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Calligraphy Supplies | Home » » Tao Te Ching | | | | | | | Description: | | A handy new edition of Lao Tsu's classic work of philosophy brings this popular translation to a whole new audience of students and general readers by making it available in a lower-priced, text-only format. | | | Features: | |
• ISBN13: 9780679724346
• Condition: New
• Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Lao Tsu | | Paperback:
| 107 pages | | Publisher:
| Vintage | | Publication Date:
| August 28, 1989 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0679724346 | | Package Length:
| 8.2 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.3 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.4 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.3 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 28 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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 Food for the soulSep 03, 2010
If you want to learn about the universe, yourself, and other people read the Tao Te Ching. It is profound in it's simplicity. Delicious!
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
An easy-to-understand version that expresses the eastern thoughtJun 14, 2010
Eastern sacred texts, like eastern thought, is the polar opposite of western thought. The Chinese think of the individual only in relation to the collective. In the west, we tend to think of the individual as more important. Indeed, that's the basis on which America was founded.
So, it's hard for many westerners to understand, much less apply, the Tao (pronounced DOW) in their own lives. There are parts of it that I simply can't come to grips with myself.
For example:
The Tao of heaven is to take from
those who have too much and give to
those who do not have enough.
Man's way is different.
He takes from those who do not have
enough and give to those who already
have too much.
What man has more than enough and
gives it to the world?
Only the man of Tao.
Therefore the sage works without
recognition. He achieves what has to be done
without dwelling on it.
He does not try to show his knowledge.
Now, my problem with this passage is that it is socialist and I'm a capitalist. It reads like Marx. But, we must understand the Chinese come from a different place in their thinking. While I can't adopt this passage in my own life, I value it for its representation of the time and place of Lao Tzu.
On the other hand, there are other passages that speak to me and help me. For example:
Those who know do not talk.
Those who talk do not know.
Keep your mouth closed.
Guard your senses.
Temper your sharpness.
Simplify your problems.
Mask your brightness.
Be at one with the dust of the Earth.
This is primal union.
He who has achieved this state
Is unconcerned with friends and
enemies, With good and harm, with honor and
disgrace. This therefore is the highest state of
man.
The above passage makes sense to me. It has a libertarian tone and it appeals to my own belief system of listening more than talking, absorbing information and knowledge rather than providing it to others. We learn from listening, not talking. When we speak, we regurgitate our own thoughts. When we listen, we garner new information and knowledge.
The Tao Te Ching is hard to understand in some places and in some translations. I have a lovely translation that I read from daily. It's annotated and explained. But I dare say I find this simple translation of Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English very easy to read and understand. There's really no need for a commentary. Moreover, the simple Chinese illustrations are priceless and elegant.
This is a beautiful translation of this extraordinary masterpiece and I recommend it highly.
- Susanna K. Hutcheson
Tao Te ChingMay 12, 2010
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Did not have the artwork other editions have, but a great read even if for a class.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 critical changes from Feng and English's orginal translation and has none of english's art:Apr 05, 2010
Subtle changes in wording here and there that are glaring if you are familar with the orginal. Secondly, the absence of English's art takes something away. For a read of the Tao, it is still good. but...
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Enjoy the EnigmaDec 17, 2009
This oversized paperback is filled with beautiful words, Chinese script, and even black-and-white monographs. The translation is enigmatic, in that the same text on separate days may yield a polysemy of hermeneutics. But that, IMNSHO, is the beauty of the Tao -- to elude, to suggest, to open, to divide, and re-divide. No single book is perfect, but this one is a great visual metaphor for the enigma of a text that refuses to be "fixed."
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