Wong Yoo-Chong

Forthcoming from Routledge Press, 2026

The Laozi Reviews About the Author Online Publications Contact

The Laozi

It is time to dust off this long-forgotten ancient text to help us harmonize between Yīn and Yáng amid our present tumults. Twenty-five centuries ago, the Lǎozǐ, aka Dào–Dé Jing, counseled humanity to avoid calamity by not overstepping the bounds of the natural order. It also admonishes those in power to avoid getting drunk with their imperium, lest they plunge into a disastrous abyss of their own seductive and addictive dominion.

Each of its verses is unique with a wide variety of forms and sound structures, but they all suggest looking inward to modify our aggressive tendencies with more tenderness, compassion, humility, and receptivity. Such cultivation means mastering one’s impulses and staying within one’s psychic center of gravity. In contentment, there would be no need for fame, power, wealth, or any sort of dominion. The Lǎozǐ can serve as our guide to reverse the direction of the Sixth Extinction, if it is reversable, and reject despots who are accelerating our trajectory toward catastrophe.

This translation considers the Lǎozǐ in the context of other ancient Chinese classics and connects its philosophy with the Buddhist sutras. It also relates the Lǎozǐ to modern science, showing how its intuitive sagacity has some factual basis for its use as a survival guide for our time on Earth. It attempts to wake up those obsessed with appearance, opulence, and status. It looks into the Lǎozǐ’s poetics, finding that the music of the verses enlivens its call for us to adopt a cosmic point of view, instead of the narrow human perspective. But, most importantly, it might prompt the reader to take a moment to reflect on our place within Nature.

Reviews

“Every generation or so, the great classics of world literature are made new—new times bring new language, new readings, new needs. I cannot offer a scholar’s evaluation, only that of a layperson who has lived with this text as lantern for a lifetime, but I can say that for me, Wong Yoo-Chong has opened new slants of light to Laozi’s text, while honoring and disclosing the original with great faithfulness. I find the accompanying commentaries nothing less than thrilling—both Wong Yoo-Chong’s unfolded understandings, tuned to our current era, and the detailed descriptions of the formal and prosodic qualities of the Chinese verses. This translation—muscular, lyrical, informed by concern for the biosphere and all its beings—brings an original and meaningful contribution to the Dao De Jing’s English-speaking readers. Whether a person comes to it for the first time or with long familiarity of previous English-language versions, this volume opens new terrains of mind, heart, spirit, and contemplation.”

— Jane Hirshfield

“We badly need balance in this careening world, and there is some deep understanding in this text about where it might be found.”

— Bill McKibben, Schumann Distinguished Scholar, Middlebury College

“This new rendition of the Daodejing opens amazing dimensions of the ancient classic, exploring it to an entirely unprecedented depth. The work offers detailed linguistic analyses of words and phrases, supplements readings from classical commentaries, provides comparative perspectives from Buddhism, psychology, and science, and also contains complete transliterations in both modern Mandarin and reconstructed Old Chinese pronunciation. It pulls all of this together in a powerful and inspiring vista, presenting a truly impressive achievement.”

— Livia Kohn, Professor Emerita, Boston University; Executive Editor, Three Pines Press

“Wong Yoo-Chong’s annotated translation of the foundational text of Daoist thought achieves something as rare as it is necessary. With a light touch and a distinct voice, he has produced a work that respects the specificity of the Laozi, staying true to its poetic rhythms and its political aims. At the same time, it honors the intelligence of English-language readers who aspire to get past its deceptively simple surface to accede to what lies beneath. Loosely modeling the format of his annotations on that of classical Chinese commentary, Wong weaves together the distinct strands of the Laozi’s diction, musicality, and philosophy and reminds us of how the ancients can still speak to this modern world—if only, that is, they are given the chance.”

— Paula Varsano, Professor of Chinese Literature, University of California, Berkeley

“An inspiring and imaginative look at one of the world’s classics, this ancient book of wisdom has lessons for our imperiled planet today. … Add this great work to your must-read and -contemplate list.”

— David Barsamian, Director Alternative Radio

It was Wong Yoo-Chong’s extraordinary good fortune to have devoted the past quarter century studying the Lǎozǐ after a career in architecture. Immense suffering from biospheric collapse and rising tyranny have prompted him to reintroduce this ancient classic to a world that has turned its back to it since the zenith of colonial conquest. Most of all, he wishes to share the peace he experiences reading its pages with anyone who takes the time to find out what this ancient text says and how it may guide us through perilous times.

Born at the crescendo of the Chinese Civil War, Wong grew up at the edge of war during which millions perished. He also witnessed immense suffering of his compatriots along with the steady disintegration of the millennia-old rural culture and the destruction of ancient thought, artifacts and structures. His early years with his grandparents imbued him with their deeper, softer, and more rounded worldview. At the same time, he also benefitted from the Classical Chinese curriculum of his schooling.

Memorizing the “masters” prepared him to enroll in Dr. Donald Munro’s Chinese philosophy class during his architectural and urban planning training. Ever since, the Lǎozǐ’s philosophy has shaped his life, guiding his designs with the principle of natural flow and simplicity. By sending forth this translation and annotation into the world, it is Wong Yoo-Chong’s wish that it might bring some reawakening of our empathy and understanding of our place within nature and with each other, so you, dear reader, will find some contentment and peace in your heart.

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