Tao Te Ching

Tao Te Ching
by Laozi, Trans. By James Legge

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Amazon.com
With this edition of the Tao Te Ching, an unlikely team of a Japanese art expert and a Greek translator pull off a uniquely powerful version of the text. If one thing marks the language of the original Tao Te Ching, it is linguistic spareness. Stephen Addiss and Stanley Lombardo are the first to succeed in duplicating the language in English, and although their search for just the right word occasionally goes far afield, they are mostly successful. The effect can be quite liberating as the full ambiguity of meaning comes through and you are afforded the freedom to interpret in a variety of ways. The translators also enhance the atmosphere of the book with Addiss's expressive calligraphy and the two lines in the original Chinese that are retained in each chapter. Addiss and Lombardo's rendering of the Tao Te Ching gets you right down into the primary source, and from there you're free to wander where you will.

Gary Snyder, University of California at Davis
This crystalline translation of the Tao Te Ching is accurate down to the nuance and as concisely poetic as the original. It preserves the quirks and flavors of the original text. The translators hearkened to the message of the book itself, and kept it clear and gently strong. Of the many translations I have read in English, this is unquestionably the best.

Language Notes
Text: English
Original Language: Chinese

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