Of all the English translations of the Tao Te Ching, one had to be chosen for thebigview.com. This wasn't an easy task. There are many websites that present various translations side by side, which is great for comparative studies. Clearly, the available translations have different objectives and thus different strengths and weaknesses.

Some are very literal and helpful in the understanding of the original Chinese text, but weaker on the literary side. Others are scholarly and heavily commented; and again others are concise and poetic. There were two favourites: the translation of Gia Fu Feng & Jane English and that of Tolbert McCarroll.

The Feng & English translation has almost become a classic by now. It is conspicuous for its poetic, evocative style and it conveys Lao Tzu's own style in a succinct yet elegant language. In spite of this, we have selected the McCarroll translation for thebigview.com. Though the two translations are similar, we feel that the McCarroll translation adds clarity and spiritual depth while maintaining all the advantages of the Feng & English translation.