Heshang Gong - The Ho-Shang Kung Commentary on Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching (Revised Edition)

"Dan has really put a great tool into a lot of people's hands. Heshang Gong has been living in a cave as far as anyone interested in Laozi has been concerned. Now he's out. And the introduction as well as the textual aids for the non-Chinese reading reader at the back really make this a major contribution to the field, especially to those readers leery of the scholarly gauntlet."

- Red Pine (Bill Porter), translator of Lao-Tzu's Taoteching: with Selected Commentaries of the Past 2000 Years

Reid has translated the beguiling verse of this ancient text within the framework of the 2,000-year-old Ho-Shang Kung Commentary, an obscure but authentic commentary that clarifies many points which have baffled both Chinese scholars and Western translators.

Translating the original words of the Tao Teh Ching line by line, he follows each line with his translation of the matching commentary from Ho-Shang Kung ("The Riverside Sage"). This format provides the reader with new perspectives on this multi-faceted classic, with The Riverside Sage serving as the reader's knowing guide.

Like the great English translator Arthur Waley, Dan G. Reid taught himself how to read classical Chinese, so he brings his own viewpoint to his work, not the views of a particular "school of thought" in Sinology. Translating the Tao Teh Ching has long been regarded as the ultimate litmus test for a translator of Chinese. Reid has passed the test with flying colors."

- Daniel P. Reid (no relation), translator of My Journey in Mystic China (Chinese memoirs of the late writer & translator John Blofeld), author of The Tao of Health, Sex, & Longevity , and The Tao of Detox

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"Wonderful work and translation. I am growing spiritually from reading it!"

- Dr. Michael Saso, Professor Emeritus of Religion, University of Hawai'I, Ph.D Classical Chinese, Author of Teachings of Taoist Master Chuang

Ho-Shang Kung lived in todays Langya area of Shandong Province ( ). He was an accomplished Taoist alchemy practitioner and it is said that he became an immortal on Tiantai mountain nowadays Rhi-Zhao county, Shandong Province.

His commentary on the Tao Te Ching ( ) naturally carries a deep understanding of Taoist meditation, and differs greatly from that of other commentators who tried to explain the Tao Te Ching only philosophically. Written at a time when there were almost no related commentaries, it has long been the most popular. To translate it by following the exact meaning is not an easy task, but Dan G. Reid is well capable of such a task. By reading this commentary, readers can gain additional perspective and understanding of this ancient classic.

- Master Hu Xuezhi, author of Revealing the Tao Te Ching , and Discourse on Chuang Tzu . Master Hu teaches Taoist meditation and philosophy on Wudang Mountain

I found this book to be very helpful in bringing a deeper understanding of Lao Tzu's work and of how it has been understood in ancient times This volume provides a wonderful tool to delve into the text in a very deep way."

- Review by Solala Towler (author of Practicing the Tao Te Ching ) in The Empty Vessel: The journal of Taoist philosophy and practice, Winter 2017 issue

In my own use of the DDJ as a Daoist practice scripture it was very important to clearly see how this DDJ commentary is a guide for key Daoist concepts like emptiness, wuwei, stillness, speaking few words, yielding, the quiet dragon, and more.
As a Daoist priest and founder of a Daoist lineage, American Dragon Gate Lineage, I highly recommend this translation by Reid and have actually made it required study for my priests-in-training.

- Shifu Michael J. Rinaldini, Daoist Abbot and founder of the American Dragon Gate Lineage of Quanzhen Daoism. Author of A Daoist Practice Journal: Come Laugh With Me ; and A Daoist Practice Journal, Book 2: Circle Walking, Qigong & Daoist Cultivation

The Ho-Shang Kung

Commentary

on

Lao Tzus

Tao Te Ching

by Ho-Shang Kung, and Lao Tzu

Revised Edition

Translated by Dan G. Reid

Also available from Dan G. Reid:

The Thread of Dao:

Unraveling Early Daoist Oral Traditions in Guan Zis

Purifying the Heart-Mind (Bai Xin),

Art of the Heart-Mind (Xin Shu I & II),

and Internal Cultivation (Nei Ye)

Center Ring Publishing

Montreal, QC, Canada

www.facebook.com/HoShangKung

Copyright 2015 Dan G. Reid

All rights reserved.

Cover art: Inquiring of the Dao, by Dai Jin (1388-1462 CE). A depiction of the Yellow Emperor going out to meet the Daoist sage Guangchengzi in the Kongtong Mountains, the story of which appears in The Chuang Tzu, chapter 11.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

The Ho-Shang Kung Commentary on Lao Tzus Tao Te Ching, Revised Edition, translated by Dan G. Reid

Electronic Book

ISBN10: 0-9949781-3-8

ISBN13: 978-0-9949781-3-4

Thank you to the many teachers, scholars, priests, monks, and practitioners who have shared insights into Daoism and Classical Chinese in online forums. Your consideration for nameless strangers has led to the development of this book. Were it not for your thoughtful input, correspondence, and fellowship, I would not have had the knowledge or inspiration to put this translation out into the world.

Distant waves, each page

Riding winds of ancient words

Back to the ocean