Nanhua jing vs Tao te Ching: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Chinese Philosophy, Religion, Philosophy, Fiction
Nanhua jing
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Revered for millennia in the Chinese spiritual tradition, Chuang Tze stands alongside the Tao Te Ching as a founding classic of Taoism. The Inner Chapters are the only sustained section of this text widely believed to…
Tao te Ching
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"Within ancient Chinese, a sole character possesses a broad, and sometimes contradictory, range of meanings. Moreover, the Tao Te Ching is rife with terms and expressions that have no exact counterpart in English. So…
Side by side
The verdict
- Tao te Ching is the quickest read — about 1 hours vs 5 for Nanhua jing.
Scores by source
| Nanhua jing | Tao te Ching | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 4.3 (187513) |
| Hardcover | — | 3.8 (7) |
Reception
| Nanhua jing | Tao te Ching | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | — | 187513 |
| Editions | 49 | 648 |
| Film adaptations | — | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 261154 |
| Reading it now | — | 39972 |
| Written reviews | — | 10158 |
| Wikipedia attention | — | 28380 |
| Pages | 304 | 84 |
Questions readers ask
Which is shorter to read: Nanhua jing or Tao te Ching?
Tao te Ching is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Tao te Ching (84 pages, ≈ 1 h 33 m); Nanhua jing (304 pages, ≈ 5 h 38 m).
Which is harder to read: Nanhua jing or Tao te Ching?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Nanhua jing: Demanding; Tao te Ching: Demanding.