Books

These texts have been translated hundreds of times over many centuries, by many authors, many of whom made editorial decisions to add, cutt, or change much of the text.  In addition to that, the Chinese language(s) itself has changed sustantially over the centuries and has always been difficult to translate precisely into other lanuages.  I use English, and not being a schalar, the books I use are chosen partly by convenience and serendipity.  People I trust have given me confidence that these translations are not far from the mark.  My search for interesting and high-quality translations and opinions on these works is never-ending, so recommendations and comments are welcome.

This edition of the DaoDeJing is from World Academic Classics, and I'm afraid that's all I know for sure, not even the publishing date.  The text has a great historical introduction to Laozi and every word is presented in Chinese and English.  The translation appears to be very high quality. 

It's an odd thing, Google is not much help in finding any information on "World Academic Classics", "Shanghai Epoch Education Publishing Research Center", or a "Shanghai Chinese Classics Publishing House" mentioned in the introduction.  Apparently this edition is based on a 1991 translation by the publishing house above and is described as a "current Harvard Square version".  I fail to find any dedicated websites, or anything more than a lonely amazon link that doesn't look legit or go anywhere.  

This edition of the Basic Writings of Han Feizi is from Columbia Publishing  in 2003 and translated by Burton Watson.  The Preface and Introduction are fantastic and makes this ancient philosopher and designer of systems of governments accessible.  The English translation appears to be excellent and very readable.