In a landmark event for cross-cultural scholarship, Nankai University hosted the launch of the first published Latin transcription of Laozi's 'Tao Te Ching' on November 11, 2025. The work sheds new light on early efforts to bridge Eastern philosophy and Western theological thought.
Compiled by Misha Tadd of Nankai's Global Laozegetics Research Center and classicist Zhang Xiaoyuan, the transcription revives an 18th-century Jesuit manuscript that had remained unpublished for three centuries. The Figurists, a group of Jesuit missionaries, originally created the translation to demonstrate parallels between Chinese philosophy and Christian theology.
'This discovery fundamentally changes our understanding of early East-West intellectual exchange,' Tadd noted during yesterday's event. Over 200 scholars from 30 countries attended the launch, with many praising the text's potential to reshape Laozi studies.
The 'Tao Te Ching,' written around 400 BCE, continues to influence global philosophy in 2025, with its teachings on harmony and governance finding renewed relevance in contemporary discussions about artificial intelligence ethics and ecological sustainability.
