Product Description

Deftly introduced and enriched by the remarkable ink paintings of Stephen Addiss, this new translation of Tao Te Ching captures the terse and enigmatic beauty of the ancient original while resisting the tendency toward interpretive paraphrase found in many other editions. Along with the translation of the complete work, Lombardo and Addiss provide the reader with a measure of interaction with the Chinese text found in no other edition, by furnishing one or more key lines from the original Chinese for each of the eighty-one sections, together with a transliteration of the Chinese characters. The appearance and sounds of the Chinese character displayed, enhance the reader's appreciation of how the Chinese text works and feels and the many different ways it can be translated into English.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3748 in Books
• Published on: 1993-11-01
• Original language: Mandarin Chinese
• Binding: Paperback
• 106 pages

About the Author
Stanley Lombardo is Professor of Classics, University of Kansas.

Customer Reviews

A simple & accurate translation stunningly presented.
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 that "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!

a real translation
Translators Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo have done their best not to reinterpret the Tao Te Ching, but to allow it to speak for itself. This wonderful English version preserves the epigrammatic terseness of the original. The layout and illustrations strike the same note as the text.

What can I say - this is the best way to approach this work, short of translating it yourself. Warmly recommended

Acute and Correct
Suitably sparse, elegant and mysterious. Leaves you free to embrace the uncanny poise and balance of our deepest nature. Where many translations seek to explain, they betray the spirit of the Chinese original, to speak with fewer words, to realise with fewer thoughts. Also they enable you try your hand at your own translaion of selected lines. This alone is worth the purchase. Through doing so you discover the amazing potency and fluency of the Chinese script. You can supply several different but subtely related translations of the same line which amply demonstrates how efficient and poetic it can be. In the same way synonyms elaborate and enhance a single thought, a single line can resonate and glow with related meaning.