taoismtaoism Posted February 21, 2015 (edited) Hello all, Some of you may have seen my post about the app I made for the Tao Te Ching (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ftt.taoteching&hl=en) Anyway, I was hoping to add more translations to my app (right now I have Mitchell, McDonald and Legge). So, if you have any good links to free online translations of the Tao te Ching, then I would really appreciate it if you could share them with me. Thanks Edited February 21, 2015 by taoismtaoism 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soaring crane Posted February 21, 2015 The original Richard Wilhelm Don't know if this link will work, can update it later.... http://scholar.google.de/scholar?bvm=bv.86475890,d.bGQ&biw=360&bih=567&um=1&ie=UTF-8&lr&q=related:BIyTVey2K15RMM:scholar.google.com/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
taoismtaoism Posted February 22, 2015 Yeah, the link doesn't seem work. If you could link to the actual website, it would be so helpful Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shidifen Posted February 22, 2015 Here's a link to download a PDF of Wilhelm's German "Tao Te King"- http://home.arcor.de/holofeelings/Tao_Te_King.pdf And here's a link to Terebess Asia Online with a heap of English translations. Most of them have details of where the translation came from so you might be able to personally contact whoever owns the copyright to it- http://terebess.hu/english/tao/_index.html And if you haven't read it yet, here's a link to one of the more interesting takes on the Tao Te Ching, a "modern interpretation of Lao Tzu perpetrated by Ron Hogan". It might not be suitable for your needs, but its a good read- http://www.beatrice.com/TAO.pdf Good luck with your app. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soaring crane Posted February 22, 2015 here's the link to the Wilhelm that I tried to post previously. It should open as a pdf and the actual transslation begins on p. 4 oh! same link the shidifen posted up there /\ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
taoismtaoism Posted February 23, 2015 The translation is in German so I can't use it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soaring crane Posted February 23, 2015 The translation is in German so I can't use it why not? You have other languages ... This is one of the most important translations of all, afaik. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
taoismtaoism Posted February 24, 2015 I'll see, but I don't think the app is popular at all in Germany Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soaring crane Posted February 24, 2015 well maybe because you don't have German on it, lol ;-) It's popular in Portugal, Spain and France? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shidifen Posted February 24, 2015 The translation is in German so I can't use it Richard Wilhelm was a German sinologist. All of his works were originally written in German, with his best known work, the I Ching, being translated from the German into English by a friend of Carl Jung, Mrs. Cary Baynes. There is supposedly an English translation of Wilhelm's Tao Te King by H.G. Ostwald, but I've only been able to find the first chapter of it online. http://www.bopsecrets.org/gateway/passages/tao-te-ching.htm The DAO that can be expressed is not the eternal DAO. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. “Non-existence” I call the beginning of Heaven and Earth. “Existence” I call the mother of individual beings. Therefore does the direction towards non-existence lead to the sight of the miraculous essence, the direction towards existence to the sight of spatial limitations. Both are one in origin and different only in name. In its unity it is called the secret. The secret’s still deeper secret is the gateway through which all miracles emerge. If anyone has read the complete version I'd love to hear their thoughts on it. On a barely related subject, one of my favorite translations of the Yijing is an English translation of a Japanese translation of the original Chinese, the Takashima Ekidan of Kaemon Takashima, translated into English by Shigetake Sugiura. Here's two links. The first is for the complete book with commentary and example readings, the second is just the judgements and lines. http://google.com.au/books?id=agkvAAAAYAAJ&redir_esc=y http://www.russellcottrell.com/VirtualYarrowStalks/TakashimaEkidanA5.pdf Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soaring crane Posted February 24, 2015 Richard Wilhelm was a German sinologist. All of his works were originally written in German, with his best known work, the I Ching, being translated from the German into English by a friend of Carl Jung, Mrs. Cary Baynes. There is supposedly an English translation of Wilhelm's Tao Te King by H.G. Ostwald, but I've only been able to find the first chapter of it online. http://www.bopsecrets.org/gateway/passages/tao-te-ching.htm The DAO that can be expressed is not the eternal DAO. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. “Non-existence” I call the beginning of Heaven and Earth. “Existence” I call the mother of individual beings. Therefore does the direction towards non-existence lead to the sight of the miraculous essence, the direction towards existence to the sight of spatial limitations. Both are one in origin and different only in name. In its unity it is called the secret. The secret’s still deeper secret is the gateway through which all miracles emerge. Where you have Dao, Wilhelm actually used the word "Sinn", which is interesting. It translates to many things in English: Sense (as in sensory), Reason, Purpose and Mind being the three that occur to me at the moment. How did Wilhelm mean the word "Sinn"? I don't really know. But he didn't use "Dao". Where you have "non-existence" he used "nichtsein" which (to me) more literally translates to "not be" (i.e. to be or not to be, etc). It's a little different. The rest seems quite true to the original (and my divergences are only my personal sense of the texts). It's a intriguing adaptation for sure. And one of the earliest into a western language. I want to add that, to my ears, the German is more poetic and picturesque. English translations often come accross as dry and utilitarian (and I'm American). This is good page for comparing many ways to render the first chapter into English: http://www.bopsecrets.org/gateway/passages/tao-te-ching.htm 1 Der Sinn, der sich aussprechen läßt, ist nicht der ewige Sinn. Der Name, der sich nennen läßt, ist nicht der ewige Name. "Nichtsein" nenne ich den Anfang von Himmel und Erde. "Sein" nenne ich die Mutter der Einzelwesen. Darum führt die Richtung auf das Nichtsein zum Schauen des wunderbaren Wesens, die Richtung auf das Sein zum Schauen der räum lichen Begrenztheiten. Beides ist eins dem Ursprung nach und nur verschiede n durch den Namen. In seiner Einheit heißt es das Geheimnis. Des Geheimnisses noch tieferes Geheimnis ist das Tor, durch das alle Wunder hervortreten. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shidifen Posted February 24, 2015 Where you have Dao, Wilhelm actually used the word "Sinn", which is interesting. It translates to many things in English: Sense (as in sensory), Reason, Purpose and Mind being the three that occur to me at the moment. How did Wilhelm mean the word "Sinn"? I don't really know. But he didn't use "Dao". There’s a coincidence, I had just read chapter five of Wilhelm’s Ta Chuan (fifth and sixth wings) and this is the footnote he wrote- Tao (SINN) is something that sets in motion and maintains the interplay of these forces. As this something means only a direction, invisible and in no way material, the Chinese chose for it the loan word tao, meaning “way”, “course”, which is also nothing in itself, yet serves to regulate all movements. For a discussion of the translation of the word tao, see the introduction to my translation of Lao-tse. Cary Baynes then points to her footnote in Wilhelm’s introduction to the I Ching- [Here, as throughout the book, Wilhelm uses the German word Sinn (“meaning”) in capitals (SINN) for the Chinese word tao. The reasons that led Wilhelm to choose SINN to represent tao (see p. xiv of the introduction to his translation of Lao-tse: Tao Te King: Das Buch des Alten von Sinn und Leben, 3rd edn., Dusseldorf and Cologne, 1952) have no relation to the English word “meaning”. Therefore in the English rendering, “tao” has been used wherever SINN occurs.] 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soaring crane Posted February 25, 2015 There’s a coincidence, I had just read chapter five of Wilhelm’s Ta Chuan (fifth and sixth wings) and this is the footnote he wrote- Tao (SINN) is something that sets in motion and maintains the interplay of these forces. As this something means only a direction, invisible and in no way material, the Chinese chose for it the loan word tao, meaning “way”, “course”, which is also nothing in itself, yet serves to regulate all movements. For a discussion of the translation of the word tao, see the introduction to my translation of Lao-tse. Interesting, thank you :-) Yes... Sinn can be the "reason" behind the reality, the reason for the season. That does fit well. Btw, I was informed that the Wilhelm may well be copyrighted and not free for commercial uses. It's not 100% clear. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shidifen Posted February 25, 2015 I had considered the copyright ramifications of taoismtaoism's request for translations. That's why I suggested he contact copyright owners of any work he uses. I've done a quick check regarding Wilhelm's work, both the original German and its English translation. Here's a link to Australia's basic copyright rules- http://www.nla.gov.au/how-long-does-copyright-last Richard Wilhelm's original German translation is no longer under copyright in Australia or the U.S. That copyright ran out in 1980, fifty years after Wilhelm's death. Cary Baynes' translation, on the other hand, isn't due to enter the public domain until 2047, seventy years after her death in 1977. New copyright legislation related to the 2005 Australia/U.S. free trade agreement came into being in 2006, hence the fifty years for Wilhelm and seventy years for Baynes. It's ok to quote her work, though, under the fair dealing rule, i.e. for research and study, as long as we're not quoting a substantial amount. In Australia that means ten percent of the total work or one complete chapter. http://www.copyright.org.au/admin/cms-acc1/_images/558205754bc4c0ec120b.pdf 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flowing hands Posted February 25, 2015 Of course one can download a free copy of my transmission from my website http://life-in-crisis.info 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
