Tao Te Ching

Rating:
Summary: Best Translation of the Daode jing
Review: Addiss and Lombardo's translation is simply the best translation of the standard (Wang Bi edition) of the Daode jing. It's also one of the cheapest, and is beautifully illustrated. The translation is terse, crisp and rhythmic, like the original Classical Chinese. This doesn't make it easy for you to understand but instead you have to do the work to make sense out of it yourself. I use it in all my classes.

Rating:
Summary: This isn't even close to being the best English translation
Review: For readers who want an accurate yet readable sense of what the Chinese text actually means, and not a "version" that is modified, distorted, slanted, suburbanized, and massaged in subtle (and some not so subtle) ways for contemporary American readers, I suggest D.C. Lau's translation (available in Penguin paperback) or either translation by Robert Henricks (he has two that incorporate recently discovered ancient manuscripts).

I am a professor and scholar in the field of Chinese religions, and I have carefully read the Chinese text and compared it to available translations.

Don't be misled... and above all, beware of "translations" by people (such as Stephen Mitchell) who don't even read Chinese!!!

Rating:
Summary: better than all the purple and flowery nonsense out there
Review: 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 19,999 too many!

Rating:
Summary: A good Tao -- for Now
Review: I know two things: 1) There is no such thing as a perfect translation of the Tao Te Ching. The Chinese language is so completely different from English, that any translation of the Tao is going to be somewhat flawed, no matter how skillful the translator. 2) All serious spiritual seekers must read the Tao Te Ching. If possible, they should own at least three translations.

This translation is excellent and is a personal favorite of mine. I give it "five stars" for integrity. Addiss and Lombardo explain, in their four page Introduction, the philosophy of how they translated the text and why it might be different from previous English translations. Indeed, they begin the Introduction as follows "There are already more than one hundred translations of the Tao Te Ching into English. Why should this text be translated again?" Then they proceed with a very persuasive case for this translation. For example, they have tried to "recreate much of the terse diction and staccato rhythm of the ancient Chinese" while other translations tend to be verbose. Also, they have specifically avoided any use of the gender specific pronouns, "he" and "she." Thus rendering the text neither politically correct nor politically incorrect. More importantly, the Chinese language has no "he" or "she." Despite this fact, most, if not all, other translations use "he" and "she."

Beyond the translation itself, this book is beautifully designed, with extensive use of Chinese calligraphy, art, and characters. This almost gives the impression of having an original copy of the Tao Te Ching in your hand.

If you want to read the Tao Te Ching, this is a great version. Three other good translations include those by Victor Mair, D.C. Lau, and John C. H. Wu. Personally I do not like the popular version by Stephen Mitchell, or the Gia-fu Feng & Jane English translation. They try too hard to be modern -- but who can fault them for trying? Just don't take them as the last word. But I do like another, very quirky, modern English version by Witter Bynner, which is rendered as rhyming poetry. So there is a lot of Tao variety out there.

Personally, I will never be without this Addiss/Lombardo version, or Victor Mair, or John Wu. Between these three, I can usually get a good feel for the original.

Rating:
Summary: my #2 translation, which is high praise
Review: I never sit down to the Lao without at least two translations. One is always either this or else John C.H. Wu's- more likely the later, but still more likely, both together.

I've made a hobby almost of collecting translations, and this is one of the best.

I also can't refrain here from expressing my distaste for two of the most popular translations: Mitchell's and Feng's. They're bloody awful. Mitchell turns the Lao into a new age self help book. Avoid at all costs, tell your friends, don't let your sister be seen out with either.

There is no need to be a dirty hippy. There is no need to have a soft spot on the brain. Good luck.

Rating:
Summary: Makes a great second copy of the Tao Te Ching
Review: I wouldn't recommend this book as your first translation of the Tao Te Ching, hence the 4 stars, but I absolutely would recommend it as a second copy if you finish reading a translation and are craving more Tao, more depth.

The authors do an excellent job of describing their approach to this translation - a more literal and less interpretive approach than most. It allows someone familiar with the Tao Te Ching a more flexible look at what Lao Tzu had to say. A glossary includes the direct translation of several of the characters, and the authors have left in one line of the original Chinese characters in each section.

Because the translation is so literal, the intrinsic underlying points of the Tao Te Ching seem more obscured to me, rather than less, and if I did not already have some history with the Tao Te Ching, I would lose interest in this before I found my way through this book.

Rating:
Summary: A simple & accurate translation stunningly presented.
Review: One of the best translations on the market. An attempt has been made to preserve some of the crystalline terseness of the original which is beyond deep. Also one key line from each section is given in Chinese along with a glossary so that you can make your own translation. For example the third line from Section 29 they translate as "The world is a spiritual vessel", the Chinese being T'ien hsia shen ch'i. On using the glossary it becomes revealed that T'ien hsia means "under heaven" or "lower heaven" - much richer than "world". It would be possible to quibble with any translation, & ideally it would be best to study two or three different translations. However this one comes closest to the spirit of the original.
This book is remarkable & indispensible though for it's presentation & the stunning ink paintings/calligraphy which perfectly compliment the text. You'd be hard pressed to find a more beautiful book anywhere. Recommended!

Rating:
Summary: An excellent translation of this classic text
Review: Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo have gone to great lengths to bring this ancient text to modern eyes and ears. Each word has been carefully chosen and the translators have also provided a very helpful glossary at the end of the book to allow the reader even deeper insight into this text. The paintings by Stephen Addis add a visual component to the text as one experiences TAO through this simple, yet beautiful art. The work of the translator is never an easy task, especially when one is translating from ancient texts such as Greek or Mandarin to a language as ambiguous as English. Stanley Lombardo has accomplished this very difficult task in an insightful and heartfelt way. This is a moving translation of the Tao Te Ching and anyone who is interested in learning how this text is shaped and formed would greatly benefit from reading this translation.

Rating:
Summary: The flavor of ancient Tao
Review: The *Tao Te Ching*, the central Taoist scripture, is a terse text in the original ancient Mandarin, but its subtle implications and ambiguities lend it to verbose translations in English. This wonderful translation is faithful to the brevity and concision of the original. In each chapter, the translators have selected one crucial line to represent in the original Chinese characters down the side of the page. That in and of itself would be no more than quaint decoration for those of us who don't read classical Mandarin; however, they also transliterate that line and place it side by side with the English translation in the text. Furthermore, the end of the book contains a glossary of all these Chinese characters, showing the various meanings of each one. For example, at the beginning of chapter 15, we find: "The ancients who followed TAO:/ Dark, wondrous, profound, penetrating, / *Wei*, *miao*, *hsüan*, *t'ung*." Those four Chinese characters are drawn on the side of the page. Alternate meaning are given in the glossary: for example, *wei* can mean "small, obscure, subtle, dark". Rather than translate those four characters into a flowery sentence in an attempt to capture all the subtleties in English, these translators empower the reader to do that work. This book is a wonderful translation for anyone who wants to do the work of really understanding what this profound and insightful text has to say.