The Best Books on Taoism
A reading list organised by what kind of reader you are. Taoism has produced a rich body of texts — primary sources, scholarly commentary, modern interpretations — and finding the right entry point matters.
Start Here — Accessible Introduction
365 Days of Tao
One page a day of Taoist wisdom. Spreads the Tao Te Ching across a full year with modern reflections — a realistic, gentle way to actually live with the ideas rather than just read about them.
Learn moreThe primary texts
Start here if you want to go directly to the source.
- Tao Te Ching
- Laozi, trans. D. C. Lau — Penguin Classics
- One of the most respected scholarly translations. Readable and accurate. A good first edition.
- Daodejing: A Philosophical Translation
- Laozi, trans. Roger T. Ames and David L. Hall — Ballantine Books
- A philosophically rigorous translation with substantial commentary. Better for readers who want to understand the Chinese conceptual context.
- The Daodejing of Laozi
- Laozi, trans. Philip J. Ivanhoe — Hackett Publishing
- Clean, precise, with helpful footnotes. Ivanhoe is one of the leading scholars in classical Chinese philosophy.
- The Complete Works of Zhuangzi
- Zhuangzi, trans. Burton Watson — Columbia University Press
- The standard complete translation. Watson captures Zhuangzi's playfulness and range better than most.
- Zhuangzi: Basic Writings
- Zhuangzi, trans. Burton Watson — Columbia University Press
- A shorter selection for readers who want the essential chapters without the full volume.
- The Book of Lieh-tzu
- Lieh-tzu, trans. A. C. Graham — Columbia University Press
- The third classical Taoist text, less well known than the other two. Philosophically rich and often overlooked.
Accessible introductions
For readers who want to understand Taoism before — or instead of — reading the primary texts.
- The Tao of Pooh
- Benjamin Hoff — Dutton Books
- Explains Taoism through Winnie the Pooh. Warm, funny, and genuinely useful. Has introduced millions of Western readers to the tradition. Written in 1982 and still in print.
- The Tao of Inner Peace
- Diane Dreher — HarperPerennial
- Applies Taoist principles to modern psychology. More structured than the Tao Te Ching itself — a good bridge between the ancient text and daily life.
Studies of Taoist philosophy
For readers who want scholarly depth.
- Taoism: The Enduring Tradition
- Russell Kirkland — Routledge
- A comprehensive overview of Taoism as a living tradition — historical, religious, and philosophical.
- Daoism and Chinese Culture
- Livia Kohn — Three Pines Press
- Excellent on the relationship between Taoist philosophy and Chinese culture more broadly.
- Taoism: Growth of a Religion
- Isabelle Robinet — Stanford University Press
- A scholarly history of how Taoism developed and diversified over two millennia.
- A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought
- Chad Hansen — Oxford University Press
- Philosophically demanding but rewarding. Hansen offers an original and controversial interpretation of Daoist and classical Chinese philosophy.
Modern books inspired by Taoism
Writers who absorbed the tradition and wrote something new from it.
- Tao: The Watercourse Way
- Alan Watts — Pantheon
- Watts's last completed work. A lucid, personal introduction to Taoism for Western readers — written with characteristic elegance.
- The Way of Chuang Tzu
- Thomas Merton — New Directions
- Merton — a Trappist monk — found Zhuangzi's sensibility deeply compatible with contemplative Christianity. His versions are interpretive rather than scholarly, but beautiful.
- China Root: Taoism, Ch'an, and Original Zen
- David Hinton — Shambhala
- Traces the thread from Taoism through Chan Buddhism to Zen. Essential reading if you want to understand how these traditions are related.
Chinese philosophy in context
For readers who want to understand where Taoism sits within the broader history of Chinese thought.
- Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy
- Philip J. Ivanhoe & Bryan W. Van Norden — Hackett Publishing
- A comprehensive anthology covering Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism, Legalism, and more. The standard undergraduate text.
- A Short History of Chinese Philosophy
- Feng Youlan — Free Press
- The most accessible history of Chinese philosophy available in English. Feng was one of China's leading 20th-century philosophers.
- The World of Thought in Ancient China
- Benjamin Schwartz — Harvard University Press
- Scholarly and thorough. Places the Taoist thinkers within the intellectual ferment of the Warring States period.