HBS rating: Must read

Who should read?

·         Tao, Eastern Culture or philosophy lovers

·         Those looking for answers

·         Those looking for questions

·         Those who like poetry

·         Those not afraid of questioning what they already know

One man’s brave attempt at explaining life from a-z.  Better then Soduko, this book will get you thinking.  It took this ancient genius three months to write, but will probably take us a lifetime to understand.. 

 Figure this out.  The one piece of Chinese literature that has sold the most copies in the world, and yet, doesn’t have a translatable title.  It’s not called Tao Te Ching for nothing, as these three words can be translated in a variety of ways, all of which make good, or no good at all, sense.   No translator would risk getting the wrong combo on this ancient masterpiece. 

And the options are..”The way of the flow of energy” or “The revelation of the force of Tao” or “The way of the law in the revealed” or “The cure of the flow and the way”. . Whichever way, it’s a work of art.  A masterpiece, unless..

You end up reading the wrong translation.  It’s a bit of a hit and miss as the way the book is translated can turn the reading experience from a head scratching “I don’t get it” experience, to a joyful and enjoyable event you will repeat many times.  My personal copy is beautifully translated to Hebrew.  I believe the translator really got the spirit of Lau Tzu which…

May or may not have lived, unclear, but has left behind a pillar of world knowledge.. The Tao.  So here’s some background. 

Rewind to ancient China.  Some 2500 years ago the Chou dynasty was in control.  This dynasty has managed to rule the country for some 1000 years without the use of excessive force.  The secret was in a simple and ingenious feudal system.  Each plot of land wad divided into nine plots.  The outer eight plots where given to eight families.  The center plot belonged to the emperor.  The eight families could live off their plots, as long as the central plot (worked by the eight families) produced as much rice as the eight plots.  All was well and prosperous, until technology moved on and a new medium was introduced to the arena: iron. 

Using iron better framing equipment was  made.  More crops could be grown.  Suddenly people had more money and a new class of merchants was created.  This new class grew rich fast, politics joined in soon after, and the combination led to many small private armies being created.

The new armies, powered by iron weapons and chariots constantly challenged the emperor, and eventually forced him to retreat and set up a new capital.  He has survived, but lost control over his empire.

Seven new states were formed by the new rising powers, and all got busy fighting one another.  The Chou emperor  knew he had to come up with something other than military power to regain his control.  Following his ancestors, he turned to his advisors and a plan was set.  How about a new religion of some sort that will unite the new states and the Chou (shrinking) empire, positioning the Chou’s spot on in the center of control?

The emperor had three options to choose from: Confucius,  offering a well thought out judicial and ethical system; a host of angry generals looking to fight the new nations, and Lau Tsu, than the head of the national archive who was a pretty sharp character – but no one could quite understand what he was talking about.

So according to Murphy’s law, when offered the right and wrong option, there will always be a person opting for the wrong option, the emperor managed to combine all of the wrong options.  He let Confucius establish his religion, provided the generals with funds for fighting and ignored Lau Tsu.  Soon after the empire collapsed and the Han dynasty was set up.

Lau Tsu, disappointed and old, mounted his favorite Ox and headed towards the mountains.  Realizing an important piece of knowledge may be lost, the emperor ordered all border posts identifying Lau to stop him on the spot and.. have him write down all he knows.

The slow moving Ox carrying one of the world’s most wonderful  pieces of knowledge eventually hit a guard and was stopped.  For three months Lau Tsu wrote what we now know as the “Tao Te Ching”.  In some miraculous way the book made it back to the emperor and was kept.

Did Lau Tsu ever exist? Did all of the above ever take place? Does it matter? We have his book.  Please forgive my poor translating skills and allow me to quote:

“if I had any sense

Just a little bit of sense

All my life

I would take the high road

It is big

Straight

Wide

And flat

The wise man fears by passes

But side roads

And twisty trails

Are for some reason favored by the masses

When the palace is fancy

But the people’s fields are dry

When the wealthy wear expensive clothes

And eat well

While the people are hungry

And leaving in between thorns

The rich should not be surprised

If there are thieves and bandits

This is also within the Tao

Excessive

Estates

Make you forget

The

Essential