What the heck is the Tao Te Ching anyway ?

 

A Google search will undoubtedly reveal something to this extent (cobbled together by Campbell):

The Tao Te Ching is an ancient (4th or 5th century BCE) text which translates very roughly as “the way of integrity”. It is the second most translated book in the world, after the Bible.  Authorship is usually attributed to Lao Tzu, though whether such a single person actually existed is uncertain.  In its 81 verses it delivers a treatise on how to live in the world with goodness and integrity.

 

Those are the bare facts and don’t really tell the whole story. Here is a much more beautiful characterization, by William Martin, and excerpted from the Foreword of the book:

It is a gentle book in an aggressive society. It is a quiet book in an age of noise. It is a peaceful book in the midst of hate and violence. It is a book of contentment in a world of discontent. It is about as counter-culture as a book can possibly be, yet it continues to be read in hundreds of translations around the world by millions of people who find wordless solace in its simple words. It is a short, enigmatic, and altogether lovely collection of ancient Chinese characters, presented in poetic form, that attempt the impossible—to present in words the Mystery of existence that forever eludes words and speech.

The Tao Te Ching, while rightfully revered throughout the millennia, has never suffered the fate of becoming a Holy Book. It makes no claim to special Divine inspiration, though it has brought inspiration to countless millions over the centuries. No one has ever fought a war in its name nor burned people at the stake for not accepting its literal meanings. It is fully human, and therein lies its power. . . .  Ordinary people simply read it in whatever translation speaks to them, muse upon the meaning of its messages, and gratefully let it be exactly what it is—a beautiful expression of wisdom and encouragement that arises from a clear understanding of “the Way the World Works.”

See more information on The Parallel Tao Te Ching: A Compliation of English