道”是中国形而上学与中国文化中的基本概念之一，是中国人生命、思维、信仰及行为方式的基础。在英语文献中，“道”的译法多种多样，比较常见的如“way”,“hodos”、“method”、“noumenon ”、“ truth”、“ principle”、“nature”、“law”，甚至是“God”。虽然如此，这些翻译依然无法涵盖“道”的所有含义。因此，我们不仅要从比较的视域来审视“道”与不同英译的区别，而且要关注其在中国古典文献中的起源与演变，尤其是在儒道两家语境中所具有的复杂性，比较的视域能够帮助我们厘清“道”在使用中所形成的一些悖论，也有助于考察“道”与“Way”之间的异同，而后者正是古希伯来-希腊文本与语境中的一个重要概念。

Dao is one of the fundamental concepts in (hinese metaphysics and culture, underlying the Chinese way of living, thinking, believing and behaving. It has been translated in English writings variously as the way, hodos, method, noumenon , truth, principle, nature, law or even God. However, none of these terms would be able to cover all meanings of this Chinese concept. Hence it is necessary for us to look at it from a comparative perspective, with a particular attention paid to the origin and evolution of Dao throughout classical Chinese texts and to the complexity embedded in Daoist and Confucian interpretations and applications. This perspective enables us to clarify some of the paradoxes the using of this Chinese concept has caused, and to examine its commonalities with and differences from one of the most important concepts as used in Greco-Hebrew texts and contexts, namely the Way or ways.