4 ms·

I've said this here before, but Ursula Le Guin's rendition is one of the best

roylez 3y ago
I started by reading Michael LaFargue version, and it is pretty good delivering a basic understanding of the text. I can understand acient Chinese text pretty well, and the original, somehow still feels different from all these translations, but I guess this does not matter that much to a taoist.
- MrRolleyes 3y ago
  [dead]
throwaway626 3y ago
She had the humility to admit she knew little about ancient Chinese and the courage to go ahead and venture a translation anyway, striving to touch something deeper than language. Her success is extremely laudable for this reason.
- stillconfused 3y ago
  It's great that you've found something you like, but if you are interested in staying close to the text, a translation by a person that deeply understands Classical Chinese literature and philosophy is worth a read. Please try Red Pine- https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556592906 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556592906 To see the difference, let's compare her translation of 4 and 9 (Here, we have Stephen Mitchell and Red Pine's translations) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38058843#38095107 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38058843#38095107 4: Sourceless The way is empty, used, but not used up. Deep, yes! ancestral to the ten thousand things. Blunting edge, loosing bond, dimming light, the way is the dust of the way. Quiet yes, and likely to endure. Whose child? Born before the gods. 9: Being Quiet Brim-fill the bowl, it'll spill over. Keep sharpening the blade, you'll soon blunt it. Nobody can protect a house full of gold and jade. Wealth, status, pride are their own ruin. To do good, work well, and lie low is the way of the blessing. For 4, some of the concepts don't even appear in the original (quiet?) For 9, it feels like there's a lot of overstepping and blank-filling.
  - throwaway626 3y ago
    I don’t judge scholarly translations by their poetics, so perhaps you shouldn’t judge poetic interpretations by their scholarly merit. The world is big enough for both.
- Podgajski 3y ago
  She understood that translating. The Dao is not so much about knowing Chinese, but knowing the Dao. The most important part of translating the Dao De Ching is to be as close as possible to understanding Daoism as one can.

I started by reading Michael LaFargue version, and it is pretty good delivering a basic understanding of the text. I can understand acient Chinese text pretty well, and the original, somehow still feels different from all these translations, but I guess this does not matter that much to a taoist.

MrRolleyes 3y ago
[dead]

throwaway626 3y ago

She had the humility to admit she knew little about ancient Chinese and the courage to go ahead and venture a translation anyway, striving to touch something deeper than language. Her success is extremely laudable for this reason.

stillconfused 3y ago
It's great that you've found something you like, but if you are interested in staying close to the text, a translation by a person that deeply understands Classical Chinese literature and philosophy is worth a read. Please try Red Pine- https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556592906 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1556592906 To see the difference, let's compare her translation of 4 and 9 (Here, we have Stephen Mitchell and Red Pine's translations) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38058843#38095107 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38058843#38095107 4: Sourceless The way is empty, used, but not used up. Deep, yes! ancestral to the ten thousand things. Blunting edge, loosing bond, dimming light, the way is the dust of the way. Quiet yes, and likely to endure. Whose child? Born before the gods. 9: Being Quiet Brim-fill the bowl, it'll spill over. Keep sharpening the blade, you'll soon blunt it. Nobody can protect a house full of gold and jade. Wealth, status, pride are their own ruin. To do good, work well, and lie low is the way of the blessing. For 4, some of the concepts don't even appear in the original (quiet?) For 9, it feels like there's a lot of overstepping and blank-filling.
- throwaway626 3y ago
  I don’t judge scholarly translations by their poetics, so perhaps you shouldn’t judge poetic interpretations by their scholarly merit. The world is big enough for both.
Podgajski 3y ago
She understood that translating. The Dao is not so much about knowing Chinese, but knowing the Dao. The most important part of translating the Dao De Ching is to be as close as possible to understanding Daoism as one can.