The New Lao Tzu: A Contemporary Tao Te Ching [Hardcover]

Lao Tzu (Author), Ray Grigg (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1995

A new interpretation of the Tao Te Ching, this book is a celebration of the Way of Harmony and Balance. Ray Grigg transforms what has been traditionally called the Tao Te Ching, what he calls the Lao Tzu, from the mysterious to the meaningful. He accomplishes this by abandoning the historical convention of a literal reading of the Chinese texts. The result is a poetic expression of ancient wisdom in a language that readers can approach directly. The wisdom of the Lao Tzu rests in its ability to tease confusion into insight that is beyond the confinement of intellectual understanding. Beautifully illustrated with ink drawings by Bill Gaetz, The New Lao Tzu demonstrates that living the wisdom of the Lao Tzu requires more instinct than reason, more intuition than argument.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Griff (Tao of Relationships; The Tao of Selling, etc.) here seeks to lay bare the ``essential'' wisdom of a classic Chinese text by eliminating linguistic and conceptual obstructions. The result is a kind of tenderized Tao Te Ching. Lexical problems and controversies surrounding the source materials of the Tao Te Ching, Griff asserts, make even the best of translations subjective interpretations, calling his new version ``...merely an outright declaration of the way the source material has always been treated.'' Based upon nine translations of the ancient text, Grigg's work is also a reflection of the eclecticism typical of Western dabblers in Eastern mysticism-a hodgepodge of loose interpretations and manipulated conventions. But part of the appeal of such a work, as here, is the ability to retain the enigmatic while rendering the text highly readable. Thus, while this is never billed as a scholarly work, readers will want to remain mindful that this rendering provides access not so much to the Tao Te Ching as to one individual's view of what constitutes contemporary ``essential'' wisdom and that that distinction is an important one.

Copyright 1995 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The fascination with the spirituality of the East is evident in the continuing retranslation of the sacred texts of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism. Grigg's new rendering of the Tao Te Ching is based on arrangement of the recently discovered Ma-wang-tui texts. This sparkling, fresh translation is accompanied by several essays that explore the linguistic and historical context of the work. The simplicity of the translation will enable readers to gain the sense of harmony and stability that the Tao Te Ching strives to teach. Recommended for large public libraries.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 187 pages
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing; 1St Edition edition (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804830347
• ISBN-13: 978-0804830348
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,065,889 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars superior trranslation of the Tao Te Ching, May 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Lao Tzu: A Contemporary Tao Te Ching (Hardcover)

This interpretation of the Tao Te Ching is poetic, meaningful, and moving. It is in no way "new agey". This translation, in my opinion, is far superior to the Stephen Mitchell translation. I don't know why that book has so many more comments than this one. I highly recommend this version above the Mitchell book.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous introduction to the Tao Te Ching, April 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Lao Tzu: A Contemporary Tao Te Ching (Hardcover)

This is a great book for two reasons. The first reason is Ray Grigg's translation of the Tao Te Ching itself. There will never be a definitive English translation, but Ray Grigg manages to bring it alive for modern Western readers. He ignores the literal sense of the original Chinese in order to convey the sense and underlying meaning of the message.

Secondly, his description of the history of the Tao Te Ching and the difficulties in translating the text provide a further valuable insight. I highly recommend this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best version I've read, July 7, 2001

By 

B. Schmitt "captbobalou" (Helena, MT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Lao Tzu: A Contemporary Tao Te Ching (Hardcover)

Unlike other translations I've read, this version doesn't seem stilted or precious. It's clear, digestible while preserving poetic grace and style. The introduction is well worth reading before you get to the guts of the book. I keep buying copies because I seem to give this one away a lot.