Written by a leading authority on Chinese philosophy, Decoding Dao uniquely focuses on the core texts in Daoist philosophy, providing readers with a user-friendly introduction that unravels the complexities of these seminal volumes.

• Offers a detailed introduction to the core texts in Daoist philosophy, the Dao De Jing and the Zhuangzi, two of the most widely read – and most challenging – texts in China’s long literary history
• Covers the three main ways the texts can be read: as religious, mystical, and philosophical works
• Explores their historical context, origins, authorship, and the reasons these seminal texts came into being, along with the key terms and approaches they take
• Examines the core philosophical arguments made in the texts, as well as the many ways in which they have been interpreted, both in China itself and in the West
• Provides readers with an unrivalled insight into the multifaceted philosophy of Daoism – and the principles underlying much of Chinese culture – informed by the very latest academic scholarship