"In 1993, an astonishing discovery was made at a tomb in Guodian in Hubei province (east central China). Unearthed there, written on strips of bamboo that, miraculously, have survived intact since 300 B.C., was the "Guodian Laozi" - by far the earliest version of the Tao Te Ching ever found.".

"Robert Henricks now presents the first English translation of the "bamboo slip Laozi." Differing substantially from later versions of the text, the Guodian Laozi provides us with clues on how and when the text came into being. As Henricks's translation shows, many chapters are missing in this form of the text, and some chapters remain incomplete. All of this suggests that the Tao Te Ching was not yet "complete" when these slips were copied.".

"In his translation, Henricks focuses attention on lines in each of the chapters that vary from readings in other editions. In addition, he shows how the sequence of chapters in this form of the text is totally unrelated to the sequence readers commonly see in the "standard" form of the text (i.e., in other translations)."--BOOK JACKET.