The Laozi of the Silk Manuscripts (PDF eBook)

帛書老子杳眇注

A new English translation of the Laozi (Tao Te Ching) made from the two silk manuscripts excavated at Mawangdui, not from the received Wang Bi text.

In 1973 two copies of the Laozi, written on silk in the 2nd century BCE, were found in Han Tomb 3 at Mawangdui, Changsha. They are the oldest substantially complete witnesses to the text, and they differ from the version most translations follow, beginning with the De section and then the Dao. This edition keeps the silk order: all 81 chapters, De first, then Dao.

The silk text of every chapter is rebuilt from Manuscripts A and B alone and collated against the 2014 Changsha Mawangdui Hanmu Jianbo Jicheng (Zhonghua). Graphs are printed as the manuscripts write them, not normalized to the received text, and where both manuscripts are lost the gap is kept, not filled. The Wang Bi recension is printed for comparison only; it never supplies the silk text or its translation.

Each chapter gives you:

• The silk text and its English translation, in the silk order.
• Manuscripts A and B in parallel columns, with lost graphs, repetition marks, section marks and A/B differences marked.
• Notes on Manuscripts A and B: nearly 800 collation notes across the book, many with page references to the Jicheng, also drawing on the Peking University manuscript, the Guodian slips and the received editions.
• The Wang Bi recension for side-by-side comparison.
• Yaomiao's Reading: the commentary in its classical Chinese original, followed by an English translation.

In 46 chapters, character niches open up a key graph: its entry in Xu Shen's Shuowen Jiezi, with seal-script form, gloss, image and sense — why De is not simply "virtue", or why the silk text's 泊 "shallow water" is not the same as Wang Bi's 薄 "thin".

582 pages, typeset with Chinese and English together. A free sample (front matter and the first two chapters) is available, and the full text can also be read in the online edition at siwen.ink.

Format: PDF, DRM-free, delivered as an instant download after purchase. For personal use; please do not redistribute.

Free sample (first two chapters): Download the sample PDF · 試讀

Questions

What do I receive? A single PDF file (582 pages, about 6 MB). A download link is sent by email after successful payment. No physical book is shipped.

Can I read it on my device? Yes — use a PDF reader on your computer, tablet or phone. The Chinese fonts are embedded in the file, so no extra fonts are needed.

Is the Chinese text included? Yes. The edition includes the silk text in Chinese with its English translation, Manuscripts A and B side by side, the Wang Bi text for comparison, and Yaomiao’s commentary in classical Chinese with an English translation.

Can I print it? Yes, for your own use. Please do not share or resell the file.

Questions or errata? Write to the author at sukebeta@outlook.com.