> it's hard to translate it into Chinese.

It's a text about non-duality, among other things. Like the Heart Sutra, or the Diamond Sutra, or 101 Zen Stories, it's not supposed to make sense in an ordinary way. A successful translation is, like the original, intended to catalyze a shift in awareness.

EDIT: For those with a nerdy or scholarly bent, I suggest Red Pine's translation[0], which includes translation of historically relevant commentaries.

[0] https://www.amazon.com/Lao-tzus-Taoteching-Lao-Tzu/dp/155659...

It's great that you've found something you like, but if you are interested in staying close to the text, a translation by a person that deeply understands Classical Chinese literature and philosophy is worth a read.

Please try Red Pine- https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556592906

To see the difference, let's compare her translation of 4 and 9 (Here, we have Stephen Mitchell and Red Pine's translations) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38058843#38095107

4: Sourceless

  The way is empty,   used, but not used up.   Deep, yes! ancestral   to the ten thousand things.    Blunting edge,   loosing bond,   dimming light,   the way is the dust of the way.    Quiet   yes, and likely to endure.   Whose child? Born   before the gods. 

9: Being Quiet

  Brim-fill the bowl,   it'll spill over.   Keep sharpening the blade,   you'll soon blunt it.    Nobody can protect   a house full of gold and jade.    Wealth, status, pride   are their own ruin.   To do good, work well, and lie low   is the way of the blessing.  

For 4, some of the concepts don't even appear in the original (quiet?)

For 9, it feels like there's a lot of overstepping and blank-filling.

Red Pine's translation, with translated historical commentaries, is the best I know in English.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556592906

I've read the original in Classical Chinese, as well as many translations, over many years, and for me, his translation is the best and most grounded in the work itself. He is an American that has spent substantial time in Chinese monasteries, and has won prizes for his translations generally.

Of course the linked version by Feng and English is a classic, and if you like it or can take some value from it, by all means enjoy it. I'd suggest skipping Stephen Mitchell or work from others that don't actually understand Chinese, as it's more likely new-age feel-good, and not the work itself.

For those interested in Taoism, I'd also advise reading Zhuangzi (the best version in English I know is the comic book drawn by Tsai Chih-chung, translated by Bryan Bruya, "Zhuangzi Speaks: The Way of Nature" https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691008825/

For every person that likes Dao De Jing/Laozi, I'd recommend reading Heraclitus. For every person that likes reading Zhuangzi, I'd recommend reading Diogenes... and vice versa. I am not a student of Western classics so I don't know the best translation, but Guy Davenport's "Herakleitos and Diogenes", https://www.amazon.com/dp/0912516364 , was good for me, and includes both.

Red Pine's translation (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556592906/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_R0...) isn't great— he's a bit too into "the mystic Orient!" sort of thing— but one major plus is that it includes English translations of later Chinese commentators on the text, which is very important.

As for the best translation, the Penguin edition translated by D. C. Lau might be it.

If you're really interested in it, I would recommend getting both of these – the synthesis helps.