Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Edition by Lao Tzu
|
List Price: Our Price: $8.31 You Save: $7.64 (48%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $6.06 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Edition
Book Review: An Unbelievable Translation of an Unbelievable Work
Summary: 5 Stars
What began as a recording of simple lessons to better live and understand life spawned a religious and philosophical movement that endured 2,000 years of war and strife in China, and continues to make its effect on the world today. The Tao Te Ching is the basis for the combination philosophy/religion known as Taoism, which has over 30 million followers worldwide.
Before I start my review on this particular translation, let me point out that regardless of religious background or belief, the Tao Te Ching is an excellent read for ANYONE. I myself am a Christian, yet the teachings of Lao Tze (or whatever other scholars contributed to the text) have enriched my life and given me added peace and comfort. Regardless if you're a follower of Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, or (obviously) Taoism, the Tao Te Ching is one of the most philosophically rich works in history. Keep an open mind and there is much the Tao Te Ching can teach you. There's a reason it's second only to the Bible in the number of times it's been translated into different languages.
Part of the difficulty of translating a Chinese text like the Tao Te Ching is that the Chinese language is so much different from other languages, particularly English. While English by comparison is very specific and literal, the characters of Chinese language are more open to definition, allowing the readers to make their own interpretations. Fittingly, the lessons of the Tao Te Ching are similar in nature: each person's view of it and what it means will be different. There is no right or wrong way to practice or integrate Taoism into life, which is part of the beauty of the philosophy.
That's why this translation of the Tao Te Ching offers a separate section with all the meanings of the Chinese characters. It works best if you choose the words you think are right, and then record them on a computer or a piece of paper. That way, you can create your own original translation, if you're willing to do the work. This is just one of the great things about Jonathan Star's edition of the Tao Te Ching.
Star also offers his own unique translation, for those not dedicated enough to use the separate section. The last decent translation of the TTC that I read was the Ganson translation I got off the Internet. Star's translation completely blows it out of the water. The words are perfect. They're not too simple, they're not too complicated. They're just...right. And that's a central principle about Taoism: not resorting to extremes and just getting things right.
There's also a separate section for notes on the different verses, and an entirely separate section just for verse one. If you're looking for the truly definitive Tao Te Ching translation, this is it!
Book Review: Truly wonderful way to explore the Tao Te Ching for yourself
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the core ideas in Taoism (especially if you read a lot of Chuang-Tzu) is that there are infinite perspectives on anything and everything, and no one is more absolute or "correct" than the others. I think it's safe to say that the Tao Te Ching itself is an excellent example of this principle - just look at how many translations have been done, in various styles, approaching various perspectives on life, society, money, etc. And while there are certainly translations that speak to me far better than others do, I'd have to say that they are not always completely satisfying.If you feel the same way, then Jonathan Star has come to your rescue with /Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Edition/. It starts out with an overview of Lao Tzu's work and the challenges that come with translating it. Then there is a rather good literary translation by the author, which sometimes takes a bit of artistic license - definitely not a bad thing. This is not the meat of the book, however. That part is the "definitive" translation itself - the literal translation. Every character of every chapter is provided, along with multiple possible meanings. Using this, you can compose your own interpretations of your favorite chapters, or the whole book if you wish.
The literal translation is extremely well done, and provided in a very accessible format that provides a lot of information in an easy to use manner. If I had to pick something to gripe about, it would be the fact that the literal translation uses Wade-Giles instead of Pinyin (this from a book with a 2001 copyright). I suppose this was to keep things consistent with the similarly old-style spellings "Tao", "Lao-Tzu", etc. This niggle is mitigated a bit by the concordance section of the book, which includes translations from Wade-Giles to Pinyin. Not very convenient, but then again you probably won't be reading the literal translation for its phonetic qualities anyway. Like I said, that's basically the only gripe I can come up with.
Other juicy bits in the book: a section devoted totally to the different interpretations of the first chapter over the years, a summary of the many meanings used for each character throughout the Tao Te Ching, and a nice commentary on chapter one courtesy of Jonathan Star.
If you want to explore the Tao Te Ching as it speaks to *you* then this is definitely a book you want in your collection. As good a job as Jane English, Le Guin, et al have done with their respective translations, nothing can compare to the one that comes from your own spirit and heart. Thus, this truly is the definitive Tao Te Ching. Highly, HIGHLY recommended.
Book Review: Good Translation
Summary: 5 Stars
I did a lot of research ahead of time. I'm not an expert on Taoism or this book, but I do have a background in studying ancient works. Translation is very important.
One of the big reasons I bought this is because as I was reading the verses, I kept having "aha" moments. For whatever reason, this translation feels really clear to me, without losing the tone of the original, which I understand is a bit cryptic in places. I feel he deals well with the paradoxes, contradictions, and riddles. In my opinion, it's bad to over-explain things in a translation, because the reader doesn't have to wrestle with the text. And it's in wrestling with a text like this that it's possible to gain understand beyond the words themselves.
I also love that he goes word-for-word in the back and gives multiple meanings for the words. I don't know much about ancient Chinese, but it's exciting to me that I can get a sense of the broader meanings and associations of these words. That to me is important to a faithful translation in any language, especially ones that are so far away from my native culture and language.
Book Review: Words Pointing to the Wordless
Summary: 5 Stars
While this book contains an excellent translation of Lao Tzu's teachings, a huge portion of it is also dedicated to showing precisely the methods of how it was translated. It gives a list of all the different possible words that could have been used as alternatives, for every single character and verse of the Tao Te Ching. If you don't agree with Jonathan's choice of English words, or if you think something is out of context, choose a different word from the list of options.
No wonder it's called "The Definitive Edition". Well, as far as an English translation goes, that is. Any translation is going to lose some of the original energy of the true teaching of the Enlightened Master. It's unavoidable. But then words of any language can't even come close to the experiential Truth of Reality that Lao Tzu tried to explain. The words are merely pointers the Wordless.
Book Review: Absolutely Beautiful!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a new student of the Tao Te Ching and know that this will be a life long study. I have begun to collect various translations to enhance my reading and selected this version for 2 reasons. One is that it was translated by Gia-Fu Feng and secondly because it had pictures. When it arrived I was stunned as it so far exceeded my expectations. The B & W photography of Jane English is indeed haunting & powerful on its own. Each shot is beautiful enough to want to display them - any of them or all of them. I Find reading the beautiful verse and then contemplating it while looking at the astounding pictures to be an amazing experience. I am grateful for this edition. I hope you consider adding it to your set.