jmy77 Posted February 20, 2003 Posted February 20, 2003 Does anyone have a recommendation on which translation of this work they feel is best? There are a few out there and I want to get the one that is closest to a direct translation and not some garbage about what the translator felt was being expressed. I prefer to draw my own conclusions. Thank you for your help. "Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft." - Pres. Theodore Roosevelt "You don't have to like it, you just have to do it." - Captain Richard Marcinko, USN, Ret."Do more than what is required of you." - General George S. Patton"If you have to step on someone else to stand tall, then you truely are a small person." - ?
Maestro Posted February 21, 2003 Posted February 21, 2003 I have a version translated by Thomas Cleary that I think is quite good. He is a Ph.D translator of lots of buddhist and Toaist texts. Mine was a gift, and has both the direct translation and interpretation. I just skip over the interpretations, I would rather have the version with just the translation, but you can't argue with a gift right? Anyway, the translation itself strikes me as very good, but not reading ancient chinese I guess I can't be sure. I have browsed through other versions of TAoW and they have not seemed as objectivly translated as this one. This guy keeps his interpretive "garbage" separate from the text, so you get the text as it was. Might as well take my advice--I don't use it anymore.
jmy77 Posted February 23, 2003 Author Posted February 23, 2003 Thank you for the input, Maestro. I ordered a copy with an intro by Sam Griffith. I roder a paperback which was cheap so if i don't like it i can get the cleary translation. On a side note i am also diving into Machiavelli. "Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft." - Pres. Theodore Roosevelt "You don't have to like it, you just have to do it." - Captain Richard Marcinko, USN, Ret."Do more than what is required of you." - General George S. Patton"If you have to step on someone else to stand tall, then you truely are a small person." - ?
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