A central concept in taoist thought is that of te, or virtue. The title can mean the book of the way and its virtue. Ive been searching for years for a good translation of the tao te ching. Now if youre talking about more modern texts like mahayana sutras, that might be a little easier. Thus, the tao te ching can be translated as the classic of the ways. Ninety percent of the time, authoritative translations like those recommended here convey the spirit, if not the letter of the literal original chinese. Regarding an afterlife, taoism teaches that there is no afterlife or the continued existence of a soul. English versions of tao te ching vary because the chinese language renders translation into english open to many different interpretations. Tao te ching, hindi, laozi collection opensource language hindi. What is the best edition of tao te ching by lao tzu. His background lets him convey eastern teachings to western readers in a way that is clear, simple and authentic. Although debated, the author is thought to be lao tsu of the sixth century b.
The text is divided into two halves, the tao section and the te section. Wikipedia article, commons category, quotes tao te ching, or laozi, is a chinese classic text. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. I worked from paul caruss literal version, which provides. Tao te ching of lao tzu is so profound its true essence is unable to be captured by any one translation alone.
While other editions consist primarily of commentary especially the traditional confucian interpretations this version includes only the main text, for which pinyin transcription, word for word. The tao teh king, or the tao and its characteristics by laozi. Tao te ching pronounced, more or less, dow deh jing can be translated as the book of the immanence of the way or the. The literal meaning of tao te ching is the book of the ways and its power or virtue. By the way, my friend emma clarke recorded a free spoken word version, which i encourage you to listen to. A printondemand copy of this sites word for word translation is available. The tenth translation used for my own researches is the tao te ching of lao tzu translated by james legge as one of a two volume set of the texts of taoism, published by dover publications. Would someone who is vary familiar with lao tzus philosophy please refer me to a translation of tao te ching that preserves the spirit and eternal messages of tao te ching. The texts true authorship and date of composition or compilation are still debated, although the oldest excavated. Heres three that, while not entirely satisfying by themselves, offer pretty good results together. Though virtue is the literal translation of te, the word is used in taoist literature to indicate power or strength as the latin root, virtus, indicates.
While translating the ddj, i discovered john emersons articles on the possibility. This link pdf goes to a modern version thats intensely casual and uses lots of slang. For other englishlanguage translations of this work. The tao te ching is a work of ancient chinese philosophy related to taoism, a system of morality and virtue. Tao te ching or the old philosophers canon of reason and virtue translated by d. Dec 27, 20 the tao te ching is a 2,400yearold reminder that today, as then, every one of us has a choice to practise selfawareness and exercise our own power in and over the world. Listen help info is the chinese name of a book by a man named laozi or lao tzu, which literally means old master. Interpreting the tao te ching institute of world culture iwc.
Section a a simple translation 1 introduction 1 a simple translation 7 footnotes 49 section b a matrix translation and chinese text 51. I decided to make a serious effort and looked at over a dozen translations recently. Built because my favorite tao te ching site disappeared. In this volume, joseph hsu offers his rendition of. Although written in eighteenninety, this translation withstands the test of time extremely well. According to tao te ching, tao is the way, in the sense lf the path that one travels. Manual of style, and the american psychological association apa. According to tradition, it was written around 6th century bc by the sage laozi, a recordkeeper at the zhou dynasty court, by whose name the text is known in china.
Wisdom for the ages in tao te ching henry alford recommends one of the least ooeywooey books about religion or philosophy hes ever read. Pdf the daodejing tao te ching is, with the bible, one of the most translated works of world literature, and the most often translated. Apr 07, 2010 even chinese people have a hard time reading the tao te ching. Two literal english translations, by bradford hatcher. What does tao te ching mean none of the three words in the title of the book by lao tzu is in english, so we will need to look at the original chinese characters to find out what it means. I disliked the tao te ching the first 3 or 4 times i tried to read it. Anyone may download this book as a free pdf file from the authors. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. Nov 03, 2008 wisdom for the ages in tao te ching henry alford recommends one of the least ooeywooey books about religion or philosophy hes ever read. Mair is a translator of chinese texts including lao tzus tao te ching. The texts true authorship and date of composition or compilation. Some are very literal and helpful in the understanding of the original chinese text, but. Problems of tao and tao te ching 1 by jan yunhua hamilton, canada from ancient times until very recently, laotzu as a man, tao te ching as a book, and tao as a philosophy were always problems to scholars. The tao teh king, or the tao and its characteristics by.
A very strong, literal, translation of the tao te ching. Tao te ching chapter 67 translation by stephen mitchell. I dug out all my old copies of the ttc and went shopping for more versions, some of which were even better than the ones id found the first time. I was asked by someone from my goodread networks for the best translation of tao te ching book he could buy. Known versions and commentaries date back two millennia, including ancient bamboo, silk, and paper manuscripts discovered in the twentieth century. A very strong, literal, translation of the tao te ching sign in to follow this. The tao te ching is a short text of around 5,000 chinese characters in 81 brief chapters or sections. Every version i come across always messes something up. Ching has been translated more frequently than any other book except the bible. Mair is professor of chinese language and literature at the university of pennsylvania, where he has been. The daodejing tao te ching is, with the bible, one of the most translated works of world literature, and the most often translated chinese book. In order to get the most from the book, the best compromise is to read more than one translations if you are not prepared to learn the archaic chinese.
The complete tao te ching translated by giafu feng feng jiafu, 19191985 and jane english 1942 vintage books, 1989. The tipitaka isnt worded as densely as the tao te ching. Stratification in relation to free and literal translation. In order to get the most from the book, the best compromise is to read more than one translations if you are not prepared to learn the. You can buy the word for word with commentary or the word for word translation only from, or click word for word for more information about this book. I dont like the translations ive read that try to modernize the text, and relate it back to modern life such as ron hogan, stephen mitchell, etc. He was born in taiwan and grew up with native fluency in both mandarin and english.
Laozi was a sage a wise man and he was a recordkeeper. The tao te ching is basically everybodys handy guide to taoism. Tao te ching, the world is a sacred vessel, more easily harmed than improved or controlled. Image credits slide 12 unknown slide 15 daoist immortal with crane. People believe the book was written around 600 bc it is an important text to chinese culture. But to those who have looked inside themselves, this nonsense makes perfect sense. Its very frustrating, and this book has been kind of helpful.
Tao te chingthe tao te ching also daodejing, tao te king is a chinese text. A literal translation with an introduction, notes, and commentary english and chinese edition chichung huang, laozi on. Different translations of the tao te ching may appear as completely. Tao te ching chapter one tao the way that can be spoken of is not the constant tao the name that can be named is not a constant name. Thus, the constant void enables one to observe the true essence.
Tao te ching simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. A translation of the tao te ching with an introduction and commentaries. These eightyone short chapters cover the ways of the way and lay out all the main ideas of one of the worlds most oldschool philosophies. Problems of tao and tao te ching a handful of leaves. This word appears in the title of the famous work by the legendary sage, lao tzu, the tao te ching the power of the way. Derek lin is an awardwinning, bestselling author in the tao genre. Credits english translation of holy tao te ching by j. A good translation for the tao te ching sebastian marshall. Tao te ching a new freely downloadable translation.
Mair is professor of chinese language and literature at the university of pennsylvania, where he has been teaching since 1979. Brian browne walkers translation comes close to the modern oral quality i was striving for, though his voice is still. Now that we have come to the seventies of the twentieth. The tao te ching is a 2,400yearold reminder that today, as then, every one of us has a choice to practise selfawareness and exercise our own power in and over the world.
A very strong, literal, translation of the tao te ching theme. You can only compare five translations at the moment. This article attempts to analyze the performance of these two transla. The tao te ching has a long and complex textual history. We are glad to make it a free download for everyone, thanks to special permission from the publisher of tao te ching. I looked around and realise the best version is a free pdf i found done by lok san ho in hong kong because it harnassed the fact that most hong kong chinese are brought up bilingual with english and classical chinese cantonese as our mother tongues.
The translation this translation aims to provide clear, contemporary english renderings of i ching yi jing in pinyin transcription. The texts authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. This is book consist of 81 verses of poem which are full of ancient wisdom. He is also the editor of the cambria sinophone world series and the coauthor of the true history of tea. None of the three words in the title of the book by lao tzu is in english, so we will need to look at the original chinese characters to find out what it means. Recommend best see description english translation of tao. I strongly advocate reading many versions, and if you really like what you read you should consider picking at the chinese of which there are several different. Tao te ching englist hindi translation by sage laozi. The above is the most accurate translation of the ancient classic available anywhere at any price. Pdf as a cultural dialogue, translation has two main ways. A translation of the tao te ching with an introduction and commentaries chungyuan chang.
Typical translations tend to interpret the chinese characters largely in their moral, or we might say, their human, element, but it is possible to approach the text in another way. I strongly advocate reading many versions, and if you really like what you read you should consider picking at the chinese of which there are several different original versions. English versions of tao te ching vary because the chinese language renders translation into english open to many different. Getting right with tao features the latest revisions to ron hogans original take on the 81 chapters of the tao te ching, with a new foreword and afterword. The tao te ching has been translated into english countless times, but we have yet to see one that brings out the cosmogony described above by h. Tao te ching, english by giafu feng and jane english. Lao tzu tao te ching word by word two literal english translations one simple, one complex, the chinese text and a pinyin transcription. Recommend best see description english translation of. Translations yes, there is a difference occasionally profound depending on the translator.