Product Description

A handy new edition of Lao Tsu's classic work of philosophy brings this popular translation to a whole new audience of students and general readers by making it available in a lower-priced, text-only format.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46308 in Books
• Published on: 1989-08-28
• Released on: 1989-08-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 107 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780679724346
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Language Notes
Text: English, Chinese (translation)

From the Inside Flap
Available for the first time in a handy, easy-to-use size, here is the most accessible and authoritative modern English translation of the ancient Chinese classic. This new Vintage edition includes an introduction and notes by the well-known writer and scholar of philosophy and comparative religion, Jacob Needleman.

Customer Reviews

clean tao
This is the translation of The Tao that woke me up, made sense to me in a way no other translation had. It doesn't have the "wrought" feeling that most poetic translations have. I didn't feel the translator behind the words, and I could picture The Old Guy, sitting on his hill, writing this down.

Moreover, the introduction by Needleman, missing in the 25-year edition , is stunning, particularly in his explanation of "virtue" as a verb, an act rather than an ideal. I'd trade the photos, however beautiful, for this introduction.

Beautiful translation
I have always found the Tao Te Ching to be a very clear guide for life. I own a few different translations and this is the one that I always come back to. It is translated with a poetic style that highlights the simplicity of the way. Because you can plumb this work to any depth of understanding you want, anything more than the minimal bacground would be arbitrary.

Also, I am probably alone here, but I recommend the book without the pictures, which I think artificially establish a mood that may not be appropriate for the chapter you're working through.

I would also emphasize that this translation is not for scholars. It does not contain a great deal of commentary or references to the myriad ways a given word or phrase could be translated.

Simple is best.
Of the many translations of the Tao Te Ching I've read, this is the one I consider to be the finest. It's not scholarly (for that Ellen M. Chen's version is worth looking at), it's not artificially modern (as are the versions by Ursula Le Guin or Stephen Mitchell), it's just a simple clean presentation of the text with a short, but useful, introduction and end notes to flesh out each verse. The introduction and end notes have a decidedly Judeo-Christian slant, which might turn off some readers who want their Tao Te Ching with a purely Eastern flavour, but the translation itself is clear and apparently faithful to the original text.

The book also includes a very handy bibliography that describes the strengths of other available versions.

The other version that I'd strongly recommend is Witter Bynner's "The Way of Life According To Lao Tzu," which is more of an interpretation rather than a straight translation.