Ct: Lao Tse: Wisdom in a nutshell.

老子, whose name has been romanised in thousands of different ways (Lao Tzu, Lao Tse, Laotse,Lao Tze, Laotze), is credited as the author of the 道德經 / 道德经 , and therefore as the founder of Taoism. For those of you interested in his life, in this wikipedia link you will find a much disputed article about him.

Following is a fragment of the Tao Te Ching:

Clickfor the PINYIN alone

Translation into Engl

HOME

Accept and you become whole,
Bend and you straighten,
Empty and you fill,
Decay and you renew,
Want and you acquire,
Fulfill and you become confused.

The sage accepts the world
As the world accepts the Way;
He does not display himself, so is clearly seen,
Does not justify himself, so is recognized,
Does not boast, so is credited,
Does not pride himself, so endures,
Does not contend, so none contend against him.

The ancients said, "Accept and you become whole",
Once whole, the world is as your home.

Pinyin:

qū zé quán,
wǎng zé zhí,
wā zé yíng,
bì zé xīn,
shǎo zé dé,
duō zé huò。

shì yǐ
shèng rén bào yī
wéi tiān xià shì:
bú zì jiàn,
gù míng;
bú zì shì,
gù zhāng;
bú zì fá,
gù yǒu gōng;

bú zì jīn,
gù cháng;
fú wéi bù zhēng,
gù tiān xià mò néng
yǔ zhī zhēng。

gǔ zhī suǒ wèi
qǔ zé quán [zhě]。

qí xū yán zāi?!

chéng quán
ér guī zhī