Chen Guying Books

Understanding the Dao De Jing requires first knowing its elusive history. The text’s transmission across centuries was far from linear; it evolved through layers of commentary and translation that shaped how Laozi’s thought was received and reimagined. In my own scholarship, I trace these stages fro...

From Annotated Translation of the Dao De Jing

When I speak of the Dao, I do not refer to a concept that can be captured by definition. Laozi’s genius lies in presenting Dao as both origin and process — the mysterious source from which all phenomena arise and to which they return. Dao is not something beyond reality; it is reality itself before ...

From Annotated Translation of the Dao De Jing

The human story begins in the distant prehistoric era, when our ancestors evolved from primitive hominids into toolmakers and builders of community. They crafted stone implements, discovered fire, and organized hunting and gathering. The significance of prehistoric society lies in its establishment ...

From Zhuangzi Annotated Translation

In four ancient river valleys—the Nile of Egypt, the Tigris and Euphrates of Mesopotamia, the Ganges and Indus of India, and China’s Yellow River—human beings built the first enduring centers of civilization. These societies mark humanity’s decisive step from dependence on nature to organized social...

From Zhuangzi Annotated Translation