Tao Te Ching
道德經
Tao Te Ching (道德經)
137 X 35cm (12)
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137 X 35cm (12)
Click Image to Enlarge. In Reserve, not available in Shop.
Background information
Tao Te Ching (《道德經》, or Dao De Jing), presumably written by Laozi (老子) of the 6th century BC, is one of the most famous and influential philosophical works in Chinese history. Written in fewer than 6000 Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching outlines the characteristics and roles of the fundamental Tao (道) and its Te (德, Manifestation of Tao) in the formation and maintenance of all in the Universe. Remarkably, it also depicts the underlying nature of governance and some natural laws, which, surprisingly, include modern scientific concepts such as atomic theory, chemical equilibrium, polarities, and the quantum uncertainty principle.
Unfortunately, Tao Te Ching is often misinterpreted by many for more than two thousand years. Their failures are mainly attributed to applying Taoist Religion (道教), Huang-Lao (黄老), and Confucian concepts in interpreting characters such as “鬼”, “神”, “仁”, “慈”, “善”, and “德”. Further, “若”, “似”, and “或” are also frequently misinterpreted, giving rise to the incorrect impression that Laozi was a scheming and calculating philosopher. Prominent interpreters of the past and present, including Heshang Gong (河上公), Wang Bi (王弼), Gao Heng (高亨), and James Legge, have all committed these types of errors in varying degrees.
This book provides readers with an annotated, line-by-line, concise, consistent, and correct English translation and interpretation of Tao Te Ching. Accompanied 674 footnotes include references and brief discussions on general misunderstandings. Further, to facilitate easy reading, the bare translated text is supplemented in a separate section, while the correct interpretation of difficult and complex sentences in vernacular Chinese (《道德經》艱深句子正解並白話對譯) in another. Accordingly, this book is perfect for anyone interested in Chinese philosophy.
Original Chinese Text
(Wang Bi's 王弼 Edition)
English Interpretation
by KS Vincent Poon (潘君尚) and Kwok Kin Poon (潘國鍵)
第一章 Chapter 1
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1. 道可道, 非常道; 名可名, 非常名。無名天地之始, 有名萬物之母。
The Tao (道, Tao, Path, or Way) that can be spoken or described is not the “Immutable and Everlasting Tao (常道)”. The Name (名) that can be named or spelt out is not the “immutable and everlasting Name (常名)”. That which is “unidentifiable and nameless (無名)” is the Originator (始) of the Universe (天地), whereas that which is “identifiable and with names (有名)” (i.e. 德, Te, or Manifestation of Tao) is the Mother of all things.
2. 故常無, 欲以觀其妙；常有, 欲以觀其徼。
Therefore, the “immutable and everlasting Tao (常道)” and the “unidentifiable and nameless (無名)” can hopefully (欲) be used (以) to examine (觀) the unimaginable underlying wonders (妙) of Tao; whereas, the “immutable and everlasting Name (常名)” and the “identifiable and with names (有名)” can hopefully be used to examine (觀) the fundamental path that all things follow (徼) .
3. 此兩者，同出而異名，同謂之玄。玄之又玄，衆妙之門。
Both the “unidentifiable and nameless” and the “identifiable and with names” stem from the same source, but we merely labelled them differently. Similarly, both are regarded as great mysteries (玄). Mysteries upon mysteries, such are the doors and gates to all wonders (衆妙) of Tao and the Universe.
第二章 Chapter 2
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4. 天下皆知美之為美, 斯惡已; 皆知善之為善, 斯不善已。
All under Heaven recognize the beauty of the beautiful, and in doing this, they have the idea of what ugliness is; they all recognize the goodness of the good, and in doing this, they have the idea of what not good is.
5. 故有無相生, 難易相成; 長短相較, 高下相傾; 音聲相和, 前後相隨。
6. 是以聖人處無為之事，行不言之教；萬物作焉而不辭，生而不有。為而不恃，功成而弗居。夫唯弗居，是以不去。
第三章 Chapter 3
7. 不尚賢，使民不爭；不貴難得之貨，使民不為盜；不見可欲，使心不亂。
8. 是以聖人之治，虛其心，實其腹，弱其志，強其骨。
9. 常使民無知無欲。使夫知者不敢為也。為無為，則無不治。
第四章 Chapter 4
10. 道沖而用之或不盈。淵兮似萬物之宗。
11. 挫其銳，解其紛，和其光，同其塵。湛兮似或存。
12. 吾不知誰之子，象帝之先。
第五章 Chapter 5
13. 天地不仁，以萬物為芻狗；聖人不仁，以百姓為芻狗。
14. 天地之間，其猶橐籥乎？虛而不屈，動而愈出。
15. 多言數窮，不如守中。
第六章 Chapter 6
16. 谷神不死，是謂玄牝。
17. 玄牝之門，是謂天地根。
18. 綿綿若存，用之不勤。
第七章 Chapter 7
19. 天長地久。天地所以能長且久者，以其不自生，故能長生。
20. 是以聖人後其身而身先；外其身而身存。
21. 非以其無私耶？故能成其私。
第八章 Chapter 8
22. 上善若水。水善利萬物而不爭，處衆人之所惡，故幾於道。
23. 居善地，心善淵，與善仁，言善信，正善治，事善能，動善時。
24. 夫唯不爭，故無尤。
第九章 Chapter 9
25. 持而盈之，不如其已；揣而銳之，不可長保。
26. 金玉滿堂，莫之能守；富貴而驕，自遺其咎。
27. 功遂，身退，天之道。
第十章 Chapter 10
28. 載營魄抱一，能無離乎？專氣致柔，能嬰兒乎？滌除玄覽，能無疵乎？
29. 愛民治國，能無知乎？天門開闔，能為雌乎？明白四達，能無知乎？
30. 生之、畜之，生而不有，為而不恃，長而不宰，是謂玄德。
第十一章 Chapter 11
31. 三十輻，共一轂，當其無，有車之用。
32. 埏埴以為器，當其無，有器之用。
33. 鑿戶牖以為室，當其無，有室之用。
34. 故有之以為利，無之以為用。
Hence, the idea of “existence” and “non-existence” emerge from each other; “difficult” and “easy” give rise to each other; “long” and “short” compare with each other; “high” and “low” contrast each other; “notes” and “tones” harmonize each other; “front” and “back” accompany each other.
This is why a wise sage (聖人) deals with (處) all matters by “not acting with any personal differentiation and intent (無為)” and implements (行) enlightenment (教) of others through the wordless (不言). All things spring up naturally without diction (不辭). Tao begets (生) all without anything (不有) and acts (為) without relying on any other (不恃). Tao accomplishes but never claims any achievement. Alas, it is precisely because (唯) it does not claim any achievement that its achievements shall never depart away (不去) from all things.
FOR FURTHER TRANSLATION, FOOTNOTES, AND ELABORATIONS
PLEASE SEE :
An English Translation and the Correct Interpretation of Laozi’s Tao Te Ching 英譯並正解老子道德經 附 《道德經》艱深句子正解並白話對譯
by KS Vincent POON and Kwok Kin POON (July. 2020)
ISBN 978-1-989485-15-6
Tao Te Ching (《道德經》, or Dao De Jing), presumably written by Laozi (老子) of the 6th century BC, is one of the most famous and influential philosophical works in Chinese history. Written in fewer than 6000 Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching outlines the characteristics and roles of the fundamental Tao (道) and its Te (德, Manifestation of Tao) in the formation and maintenance of all in the Universe. Remarkably, it also depicts the underlying nature of governance and some natural laws, which, surprisingly, include modern scientific concepts such as atomic theory, chemical equilibrium, polarities, and the quantum uncertainty principle.
Unfortunately, Tao Te Ching is often misinterpreted by many for more than two thousand years. Their failures are mainly attributed to applying Taoist Religion (道教), Huang-Lao (黄老), and Confucian concepts in interpreting characters such as “鬼”, “神”, “仁”, “慈”, “善”, and “德”. Further, “若”, “似”, and “或” are also frequently misinterpreted, giving rise to the incorrect impression that Laozi was a scheming and calculating philosopher. Prominent interpreters of the past and present, including Heshang Gong (河上公), Wang Bi (王弼), Gao Heng (高亨), and James Legge, have all committed these types of errors in varying degrees.
This book provides readers with an annotated, line-by-line, concise, consistent, and correct English translation and interpretation of Tao Te Ching. Accompanied 674 footnotes include references and brief discussions on general misunderstandings. Further, to facilitate easy reading, the bare translated text is supplemented in a separate section, while the correct interpretation of difficult and complex sentences in vernacular Chinese (《道德經》艱深句子正解並白話對譯) in another. Accordingly, this book is perfect for anyone interested in Chinese philosophy.
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