What is notable about this translation is the range, in terms of both historical era and perspective, of sources that Porter has culled from China’s rich history. He cites both well-known and lesser known figures spanning 2500 years. He includes Daoist figures such as Wenzi 文子, author of the Daoist text of the same name, who was reputed to have been a disciple of Laozi himself; Zhang Daoling 張道陵 (34–157), who was known as "Patriarch of the Way of the Celestial Masters," that is, as the leader of the earliest known Daoist movement; Cheng Xuanying 成玄英 (Fl. 647–63), Daoist master of the seventh century; and Wang Bi 王弼 (226–49). In addition to these early Daoist commentators, Porter turns to later figures including Ming Taizu 明太祖, founder of the Ming Dynasty; Ma Xulun 馬敘倫 (1884–1970), a nineteenth-century minister of education; and Chu Chianzhi 朱謙之 (1899–1972), a twentieth-century classical scholar. His inclusion of non-Daoist figures such as Kumarajiva, Deqing 德清 (1546–1623), and Confucius not only encourages interesting comparative readings of the Daodejing, but also indicates the importance of this text to other Chinese traditions. [This snippet review refers to the Red Pine (Bill Porter) edition.]