Dai Ling's calligraphy works are displayed in his house, March 30, 2018. [Photo/VCG]

"I turn to dictionaries of ancient Chinese to understand the hidden meanings of the texts, then translate them into idiomatic English," Dai said.

To avoid the influence of other authors, Dai did not read other translated versions of Tao Te Ching.

What drove him to come to China and learn Chinese culture? His answer goes back to his university days in the 1990s, when a history instructor gave him a copy of Tao Te Ching.