In eighty-one brief chapters, Lao-tzu's Tao Te Ching, or Book of the Way, provides advice that imparts balance and perspective, a serene and generous spirit, and teaches us how to work for the good with the effortless skill that comes from being in accord with the Tao—the basic principle of the universe.

Stephen Mitchell's bestselling version has been widely acclaimed as a gift to contemporary culture.

The standard defense of a "version" like Mitchell's is that he has some special insight into the text that entitles him to interpret it. But the danger of an interpretation like Mitchell's is that it projects modern Western preconceptions onto the Tao Te Ching instead of allowing us to be challenged by the powerful, paradoxical, and even frightening original text. In fact, Mitchell projects Zen Buddhist and New Age ideas into his "interpetation." (And, No, Zen Buddhism is not the same as Taoism, any more than Catholicism is the same as Judaism.) Someone who actually reads the original Classical Chinese, and is familiar with the historical and cultural context in which the text was composed is much more likely to be insightful about the text. Another common comment is that someone like Mitchell doesn't get lost in boring scholarly stuff. But there are plenty of exciting, fun to read translations by people who can actually read the original. The first Tao Te Ching translation I read was by D.C. Lau. He was a truly great scholar, but his translation is very elegant and very readable. Other terrific translations by people who actually know the "text and context" include those by Victor Mair, Robert Henricks, and Philip J. Ivanhoe. (Ivanhoe's translation is available both as a separate book, and as part of the anthology he co-edited, Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy.)

Oh, and the "editorial review" that Amazon lists above is actually not a review of Mitchell's translation at all. (There is no way to report that using their "corrections" button.)


mediocre and superficial   February 7, 2001
 65 out of 87 found this review helpful

I bought this translation after reading the Amazon reviews and I am sorry to report I was fooled. By the "translator"'s admission. this is a paraphrase of other translations, and it shows. He has similarly translated from sanskrit and hebrew. If you can read the original text you know what I mean; if you can't, I suggest that you obtain a philological, annotated translation. I have one written in italian, and it reveals secondary meanings and subtleties that are completely lost in this one. In this booklet you won't find a single annotation. imagine what a chinese could understand of Genesis or Revelation without having a single accompanying note.
Besides that, the language used by the translator is colloquial (not necessarily a bad thing, although the original is not written in a colloquial style), very trite (a bad thing) and politically correct (the deity is inevitably female). If you like Maya Angelou or some New Age guru this may be the version for you. Since I trust your intelligence, I invite you to look elsewhere.

Unfortunately I cannot suggest a better rendition in English. I am looking for one myself, and would appreciate any suggestion from other adventurous readers.


Welcoming both saints and sinners.   May 21, 2001
 50 out of 64 found this review helpful

I was a bit bothered by Stephen Mitchell's version at first, but after spending more time with it begin to have second thoughts. It's true that he hasn't given us a literal reading of Lao Tzu's text. He's dropped bits here and there, and seems to have sneaked in a few bits of his own. But hey! Surely a guy who has survived fourteen years of Zen torture, erh... training, has earned some rights?

In effect what Mitchell has done is to give us a stripped-down and modernized re-working of the Tao Te Ching. This strategy has led to some very real benefits. Many of the obscurer details, details that even have Chinese scholars scratching their heads, seem to have pretty well gone. Also gone is the wordiness of other translations. What remains is the essence, and it stands out clearly.

Frankly I don't think you'll miss much of Lao Tzu's message of peace, simplicity, patience, compassion, tolerance. No important notion seems to have been lost. And Mitchell's language has a wonderful simplicity and directness. Here's an example chosen at random from Chapter 9, with my slash marks to indicate line breaks:

"Chase after money and security / and your heart will never unclench. / Care about people's approval / and you will be their prisoner."

These are important truths. Two of the many in this text that we do well to keep in mind. And "unclench" -- the grasping heart as a tight clenched fist -- is a very nice touch.

Of course, it isn't exactly what Lao Tzu said. But somehow I don't think Old Master Lao would mind. After all, didn't he suggest we should "welcome both saints and sinners"?


new age taoism   March 22, 1999
 48 out of 72 found this review helpful

As a Taoist I am offended when I read people saying that it's irrelevant whether Mitchell's interpolation is a good "translation" of the Tao Te Ching, irrelevant whether this is a good introduction to Taoism -- what matters to these people, and nothing else, is whether this book "moved" them.

Imagine you're a devout Christian, and someone has read a particularly beautiful, but misleading and inaccurate, translation of the Bible. Suppose you complain that Christ's message has been garbled and distorted by the "translation" -- by someone who knows no Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek -- and this person replies: "It's pretty irrelevant to me whether this is a 'proper translation' of the Bible. If a piece of art, writing or performance touches you to the core of your being then all criticism is really obsolete," etc.

Okay, quick quiz: Who of you think it would be right for someone to misinterpret the Bible into having Jehova or Christ saying things They didn't say, and then defend that interpretation because it is relevant to them? Well, you might say, it's their right to see the Bible that way, but it's certainly not Judaism or Christianity, now is it?

Just as Mitchell's so-called "translation" is _not_ Taoism. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Of course New Agers simply don't care; if it makes them happy, "moves" them, and reifies beliefs they already have, who cares about us cynics complaining about the inaccuracies of the text itself? Just accuse us of being obsessed with textual criticism, languages, and with our petty, close-minded insistence on understanding Taoism and not twisting the Tao Te Ching for its easier but uninsightful digestion by Westerners with little or no concern about actually expanding their understanding of othr belief systems.


Mitchell's translation of the Tao Te Ching is definitive.   October 2, 1997
 47 out of 52 found this review helpful

Next to the Bible, the most translated book in the world is the Tao Te Ching, the ancient Chinese Book of the Way. It lays the philosophical foundations for one of the world's great wisdom traditions, Taoism. Written approximately 2,500 years ago by the legendary sage Lao Tzu, this classic continues to inspire readers today. To translate a work that has been translated so many times before--and so well--may seem almost an act of hubris. But as the English language continues to evolve, it is the duty of the translator to attempt to restate a classic for his or her generation, in a language that they can best understand. Stephen Mitchell, in Tao Te Ching: A New English Version, has done that for our generation. And to him we owe a debt of gratitude. Huston Smith has called this translation "definitive," and he has spoken well. At first, a traditionalist may be startled by, for instance, Mitchell's referring to the master as alternately "he" and "she;" whereas, the original refers to the master as masculine, only, thereby reflecting the truth of things in sixth century B.C. China. But when one remembers that the translator is duty-bound to bring the ideas of the text to his or her contemporaries in a way that will have most meaning for them, then one can see the wisdom of taking such a liberty. And, after all, it is in the spirit of Taoism to adapt to the circumstance. As water sometimes comes to earth in the form of rain, sometimes snow, and sometimes sleet, but always in accord with the season, so this classic comes to us now in a form that is right for our own day. Thus, once again, this time with the help of Stephen Mitchell, the Tao Te Ching speaks to humanity, pointing the way.