Tao Te Ching (Hackett Classics) by Lao-Tzu (PDF)

Description

This translation captures the terse and enigmatic beauty of the ancient original and resists the tendency toward interpretive paraphrase found in many other editions. Along with the complete translation, Lombardo and Addiss provide one or more key lines from the original Chinese for each of the eighty-one sections, together with a transliteration of the Chinese characters and a glossary commenting on the pronunciation and meaning of each Chinese character displayed. This greatly enhances the reader’s appreciation of how the Chinese text works and feels and the different ways it can be translated into English.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I read this book because other reviewers touted it highly. I ordered a copy and it had a minor printing error in Chapter 76 but nothing so bad that I had to return it, so you may want to check your copy for printing errors.As for the translation itself it is very lucid. The translators use very few words so that the text reads much like the original Chinese which is almost like a telegram. I have read several versions of the TTC and most are creative interpretations of the words. This is a much more literal translation. There is no commentary in the book like Derek Lin’s TTC

⭐but it is very easy to understand most of the book at face value. However there are a few chapters that one has to have a gentle approach with. Chapter 71 especially, at first, seemed very cryptic. But with the help of the Chinese characters written on the side of the page I was able to find what it meant with the help of an online Chinese translator. Most of the book is very smooth and I tend to read the Tao Te Ching in a meditative sort of way. I don’t try to penetrate the text with my reason, rather, I read it very lightly so that when I face a new situation in my life the words pop up in my head and I can instantly relate to what Lao Tzu was saying.If you’re looking for a good translation without a lot of the interpretations of the translator pick up this volume. Prof. Watson’s introduction is also worth reading, though it was written 17 years ago so there is a lot more accurate understanding of ancient China now which might contradict some of his ideas. The calligraphy by Prof. Addiss was also appealing. I think the best parts of the book were the characters in Chinese for the more difficult or important lines in the text. They helped flesh out some of the more cryptic passages. Since I am not proficient in Chinese I relied on these snippets for extra understanding. The interpreters also used gender neutral language which helped make it a more universal text.I am a huge fan of Taoism and I think it’s important to read many of the translations of this book as well as the Chuang Tzu to get a feel for the ideas behind the Taoist worldview. Ultimately though these books should lead one away from reading and out into the world (the woods, the city or wherever) with a subtle understanding of how to approach life. Books can only do so much before one needs to learn about the Tao in action.I also recommend this version of the Chuang Tzu because it is the most recent, has a good introduction and is the full work which I have reviewed elsewhere:

⭐Happy Reading!!!

⭐This book is beautiful to hold and interact with. Addiss & Lombardo offer a seminal line from each verse in original Mandarin with a glossary of English translations so the reader can see how the process of translation works and find their own meaning.The down side: they honor the ancient wording to a sometimes-poetic, sometimes clunky degree. They do right in their own but this is more a book of beauty than function of understanding.

⭐I have long been on the search for an English Translation of the TAO that avoided commentary or co-mingling the words with modern thought from anywhere but most certainly modern Western Thought and I get sick when I read a Translation that has to stop in the middle of a chapter and draw paralels with the Bible! I can do that on my own! I wanted a translation as close as possible to the original Chinese in which Lao Tzo used when he first penned the Tao and at last – somebody delivered on what I’ve long been wanting! Thank you! The Tao needs to be the Tao – “We can neither add nor detract.” (A. Lincoln – “Gettysburg Address’).

⭐The very best translation I have seen of this work. Every language creates a structure within which its speakers think and communicate.Chinese is structured very differently from English or any Western European language. To date, all of the other translations I have seen of the Tao Te Ching are bloated with the translators’ attempts to expand on the sparseness of the text as it appears in Chinese characters.The interpretations thereby destroy the essence of the message as in the process of being delivered in English.On the first page of the body of the work, There are six characters, and they are transliterated.They are also translated verbatim, which reveals what was conveyed in the original.Then there is the filigree of interpretation.It’s a perfect way of presenting the work. First, what the original said, in its own depiction, and then in its own phrasing, and then what the translator wanted to contribute to the conversation. The translator made a great effort to separate his perceptions from the original, and present them all. You should have a different translation with you to compare.

⭐Jesus said, “Let your heart taste truth like your tongue tastes food.” I love that invitation to search for and digest truth outside of religion. If more conservative 7-day Christians would open their eyes and ears to other truths we’d all be better off for it. This book is an interesting look into the past culture and belief system that inspired a nation. The way called the way is often not the way, how true. When someone screams truth at you as the way, they are usually the fool in the room. Instead, calmness and quiet is the tradition of wisdom.

⭐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 9,999 too many!

⭐Waste of money. Not even translated right it’s literally the people who wrote the book wrong interpretation of the beautiful Tao Te Ching really disappointed. They made Tao Te Ching all about God which it’s really not. The person who wrote this was Christian trying to push his thoughts on others I’m disgusted.

⭐Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo have achieved here an excellent, readily assimilated translation of the Tao Te Ching into English, which is rewardingly enhanced by Burton Watson’s very helpful introduction, in which he clearly explains in succinct fashion all the salient points necessary for the best appreciation of the text. A helpful translators’ preface and pronunciation guide are also included along with a glossary of Chinese words appearing at the end of the work, in which the western style alphabetical spelling of a variety of Chinese picture writing characters is given. Attractive calligraphic illustrations are dispersed throughout the work.Not very much is known about Lao Tzu to whom authorship of the Tao Te Ching is attributed. Tradition has it that he was a contemporary of Confucius (551-479 BCE) and that the two of them met on at least one occasion, but we cannot be sure about this. Whereas Confucianism is very much a male orientated, good governance teaching from the top down aspect, Taoism confronts the vagaries of daily existence as experienced by every day folk. More is known about a later Tao teacher called Cuang Tzu whose teachings are found in The Book of Chuang Tzu, which is also available in English translations.Some may find it beneficial to read a page of this work on a daily basis, returning to the beginning after the final saying has been read. Among other helpful attributes of the work is its function as an antidote to the humbug encountered in daily life, especially that of both political and religious kinds. Those with experience of Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism cannot fail to notice how it has been beneficially influenced by Taoism. Indeed, there may well have been a mutual influence. At the beginning of the work we are told that ‘naming is the mother of ten thousand things.’ and that names can name no lasting things. In a way, this sets the stage for the difference between Taoist and Confucianist priorities: mother orientated for the one and father orientated for the other, except that Taoism isn’t really orientated at all. It’s simply knowing what it is to truly BE, which is, of course, unbeable.

⭐Having been brought up in a moderately Christian household and having attended schools where daily prayers and bible readings were the norm, I thought divine scriptures were the blue print of how to live ones life. How wrong I have been for such a long time.If we also followed the Tao Te Ching, I am fairly certain there would be no wars and we would all live in harmony with one another. Also it is older than the New Testament and simpler. I think its simplicity is part of its beauty and I sort of wish I had bought the paperback version instead of the kindle format because of the calligraphy and paintings.On a lunch break at work, I sat on a small stone bridge in the sunshine in the middle of a nature reserve listening to the peaceful flowing of water and reading the Tao Te Ching, if anyone could experience and feel what I felt, they would understand why this is such a beautiful book. As many others suggest, do not ponder, leave something off your shopping list and buy the book, it will change your perception and, I hope, enlighten you.

⭐One of those books you can’t just understand straight away. Some parts speak to me but I feel you are not suppose to understand it all. I think with new experiences in life more things will make sense

⭐Can be quite difficult to read but if you take your time you can read through it fairly quickly, not that you would want to though as it seems to be a book that will extract your own views, kind of like a piece of art where everyone who views it can see it at a different angle. I can imagine that you would extract different meanings from the text each time you read it so quite a valuable book in terms of longevity.

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