Tao Te Ching (full) MP3

[iamjonathan]

I haven't posted or checked in recently even though I planned to because my internet connection in China is a bit sketchy.

Anyway, I recorded the full text of Stephen Mitchels translation of the Tao Te Ching to MP3 the other night.

If you want to listen to it, you can download it here:
http://www.wudangquan.com/taoteching.mp3

I also recorded the following other stuff for people to listen to if they want:

Chi Wen Dong - The Red Streaked Cave
The Pivot Of Jade
The Hsin Yin Ching - Imprint Of The Heart
Ching Jing Jing - Purity And Rest
Tai Hsi Ching - Respiration Of The Embryo
Universal Understanding

Sometime tonight I'll probably finish recording the entire Zhuang Zi, so if anyone doesn't think my voice is to over the top ridiculous or something, and wants that let me know.

I'm just recording these for myself, but since they're already recorded, I figured some people might like to listen to them on their mp3 player or computer also.

Regards,

Jonathan

[bruce]

thanks

[Darthwing Teorist]

Thanks!

[josh]

very nice of you to make these available to the forum... just FYI and FWIW Stephen Mitchell does not read Chinese and his "translation" is up there with Aleister Crowley and Ursula K. LeGuin's as some of the worst "interpretive translations" of the Daodejing (meaning, they just read some other people's translations and added their own 'poetic flair' to them). better to stick with one of the many translations made by reputable scholars...
one of my grad school professors wrote an article on this phenomenon:
Paul R. Goldin, “Those Who Don’t Know Speak: Translations of the Daode jing by People Who Do Not Know Chinese,” Asian Philosophy 12.3 (2002), 183-195.

Abstract:
This essay discusses selected English translations of the Daode jing by people who do not know Chinese, and criticizes them on three counts: they rely heavily on earlier translations; they fail any basic test of accuracy; and they distort and simplify the philosophy of the original. The paper concludes by considering why publishers continue to market such works, and why readers consume them.

[chud]

Josh, what translation do you like?

[Father_Jon]

Thanks for holding up the banner for quality (and qualified) translation, Josh!

Chud: FWIW, I always liked the Ames and Hall (Making this Life Significant), I've heard people attest to it's translation, though I can't speak to that myself.

[josh]

Josh, what translation do you like?

There are a ton of them out there so I'm a little biased towards my adviser, Victor H. Mair's translation (his translation of the ZHuangzi, entitled Wandering on the Way is also my favorite version of that text).
Other well-regarded translations that I can think of would be
Arthur Waley
D.C. Lau
Red Pine
Rudolf Wagner
Moss Roberts
there are also several translations (Roger Ames, Robert Henricks) based on recently excavated MS versions of this text that differ slightly from the received version.

[TaoJoannes]

very nice of you to make these available to the forum... just FYI and FWIW Stephen Mitchell does not read Chinese and his "translation" is up there with Aleister Crowley and Ursula K. LeGuin's as some of the worst "interpretive translations" of the Daodejing (meaning, they just read some other people's translations and added their own 'poetic flair' to them). better to stick with one of the many translations made by reputable scholars...
one of my grad school professors wrote an article on this phenomenon:
Paul R. Goldin, “Those Who Don’t Know Speak: Translations of the Daode jing by People Who Do Not Know Chinese,” Asian Philosophy 12.3 (2002), 183-195.

Abstract:
This essay discusses selected English translations of the Daode jing by people who do not know Chinese, and criticizes them on three counts: they rely heavily on earlier translations; they fail any basic test of accuracy; and they distort and simplify the philosophy of the original. The paper concludes by considering why publishers continue to market such works, and why readers consume them.

Fuck Crowley, but Ursula, oh Ursula, how could ye do it to us?

[cdobe]

This is a fantastic page about the Daodejing and other Chinese texts. It has 112 different English translations (among many different other languages). It also includes the Chinese characters and Pinyin.
http://home.pages.at/onkellotus/

[chud]

Thanks cdobe. And thanks Jonathan for making and posting the file.

[ashe]

it's all about the translation...

i tried to read wandering on the way. tried...

if it's the same translation i'm thinking of.

[Manco]

Fuck Crowley[/quote]

I totaly agree with this! The man was totaly insane and dangerously disturbed. But never the less, Crowley lived in Shanghai back in the 30's and for a short while, so i suppose he "may" have spoken some limited Chinese. It was a while before all that "Thelema" rubbish. He was quite an accomplished wizard in the western sense, but he also tried to merge in it some Eastern practices such as Yoga and what he perceived as Taoism.
I would agree with Josh and his teacher, and i would add that this phenomenon extends into the Chinese Medicine translation too.I once attended a workshop about Daoist acupuncture, and the teacher had his "own" interpretations of some not-yet-translated-classics, while he spoke no Chinese what-so-ever. Waste of my 50 pounds!

On the Crowley subject, people would find amusing his History of Atlantis. I think you can find it online if you google.