Tao Te Ching

A New English Version

Kindle Edition, 144 pages

English language

Published Aug. 17, 2009 by Harper Perennial.

ISBN:
978-0-06-114266-6
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4 stars (2 reviews)

In eighty-one brief chapters, Lao-tzu's Tao Te Ching, or Book of the Way, provides advice that imparts balance and perspective, a serene and generous spirit, and teaches us how to work for the good with the effortless skill that comes from being in accord with the Tao—the basic principle of the universe.

Stephen Mitchell's bestselling version has been widely acclaimed as a gift to contemporary culture.

2 editions

Great book, below-average translation.

3 stars

Mitchell’s translation of the Tao Te Ching is by far the most approachable version I’ve read, but it comes at the cost of a highly, often deliberately Westernized text, far removed from the context of the original. Several chapters reference modern technology and science in lieu of Laozi’s metaphors, which are sometimes based on ancient Chinese ways of living - and sometimes this works, but sometimes it significantly weakens the text, as in chapter 49, where “horses hauling manure” is replaced with “factories making tractors and trucks” - which in my view is pointless and conflicts with the Daodejing’s naturalistic theme. Mitchell also “improvises” entirely new stanzas where he finds the source text to be unusually “narrow-minded”, which again makes the text more practical in some ways, but takes it further from anything that could reasonably be interpreted from the original Chinese.

(If you'd like a better translation of the …

Something I'll come back to more than once

4 stars

I enjoyed this the first time through and expect to read it again. I'm also going to look at a few books that discuss the Tao Te Ching, so I can get a better idea of what's really going on here.

Regarding this translation, it's clear and easy to understand, but Mitchell doesn't hesitate to mention tractors, trucks, and nuclear warheads in the text of the Tao Te Ching, which really threw me off. I understand the motivation behind updating the text to make it relatable to a modern audience, but I think he took a little too much artistic license.

Subjects

  • Oriental Philosophy
  • Religion
  • Religion - World Religions
  • Eastern
  • Inspirational & Religious
  • Taoism
  • Religion / Taoism
  • Eastern - General