a masterpiece of self-cultivation, with a poetic narrative that remains accessible and relevant even today. Paul Fischer's new, annotated translation aims for fidelity to the original text as well as clarity for a modern audience. Fischer's notes and explanations bring out obscure meanings in ancient Chinese wording and rhetoric, elucidate the connections among the eighty-one short chapters, and clarify the coherence of the work as a whole. Carefully considering the various manuscripts that have been archaeologically uncovered in recent decades, as well as the variations among received versions of the Laozi, Fischer's translation discloses the beauty and meaning of the original. This book will benefit students and readers interested in intellectual history as well as those who want to explore what the text has to say about the meaning of life.

Author: Paul Fischer
ISBN-10: 1438493991
ISBN-13: 9781438493992
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Language: English
Published: 08/01/2023
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.00d

About the Author
Paul Fischer is Professor of Asian Religions and Cultures at Western Kentucky University. He is the author of Self-Cultivation in Early China (also published by SUNY Press) and the translator and editor of Shizi: China's First Syncretist.