This new philosophical transaltion of Dao De Jing gives us a lot of commentary. Perhaps way too much commentary. The introduction greatly overshadows the actual content of the book. And the content of the book contains more commentary than actual text. Common themes emphasized are the power of the week over the mighty, pacifism, and importance of the role of women, anti-materialism and the importanace of ones place. These seem like very modern norms. Is this just a modern reading of Daoism, or is this an accurate judgement? I'm interested in exploring some of the original text in more detail - though without the weight of pre-built interpretations.
