Most accurate translation of Chang Tzu?

[JustARandomPanda]

What is the most accurate (most 'chinese-like' the way Chinese understand it) translation of Chang Tzu? Can someone link me to it on Amazon, B&N or ABE?

 

Thanks

[ChiDragon]

SB.....

Sorry, no such animal.

[dawei]

Here is Legge's translation online:

http://oaks.nvg.org/ys1ra5.html

 

Here is Bruce Watson's on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Zhuangzi-Basic-Writings-Burton-Watson/dp/0231129599/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1359513482&sr=8-2&keywords=zhuang+zi

 

A.C. Graham on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Inner-Chapters-Zhuangzi/dp/0872205819/ref=pd_sim_b_3

 

 

Roger Ames, more like a primer on how to read ZZ:

http://www.amazon.com/Wandering-Zhuangzi-Chinese-Philosophy-Culture/dp/0791439224/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359513670&sr=8-1&keywords=wandering+at+ease

 

Others:

http://www.amazon.com/Zhuangzi-Longman-Library-Primary-Philosophy/dp/0321273567/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1359513979&sr=8-7&keywords=zhuangzi

 

http://www.amazon.com/Zhuangzi-Library-Chinese-Classics-Chinese-English/dp/7543820870/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1359513979&sr=8-11&keywords=zhuangzi

 

 

Chan wrote a small section in his must-own opus "A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy":

Chan, Wing-Tsit (1963). A Source Book In Chinese Philosophy. USA: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01964-9.

 

 

 

Some chapters by Derek Lin:

http://www.truetao.org/chuang/home.htm

[Harmonious Emptiness]

Personally, I find that Legge is the most word for word in his translations, however, his old style of English can sometimes be confusing with certain word uses having meanings that they rarely do anymore. He usually puts words in brackets which were not in the original text but required to mean the same thing in English.

 

Maybe cross a Legge translation with a Watson translation for accuracy.

Edited January 30, 2013 by Harmonious Emptiness

[silas]

The Legge is one of the oldest of the translations though, and I have the feeling that he didn't really understand Taoist thought because he was a Christian missionary. However, if you're interested in a Christian mapping of Taoist thought, then Legge's translations may be of interest. Be careful, as missionaries tend to bias the translations so as to avoid glorifying other theological and philosophical systems.

[Mark Saltveit]

I don't know what "Chinese like" would mean, but here are some I enjoy. Many translations only include the first 7 (Inner) chapters, which are most likely to have been written by Zhuangzi himself.

 

Thomas Merton's abridged version is elegant and very clear for an American. He also chooses very judiciously outside the Inner Chapters and finds many gems there.

 

David Hinton's translation (Inner Chapters only) is tasty and includes translations of the clearly constructed names, which is unique.

 

Two new ones I haven't seen but look interesting, and I look forward to. Brook Ziporyn's is the latest and highly regarded, selections with commentaries from over the years.

http://www.amazon.com/Zhuangzi-Essential-Selections-Traditional-Commentaries/dp/0872209121/ref=sr_1_1

 

Livia Kohn, a highly regarded scholar and Daoist practitioner, also published in 2011 a "fresh, modern translation of key selections" called "Chuang-tzu: The Tao of Perfect Happiness." Chapter 1 is online:

http://liviakohn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Chapter1.pdf

[Reed]

Two new ones I haven't seen but look interesting, and I look forward to. Brook Ziporyn's is the latest and highly regarded, selections with commentaries from over the years.

http://www.amazon.com/Zhuangzi-Essential-Selections-Traditional-Commentaries/dp/0872209121/ref=sr_1_1

 

I was wondering what this one was like. I've been looking for a commentary on ZZ for a little while now.

 

Livia Kohn, a highly regarded scholar and Daoist practitioner, also published in 2011 a "fresh, modern translation of key selections" called "Chuang-tzu: The Tao of Perfect Happiness." Chapter 1 is online:

http://liviakohn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Chapter1.pdf

 

Thanks for the link. I had my eye on this one as well and look forward to having a bit of a read of it.