A Contrastive Study Of Philosophical Ideas Between Two English Versions Of Tao De Ching

Tao De Ching, an ancient Chinese classic, has been playing an important role in solvingthe social and religious problems in Western countries. So far, the book has been translatedinto many English versions. By contrasting the strengths and weakness among them, it isbeneficial for promoting the effective transmission of Laotse’s philosophical thoughts.Many contrastive studies about TDC have been made previously, but the contrast on thetransference of its philosophical ideas is yet to undertake. So the present study was conductedon the contrast between two English versions of Tao De Ching from the perspective of itsphilosophical idea’s transference. The two English versions, chosen among many translatededitions, were separately authored by Gu Zhengkun and Arthur Waley, who specialized in theresearch of Chinese culture. Firstly, different interpretations of Laotse’s thought from manycelebrities are presented and summarized, and then Chuangtse’s illumination of Tao,excerpted from Lin Yutang’s the Wisdom of Laotse, is referred to evaluate the quality of thesetwo versions.The contrastive study on philosophical ideas is taken on two aspects: Tao’s nature andTao’s application. After comparison, it is found that Gu grasped the author’s original ideasand tended to adopt free translation, while Arthur was used to conforming the original form,which affected the correct expression of Laotse’s intention. The reason lies in the differentcultural backgrounds and thinking patterns between Gu and Arthur. Gu’s Chinese nationalityand his broad knowledge of Chinese culture decided his mastering of Laotse’s thoughts,while Arthur was unconsciously confined to his English culture, which made it hard for himto achieve the equivalent result. Besides, the Chinese thinking mode is characterized withsuch qualities as imaginative, comprehensive, dialectical and winding. In contrast, theEnglish focuses on abstract, detailed, logical and straight thinking pattern.It is concluded that the transference of TDC’s philosophical ideas should be taken as firstpriority. The translation of language is actually the translation of culture and thinking style.Compared to Arthur, Gu’s cultural background and thinking pattern benefit him more inunderstanding Laotse’s philosophy. Hence grasping the cultural difference between Chinese and Western cultures plays an important role in elevating the translation qualities of Chineseclassics.