The start
A mandarin of king Woe
- According to ancient stories the old master was a counselor of king Wu. He lived in the state of Chu in southern China, in the present province Hunan. This means that he must have been a very important mandarin at the Chinese court. His name was probably Li Erh or Lao Tan.
The verses
The verses are based on the "Feng" texts. The corrections according the Mawangtui texts are based on the translation of Robert G. Henricks. The Mawangtui texts seems to be the oldest versions from aproximatly 200 BC. My Dutch translation is derived from the English rendering.
Qualities
Number two
At the border
Commanding officer Hsin Hsi
At the end of his life he travels to the west border of China and he wants to leave the country. At a station near the border at Hank pass, an old commanding officer, Yin Xi, asks the wizard, which used the back of an water buffalo as transport, to write down his thoughts. That becomes the Tao Te Ching or the book of 'The Road of Virtue'. In 81 verses the Master explains his wisdom.
