menu
cover image TAO TE CHING: A New Translation and Commentary

TAO TE CHING: A New Translation and Commentary

Lao Tzu, , trans. by Ralph Alan Dale, photos by John Cleare, foreword by Barbara Marx Hub. Watkins, $24.95 (256pp) ISBN 978-1-84293-056-4

Dale, a teacher of alternative medicine and author of Acupuncture with Your Fingers, offers a new translation of the ancient Chinese text credited by legend to the sixth-century sage Lao Tzu. Relying on several earlier translations from Chinese, Dale lovingly renders the 81 sections into verse rather than prose. Accompanied by Cleare's evocative black-and-white nature photographs, each poem is titled and stands alone. Included are Dale's informed commentaries for each verse that present the meaning of Lao Tzu's words for life today. For example Verse 30, "Defense and Aggression," is interpreted as permitting defense against violence, but never taking revenge or attempting to conquer others through the use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. One meaning of Verse 49, "Wisdom," is that each human, no matter how compromised and corrupted, has an innate humanity in his or her core. Dale uses the last verse, "The Paradoxes of Life," to summarize the meanings in the first 80. He contends that despite the evil uses that technology has been put to, such as the development of weapons of mass destruction, it is possible to transform this technological knowledge into a mutually dependent system of economy and communications that may be used to meet the needs of people worldwide. This transformation is a way for the modern world to live within Lao Tzu's Great Integrity, a life of harmony with one another. (Apr.)

close
Details

Reviewed on: 03/24/2003

Genre: Nonfiction

Downloadable Audio - 978-0-06-144952-9

Hardcover - 92 pages - 978-1-61382-778-9

Hardcover - 112 pages - 978-0-486-84190-8

Hardcover - 208 pages - 978-1-83940-395-8

Hardcover - 108 pages - 979-10-299-0943-6

Hardcover - 128 pages - 978-1-3988-4477-3

Hardcover - 208 pages - 978-1-3988-4079-9

Hardcover - 180 pages - 978-93-5440-669-0

Hardcover - 88 pages - 979-8-8809-1228-5

Hardcover - 222 pages - 978-1-84293-123-3

Hardcover - 97 pages - 978-1-58243-047-8

Open Ebook - 978-1-326-30641-0

Open Ebook - 92 pages - 978-1-926487-51-9

Open Ebook - 176 pages - 978-1-101-14301-8

Open Ebook - 176 pages - 978-1-101-14378-0

Open Ebook - 978-1-291-25689-5

Paperback - 112 pages - 978-1-58509-227-7

Paperback - 68 pages - 978-1-5396-9140-2

Paperback - 36 pages - 978-1-5431-9659-7

Paperback - 114 pages - 978-1-4538-8982-4

Paperback - 114 pages - 978-1-4536-4090-6

Paperback - 30 pages - 978-1-7263-6974-9

Paperback - 122 pages - 978-1-905925-03-2

Paperback - 84 pages - 978-1-4783-9996-4

Paperback - 80 pages - 978-0-486-29792-7

Paperback - 50 pages - 978-1-78724-765-9

Paperback - 78 pages - 978-1-387-77925-3

Paperback - 88 pages - 978-1-60459-367-9

Paperback - 86 pages - 978-0-9799052-6-1

Paperback - 108 pages - 978-1-4515-6381-8

Paperback - 92 pages - 978-1-61382-242-5

Paperback - 98 pages - 978-1-57898-998-0

Paperback - 96 pages - 978-0-7112-3649-3

Paperback - 106 pages - 978-81-947648-2-3

Paperback - 70 pages - 978-1-4209-7794-3

Paperback - 128 pages - 978-987-718-706-9

Paperback - 116 pages - 978-93-86538-18-5

Paperback - 88 pages - 979-8-8809-1230-8

Paperback - 88 pages - 979-8-8809-1229-2

Paperback - 88 pages - 978-1-59986-935-3

Paperback - 88 pages - 978-1-59547-951-8

Paperback - 70 pages - 978-1-897384-98-5

Paperback - 156 pages - 978-1-5118-9682-5

Paperback - 156 pages - 978-1-5118-9884-3

Paperback - 34 pages - 978-1-5153-3116-2

Paperback - 88 pages - 978-1-4840-9074-9

Paperback - 132 pages - 978-1-937981-07-5

Paperback - 66 pages - 978-1-4820-6551-0

Paperback - 86 pages - 978-1-5005-6202-1

Paperback - 156 pages - 978-1-5118-9682-5

Paperback - 156 pages - 978-1-5118-9884-3

Paperback - 96 pages - 978-1-4327-6568-2

Paperback - 92 pages - 978-1-4610-7842-5

Paperback - 86 pages - 978-1-4495-5270-1

Paperback - 36 pages - 978-1-5195-0984-0

Paperback - 208 pages - 978-1-59308-256-7

Paperback - 34 pages - 978-1-5483-5011-6

Paperback - 114 pages - 978-1-4515-5040-5

Paperback - 128 pages - 978-0-7858-2688-0

Paperback - 64 pages - 978-1-4209-3327-7

Paperback - 132 pages - 978-1-937981-07-5

Paperback - 36 pages - 978-1-5195-0984-0

Paperback - 48 pages - 978-1-64798-619-3

Paperback - 116 pages - 978-93-86538-31-4

Paperback - 978-1-5299-4488-4