Lao-tzu's Tao Te Ching
Laozi
Language: English
Pages: 206
ISBN: 2:00287187
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Author note: Translated by Red Pine
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"A refreshing new translation. . . . Highly recommended."—Library Journal
"With its clarity and scholarly range, this version of the Taoteching works as both a readable text and a valuable resource of Taoist interpretation."—Publishers Weekly
"Read it in confidence that it comes as close as possible to expressing the Chinese text in English."—Victor Mair, professor of Chinese studies, University of Pennsylvania
Lao-tzu's Taoteching is an essential volume of world literature, and Red Pine's nuanced and authoritative English translation—reissued and published with the Chinese text en face—is one of the best-selling versions. What sets this volume apart from other translations are its commentaries by scores of Taoist scholars, poets, monks, recluses, adepts, and emperors spanning more than two thousand years. "I envisioned this book," Red Pine notes in his introduction, "as a discussion between Lao-tzu and a group of people who have thought deeply about his text."
Sages have no mind of their own
their mind is the mind of the people
to the good they are good
to the bad they are good
until they become good
to the true they are true
to the false they are true
until they become true . . .
Lao-tzu (ca. 600 BCE) was a Chinese sage who Confucius called "a dragon among men." He served as Keeper of the Royal Archives and authored the Taoteching.
Red Pine is one of the world's foremost translators of Chinese literary and religious texts.
enjoy these poems. This e-book edition was created through a special grant provided by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. Copper Canyon Press would like to thank Constellation Digital Services for their partnership in making this e-book possible. for Ku Lien-chang Contents Title Page Note to the Reader Preface Introduction Lao-tzu’s Taoteching The way that becomes a way All the world knows beauty Bestowing no honors The Tao is so empty Heaven and Earth are heartless The valley spirit that
practice being incomplete keep their physical body whole. Those who depend on their mother and father suffer no harm.” Lao-tzu’s path to wholeness is through incompleteness, but an incompleteness so incomplete that he is reduced to one thing. For the wording of lines eight through thirteen, as well as line sixteen, I have followed Mawangtui B. Lines nine through twelve appear in slightly different form in verse 24. In the last line, my use of ch’eng (become), in place of the usual ch’eng
But once they become complete, they leave oneness behind and focus on being complete. And by focusing on being complete, they lose their mother. Hence, they crack, they crumble, they dissipate, they dry up, and they fall. As long as they have their mother, they can preserve their form. But their mother has no form.” HO-SHANG KUNG says, “It’s because Heaven becomes one that it graces the sky with constellations and light. It’s because Earth becomes one that it remains still and immovable. It’s
life, the ruler’s might means nothing to them. When punishments are moderate, people are afraid to die. They are afraid to die because they enjoy life. When you know they enjoy life, then you can threaten them with death” (Yinwen: 2). LI HSI-CHAI says, “This implies that punishments cannot be relied upon for governing. If people are not afraid of death, what use is threatening them with execution? And if they are afraid of death, and we catch someone who breaks the law, and we execute them, by
AN-SHIH says, “Sages create but do not possess what they create. They act but do not depend on what they do. They succeed but do not claim success. These all result from selflessness. Because sages are selfless, they do not lose themselves. Because they do not lose themselves, they do not lose others.” SU CH’E says, “Losing something is the result of possessing something. How can people lose what they don’t possess?” LI HSI-CHAI says, “Lao-tzu’s 5,000-word text clarifies what is mysterious as