ABSTRACT

Attempting to examine the Tao Te Ching as narrative may be like roller-skating on clouds. The surface may be puffy and white, flat and slate colored, or boiling with thunderheads. The crucial variable, however, is its underlying structure, and to be successful, one must take-for-granted that it will hold long enough to get across. Above all, one should never look down or back. On the other hand, roller skating on clouds may be completely impossible and not to be attempted at all, but where’s the fun or challenge in that?