While exploring classical Chinese literature, I’ve been dipping into the ‘Tao Te Ching‘ by Lao Tzu recently, marvelling at its beauty. The edition I dipped into, translated by Ralph Alan Dale, had Chinese calligraphy and beautiful, exquisite, black-and-white landscape pictures, which made the reading experience even more beautiful.
I thought I’ll share one of my favourite verses from the book, Verse 11. I read it for the first time in a footnote in the Korean classic ‘The Nine Cloud Dream’ by Kim Man-Jung. When I read it for the first time, it had a profound effect on me. I got goosebumps and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Such a simple thought but with such profound depth.
I thought I’ll share three of the translations of Verse 11 that I read. They are all beautiful, with subtle differences, especially in the last lines. Friends have told me that the three translations are like hearing the same story from three different points of view and how all of them together are required to savour the meaning of those lines.
Translation 1 – By Heinz Insu Fenkl
Thirty spokes share a central hub;
It is the hole that makes the wheel useful.
Mix water and clay into a vessel;
Its emptiness is what makes it useful.
Cut doors and windows for a room;
Their emptiness is what makes them useful.
Therefore consider: advantage comes from having things
And usefulness from having nothing.
Translation 2 – By D.C.Lau
Thirty spokes join at one hub;
emptiness makes the cart useful.
Cast clay into a pot;
the emptiness inside makes it useful.
Cut doors and windows to make a room;
emptiness makes the room useful.
Thus being is beneficial,
but usefulness comes from the void.
Translation 3 – By Ralph Alan Dale
We join thirty spokes
to the hub of a wheel,
yet it’s the center hole
that drives the chariot.
We shape clay
to birth a vessel,
yet it’s the hollow within
that makes it useful.
We chisel doors and windows
to construct a room,
yet it’s the inner space
that makes it livable.
Thus do we
create what is
to use what is not.
Did you like this verse? Which of the three translations is your favourite?
Fascinating how different three translations can be. I think I prefer the first!
I would have thought these inaccessible, but they’re beautiful and welcoming somehow. What your friends have said about the translations is so nice.
Glad you liked this verse and its translations 😊
I love the Tao te Ching, Vishy, so I enjoyed this post. I’ve only ever read one translation, by Stephen Mitchell, so I appreciated seeing these other versions. You’re right, they all contribute something different. It’s like looking at a work of art from different angles! I think Mitchell’s version of this verse brings another point of view:
We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.
We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want.
We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable.
We work with being,
but non-being is what we use.
I find his style simpler than the other translations, and I find that the central point comes through more clearly. It’s also beautiful to me. But one thing I don’t know is how much he or any of these other translators stay true to the original vs bringing in their own style and interpretations.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for sharing Stephen Mitchell’s translation, Andrew. I love this translation 😊 I remember you saying once that the Tao Te Ching was one of your all-time favourite books. Yes, it is interesting to think about how close any of these translations are to the original. They all look so different! Thanks for sharing your thoughts 😊
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