Dao de JingDeftly introduced and enriched by the remarkable ink paintings of Stephen Addiss, this new translation of Tao Te Ching captures the terse and enigmatic beauty of the ancient original while resisting the tendency toward interpretive paraphrase found in many other editions. Along with the translation of the complete work, Lombardo and Addiss provide the reader with a measure of interaction with the Chinese text found in no other edition, by furnishing one or more key lines from the original Chinese for each of the eighty-one sections, together with a transliteration of the Chinese characters. The appearance and sounds of the Chinese character displayed, enhance the reader's appreciation of how the Chinese text works and feels and the many different ways it can be translated into English. |
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Common terms and phrases
accomplished action ancient attaining become beginning body bright called century chih China Chinese Chou comes compassion complete Confucians contend Creates dark death deep desire dwell earlier early Earth easy embrace emptiness enduring English existence fear female follows force gain Give govern harm hearts Heaven Heaven and Earth Helps Hold honor hsia human kind kings known language Lao-tzu later leads learned lived lords lose Maintain master means ming moral move mysterious nature offered ordinary original overcomes Pass period person philosopher possible practice pronounced reader refer rejects Return rise rituals River root rule rulers Sage schools seems Shang shen Shih soft spirits T'ien Tao Te Ching Taoist things thought thousand things translation trust understand valley weak weapons
Popular passages
Page xvi - The Way that can be told of is not an Unvarying Way; the names that can be named are not unvarying names. It was from the Nameless that Heaven and Earth sprang; the named is but the mother that rears the ten thousand creatures, each after its kind.
Page xvi - The way that can be spoken of Is not the constant way; The name that can be named Is not the constant name.
Page xvi - The Tao that can be told of is not the eternal Tao; The name that can be named is not the eternal name.