Cheap Tao Te Ching (Book) (Stephen Mitchell) Price

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AUTHOR: Stephen Mitchell

CATEGORY: Book

MANUFACTURER: Perennial

ISBN: 0060812451

TYPE: General, Philosophy, Religion, Taoism

MEDIA: Paperback

# OF MEDIA: 1

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Customer Review of Tao Te Ching
new age taoism
As a Taoist I am offended when I read people saying that it's irrelevant whether Mitchell's interpolation is a good "translation" of the Tao Te Ching, irrelevant whether this is a good introduction to Taoism -- what matters to these people, and nothing else, is whether this book "moved" them.

Imagine you're a devout Christian, and someone has read a particularly beautiful, but misleading and inaccurate, translation of the Bible. Suppose you complain that Christ's message has been garbled and distorted by the "translation" -- by someone who knows no Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek -- and this person replies: "It's pretty irrelevant to me whether this is a 'proper translation' of the Bible. If a piece of art, writing or performance touches you to the core of your being then all criticism is really obsolete," etc.

Okay, quick quiz: Who of you think it would be right for someone to misinterpret the Bible into having Jehova or Christ saying things They didn't say, and then defend that interpretation because it is relevant to them? Well, you might say, it's their right to see the Bible that way, but it's certainly not Judaism or Christianity, now is it?

Just as Mitchell's so-called "translation" is _not_ Taoism. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Of course New Agers simply don't care; if it makes them happy, "moves" them, and reifies beliefs they already have, who cares about us cynics complaining about the inaccuracies of the text itself? Just accuse us of being obsessed with textual criticism, languages, and with our petty, close-minded insistence on understanding Taoism and not twisting the Tao Te Ching for its easier but uninsightful digestion by Westerners with little or no concern about actually expanding their understanding of othr belief systems.

Mitchell's translation of the Tao Te Ching is definitive.
Next to the Bible, the most translated book in the world is the Tao Te Ching, the ancient Chinese Book of the Way. It lays the philosophical foundations for one of the world's great wisdom traditions, Taoism. Written approximately 2,500 years ago by the legendary sage Lao Tzu, this classic continues to inspire readers today. To translate a work that has been translated so many times before--and so well--may seem almost an act of hubris. But as the English language continues to evolve, it is the duty of the translator to attempt to restate a classic for his or her generation, in a language that they can best understand. Stephen Mitchell, in Tao Te Ching: A New English Version, has done that for our generation. And to him we owe a debt of gratitude. Huston Smith has called this translation "definitive," and he has spoken well. At first, a traditionalist may be startled by, for instance, Mitchell's referring to the master as alternately "he" and "she;" whereas, the original refers to the master as masculine, only, thereby reflecting the truth of things in sixth century B.C. China. But when one remembers that the translator is duty-bound to bring the ideas of the text to his or her contemporaries in a way that will have most meaning for them, then one can see the wisdom of taking such a liberty. And, after all, it is in the spirit of Taoism to adapt to the circumstance. As water sometimes comes to earth in the form of rain, sometimes snow, and sometimes sleet, but always in accord with the season, so this classic comes to us now in a form that is right for our own day. Thus, once again, this time with the help of Stephen Mitchell, the Tao Te Ching speaks to humanity, pointing the way.

I am very confused as to how exactly this book got Published
My copy of the Daodejing is a wood-block print edition from China in traditional characters, thus, I don't really bother with buying new English Translations, especialy ones prepared for hippy wannabees by scholars with no credentials playing off of New Age fantasies and pop-culture.

Still, a freind of mine was given this book and brought it to me for evaluation, and honestly, I am very confused. I am confused as to why someone who does not speak Chinese would translate a book that is, even to Chinese speakers, elusive and dificult.

I am confused as to why a person would seek to rephrase a work that has already been translated inumerable times when they have nothing new to offer in it's study. Rephrasing other English language works is not typicaly something people pay for... other wise I will get right to work on rephrasing the works of Ernest Hemingway, and we'll see if the same publisher would pay me to do it.

I am confused as to why it is so hard for someone to get published if they have degrees and years of study in Chinese philosophy when apparently this novice can waltz in and publish something that isn't even good. I swear, I want his agent. He could probably sell snow to an eskimo.

I am confused as to why so many people would seem to get their study of philosophy from sources no more sophisticated than a shopping mall or a quote of the day calendar. New Age spirituality in America is very confusing to me, because it is taken so serriously, but it is so superficial. Anyone who had their 'mind totaly blown' by this book, or who gained a deep reverence for the ways of the east after reading it should realy realize they know nothing about what they are talking about, even if it does impress their friends at the coffeeshop.

Finaly, I am confused and so is Mr. Mitchell. He explains that he is qualified to make his marginal contribution because he spent a lot of time in Zen training. I'm a scholar of religions, so I don't want to make this too technical, but Zen is a form of Japanese Buddhism (it's Chinese counterpart is Chan) and the Daodejing is a work of Chinese Taoism. If he came face to face with Lao Zi during his Zen training, then I would hope his Roshi hit him really really hard with his Zen Stick.

Zen is Buddhist, the Daodejing is Daoist. Buddhist pracitioners venerate the Buddha, Daoist venerate the Dao, hence the names. Although there is some question of the integration of early Taoist principles into Chinese Chan Buddhism, the overlap is a concern for accademic scholars at best, and certainly, no Zen monastery keeps a copy of the Daodejing or a picture of Lao Zi around. Can we presume that Mr. Harrison was not paying enough attention during his Zen training to realize that modern Japanese Zen Buddhism and Chinese Taoism have nothing to do with eachother? What kind of training did he have?

In the end, I am just confused as to why someone would pay money for this book when there are others much better out there, others that are, for instance, actual translations.

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