Translation Tussles

It’s been well over a decade now since serendipity brought me into the rich lands of the Tao, and particularly the Tao Te Ching.

By Larry N. Campbell

www.LarryNCampbell.com

It was about the time I was finishing a career as a math education professor and looking to expand my ongoing adventures on the spiritual path. Based mostly on curiosity arising from intriguing references from sources I trusted, I had decided I’d read one verse a day for a while to see if it spoke to me. It didn’t right away, which is not unusual, but I was intrigued enough to try a second time. Since then, I have become a regular reader. Each quarter, I start rereading a verse a day for 81 days. Gradually, I began using at least two to three translations each time, alternating various translations each return trip, sometimes adding new translations, mixing and matching, and the like. I have used at least twelve to fifteen translations at one time or another.

As might be imagined, then, I have naturally encountered several different — indeed, widely varying — translations of this literary, metaphysical, and spiritual-but-not-religious masterpiece. I have been repeatedly reminded that translations of the Tao Te Ching are almost as varied as the proverbial pens that write them and the audiences for which they are intended. Thus, their helpfulness — or lack thereof — to an interested reader varies greatly from translation to translation, from reader to reader, and even from reading to reading!

In the beginning, this was somewhat frustrating to me. In the first place, I realized how lucky it was (for me, at least!) to have started with the excellent translations of Steve Mitchell and William Martin. (1) Together, they formed a perfect balance for me— both quite readable, but with different wordings that simultaneously held my attention and provided enough early variety to spark my curiosity. With other more obscure translations, I might have bailed fairly quickly.

Second, I began to wonder things like, “Which of these is right?” “Can I trust this translation and/or that translator?” and “Why are they so different?”

I also began to notice that, in the midst of that uncertainty, that it felt better to have 2 or 3 translations and see their perspectives, however different, than to only have one at a time – and roll the dice, so to speak. It didn’t stop the questions, but it gave me more food for thought.

What would be most helpful, I decided, was a resource that parallels a few translations at a time, providing the opportunity for instant comparison between renderings while simultaneously enhancing one’s insights into the individual messages of each chapter and finding translations that speak to the reader. While such resources exist for the New Testament and/or Gospels, for example, I often searched for such a resource for the Tao Te Ching and could not find a book version. (2) There are some varied online digital resources, but they have their flaws (including the important question of their legality!) and further require having a digital device nearby to use them, of course. slowly and reluctantly creep into my consciousness. (I’m not a Taoist scholar, but I figured I could compile translations.) In a less-than-sane moment, I tentatively began to explore. Had I realized then some of the things such a project would entail, I might have quickly retreated and recovered my sanity. (3) But I had begun the exploration process and established a tiny bit of momentum before that realization began, so I decided to continue the journey. And, after over a year of work, including a few glitches, of course, the manifestation of that crazy impulse was recently released.

A Few Words About The Variety Of Translations

While preparing the book, I put various excerpts of it into the hands of some friends and family I thought would be sympathetic-but-truthful early readers. I was mostly seeking input on the content and feel of my own comments sections, but invariably their first response to me was something along the lines of, “Wow — I didn’t realize the translations could vary so much!” (And this from only seeing three translations at a time!) I was somewhat struck by this collective reaction, but not surprised, of course. It was my own similar reactions that eventually manifested into the book.

So, why is that so? Why are the translations occasionally so different in spite of their common origin? There are several reasons, of course — some obvious, some subtle. As you may know, the original Tao Te Ching was not a book of words as we now know them. It was a collection of traditional Chinese symbols and characters, each of which had a variety of shades of meaning.

Remembering this fact presents a helpful picture, not only of the original book itself, but of its background and of the perilous situation and decisions facing modern Western translators. For, while the symbols themselves might have been highly recognizable, Lao Tzu’s broader messages, to which the symbols point, have been elusive and debated since even those early times. (4)

So, what’s a translator to do, especially a non-Chinese (in language and/or culture) translator from centuries later, and likely from the West? In some ways, it’s a typical problem for translators in general — only, in this case, the problem is on steroids! Spring 2022 — Page 9

On the one hand, translators in general obviously feel a desire and an ethical need to stay as close to the original wording (or at least its perceived intent) as possible. In this book, you’ll find translations that do that.

But remembering that (a) the original wording wasn’t really a wording; (b) Chinese symbols have varieties of shades of meanings; and (c) a major theme of the Tao Te Ching is that using words can mask/limit reality, with knowing and expounding often being competing ideas (see verse 56, e.g.), the situation gets instantly more complicated.

So, Tao Te Ching translators will often not try quite as hard to capture the original words, but seek instead to try to capture the music behind those words. (5) Some translators will even move toward more of a mild paraphrase translation of sorts. These renditions seek to speak the ageless wisdom the Tao brings to today’s world and those of us who live in it. (“The true power of the TTC isn’t the poetic language, but the practical wisdom” says Ron Hogan in the introduction of his book. (6) And, of course, some translators will try to seek the best of all worlds in various combinations of the above approaches. There are, in fact, translations using each of these approaches in the book.

Not only have translators approached these dilemmas in obviously different ways, so, too, will/do each of us as individuals have to answer similar sorts of questions for ourselves as we seek effective translations— and growth—for our own purposes and our own spiritual paths. And, to me, that has become a key point that has opened the door to some new insights.

Conclusion

One of my spiritual mentors, Bob Hubbard, to whom the book was dedicated, used to tell the story of church members leaving his Sunday services in his earlier pastoring days. He said it wasn’t unusual to hear, “I especially enjoyed the part of your message where you said so-and-so.” He would then relate that he had never consciously intended so-and-so to be a part of his message that morning. He would grin and call it the power of God working through the sermon. He said that was part of the reason Jesus taught in parables, and I’ve come to believe that the principle is as much at work in the Tao Te Ching, if not more so! In that vein, I am, I believe, slowly beginning to learn to experience the power of the Tao speaking to me through the Tao Te Ching. The question of, “Which one of these is right?” has become almost academic, especially considering the nebulous nature of the Tao Te Ching and the Chinese language itself. Instead the question has become, “Which translation is speaking to me this time, and what is it telling me?” To me, this has become an important perspective, and a highly legitimate one. And it has helped my outlook and my own overall Tao growth tremendously.

So, in a similar manner, I would encourage you to see if such an approach works for you. Be open to “the power of the Tao speaking to you through the Tao Te Ching”. Indeed, listen for it. Learn to hear what it says to you, and learn how/when to trust it. These are difficult tasks, and I don’t claim to anywhere near an expert. Indeed, I’m still a practicing lay reader, if you will. But it’s changing the way I read the Tao, and it’s changing the effect the Tao has on me. I wish the same for you.

Endnotes

1. Mitchell, Stephen. 2006. Tao Te Ching: A New English Version, Harper Perennial Modern Classics edition. New York: HarperCollins Publishers; Martin, William. 2016. Walking the Tao. Mount Shasta, CA: Taoist Living.

2, 3. Part of the reason for the unexpected difficulty of the project probably also speaks to the rarity of such resources: Unlike biblical translations, for example, excerpting entire verses from most of these translations requires publisher permissions. These can be cumbersome (not to mention time-consuming) to obtain and often require user fees as well.

4. In the preface of his book, Victor Mair [Tzu, Lao. 1990. TAO TE CHING. Translated and annotated by Victor H. Mair. New York: Bantam Books] states, “In the words of the author himself, it [the Tao Te Ching] is supposedly ‘very easy to understand,’ when actually it is quite difficult to comprehend fully. Paradox is the essence of the Tao Te Ching, so much so that even scholars with a solid grounding in classical Chinese cannot be sure they have grasped what the Old Master is really saying in his pithy maxims.”

See book review, page 34.

5. In his introduction, Andrew Beaulac [2016. Sitting with Lao Tzu. Berkeley, CA: Apocryphile Press] tells the story of a fortunate meeting with Red Pine, in which he (Beaulac) discussed his own battles with this very dilemma. He remembers Red Pine’s answer this way, “Translation is like a dance; if you and Laozi are hearing the same melody, you will be dancing in unison even if you are on the other side of the room from each other. You don’t need to stand on [his] toes in your translation.” After that, Beaulac said, he was “immediately released from a wooden, word-for-word translation.”

6. Hogan, Ron. 2010. Getting Right with Tao: A Contemporary Spin on the Tao Te Ching. New York: Channel V Books, a division of Channel V Media.