《老子通释》是余秋雨先生阐释古代经典的里程碑新作，也是写给当代人的《道德经》入门读本。全书通述《道德经》八十一章的全部内容，通析每章每节的内在逻辑，通观两千多年之间的思维异同，通感原文和译文之间的文学韵味，通论历代研究者的共识和分歧，通考各种版本的阙误和修正。整体上以平易通达的散文写成，释译之间兼具严谨与诗意，足以让当代生命与千年文本互相滋润。
余秋雨先生近年来集中精力攻坚中国传统文化中最艰深的古代文本，如《道德经》《周易》，以及佛教经典《金刚经》《坛经》《心经》等，一方面进行学术层面的深入钻研，一方面致力于将古代元典以通俗易懂的方式呈现给当代读者，这让他的著述成为意义重大的文化基础工程。 老子通释(精)\tA General Commentary on Tao Te King
free read 老子通释(精)\tA General Commentary on Tao Te King
More readable than its forbiddingly nineteenth-century cover (and title) would suggest
It was interesting that the author was quite critical of materialism as applied to Laozi, e.g.: “[有些人觉得]《老子》的这种思想，是没落奴隶主阶级的意识的表现。[…] 我想，冯友兰写下这些文字，也许与某个阶段的社会气氛和学界风习有关。他，本来不该这样。”
The author was also not sycophantic toward the text, which was nice. E.g. 1: “我前面说过，老子在治理问题上 ‘无为’ 构想的简单化，原因之一是他实在太老，未曾见识从战国到秦汉的政治大实践。” E.g. 2: “我还想进一步论述，老子的这些思想即使不受误解，也存在着明显的局限。他的经历，是看了太多 ‘智’ 和 ‘学’ 上的伪作现象，因此做出了激烈的判断。” [This is in reference to Laozi chapter 65, in which he explains that the task of the ruler is to prevent the people from becoming intelligent, because that way lies trouble. This is the side of Laozi that is rarely covered in American self-help books...] 老子通释(精)\tA General Commentary on Tao Te King