Lao-tzu's Taoteching

The "Tao Te Ching" (roughly "The Classic of the Way and Virtue") was written by a shadowy figure now known as Lao-tzu, "the Old Master." His writings outline a way of being in which the practitioner ceases to exert his or her will over the world, simply "going with the flow" of things as they naturally arise. Lao-tzu himself seems to have done quite a good job of this, effacing himself so thoroughly that we no longer know even his real name, but his text, in its quiet way, has endured for thousands of years. Red Pine has been a sensitive translator of a great many spiritual classics from the Chinese and Indian traditions, but with this "Tao" he outdoes himself. He created a new recension of the text based on recently-discovered scrolls, and his translation is founded on this work. Let us be clear: editing the text in this manner is a process in which all translators of ancient works must to some extent take part. The best textual critics look at the whole scope of the work, take in as many variations as possible, and then select the bit of text that seems most well-attested or most in line with the intent of the author. It does not mean the translator merely looks for variants that support his beliefs or agenda, although (lamentably) this sometimes happens. Thankfully, Red Pine does not do this. He has clearly engaged deeply with the text, and he makes his choices based on a reflective understanding of Lao-tzu's philosophy. After textual reconstruction, of course, comes the even more complex act of translating the text into another language. Many translators play free with the text to some degree; they insert ideas, explanations, and other tidbits they feel clarify or "communicate" the text. Red Pine has by necessity made some such choices at the stage of recension, but there such tinkering all but stops. His English version is spare--not elliptical, but neither embellished--and hews extremely close to his Chinese text. It can hardly be emphasized enough that Red Pine has brought the text into English about as directly as seems possible. If the translation alone were printed in a booklet and distributed, it would be a gift. But in this edition Red Pine has given us much more. The book itself is attractively designed: a pleasant size; text clear and readable. Each page includes Red Pine's Chinese text alongside the English translation, which is extremely useful if you happen to read Chinese and quite pretty even if you don't. Finally, each chapter is accompanied by extracts from several commentaries. The selection of writers covers numerous traditions and centuries of Chinese thought, and can help readers absorb a difficult verse, or perhaps find their own insights. There is also a comment from Red Pine, sometimes with a short thought on the chapter, or giving his rationale for choosing a particular textual variant. Each chapter is presented on facing pages, with commentary never running onto the next verso. This allows the commentaries to inform and stimulate without becoming exhausting or pedantic. The Tao Te Ching is like a mountain, and every translator like a guide. Red Pine is sure-footed; he points out the great features of the thing but never forces it on us. We are left to contemplate its grandeur and harrow its mysteries largely for ourselves. No doubt translations of the Tao will continue to be made, but after this book you may never need them. ~

Do yourself a favor and get this copy! Bill Porter/Red Pine are excellent resources for this type of poetry and the amount of cultural knowledge about the poet and the lines of poetry are astounding! The poems by themselves are great but having context about what they mean is even better! Bill Porter has been there and done that, having been at Hai Ming Temple near Taipei for two and a half years. Before that he took classes in Taoism, Chinese art and philosophy. His knowledge as a translator for these ancient texts, I just can't say enough!

The only language in which the Taoteching could have been written is Classical Chinese, a medium seemingly open enough to accomodate any translation without losing anything at all. But we should keep in mind, as the good book here says, ". . . the Tao in words is not the real Tao . . ." We could say that Classical Chinese could not really, in our day and age, be served up in literal translation, and we can be grateful to Red Pine, once again, that in this fabulous rendering, he does not begin with the words, but rather with the Tao. Paul Reps once told me that we humans "are on the outside looking in". Like the space between the kanji strokes, as with the Chinese, thus with the Tao, and even the Truth. (Chapter 11: "Thirty spokes converge on a hub, but it's the emptiness that makes a wheel work . . ." This translation does work. As in his other impressive translations (I especially love his moving early 1990's translation of Bodhidharma - recommended to all who wish to learn more of Ch'an or Zen) there breathes an immediacy which flows forth into the consciousness of our moment, resonant in these teachings. Relatively obscure in the West not half a century ago, they thus have been recognized for their pith, their eternal relevance, their vision. Each Chapter in this well-bound, well-designed volume is accompanied by a series of commentaries or alternative translations from various sages in the Taoist tradition, a process which itself, once again, reveals the Tao, ever changing, always unchanged. Chapter 19: "Get rid of wisdom and reason and people will live a hundred times better get rid of kindness and justice and people once more will love and obey get rid of cleverness and profit and thieves will cease to exist but these sayings are not enough hence let this be added wear the undyed and hold the uncarved reduce self-interest and limit desires get rid of learning and problems will vanish" I've been reading this book since the early 1960's in various English renditions - this one is far and away my current favorite - a real delight!

Clearly presented with interesting comments from interesting individuals! Highly recommended. Red Pine’s comparisons to other versions offers some additional insights.

The only splendid translation of the TaoTeChing that comes with selected commentaries from the ancient times. I'm a fan of Red Pine's translations. Anything he has translated is worth reading.

Excellent edition, for those commenting that the Chinese text does not align, it is not read left to right, the classical Chinese characters are read from the top to the bottom from right to left.

Fantastic, detailed commentary. Highly recommended for detailed study and explanation, and a scholarly approach. The variety of perspectives are incredibly illuminating and make this dense, important text much more accessible.

Red Pine's translation is one of the best versions of the Tao Te Ching Ive read. Not only it is Master fully translated, but the comentaries and notes are fantastic to help the understanding of the book. The author also offers an interesting point of view, comparing the Tao to the moon. If you're only going to read one translation of the book, go for this one.