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Tao Te Ching

Traditionally attributed to Lao Tzu, an older contemporary of Confucius (551 - 479 BC), it is now thought that the work was compiled in about the fourth century BC. An anthology of wise sayings, it offers a model by which the individual can live rather than explaining the human place in the universe. The moral code it encourages is based on modesty and self-restraint, and the rewards reaped for such a life are harmony and flow of life.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Paperback: 176 pages

Publisher: Penguin Classics; Reprint edition (May 30, 1964)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 014044131X

ISBN-13: 978-0140441314

Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.5 x 7.8 inches

Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (724 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #12,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #6 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Eastern Religions & Sacred Texts > Tao Te Ching #7 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Eastern Religions & Sacred Texts > Taoism #10 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Eastern > Taoism

Tao Te Ching is ancient, now a couple of millenia in print. Stephen Mitchell has not translated this classic, but rather has paraphrased it -- as he admits in the Foreward. But he is a Zen student of a couple of decades and has good insight into the Zen of the Tao (Zen Buddhism is Buddhism heavily dosed with Taoism).Mitchell's version of the Tao Te Ching is very, even extremely, modern. Perhaps to the point of being "politically correct." However, he does have a way with words and this is a very readable version of the Tao. To show how modern it is, let's take an example and compare his version of the beginning of chapter 46 with two other versions:- Mitchell"When a country is in harmony with the Tao,the factories make trucks and tractors.When a country goes counter to the Tao,warheads are stockpiled outside the cities."- Victor Mair"When the Way prevails under heaven,swift horses are relegated to fertilizing fields.When the Way does not prevail under heaven,war-horses breed in the suburbs."- Addiss & Lombardo"With TAO under heavenStray horses fertilze the fields.Without TAO under heaven,Warhorses are bred at the frontier."Obviously, there were no factories, trucks, tractors, or warheads in ancient China. So, Mitchell is providing a modern interpretation of the Tao Te Ching, while Mair as well as Addiss & Lombardo are closer to a literal translation (which is not possible however, because the Chinese language and the English language are so completely different from one another.)None of this is to find fault with Stephen Mitchell. This is just to say that his book cannot be definitive, because it is less literal and not really a translation.

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