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Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching (Shambhala Dragon Editions)

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Anyone who may be looking for a stripped-down edition of the Tao Te Ching, one without Introduction, Commentaries, or Footnotes, so that one may immediately come to grips with this most fascinating and profound of texts without any distracting impedimenta at all, could hardly do better than get hold of a copy of this book.

A brief description of its translator, Dr John C. H. Wu, will be found in the Introduction to Red Pine's 'Lao-tzu's Taoteching.' From Red Pine, who attended a graduate course on the Tao Te Ching given by Dr Wu at the College of Chinese Culture in Taiwan many years ago, we learn that he was a person of considerable attainments.

Besides translating the Tao Te Ching, Dr Wu also translated the New Testament, drafted his country's constitution, and served as China's ambassador to the Vatican and it's chief representative to the Hague. Clearly we are dealing here, not with some sort of 'mystical' dreamer, but with an accomplished scholar, diplomat, and man of the world, and one who must have realized the world has never stood in greater need of Lao Tzu's religion of peace than it does in our present era of aggression.

After a brief Foreword, and a couple of pages of Editor's Notes, we are immediately confronted by the text. Here is an example of Dr Wu's style from the opening of Chapter 29, slightly adjusted since it should be set out as poetry:

"Does anyone want to take the world and do what he wants with it? / I do not see how he can succeed. // The world is a sacred vessel, which must not be tampered with or grabbed after. / To tamper with it is to spoil it, and to grasp it is to lose it" (page 59).

In the present age of manipulators both great and small, could there be any more apt words for us than these? And could they have been expressed more effectively? One doubts it.

But it gets better. Classical Chinese is an extremely rich language, a language of multiple meanings. No English translation, no matter how good - and Dr Wu's is very good indeed - could possibly hope to capture more than a fraction of the meaning inherent in the Chinese text. Given this, we see the hand of the diplomat at work in Dr Wu's next move, for facing each page of the English translation he has given us Wang Pi's edition of the original Chinese text.

Evidently Dr Wu went to some pains to present us with a truly striking version of this text, for we are told that it is reproduced from the Lao Chieh Lao edition compiled by Ts'ai T'ing Kan, and privately printed in 1922. It would seem we have been given a collector's item, and it is certainly one of the most beautifully printed Chinese texts of the Tao Te Ching that I have ever seen.

The traditional full-form Chinese characters are printed in a large, clear, bold font, and even a beginner, after a week's study of the Chinese radicals, would have no trouble at all making out the structure of even the more complex characters. Somehow I get the feeling that Dr Wu would like YOU to become that beginner...

There is of course enough to keep anyone busy pondering for years in any competent English translation of the Tao Te Ching. But for those who may find themselves stirred by the visual beauty of the Chinese characters, each of which is an exquisitely balanced and supreme work of art, and who may be curious to learn more about them and how they work and what they mean, there are a number of books that would help.

One of them is the 'Gate of All Marvelous Things : A Guide to Reading the Tao Te Ching' by Gregory C. Richter. This is an interlinear edition of the Tao Te Ching which gives the Chinese text in simplified characters, pinyin transliterations, a literal word-by-word gloss and a final translation. By means of this book you can learn to read the original, or some of your favorite passages, in Chinese.

I think that if one or two of you were so impelled, Dr Wu would be left feeling very happy indeed. He seems to be a man with a keen desire to share the most important and beautiful things he has found in life.

I absoutely love this edition of the "Tao Te Ching"! I've bought multiple coppies as gifts. It's simple read, it provides some feedback from the translator to help you think about what you just read in perhaps a different way or wiht better insight, and it's tiny which is great for traveling-it takes no more room then a pack of cards. This is convienient becuse I personaly find the content perfect for traveling. Reflecting on days past and events past happens naturally while suspended between one place and the next which makes relating to the content even easier.

It cannot be underemphasized that this edition has the traditional Chinese in its entirety, printed large enough to read, as well as the English translation. Having read only one other translation , I am not the most qualified to judge the translation's relative quality, but I can say that this is the best edition I have seen as far as clearly displaying the Chinese text.

I think this book gets to the essence of what the Tao Te Ching is. It is written simply, yet allows for many interpretations. The writing is insightful and the translator does not seem bent on adding his own feelings to the text.

This book is a necessity for anyone who looks with distrust at the excessive organization and mechanization that our country and other countries have gone through, Lao Tze reminds us that enevitably "all things come back to their roots", and "to go far is to return". Also contains the essential teaching of the Tao or the "Way". Includes penetrating insight from this Great Master. Highly recommended.

The Tao Teh Ching is by far one of the best books I've ever read on spirituality, ontology, and leadership. The book is more than a historical text, and more than a simple book of collected wisdom, but rather,it presents the author's world view on everything to do with human existence, linking it through polymorphous concept of the Tao.

I would recommend this book for anyone who wants an introduction into Taoism, anyone who is interested in Ancient Chinese thought, or just someone who wants a different way of looking at the world.

Daniel Clausen
www.danielclausen.com

The Tao Te Ching is not a manual for leadership, but rather, a description of all existence condensed into one philosophical work. It is, basically, a poetic discourse on the nature of "The Dao," nothing more. It should not be interpreted as a leadership manual. Even though it states what an ideal leader is, it gives no specific instructions anywhere on how to achieve that end.



The books says that for others to have confidence in you, you must be confident in yourself. Yeah, how do you achieve it? Where this truly a manual for leadership, it would be specific about the point. It isn't, because that is not was Lao Tzu was concerned with. All it really is, is an explanation on the nature of things the way Lao Tzu saw it, that is, "The Dao" as best Lao Tzu interpreted, and understood it.



As a book, this is pretty raw; it goes straight to the work itself. After a brief introduction, it gets right to it. No footnotes, no side notes (except only in one page I believe), just the work itself. This is not a life manual, nor is it a religious work; it is a spiritual philosophy that follows a higher form of logic. If one must present a hierarchy of logic, from basic to highest, it goes as follows;



1) First, there is Mathematics, from basic Arithmetic, to Calculus. Alongside Mathematics, mastery of language and rhetoric, from grammar, to writing.



2) When Mathematics and Language are mastered, one then studies Greek Philosophy, specifically, the works of Plato and Aristotle. After that, more complex forms of logic, eventually leading to abstract reasoning.



3) Once abstract reasoning has been mastered, then, and only then, do you read the Tao Te Ching, and actively try to think about, and absorb the message it attempts to convey.



Interpreted in this manner, the Tao Te Ching is a spiritual and philosophical work that at once negates and confirms itself so many times it is nearly impossible to understand unless the nuances of logic, abstraction and language as described by Plato are understood first. That is, Daoist thinking as presented here, paradoxically is a higher form of logic, but at the same time it negates logic in favor of instinct. I could go in circles all day regarding this, so, I'll keep it short; read Plato and Aristotle first, and I hope you are Math major honor student, or an M.I.T. grad. That's the only way you'll hope to understand this higher form of logic. I'm not saying you are not entitled to read it, I'm just saying, this is not a philosophical work for just any Tom, Dick or Harry.



Myself, I barely understand this work. From what little I do understand of the Tao Te Ching though, is that it is a higher form of logic. It does seem cryptic, even nonsensical, but, the truth is, it isn't. Again, it is a philosophy of paradoxes that relies on abstract logical reasoning easily on par with Newton's works. In the same way Physics is difficult because it deals with so many abstractions, the Tao Te Ching is difficult because IT IS an abstraction on a more complex level than Physics. Physics, at least, is a real science that can be proven. Daoist, is a self-negating, yet self-confirming philosophy.



Know that is what you are getting yourself into when you purchase this work, and I will warn, its not for everyone. Unless you have mastered language, have proficiency in math, and have read Plato and Aristotle, I will almost guarantee that if you try to analyze this work it will give you a lot of headaches. Again; there is nothing cryptic or mystical about it, its just a higher form of logic. By its very nature, when mastered, logic becomes an abstraction. The Tao Te Ching is a Philosophical abstraction presented as a poem.



If you're a fast reader you'll get through it within an hour. Everyone else, about two, but, make no mistake; even though its a lighter read than any ancient Greek philosophy, it is much harder to understand. Again, the best way to gain an understanding of it, is by mastering Mathematics and Language, studying logic, reading Plato and Aristotle, and THEN taking the time to actively think about the things said in this book. Again, let me warn any potential buyer, this is not at all a light read, brief though it may be.