Course Description

The Tao Te Ching is a fundamental text for both philosophical and religious Taoism, and strongly influenced Legalism, Confucianism and Chan Buddhism, which when first introduced into China was interpreted through the use of Taoist concepts. Many Chinese artists, including poets, painters, calligraphers and gardeners, have been greatly influenced by Tao Te Ching. Its influence spread widely outside East Asia, and is among the most translated works in world literature, only next to Bible.

The passages in Tao Te Ching are ambiguous, with topics ranging from advice for rulers and profound religious experience of cosmic origin of Tao and its application in all realms of life. The book has 81 chapters ,this course teaches the first half: the Book of Tao. The central values of Tao Te Ching are the ineffability of Tao, the privileging of the female attributes, the force of Yin--such as softness, yielding, humility, resilience and non-action effecting all actions. The returning movement as the movement of Tao, the interchangeability of the opposites, political rule with least interference, philosophical and religious experience of vacuity and power of nothingness.

The Tao Te Ching has been translated into Western languages over 250 times, its cryptic and poetic language is a famous puzzle which everyone would like to resolve.

In learning the course, print out the PDF of Analects text in the introduction chapter, and with it in hand, study the selected chapters in the following lectures (because there is no subtitle of the text in the video). For each lecture, I will explain word by word the meaning of the classical Chinese text, and then I will explain to you the philosophical implication of these texts, often comparing it with other schools of Chinese philosophies. Finally I will lead you to read the text twice so that you can recite and memorize them.

Professor of Chinese, English and Comparative literature

Hong Zeng

I am an award-winning professor of Chinese, English and Comparative Literature. I have taught Mandarin Chinese at all levels in prestigious American colleges altogether for 16 years. I have taught nine years as a tenure-track professor of Chinese and comparative literature at Carleton College, ranked No. 1 in undergraduate teaching in all liberal arts colleges in America, and have directed the Chinese program for two years at Hamline University (the first university in Minnesota). In both my second year coming to Carleton and Hamline, I more than doubled their Beginning Chinese Class enrollment. I have also taught at Swarthmore College, College of William and Mary and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Before I came to United States, I have taught English and American literature for 3 years at Beijing Foreign Studies University. I have two PhDs, one in Chinese and comparative literature from UNC, Chapel Hill, the other in  English and American literature, literature translation and second language education from Beijing Foreign Studies University. I have published five books in America (including two from Macmillan) on Chinese, English and comparative literature, film study, language study and language philosophy that are well-endorsed by world-renowned experts and book review journals in my field. I have earned 30000 dollars large grant from Asian Network in Chinese study.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    New Chapter

    • promo video final Tao Te Ching

    • Introduction of Tao Te Ching 1

    • Tao Te Ching Chinese pinyin text

    • Tao Te Ching: Book of Tao Chinese-English version

    • chapter 1

    • chapter 2-1

    • chapter 2-2

    • chapter 3

    • chapter 4

    • chapter 5

    • chapter 6

    • chapter 7

    • chapter 8

    • chapter 9

    • chapter 10

    • chapter 11

    • chapter 12

    • chapter 13

    • chapter 14

    • chapter 15

    • chapter 16

    • chapter 17

    • chapter 18

    • chapter 19

    • chapter 20

    • chapter 21

    • chapter 22

    • chapter 25

    • chapter 28

    • chapter 31

    • chapter 32

    • chapter 33

    • chapter 34

    • chapter 35

    • chapter 36

    • chapter 37