Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu

A contemplative reader for the Tao Te Ching. Eighty-one chapters, carefully typeset, with audio narration for every passage. Read slowly. Listen deeply.

The Tao Te Ching is among the most translated texts in human history, and one of the most worth returning to. This app is a quiet place to read it.

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Eighty-one chapters. Every one of them free.

Built around the James Legge (1891) and Paul Carus (1913) translations — both in the public domain, carefully cleaned, and typeset for slow reading. No paywall on the text itself, ever.

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Audio narration

The first two chapters are free. A single one-time purchase unlocks audio narration for every chapter — yours forever, no subscriptions, no ads, no tracking. Use it on a walk, in the evening, or as a companion to the printed text.

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A practice, not just a library

• Long-press any passage to save a reflection — a short note attached to the line that moved you. • Bookmark any chapter to return to. • Everything you write lives on your device.

A daily-verse widget surfaces a chapter on your home screen, gently.

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What the app does not do

• No advertising. • No infinite scroll, no streaks, no nags. • No data shared with third parties beyond what's needed to verify your purchase and gauge basic feature usage. • No subscription. Buy once, own it.

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What the app does not do

• No advertising. What the app does not do

• No advertising. • No infinite scroll, no streaks, no nags. • No data shared with third parties beyond what's needed to verify your purchase and gauge basic feature usage. • No data shared with third parties beyond what's needed to verify your purchase and gauge basic feature usage. What the app does not do • No advertising. • No infinite scroll, no streaks, no nags. • No data shared with third parties beyond what's needed to verify your purchase and gauge basic feature usage. • No data shared with third parties beyond what's needed to verify your purchase and gauge basic feature usage. • No subscription. Buy once, own it.

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Translations

The bundled translations are public domain. We do not claim ownership of the text — only of the experience around it. More translations may follow.