Tao Te Ching: Read in English and Chinese
Install the appRead the Tao Te Ching, the classic and scripture of Daoism traditionally ascribed to Laozi, in all 81 chapters. Read James Legge's English translation of 1891 and the Chinese of Wang Bi's text, switch between them at any chapter, and bookmark a passage or write your own notes. Every text shows its translator, licence and source.
Privacy at a glance
All details- Offline: Fully
- Your data: On device
- Sync: You choose
- Processing: On device
- AI: None
- Camera & mic: None
- Ads & tracking: None
Tao Te Ching
Free · works offline · reminders on your phone
Why use Tao Te Ching
- Named editions
- Every chapter shows its translator, licence and source.
- Reads offline
- Keep a whole edition on your device.
- Your notes are yours
- Download or delete your bookmarks and notes at any time.
- 100% free
- Use it as often as you like. No sign-up and no watermark.
- Private by design
- Your place in the text isn't synced and stays on this device, except that opening an AI edition asks our API for that book and chapter by name. Bookmarks and notes stay on this device too unless you sign in and agree to sync them, and you can download or delete them at any time.
- Works on any device
- Runs in your browser on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iPhone, or install it on your phone to use it offline.
Who it's for
- Daily reading
- Pick up where you left off on this device, with an optional daily reminder in fixed words.
- Study
- Read Legge's English and the Chinese at the same chapter, and keep your own notes on any passage.
- Quiet moments
- The chapters are short: read one on a phone, with nothing else on the page.
How to use Tao Te Ching
- Open Tao Te Ching and pick a chapter from Contents.
- Read, and choose Legge or the Chinese at the top of the page.
- Tap a verse number to bookmark it or write a note.
- Keep a whole edition on your device from About to read without a connection.
Install it on your phone
iPhone and iPad (Safari)
- Tap Install the app, or open the app's page in Safari.
- Tap the Share button.
- Choose Add to Home Screen, then tap Add.
Android (Chrome)
- Tap Install the app, or open the app's page in Chrome.
- Tap Install when it asks, or open the ⋮ menu and choose Install app.
- Open it from your home screen.
Windows, Mac and Linux (Chrome or Edge)
- Tap Install the app.
- Click the install icon at the right of the address bar, then Install.
Installing is free, and the app opens like any other app on your phone.
Frequently asked questions
- Which texts are included?
- James Legge's English translation, published in 1891, and the Chinese of Wang Bi's text (226–249), the received text most editions start from, with his commentary left out. Both have the 81 chapters of the received division.
- Why James Legge's translation?
- It is complete, and it is old enough to be free to publish. Most modern translations are under copyright. Legge was a Scottish missionary and scholar: his English is of its time, and at times it gives his own reading, so the page says so. His numbered paragraphs are his, not the classic's.
- Is this the only Chinese text?
- No. The classic comes down in several versions, and older manuscripts differ more. This app shows one received text and names it. Legge's translation doesn't always agree with it word for word.
- Has the text been changed or written by AI?
- No. No word of the text is written or changed by AI. It comes from the files named under Sources, and the build checks every chapter and compares it with a second copy. Where a language has no published translation, the reader can offer a machine translation of the Chinese, always labelled as one and never as an edition. If you find an error, please tell us.
- Is there audio?
- Not yet. The one recording we could use isn't divided by chapter, so it can't follow the text.
- Does it work offline?
- Yes. Chapters you open stay on your device, and you can keep a whole edition, well under 100 KB, from About.
- Is what I read private?
- Your saved place stays on your device and isn't synced. If you open an AI edition, the app asks our API for that book and chapter by name, so that request does reach us. Bookmarks and notes sync only if you sign in and agree. This page and the chapter pages carry no ads, no analytics and no session recording.
- Is Tao Te Ching free?
- Yes. It's free to use, with no sign-up, and installing it on your phone is free too.
Contents
Daozang, the Daoist canon. The Tao Te Ching has 81 chapters. The Tao Te Ching, also called the Daodejing or the Laozi, stands in the Daozang as the Daode Zhenjing. The Daozang holds about 1,500 texts, and they aren't in this app.
Sources and licences
Tao Te Ching, James Legge's translation (Legge)
James Legge, 1891. Public domain.
Translated by James Legge (1815–1897) as The Tâo Teh King in The Sacred Books of China, The Texts of Taoism, part 1 (1891). Text from the Project Gutenberg transcription, eBook #216, with its header and licence left out. Project Gutenberg doesn't endorse this page.
Corrections
No corrections have been made to this text.
道德經, Wang Bi's text (王弼本)
Text of Wang Bi, Huating Zhang edition, 249. Public domain text; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0.
老子道德經注, 華亭張氏原本, transcribed by the contributors of Chinese Wikisource (revision 2354026 of 道德經 (王弼本)). Wang Bi's commentary and the wiki's notes are left out.
Corrections
No corrections have been made to this text.
The Tao Te Ching is a classic of Chinese thought and a scripture of Daoism. It is shown here as a text for reading: no one edition speaks for every Daoist school.
Where a language has no published translation, the reader's translation layer can offer one, always labelled as a machine translation and never listed as a published edition.
Chinese Wikisource contributors
James Legge was a Scottish missionary and scholar. His translation keeps the words and brackets of its time and at times his own reading, which Daoist teachers wouldn't always share. Its numbered paragraphs are his, not the classic's.
This is one received text of the classic, typed and punctuated by Wikisource volunteers, who mark the page as not fully proofread. Other editions differ in wording, Legge's translation among them, and the older manuscripts differ more. The numbers here are one to a chapter and don't match Legge's paragraphs.
This source's conditions:
- Credit Wikisource and its contributors and link to the page.
- Anything made from this transcription is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Shown for reading and study from the sources named here. EveryApp doesn't certify any text: for anything that matters, check a printed edition or ask a teacher of the tradition.