Tao Te Ching: The Classic Book of Integrity and the Way [Hardcover]

Victor H. Mair (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1990

A landmark translation of one of the most popular works of world literture, this edition of the Tao Te Ching is based on the Ma-wang-tui manuscripts. 

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Chinese

Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (August 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553070053
• ISBN-13: 978-0553070057
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,627,337 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An early version of the *Tao Te Ching*, August 10, 2000

By 

Michael P. McGarry (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tao Te Ching (Paperback)

This translation of the *Tao Te Ching* is based on the 1973 discovery of ancient silk manuscripts of the text at Ma-wang-tui in central China. For those familiar with the *Tao Te Ching*, this translation will be surprising. The chapters are not in the original order, and a few chapters, familiar from later versions, did not exist in this early version. Unlike most translations of this text, the first half of this translation focuses on TE (which Mair translates as "integrity"), and the second half focuses on TAO. Thus, the famous opening line (here translated as "The ways that can be walked are not the eternal Way") is found here as the first line of chapter 45. Mair provided extensive introduction, annotations, and "Afterword". Clearly, his primary concerns are philological in nature. While I would not recommend this to someone reading the *Tao Te Ching* for the first time, this translation could be quite helpful for someone comparing translations and trying to come to a deeper understanding of the text.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Refreshing, Scholarly translation of the Tao Te Ching!, September 23, 2001

By 

Gerald Ford "pho_kin" (The Jack n' the Box at the corner) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tao Te Ching (Paperback)

Victor Mair is a well-known scholar of Classical Chinese, and I feel that of the many translations of the Tao Te Ching, his is the best by far! Thanks in part due to the discovery of the Ma Wang Tui scrolls, this book provides a refreshing change to the cookie-cutter translations I have seen in the past, and in the back of the book goes into great deal on why he translated thing the way he did.

As a amateur in Classical Chinese myself, I feel that Mr. Mair's translation is definitely the most accurate in relation to the general mood of the time in China, when many other such classics were being written (Confucius's Analects for example). Many of these classics drew upon the same pool of ideas, and this particular translation shows the mood of that time better than any other I have seen. Most translations tend to interpret words and phrases in a modern light, but Mair's is true to philosophy of the time.

I also like the detailed analysis that Mair does in comparing the Tao with other religions in Asia (in particular Judaism and Hinduism) and how they also drew upon a common pool of ideas prevalent at the time. I believe he makes a very strong case for this.

For those who are not interested in the historical aspect of Taoism, I feel they will still enjoy this book very much because this translation preserves the spiritual mystery of the Tao Te Ching (another aspect most translations lack), and lets the reader interpret the meaning as he/she sees fit.

Anyhow, in closing, a fanstatic translation, that stands above the rest. I strongly recommend this for both scholars and enthusiasts alike.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I enjoy this throughly., March 20, 2005

By 

Stephen C. Clark - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tao Te Ching (Paperback)

Over the course of the last 15 years or so I've seen maybe six English translations of the Tao Te Ching, including those of Red Pine and Henricks. I'm not qualified to speak to the accuracy of Mair's effort, but I have found it to be far and away the most poetic and powerful that I've encountered. This truely sings in places, as Mair attempts (so he says) to impart not only the meaning of each verse, but its approximate effect as well.

However, Mair is not shy (nor is he intrusive) when it comes to pointing out awkward and impenetrable language or derivative notions wherever he believes he encounters them. I find this kind of frankness instructive and refreshing. It led me to a greater appreciation for the rich historical context of both the text and the ideas that it conveys.