Lao Tzu's Book on the Way of Life, called in Chinese "Dao-De-jing", ranks second in the world in the number of foreign translations after the Bible. The origin of this book and the identity of its author are shrouded in many legends, which the well-known translator Vladimir Malyavin tells in detail in his preface. The word “dao” itself means the path, and at the same time the path of creation, life and human perfection. And “de” is the inner fullness of life, invisible, but firmly connecting all life. The main secret of Lao Tzu seems paradoxical: in order to become yourself, you need to eliminate your private self; in order to have power, you need not want it, and so on. d. And the secret of reading Lao Tzu is to comprehend the inner depth of meaning that wisdom inspires, revealing in each judgment a different and opposite meaning. Reading The Book of the Way of Life will be fruitless if it does not reveal the uselessness of abstract ideas, does not lead to a revolution in the very way of perceiving the world.