Ming 名 in the Laozi Daodejing 老子道德經: Interpretations and Translations of the Opening Verse

This essay revisits one of the most celebrated verses on dao and ming in the opening chapter of the received Laozi Daodejing. I clarify two types of English interpretations which are applicable to the verse and demonstrate that they are equally sustainable. It follows that a commitment to either one of these interpretations may thereby spoil the meta-perspective effect that the verse skillfully creates.