Books like Do nothing and do everything by Qiguang Zhao

The Sayings of Lao Tzu is a classic Taoist text comprising 81 poems that articulate the philosophical and moral teachings of Daoism.

Ryan Holiday teaches how stillness—steady focus amid a chaotic world—can unlock self‑mastery, discipline, and insight, drawing lessons from historical thinkers and contemporary figures to combat modern stress.

Chinese painting might be called "philosophy in action," for it is one of the highest expressions of Chinese spirituality. Both a medium for contemplation leading to self-transcendence and a microcosm embodying universal principles and primal forces, it is a means for making manifest the Chinese worldview. At the heart of this worldview is the notion of emptiness, the dynamic principle of transformation. Only through emptiness can things attain their full measure and human beings approach the universe at the level of totality. Focusing on the principle of emptiness, Francois Cheng uses semiotic analysis and textual explication to reveal the key themes and structures of Chinese aesthetics in the practice of pictorial art. Among the many Chinese writers, poets, and artists whose writings are quoted, he gives special emphasis to a great Ch'ing dynasty theoretician and painter, Shih-t'ao. Twenty-seven reproductions of the words of Shih-t'ao and other masters illustrate the interpretive commentary.

On Doing Nothing invites readers to discover how deliberate idleness fuels creativity, drawing on voices of artists, writers, philosophers and eccentrics.

Nanhua Jing, a foundational Taoist text, presents Chuang Tzu’s Inner Chapters—philosophical parables, satire, and meditations on the Tao—translated into English by David Hinton with vivid prose.