Here are six versions of Chapter One I've engaged with over the years. I wish I could say I remember which was the first. I suspect actually, none of these. I've listed them in chronological order simply because they have to be ordered some way.
第一章 道可道,非常道。名可名,非常名。 无名天地之始;有名万物之母。 故常无,欲以观其妙;常有,欲以观其徼。 此两者,同出而异名,同谓之玄。玄之又玄,众妙之门。
Tao can be talked about, but not the Eternal Tao. Names can be named, but not the Eternal Name. As the origin of heaven-and-earth, it is nameless As ‘the mother’ of all things, it is nameable. So, as ever hidden, we should look at its inner essence: As always manifest, we should look at its outer aspects. These two flow from the same source, though differently named: And both are called mysteries. The mystery of mysteries is the Door of all essence. 2. Vincent H. Mair (1990) The ways that can be walked are not the eternal Way: The names that can be named are not the eternal name. The nameless is the origin of the myriad creatures; The named is the mother of the myriad creatures. Therefore, Always be without desire In order to observe its wondrous subtleties Always have desire So that you may observe its manifestations Mystery of Mysteries, The Gate of all wonders. 3. Tao Te Ching (The Definitive Edition) Translation and commentary by Jonathan Star. (2001) A way that can be walked Is not The Way A name that can be named Is not The Name Tao is both Named and Nameless As Nameless it is the origin of all things As Named, it is the mother of all things A mind free of thought, Merged within itself Beholds the essence of Tao A mind filled with thought Identified with its own perceptions Beholds the mere forms of this world Tao and the world seem different But in truth they are one and the same The only difference is what we call them How deep and mysterious is this unity How profound, how great! It is the truth beyond the truth, The hidden within the hidden, It is the path to all wonder The gate to the essence of everything. 4. A philosophical translation Dao De Ching ‘Making this life Significant’ Featuring the recently discovered Bamboo Texts. Translated and with a commentary by Roger T.Ames and David L.Hall. (2003) Way making that can be put into words is not really way making And naming that can assign fixed reference to things is not really naming The nameless is the fetal beginnings of everything that is happening While that which is named is their mother Thus, to be really objective in one’s desires is how to observe the mysteries of all things While really having desires is how to observe their boundaries These two - the nameless and what is named - emerge from the same source yet are referred to differently. Together they are called obscure The obscurest of the obscure They are the swinging gateway of the manifold mystery. 5. Tao Te Ching on the Art of Harmony Chad Hansen 2009 Ways can be guided; they are not fixed ways Names can be named; they are not fixed names ‘Absence’ names the cosmic horizon ‘Presence’ names the mother of 10,000 natural kinds Fixing on ‘absence’ is to want to view enigmas Fixing on ‘presence’ is to want to view phenomena. These two, emerging together, we name differently. Conceiving of them as being one: call that ‘fathomless.’ Calling it ‘fathomless’ is still not to fathom it … the door to a cluster of puzzles. plus 6. Derek Lin (online translation, I'm not sure of the date) The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao The name that can be named is not the eternal name The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth The named is the mother of myriad things Thus, constantly without desire, one observes its essence Constantly with desire, one observes its manifestations These two emerge together but differ in name The unity is said to be the mystery Mystery of mysteries, the door to all wonders For my entertainment I made a table with all the variations line by line - but I've lost it for now. If I find it again I'll post, and if I don't, one day I'll do it again when the mood takes me! Comments are closed.
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