Hidden☸️☯️ on Nostr: One of the most commonly mistranslated verses in English editions of the Dao De Jing ...
One of the most commonly mistranslated verses in English editions of the Dao De Jing is verse 8, particularly the triplets in the middle of the verse. Each triplet is a simple construction with a noun in front and back, and the character for "Good" (adjective) or "Judges as good" (verb) or "Goodness," (noun) in between. These triplets absolutely one shot the overly literal academic brain, resulting in an 1800 year legacy of rendering the verse as an imperative, starting with the commentaries of Wang Bi, who said simply 〈言人皆應於治道也。〉TL: "Says all people should follow the way of the Dao!"
Wang Bi was a philosopher in the Daoist-Confucian fusion school of Xuanxue (Literally: Hidden learning), and is popular with translators for a few reasons. The most obvious is that his commentary is the principle manuscript, containing a full text of the Dao De Jing. However he is also often prized for the academic-philosophical tone of his commentary, preferring direct interpretations that strip the text of some of its theological implications. Naturally, the academics of the world prefer the commentaries of an academic, but interpreted in the manner Wang Bi does, the Dao De Jing loses much of its power and coherence, appearing at times to be the mystical and subversive text we know and love, before schizophrenically switching into a Confucianesque moralising tone. If we take it as an imperative as Wang Bi does we end up with lines like "Dealing with others, have good humaneness" or "Dwell on good soil" Why would Laozi tell you to be humane (仁) a mere three verses after he said "The sage is not humane (仁)" Why would he tell you to dwell on good soil in the very verse that he says "The highest goodness dwells in places the masses detest." It's an understandable mistake considering the authority of Wang Bi, the presence of a slightly different imperative triplet in verse 4, and the reputation of the Dao De Jing as being a text of advice for rulers. It's also complete nonsense.
In reality, these triplets are extremely simple subject-verb-object constructions hidden in plain sight. Here the character for good (善) is used as a verb to mean something like "Appreciates," and so "Dwell in good soil" becomes "House appreciates its soil" and "Dealing with, have good humaneness" becomes something more like "Befriending appreciates humanity." And my interpretation is thankfully agreed with by the commentary of the mythical Daoist master Heshang Gong (His commentary is too long to translate here, but trust me on this one). Heshang Gong's commentary is occasionally derided for being overly theological and focused on meditation, but it is coherent in a way Wang Bi's is not, older and therefore closer to the text, and of the actual Daoist religious tradition.
For comparison, here's a translation in the popular imperative, and in what I believe to be the correct subject-verb-object construction.
Imperative, my translation:
Dwell on good soil
Feel with good depth
Help with good humanity
Speak with good truth
Rule with good order
Work with good ability
Act with good timing
Subject-Verb-Object, my translation:
A home reveres its soil
The heart savours depth
Helping hands prize humanity
Speech is inspired by truth
Norms benefit from peace
Vocation abides by ability
Action relishes opportunity
Ultimately the Dao De Jing is about the "Dao," it's about the Way of things, about examining patterns, displaying relationships, and illuminating cause and effect. Everything in the text is about returning the listener to harmony with the invisible logic of reality, and the verses that are imperative are written with this in mind. "Dwell on good soil," or "Work with good ability," have no place within that framework, and any translation that doesn't fit within that framework is likely making a serious error in interpretation. Thank you for coming to today's Ted talk on verse 8!
https://new.asbestos.cafe/media/c5/82/70/c5827040acfc0581713662ee52b16daa95c0a261d717328ba261fd0a445dd696.JPG
Wang Bi was a philosopher in the Daoist-Confucian fusion school of Xuanxue (Literally: Hidden learning), and is popular with translators for a few reasons. The most obvious is that his commentary is the principle manuscript, containing a full text of the Dao De Jing. However he is also often prized for the academic-philosophical tone of his commentary, preferring direct interpretations that strip the text of some of its theological implications. Naturally, the academics of the world prefer the commentaries of an academic, but interpreted in the manner Wang Bi does, the Dao De Jing loses much of its power and coherence, appearing at times to be the mystical and subversive text we know and love, before schizophrenically switching into a Confucianesque moralising tone. If we take it as an imperative as Wang Bi does we end up with lines like "Dealing with others, have good humaneness" or "Dwell on good soil" Why would Laozi tell you to be humane (仁) a mere three verses after he said "The sage is not humane (仁)" Why would he tell you to dwell on good soil in the very verse that he says "The highest goodness dwells in places the masses detest." It's an understandable mistake considering the authority of Wang Bi, the presence of a slightly different imperative triplet in verse 4, and the reputation of the Dao De Jing as being a text of advice for rulers. It's also complete nonsense.
In reality, these triplets are extremely simple subject-verb-object constructions hidden in plain sight. Here the character for good (善) is used as a verb to mean something like "Appreciates," and so "Dwell in good soil" becomes "House appreciates its soil" and "Dealing with, have good humaneness" becomes something more like "Befriending appreciates humanity." And my interpretation is thankfully agreed with by the commentary of the mythical Daoist master Heshang Gong (His commentary is too long to translate here, but trust me on this one). Heshang Gong's commentary is occasionally derided for being overly theological and focused on meditation, but it is coherent in a way Wang Bi's is not, older and therefore closer to the text, and of the actual Daoist religious tradition.
For comparison, here's a translation in the popular imperative, and in what I believe to be the correct subject-verb-object construction.
Imperative, my translation:
Dwell on good soil
Feel with good depth
Help with good humanity
Speak with good truth
Rule with good order
Work with good ability
Act with good timing
Subject-Verb-Object, my translation:
A home reveres its soil
The heart savours depth
Helping hands prize humanity
Speech is inspired by truth
Norms benefit from peace
Vocation abides by ability
Action relishes opportunity
Ultimately the Dao De Jing is about the "Dao," it's about the Way of things, about examining patterns, displaying relationships, and illuminating cause and effect. Everything in the text is about returning the listener to harmony with the invisible logic of reality, and the verses that are imperative are written with this in mind. "Dwell on good soil," or "Work with good ability," have no place within that framework, and any translation that doesn't fit within that framework is likely making a serious error in interpretation. Thank you for coming to today's Ted talk on verse 8!
https://new.asbestos.cafe/media/c5/82/70/c5827040acfc0581713662ee52b16daa95c0a261d717328ba261fd0a445dd696.JPG
