tao te ching translated by stephen mitchell

It seemed to be saying to me that life is often futile. When I was a little older, I had a different take on it. At the time, I felt that verse #9 was giving me permission to quit if something was taking too long or was too difficult. Even so, I was young and, in the way of youth, looking for shortcuts. I was looking for guidance for how to live a moral and honest life, which is a fairly adult thing to do. When I first read the Tao Te Ching, I was very, very young. Keep sharpening your knife and it will bluntĬhase after money and security and your heart will never unclenchĬare about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner Here is Mitchell’s translation:įill your bowl to the brim and it will spill But one in particular sums up why I come back to the Tao Te Ching over and over. It’s often a matter of personal interpretation. So it is no wonder that the various translations can differ as much as they do. The modern usage of the Chinese language is very dissimilar to the usage of the long gone feudal China of Lao Tzu’s time. It’s a wonder that it can be translated at all. His use of the English language to convey concepts written in Chinese is, to me, masterful. The way that Mitchell presents the 81 verses resonates with me. Over the years, I have found this translation the easiest to understand. It sits prominently in a bookcase in our living room. It’s one of the few books I will never pack away or give away. It’s worn and stained and bookmarked and shows the many times I’ve picked it up and put it down.

Had I known then what first editions with intact dust jackets can sometimes be worth, I might have taken better care of it.

The translation’s copyright date is 1988. This version is by Stephen Mitchell and is published by Harper and Row Publishers. They all offer a little something different. I have several different copies of the Tao Te Ching, translated by several different authors.

That it is still relevant today is a testament to the wisdom it dispenses and Lao Tzu’s understanding of human nature. Most sources will tell you that the text was first written around 400 BC.

It’s is most often pronounced something like “dow day jing.” What I’m really reviewing is one person’s translation of the Tao Te Ching, originally written by Lao Tzu.

Tao te ching translated by stephen mitchell