| | |  | Mike Bonifer | Home » » Tao Te Ching, 25th-Anniversary Edition (English and Mandarin Chinese Edition) | | | | | | | Description: | | The most accessible and authoritative modern English translation of the ancient Chinese classic. Offers the essence of each word and makes Lao Tsu's teaching immediate and alive. | | | Features: | |
• ISBN13: 9780679776192
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Lao Tsu | | Paperback:
| 176 pages | | Publisher:
| Vintage | | Publication Date:
| March 04, 1997 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0679776192 | | Package Length:
| 10.8 inches | | Package Width:
| 8.5 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.5 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.3 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 82 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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 It's AlrightSep 23, 2009
I suppose if you can't get your hands on any other translations, this one will do. It's alright, in the sense that it does follow along with the original stories rather well.
The main problem, to me, is that different languages need to be represented differently. You can't take a Chinese book and translate it, expecting it to stay true to its beauty in English. I found this book to be a bit dry, and I lost interest in it rather easily.
If you're looking for a translation that doesn't strictly adhere to the Chinese version, but interprets it, flowing into a gorgeous English version, I suggest Tao Te Ching: An Illustrated Journey by Stephen Mitchell.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Interpretation of a Translation Ruins It!Sep 19, 2009
This book is slightly larger than a pocket book, and didn't need to be. This is a metaphor for the entire book, IMO.
First off, the translator seemed to feel that he needed to "interpret" the translation, and so weakened the text that it might as well have ended up being a novel. e.g. First line of the first chapter reads: "The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao." ... "TRODDEN"???? This is as bad (or worse) than John Wu's (versions) use of the word "ado". (Shambhala pocket classics edition) Four of Chapter 20's first five lines have been turned into a POEM(?!?). Chapter 81's first line reads: "Sincere words are not fine, fine words are not sincere." ... "FINE words"??? This is a horrible dilution of original meaning!
I'd slit my throat if I actually managed to read this entire "translation", and wadded through all of these constipated and arrogant interpretations. This Scot should have stuck to reading his bible!
It's very tempting to return this to Amazon, but at $2.99, it's hardly worth the trouble.
just my opinionAug 26, 2009
The translation of this book should be exactly that, trying to communicate the ideas of the Tao not couching the concepts in obscure flowery verbage that only someone who already understands the Tao Te Ching would grasp.
The reason I say this is because I've read other versions which made an attempt to help you understand this book instead of coming across as so esoteric that you don't get it and assume the author is really smart. The pictures are nice if that helps you attain a higher level of awareness and the new age drivel written by friends of the author make me want to tear my eyes out. I suggest The Complete Works of Lao Tzu by Hua Ching Ni
 19th century translation of Warring Kingdoms volumeAug 10, 2009
James Legge (1815-1897) is all you need to know about this translation. This thoroughly Victorian volume was one of 50 books in the Sacred Books of the East Series which Legge (and Max Mueller) translated into quaint missionary English. Legge's work lies entirely in the public domain, can also be found at Project Gutenberg, and in modern history is one of those antique but praiseworthy free texts that find themselves constantly dragooned into electronic book readers. There are several excellent modern translations of the Tao Te Ching, written by scholars for whom Classical Chinese is, as it were, an open book. Not recommended. Legge's missionary style is occasionally prudish or even deliberately obscurantist, although for the time and place it stands as a monumental beginning in Western sinology.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Profound work + loving translationJun 18, 2009
Even though they are often at opposite ends of the philosophical spectrum, the Analects of Confucius and the Daodejing are two works which I love reading and re-reading time and time again. They are both works with a level of profundity that reward the reader who savors them slowly, and revisits them from time to time, as one's reading will often reflect what the reader is experiencing at the time. That is what makes them great: they are powerfully profound, but also incredibly personal works as well which invite intimacy with the reader. The Daodejing in particular, with its wonderful dualistic harmony, beautiful imagery, and lovely concepts such as the quintessential paradox of wei wu wei (to act without acting--which is not the same as "not acting"!) is particularly divine.
I especially enjoy this particular translation, which is clearly put together with loving attention and attachment to the work. The calligraphy is beautiful (and for people who read Chinese characters it is nice to have the original text for comparison), the photographs are artistic, and the translation is superb. It is too bad that Mitchell's version appears to be the most popular, as I feel this translation is much superior. Often it is small word choices here or there, but Mitchell's version (it is not a translation per se, as he does not read Chinese) feels just a little bit off most of the time, at least compared to my understanding of this work through other translations and my readings on philosophical Daoism in general.
Of the translations I have encountered, this is by far my favorite. Add to that the wonderful calligraphy (sure to be enjoyable even to people who can't read it) and photos and this is a real winner. This is just my opinion, but if you're looking to read the Daodejing for the first time, this translation is a great place to start.
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