The Tao Te Ching, along with the Zhuangzi, is a fundamental text for both philosophical and religious Taoism. It also strongly influenced other schools of Chinese philosophy and religion, including Legalism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, which was largely interpreted through the use of Taoist words and concepts when it was originally introduced to China. Many Chinese artists, including poets, painters, calligraphers, and gardeners, have used the Tao Te Ching as a source of inspiration. Its influence has spread widely outside East Asia and it is among the most translated works in world literature

道 tao/dao literally means "way", or one of its synonyms, but was extended to mean "the Way". (It is really pronounced 'Dao' in China, but I've kept with the western pronunciation as the Wade Giles pin yin is used in the copy I read from). This term, which was variously used by other Chinese philosophers, has special meaning within the context of Taoism, where it implies the essential, unnameable process of the universe.
德 tê means "virtue", "personal character", "inner strength" (virtuosity), or "integrity". The semantics of this Chinese word resemble English virtue, which developed from the Italian virtù, an archaic sense of "inner potency" or "divine power" (as in "healing virtue of a drug") to the modern meaning of "moral excellence" or "goodness". Compare the compound word 道德 (pinyin: dàodé; Wade–Giles: tao⁴-tê²), literally "ethics", "ethical principles", "morals" or "morality".
經 ching as it is used here means "canon", "great book", or "classic".

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0:00 Start
00:14 One
00:52 Two
01:47 Three
02:21 Four
02:49 Five
03:19 Six
03:37 Seven
04:01 Eight
04:40 Nine
05:07 Ten
05:59 Eleven
06:27 Twelve
06:54 Thirteen
07:42 Fourteen
08:39 Fifteen
09:37 Sixteen
10:38 Seventeen
11:05 Eighteen
11:31 Nineteen
12:12 Twenty
13:30 Twenty One
14:14 Twenty Two
15:07 Twenty Three
15:59 Twenty Four
16:38 Twenty Five
17:36 Twenty Six
18:10 Twenty Seven
19:05 Twenty Eight
20:03 Twenty Nine
20:47 Thirty
21:43 Thirty One
22:53 Thirty Two
23:35 Thirty Three
24:06 Thirty Four
24:46 Thirty Five
25:11 Thirty Six
25:43 Thirty Seven
26:14 Thirty Eight
27:37 Thirty Nine
28:56 Forty
29:12 Forty One
30:18 Forty Two
31:03 Forty Three
31:27 Forty Four
32:00 Forty Five
32:33 Forty Six
33:04 Forty Seven
33:29 Forty Eight
33:58 Forty Nine
34:37 Fifty
35:25 Fifty One
36:14 Fifty Two
37:01 Fifty Three
37:40 Fifty Four
38:36 Fifty Five
39:33 Fifty Six
40:10 Fifty Seven
41:04 Fifty Eight
41:48 Fifty Nine
42:31 Sixty
43:01 Sixty One
43:52 Sixty Two
44:38 Sixty Three
45:31 Sixty Four
46:52 Sixty Five
47:31 Sixty Six
48:11 Sixty Seven
49:11 Sixty Eight
49:38 Sixty Nine
50:22 Seventy
50:55 Seventy One
51:16 Seventy Two
51:45 Seventy Three
52:30 Seventy Four
53:04 Seventy Five

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