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Title: Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu, Stephen Addiss, Stanley Lombardo, Burton Watson ISBN: 0-87220-232-1 Publisher: Hackett Pub Co Pub. Date: October, 1993 Format: Paperback List Price(USD): $7.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.38 (8 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A good Tao -- for Now
Comment: I know two things: 1) There is no such thing as a perfect translation of the Tao Te Ching. The Chinese language is so completely different from English, that any translation of the Tao is going to be somewhat flawed, no matter how skillful the translator. 2) All serious spiritual seekers must read the Tao Te Ching. If possible, they should own at least three translations.
This translation is excellent and is a personal favorite of mine. I give it "five stars" for integrity. Addiss and Lombardo explain, in their four page Introduction, the philosophy of how they translated the text and why it might be different from previous English translations. Indeed, they begin the Introduction as follows "There are already more than one hundred translations of the Tao Te Ching into English. Why should this text be translated again?" Then they proceed with a very persuasive case for this translation. For example, they have tried to "recreate much of the terse diction and staccato rhythm of the ancient Chinese" while other translations tend to be verbose. Also, they have specifically avoided any use of the gender specific pronouns, "he" and "she." Thus rendering the text neither politically correct nor politically incorrect. More importantly, the Chinese language has no "he" or "she." Despite this fact, most, if not all, other translations use "he" and "she."
Beyond the translation itself, this book is beautifully designed, with extensive use of Chinese calligraphy, art, and characters. This almost gives the impression of having an original copy of the Tao Te Ching in your hand.
If you want to read the Tao Te Ching, this is a great version. Three other good translations include those by Victor Mair, D.C. Lau, and John C. H. Wu. Personally I do not like the popular version by Stephen Mitchell, or the Gia-fu Feng & Jane English translation. They try too hard to be modern -- but who can fault them for trying? Just don't take them as the last word. But I do like another, very quirky, modern English version by Witter Bynner, which is rendered as rhyming poetry. So there is a lot of Tao variety out there.
Personally, I will never be without this Addiss/Lombardo version, or Victor Mair, or John Wu. Between these three, I can usually get a good feel for the original.
Rating: 1
Summary: This isn't even close to being the best English translation
Comment: For readers who want an accurate yet readable sense of what the Chinese text actually means, and not a "version" that is modified, distorted, slanted, suburbanized, and massaged in subtle (and some not so subtle) ways for contemporary American readers, I suggest D.C. Lau's translation (available in Penguin paperback) or either translation by Robert Henricks (he has two that incorporate recently discovered ancient manuscripts).
I am a professor and scholar in the field of Chinese religions, and I have carefully read the Chinese text and compared it to available translations.
Don't be misled... and above all, beware of "translations" by people (such as Stephen Mitchell) who don't even read Chinese!!!
Rating: 5
Summary: better than all the purple and flowery nonsense out there
Comment: I am by no means a scholar of Chinese. Much as I'd like to, grasping the vagaries of classical Chinese characters is still beyond me. I'm just a philosophy student looking for understanding and inspiration.
However, bar none, this is the best translation of the Tao Te Ching I've ever read (I own 2 and have browsed 6 or 7 more.). It strikes the perfect balance between literalism and interpretation. Anyone who's looked at the original Chinese characters knows that it's tough to literally translate into English - many connectives we use to make things flow are just not present in the Chinese. Addiss and Lombardo don't overdo it, though, in making the verses comprehensible - they add only enough in the way of connectives to allow the verses to register in an English speaking mind.
If I were to recommend any edition of the Tao Te Ching to someone, this would be it. It is the best English approximation of the simplicity of the original epigrams and phrases. Where other translations can be bogged down with frilly adjectives and add-ons, this one strips itself down to the bare essentials - not only approaching the spareness of the original, but also the theme - 'ten thousand things' are 19,999 too many!
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Title: The Analects of Confucius by Arthur Waley ISBN: 0679722963 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 28 August, 1989 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Chuang Tzu by Burton Watson ISBN: 0231105959 Publisher: Columbia University Press Pub. Date: 15 April, 1996 List Price(USD): $19.50 |
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