Customer Reviews

Lao Tzu : Tao Te Ching : A Book About the Way and the Power of the Way

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Like other reviewers, I have read some translations of the Tao Te
Ching (Daodejing) and looked at many others. Like Mrs. Le Guin points
out in her note at the end of the book, I also believe that the one by
Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English is the most satisfactory in a literary
sense. However, sometimes it lacks the simplicity and immediacy which
this rendition gives to Lao Tzu's "very easy to understand"
words. Also, Mrs. Le Guin stayed with me throughout the book, and what
she had to say amounted to a fantastic commentary to the wisdom of the
Tao. Take for example Chapter 11 in page 14. At the bottom is a note
that says: "One of the things I love about Lao Tzu is he is so
funny. He's explaining a profound and difficult truth here, ....[and]
goes about it with this deadpan simplicity, talking about pots."
This kind of comment conveys, in my opinion, exactly the essence of
Taoism as predicated by Lao Tzu. There's nothing complicated, nothing
intrincate about Taoist wisdom. And Mrs. LeGuin sticks to this
(taoist) simplicity throughout the book. Being a translator myself, I
dare say that some of Lao Tzu's translators became obsessed with
"extracting" deep meaning from the Tao Te Ching, trying to
retain the tone, now looking for complicated words to convey
"exact" meaning, now glossing over a passage, losing the
reader along the way. As Mrs. LeGuin points out in the introduction to
this book "Scholarly translations of the Tao Te Ching as a manual
for rulers use a vocabulary that emphasizes the uniqueness of the
Taoist "sage", his masculinity, his authority." The
result is dry, unsatisfactory, nihilistic, detached. This rendition
is, like Ursula Le Guin says of the original, "...the purest
water....the deepest spring". I daresay that if Lao Tzu could
read all the modern English versions of his work, he would enjoy
Ursula LeGuin's the most, laughing heartily at every page. There is no
way that someone who reads this version will not want to re-read it,
or fail to come out of the reading with a new perspective on life, one
that recognizes the simplicity, unity, and changeable nature of
everything. Thank you, Ursula Le Guin, for rendering Taoism for the
modern Western rader. This book is my bedside companion, I have given
it to everyone I love, and recommend it to anyone who has ever
wondered about Taoism, and to all other translators, not for its exact
use of English equivalents for Chinese words, but for the perfect way
in which the idea behind the words has been committed to
paper. "...I was lucky to discover [Lao Tzu] so young, so that I
could live with his book my whole life long" says Ursula LeGuin
in her introduction. I think I was very lucky to read her version,
which has helped me see the beauty, the magic, the simplicity, the
Tao.

There are many 'translations' of Lao Tsu's words. Which is the best? Perhaps it is not measured by the literal accuracy of the translation, or the poetic artestry of the word, but by it's ability to help the reader gain the perspective that Lao Tsu envisioned as the Tao. A translation that works for one, may not yield the same result for another.

Le Guin's rendition of Lao Tzu's 'Tao te Ching' was, for me, a good addition to my understanding. I have many copies. I almost always compare one with another when I sit down to think. Some 'translations' are better than others for different passages, or moods. With more than 15 years of experience in Asian cultures, primarily Japanese, and many years of contemplating Lao Tzu's writings, I recognize that some translations rely more heavily on a broader asian perspective than others. What seems natural or obvious to one steeped in asian culture may be contradictory or even 'silly' to a westerner This doesn't mean the message is wrong, but that the wording is not suited for that reader. One interpretation alone was insufficient to help me comprehend the simple nature of the Tao.

Once I began to see my world from within the understanding of the Tao, rather than see the Tao from the outside through others' words, I found a new enjoyment in seeing how others perceive the Tao. This is why I enjoyed Ursula K. Le Guin's approach immensely. Clearly, Ms. Le Guin feels the awe and wonder of the simple way, as I am beginning to enjoy it.

Hers is not as literal or as historically steeped as some, and not as contemporary as others (Stephen Mitchell). Not a hard-hitting philosophical analysis (Wing-Tsit Chan), nor an obscure or remote work [Asian feeling] (Gai-Fu Fen/Jane English). Her words invited me to enjoy the comprehension of the simplicity of it all.

Her approach was natural, simple, straightforward. In her fresh wording, I saw an elegence in the principles, a form of beauty. Her words reminded me of how I felt when I began to understand.

Thank you, Ms. Le Guin, for your contribution to my enjoyment of the Tao.

I have been a big fan of Ms. Le Guin's writing for many, many years now. I now understand some source of the depths of meaning I have always found in her science fiction (cf. "Left Hand of Darkness"). It speaks to me. So does this translation.

I have it on good authority that the translation is about as good as one can get, and still preserve the glimpses of the author's personality. My good friend from Beijing has the Tao in its original language: even he has difficulty with the ancient dialect at times. He is using this version, in English, to share with his teenage son, because it seems to preserve the sense of the text.

Ursula K. Le Guin did a remarkable job in bringing us her translation of this magnificent book that will lift your heart, bring more understanding to your mind, free your ego from its grip on your life, and bring your soul peace from the ancient and extraordinary verses in this book.

This is one book that would bring harmony to anyone, when taken into the depths of consciousness. It will show you the way of being. It will help you live with what IS, and that alone will help free you from pain.

Highly recommended for its profound truth, and the extraordinary difference this truth can make in your life. Deserves 10 Stars.

I've bought several versions of the Tao Te Ching over the years, my favorite being that by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English. Le Guin's "rendition" startled me with its everyday language and showed the Tao in a new light.

Translations of this work vary considerably, so I was particularly impressed with Le Guin's inclusion of material explaining what led her to this undertaking and why she cast Lao Tzu's ideas the way she did. This honesty and the bare, simple beauty of her language seem to me very much an expression of the Tao.

In a world where everything seems so strident and competetive, this simple account of what one person found in this very old and much-loved book is more valuable to me than shelves full of scholarly, definitive, acclaimed, or approved translations.

This book not only talks about the Tao, it exemplifies the Tao.

I've read a handful of Tao Te Ching translations and examined many more, but this one is by far my favorite. It's not because of its accuracy to the original text. Le Guin says up front that that wasn't her intention. Still, I find it a more faithful translation than most of the classics, which Le Guin discusses in the book's appendix. The reason is because Le Guin has captured the spirit of Tao. Her spare, gorgeous language goes to the heart. I came upon her version at a giant bookstore with dozens of Tao Te Chings. I wanted one, but I didn't know which. So I picked up a bunch that looked interesting and read the first three "chapters" of each. Le Guin's won hands down. It moved me in just that short of a time. Also, perhaps it's relevant, that I'm an anarchist (an issue that Le Guin coincidentally touches on in the book) as well as an atheist. This book connected with the sense of inner peace I get from these two beliefs.

In a world gone mad, the Tao te Ching is a clear voice of sanity. Of course, to be sane requires "going crazy," as the Seal song reminds us. As Le Guin put it so well in ALWAYS COMING HOME, the people (the men!) running the world, who define how to think and act, are "backward-headed people."

There are reviewers here who are purists, who object to the liberties Le Guin has taken with the original Chinese. My sense is that they are "backward-headed people." Don't rely on this interpretation for your dissertation on Lao Tzu, o.k. fine, but if what you are looking for is wisdom for everyday life, not advice on running the State, then I believe that Le Guin's poetic rendering is beautiful and profound.

History is the forward march of folly, and this book is one of the few sources of quiet reassurance I have found that though human folly will come to an end, the Way goes on...

This isn't a translation. It is a "rendition" (Ms. LeGuin's word) much like Thomas Merton's "appreciation" (his word) of Chuang Tzu. Choosing that description allows a looser fidelity to the original than readers would accept in a translation, and she takes full advantage of that long leash, to good and bad effect.

The language is stunning; no one else has presented this source with such clarity, with simple, concrete images and words so unfailingly right they seem to run with sap. This is the Tao Te Ching returned from the realm of philosphical discourse to poetry, where it started, and where it belongs.

The liberties she takes to achieve this are many. There are chapter headings, where none exist in the original text, she has simply deleted some portions of the text that "make no sense" to her, and her use of "Power" to translate (or to "render") Te (usually translated as "Virtue" or "Integrity") puts a harder edge on the concept than it warrants. And, her opening couplet, "The way you can go isn't the real way" is, to my thinking, fundamentally wrong.

Those taken liberties (most of which she points out herself) shouldn't prevent you from reading this book; Lao Tzu is here rendered exquisitely, and there are plenty of accurate, scholarly translations around to help you tweak your understanding into line with the original, if you wish.

I bought this book because I read verse 1, and it had an interesting take on that verse.

Reading the other verses later, it unfortunately in my view overall did not reach the same level of quality as other renditions or translations of this classic work.

So, you may be wondering, if not this book, which version?

My personal favorite is the Stephen Mitchell Tao Te Ching: A New English Version (Perennial Classics), the first one I purchased. It's use of language is simply brilliant, it's rhetoric amazing and inspiring, and opened my mind up to new levels of understanding, new ways of looking, and after I read it several times I had new and better perceptions. I have given this book as a present to several people.

Of the other popular versions I own:

Jonathan Star Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Editionversion is a translation directly from Chinese. If you buy this book it has Chinese symbols at back with multiple possible meanings and words for each symbol. This broadens your potential understanding, and would enable you to write your own version of the Tao, if you wish. I like his version a lot.

My other favorite, based on the Mawangdui texts isDao De Jing: The Book of the Way, by Moss Roberts.

The Jane English version is also very popular and of a similar standard to the above two. Wayne Dyer has also done a creditable version.

If you are a Dyer fan, he has also recently put out a book Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao. This is the Tao with several pages of explanation on each verse. I have bought this gift for my sister who is a Dyer fan. If you are new to the Tao, I recommend a version without essays, and gain your own understanding from your own discernment before looking at other people's opinions. Dyer has an earlier version also without essays.

If you have not read other versions of this book, you might actually like Le Guin's version.

I hope this was helpful.

This is an excellent work, particularly for Westerners. It gives
a peek into the unpretentious ways of the early Chinese thinkers.
It begins with a discussion of the uncomplicated life of
Confucious. His version of Tao was that it was the way of the
ancients. He stressed filiel piety and practiced what he
preached. His lasting discovery was a testament to the moral
nature of man/people. He provides a simple explanation of
the famous yin/yang theories. Yin stands for darkness, cold, negativeness, weakness etc. Yang stands for light, heat,
strength and positiveness. The first rule of mysticism is to
disregard your own personality.

"The secret was for the insight
Of eyes unclouded by longing;
Those who are bound by desire
See only the outward container".

Put another way, they don't see or appreciate the inside of
the container. The work seeks to have man one with nature.
This concept is the most elusive. The work is a treasure-chest
of advice from famous Chinese philosophers. It is highly
recommended for students of China and Eastern thought.

The author is critical of too much power and the pursuit of
material things and their accoutrements.

"To take all you want
Is never as good
As to stop when you should.
Scheme and be sharp
And you'll not keep it long.
One never can guard
His home when it's full
Of jade and fine gold:
Wealth,power and pride
Bequeath their own doom.
When fame and success
Come to you, then retire.
This is the ordained Way."

Need I say more!